[AL ON] for people who like brackets.
So this won't be the most full OP until I can get home, but this has been looking like a decent game for some time, and Eurogamer now have a review up (which I'm reading at work and will post bits of later, as well as screenshots) giving it a 7/10. Still need to see what other outlets think, a number by itself is arbitrary, but it sounds like it's a solid game. I also believe there will be a demo along shortly, which will help people decide if they want to play it or not.
SO, Alone in the Dark is back, people. Get to talking.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=154462&page=1
RIGHT, I can now add some more here. I'll stick in some comments from the EG review:
Alone in the Dark offers a counterpoint to modern survival-horror. The genre's core values - inventory management, tension as a by-product of fumbling and panicking, and elaborate puzzles - are as they were, but Carnby is a practical hero: he heals himself by manually bandaging and patching cuts and gashes, and he solves puzzles with his hands and whatever else he can cobble together.
It's simple and versatile, and divorces the game from a genre obsessed with elaborate and contrived clockwork mechanisms, achieving greater subtlety and cohesion in the process. Puzzles are individual, and often special. A blood-smeared keypad has you scratching at the boundaries of your location for a code, but the solution's staring you in the face. A car hanging over a cliff blocks your ascent along a ridge, but you had the tools to pass it when you awoke. The best solutions are the least prescribed: fashioning a time-delayed sticky bomb from tape, booze and cloth, or reading the room and closing your eyes rather than staring at everything in sight.
In its pomp, every room is fascinating. You can pick up chairs, pipes and spades, push furniture around, slam canisters and litter-bins into doors, shoot out rivets and blow up hinges, fish electric cables away from pools of water with hooked branches, hotwire cars and short-circuit junction boxes. The right analogue stick is like a prosthetic hand, allowing you to twist, swing and slam things as you please.
Combat is brutal and unsustainable. Possessed former New Yorkers take a dozen bullets to dispatch, and the more exotic enemies - the fissures that carve bloody scars across every surface, and the black ooze that pools in the dark, swallowing you whole if you set foot in it - demand desperate violence and navigation to evade, so you improvise. Enemies can be shot by entering first-person perspective and aiming, but you can also toss explosives in their direction, watching them arc in slow-motion before firing a Magnum round to detonate in mid-air; or you can sprinkle accelerant across a doorway, and back off and fire an incendiary bullet into the puddle as a monster crosses the threshold. Improvising fire becomes the norm, whether by constructing Molotov cocktails from bottles and rags, powdering bullets with explosive, or grabbing wooden objects, dipping them in flames - situational or hand-crafted - and thrashing them about until they threaten to set Carnby alight.
For all its good qualities though, Alone in the Dark is a frustrating game to play. Having done so well to avoid the tried-and-trusted genre tropes of idols, badges and keys scattered around zombie-infested buildings that have to be transported past endless set-piece encounters to achieve things, Eden messes it up with a hopeless control system that proves just as pointlessly convoluted. It doesn't just grab defeat from the jaws of victory, it has to press a dozen buttons in a complex sequence across a number of different screens and view perspectives to do so.
For example, the left stick has to do movement and turning (both of which are clunky and leaden), with the right stick swinging your head left and right on a narrow arc. This is because the right stick is meant to be for swinging baseball bats and smashing fire extinguishers through wooden doors, so you can understand why they did it, but as a result getting around quickly is always difficult, and manoeuvring in close quarters is clumsy and awkward. There's a first-person option, which separates moving and strafing from turning, but you can't pick one - you have to use both at different times. Third-person is for interaction, while first-person is for looking and shooting. The game switches you between them where necessary, and on a couple of occasions for no obvious reason.
Elsewhere, you find yourself having to concentrate to do even the simplest things, like healing, which involves pressing right on the d-pad, then holding the right trigger as a medical spray is held over an affected area, then pushing the left stick around to move to the next wound. Running away from a monster, turning and throwing an explosive to shoot in mid-air requires a left-stick click to turn swiftly, a pause to equip gun and explosive, then using the left trigger to set up your throwing arc, angling it with the right-stick and pulling the right trigger to fire at the right moment. By this stage the enemy is either upon you or too close to throw the explosive without blowing yourself up too. You can use the left and right bumpers to cycle items available to each of Carnby's hands, and set-up d-pad direction presets for favoured configurations, but these options just complicate the interface further.
