I completed Alone in the Dark today. It was pretty good. I’ve been hearing of really terrible scores made by internet sites, but I think if you’re going to read a proper review then check out Eurogamer’s review. The 7/10 is a pretty accurate score. It certainly deserves more than 3/10, at least.

I wandered into Blockbuster looking for The Bourne Conspiracy but it isn’t out until this friday. Great, I thought. Then I spied AITD, and nabbed it. Overall the game is fun - it took me about 8 hours, but I wasn’t really counting the hours, which is probably a good thing.

The combat is fun and frenetic, and while the clunky weapon switching and inventory may at first seem like an oversight, it can lead to the most frantic moments of the game. You certainly don’t feel like a one man army either - you absolutely have to rely on the things you can find, and always use your brain and your scavenged items to their best potential, instead of shooting your enemies which 90% results in only knocking them over for a short time. The only way to truly finish them off is with fire.

Oh, and what brilliant fire it is. The physics in this game are very, very good. Fire spreads realistically and destroys wood remarkably well. Fire becomes your most hated enemy along with your dearest friend.

The driving sequences are terrible, mainly because the cars themselves are very very badly done. If you hit anything at any speed, you stop instantly. It takes several seconds to start reversing and more to start forward again. Turning is very arcadey and seems that either you have the choice of going forward or turning in a direction all the way, with no midpoint. It’s like no one at Eden games actually drives a car, because after playing GTAIV and it’s brilliant cars, AITD feels horrid. One driving sequence took me about 10 tries to complete because of it’s instant death stupidity.

There are other annoyances. Some fighting sequences seem impossible to beat, and took several tries to come out in one piece. Other annoyances include some annoying black substance which you die if you touch. It moves if you shine light on it, which means that nine times out of ten you can’t see it as it’s in darkness and you’ll always walk on it and die. It gets very annoying.

But, like I said, this is a game for ingenuity. Puzzles require practical thought and the use of the tools at your disposal, and simply surviving requires you to scavenge and hoard materials, while managing the use of your very limited inventory space.

The final hour or so is a puzzle filled craziness which will really get you thinking, and is excellent - while the actual final ending is lacking. In a big, big way. I won’t spoil anything - but in both the two endings, neither actually offer any closure - and while it’s clear it’s open for a sequel, it isn’t explained well enough to get someone excited for that sequel. It’s just “oh, that’s it?”. Neither of the endings offer a win, and instead are both a lose-lose. Hell, even one of the endings did entirely the opposite of what I hoped would it would do by performing one action.

But, overall the game is good. The graphics are excellent and the puzzles more so. While this game was never really in my “buy” option, renting it was a good idea. I enjoyed the gameplay, and for someone who doesn’t enjoy survival horror games I was surprised to find I was enjoying it. But it’s less horror, and more survival action. It’s certainly no Silent Hill or Resident Evil.

If i’d actually spent £40 on this game, I’d be a bit annoyed. It simply isn’t worth that - but perhaps when the price goes down to £20 or so, then definately check it out.

Here’s the latest trailer, coincidentally featuring one of my favourite songs ever - “Burn My Shadow” by Unkle, who seem to be on a game rampage as of late, being featured in the Assassin’s Creed trailer, and in GTAIV.