It's not just the controls that are clumsy, either: the first couple of episodes are full of glitches, clichéd puzzles and dodgy sequences that don't come off. The car chase sequence through New York streets is the most broken: the city's being torn apart, buses flying overhead, tarmac cleft and buildings toppling, so the peculiar handling and rutted terrain conspire to set you back as much as possible, and each snag usually gives the pursuing scripted sequence a chance to gobble you up and force you to restart. By the time you've watched the same bus fall off the same ledge rising at the same angle for the umpteenth time, any suspension of disbelief has long since snapped like overstretched elastic under a flame. Once in Central Park, things become more straightforward as you move between objectives sticking to the simplest path to avoid being overrun by monsters. In fact the game becomes rather linear, and produces some of its best moments.
Yet in spite of all this, Alone in the Dark is ultimately likeable, even lovable. If you go back and read those opening paragraphs again, there's a game there that every gamer would want. Inventive, flexible, considered. It's stunning to look at it in places, too, and it's capable of classic gaming moments: quieter than the Would You Kindlies and This Was A Triumphs, but just as special. And in Edward Carnby's practical survivor, Eden has a tool players will enjoy sharpening. The problem is that every time you get excited about Alone in the Dark, it shuts you down. At times it's akin to Atari's Boiling Point: Road To Hell of three years ago; throw any score on the ten-point scale and it will stick to something, but there's so much friction on the lower end that it's often impossible to pull away and remember when you brushed past genius. You want to love it, but it just keeps letting you down, and in the end that's the impression that sticks to the wall and stays there.
So it has some good ideas, but the execution is flawed with tricky controls.
The demo is expected to be
out this month, so that should help a lot of people decide if it's for them or not.
And now, spoilered pictures!
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They're too busy doing the Dew.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I'm interested in this as I enjoy the genre and I've heard more than a few Lovecraftian themes are being dropped in, but I can't say I'm anticipating the launch.
360 version is what Eurogamer reviewed. PS3 one isn't out yet, so hopefully they can respond to the criticism (read: fucking fix it) and the Wii will obviously be a whole different kettle of fish/ball of wax/other poor metaphor.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
The controls for movement and just about all combat sound perfectly fine to me. Most of the complaint in this regard boils down to having to perform complex controls in order to do complex things. This is true of most games in general, and it makes sense.
A lot of their other complaints about 'controls' are actually complaints that you can't carry more than a set amount of inventory items. And thus they complain that they have to 'dump' some items to pick up new ones. That's hardly a complaint about 'controls,' and is more of a complaint about this being survival horror ... which the game is meant to be...
Other than that, I think their complaints seem to be founded. I can't speak much more to the complaints on their face beyond the reasoning they've provided without having played the game first.
I'll just say that I might have to play this for myself first before I condemn the controls. Too many reviewers get something in their head about how a game should control, and then mark off when it doesn't conform to that, despite the controls being quite good or at least sufficient otherwise.
That said, the reviewer seemed to really, really like this game. A lot. It's just that they bickered about the controls and the save point system a lot. So, I think, if the controls actually turn out well for others, or sufficient, then I think this may actually be a really great game.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Also, this game really crept up on me. Can't believe its out the day after tomorrow.
PSN:Hakira__
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I never asked for this!
Replaced with the game that is fast becoming one of my most anticipated for the year.
I'm really, really unimpressed. (spoiler up to first boss fight, probably what the demo will be)
There are some nice set-pieces with rooms falling through the building and whatnot making the level change nicely, and climbing on a cable that's being pulled away from its moorings while it collapses, and the fire is definitely nice, but it just feels unpolished. The first boss fight is a girl that you've met in the building that you're helping escape, being possessed. Before, you could whack her around the face or shoot her and she'd just tell you to stop and not be swayed at all, but now she's a demon with terrible strength and you can knock her over with a chair. Or the conveniently-placed katana. And once she's knocked over, you have to burn her, and if you take long enough she'll just get up and wait for you to do it.
I like the control system for fights - using the analogue sticks to emulate movement has always been very engaging for me - but it just seems like a couple more months of QA would have done it the world of good.
Oh, and it's got a brilliant inventory mechanic that's as hilarious as Goldeneye's. Instead of the enemies waiting for you while you have your watch and inch away from your face, they now wait for you while you open your coat like a flasher and stare downwards.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Thus far the acting and plot looks a little "out there" but i'll reserve judgement till I've played more. I'm hanging on putting too much time in till i've completed Conan on the PS3 (don't judge me)
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I played, completed and loved S.T.A.L.K.E.R. so I'm not someone to let some glitches and flaws get in the way, but it sounds like I might easily get frustrated with this. I'll reserve my judgement until I've tried the demo, but I am getting the impression that they've promised far more than they can deliver, which is what I feared.
It definitely smacks of that. It looked like it was shaping up to be so good, and this isn't.
If it didn't have the Alone in the Dark name, I don't think there would even be a thread.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
The inventory mechanic is fine. The fact that the game pauses while you sift through your inventory shouldn't be a complaint. The alternative would be far worse. And in any event, the game's enemies/level pausing while you use your inventory is not any different than the vast majority of games out there. Many shooters will pause while you select a weapon or item from a HUD wheel. Many action games pause while you open a menu to select or equip an item or weapon. Many RPGs' enemies and characters sit and wait their turn to attack while you sift through 10 menus to choose your course of action. Survival horror games with inventory, even the Resident Evil games including 4, the enemies/characters/level will pause while you open your briefcase and shuffle items around and equip/unequip weapons and use items.
Nobody ever complained about realism when the game paused to let you sift and equip items in Resident Evil 4, and likewise, nobody complained that you had to "dump" items to make room for new ones that you found, as they are complaining about in this game (eurogamer).
It's a game and you have to make reasonable allowances for gameplay mechanics to function in spite of the detraction from realism.
I'm still not 100% sold on this game, though. It seems that it's going to be pretty glitchy. The controls sound fun. The inventory sounds completely normal and expected for a game of this type.
But I'd still like to hear more opinions on it...
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I think the promise of all the physics interactions and problem-solving sounded really cool, even without the name I'd have been paying attention, but then there'd probably be a bit less disappointment when it failed to live up to it all. I've still not written it off, hell, I also completed Timeshift. I've got a high tolerance for 'bad'.
I might buy it or at least rent it. I'm very interested in its controls, since the movement of the character and the movement of the items and the character's arm are independent. Could work really well and be a lot of fun on the Wii if they implement it decently.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
This was a massive justification for something that wasn't actually a complaint in any way. It's just amusing to think of the dude holding his coat open and the enemy standing there waiting patiently for him to draw his gun.
Another of my co-workers had the Amazon shipping notification earlier today for the Wii version. If it comes tomorrow I'll badger her into playing it at lunch and I'll give impressions on that.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
There have been a fair few videos on this one, but it would be nice to know how well it's been done.
Also, whethet it shares the apparant strengths of the 360 version.
This is important.
Love it.
Indeed. Makes going into each room all the scarier. "If I open this door, I hope there's health somewhere nearby."
I loved RE1 for this. I just wish I hadn't played that game 80 times... I can almost go through the entire mansion in my head. How awesome would it be if they made a randomly generated mansion?
With the Obscure devs doing the Wii/PS2 version, and all the crazy physics stuff in the Eden-developed 360 version, I'm kind of interested in both of them. I can't wait to see some more reviews as this game really has the chance to be something cool, in both forms.
EDIT: Urahonky, I would play a randomly generated survival horror. You could do it Diablo style, with randomly generated rooms connecting set piece areas together that would have bosses and story content. There's also the ability for easy DLC there if the company making it really wanted to milk their customers.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
The Wii version comes out tomorrow, or so Wikipedia says.
I believe that no version hits the US till next week.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
No kidding. How awesome would that be? You'd never be able to learn the structure of the place, which is half the fun in my opinion. The whole "where does this door lead" feeling needs to happen more often.
http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-The-Wrath-Of-Malichi/dp/B0000DC5TC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1213898087&sr=1-1
Nosferatu: This comes very close to what you want. What the Amazon page doesn't list is the fact that you've got a few hours real time to complete the quest. This was a blast for Halloween game night a couple years ago.
Dammit Don. I didn't need to spend more money this week! :P
You're welcome. Have fun saving the family.
I haven't looked at any screenshots of the game, but the concept is amazing. FPS, non-linear, and a randomly generated mansion? Bought'd.