Your memory isn't failing you, way back in April Atari did promise to release an Alone in the Dark demo to the XBLM by the end of May. Thus far, we still haven't seen it even though the game hits retailers this week. But fear not, you can still safely hold out hope for an Alone in the Dark demo, because Atari has re-confirmed with Eurogamer that they still plan on releasing the demo in the "coming weeks". Honestly, we were excited to try the demo simply because we thought it would release prior to the game's official release, since then our demo excitement level has decreased a bit. We also don't know if we should trust Atari's word anymore, so we'll just have to wait and see if their latest promise ends up being fulfilled in the next few weeks.
At a recent Atari event, the same one in which Phil Harrison stated that Atari would no longer pursue big budget, single-player titles, Gamasutra sat down with Nour Polloni, producer of Alone in the Dark. The interview focuses mainly on the gameplay and design choices that Eden made for the game. Of particular interest is Polloni's thoughts on the game's open design, which allows players to solve problems in ways that make sense to them. Said Polloni, "we didn't want you to search for the golden key to open the door." She emphasizes that players shouldn't be asking themselves what they can't do within the game. In other words, if a player thinks of a logical way to open the door -- smashing it with a fire extinguisher, for example -- it will work. It all boils down to logic and accessibility.
It's really a refreshing idea, and one we'd like to see implemented in more games. The interview is a worthwhile read. We suggest you check it out. Oh, and just so you know Polloni isn't merely spewing hot air, check out Joystiq's (very positive) impressions of the game.
Phil Harrison, recently appointed president of Infogrames (parent company of Atari), has gone on record stating that Atari isn't likely to pursue any more big budget, single-player games after Alone in the Dark. Harrison told Gamasutra, "I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future." Harrison did add that the company will still pursue "really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games." Harrison sees online, socially driven games as the future for Atari and places emphasis on episodic content.
So, while a direct sequel to Alone in the Dark sounds unlikely, it's possible we might see similar games released in an episodic manner instead (as was the original plan for Alone in the Dark, which still incorporates an episodic structure). Harrison sees episodic games with integrated community features as a new direction for Atari and the games industry in general, giving video games the kind of "water cooler" effect that television shows enjoy. Sounds interesting to us.
One lucky Joystiq blogger managed to get some extensive hand-on time with Alone in the Dark, the upcoming series revival being created by Eden Games. When all was said and done, Joystiq got to sample three hours of gameplay, giving them the chance to try out the combat, driving and platforming elements present in the game. The verdict: it's good. Surprisingly good, actually, with Joystiq equating the game to "a great season of 24, albeit one with a supernatural twist." Head on over to Joystiq for their full impressions. Hopefully, we can all get some hands-on time with the game ourselves soon, as a demo should be arriving any day now.
While the verdict is still out on Alone in the Dark as a full game, there is no denying that the music is right on target. Honestly, what better fit for a survival horror game than a creepy children's choir, right? Right. Good news then, as our friends at Gamertag Radio are giving away three samples from the game's soundtrack -- performed by Grammy winner Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices -- for free. We've checked out all three tracks and can assure you that they are of adequate sweep, depth, and creepitude. Head over to GTR to grab 'em for yourself. Also, GTR will apparently have some pretty extensive hands-on coverage of the game going up tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled.
Over at Gamestop, they have a pretty solid pre-order deal for future Alone in the Dark purchasers that is a mix of money savings and free swag goodness.
If you plop down your pre-order cash before Alone in the Dark's June release, you'll not only get $10 off the game itself, but they'll also throw in a free t-shirt and a free soundtrack as well. This offer isn't good for the special edition seeing that Gamestop doesn't even have a listing for the special edition on their site, but if you're all but guaranteed to make a Alone in the Dark purchase, then this pre-order deal is a must.
Of all the things that could have been showcased for Alone in the Dark at Microsoft's Spring Showcase, we're not sure we would have picked the two sequences featured in these videos. Alone in the Dark is a survival horror game, right? As such, one would expect to be treated to sequences of surviving horrifying situations. Speaking literally, we suppose these videos do just that, but we were expecting some ghosts, monsters, a mutant insect, something. What we get is some ledge-grabbing platforming and a car escape sequence. Don't get us wrong, it doesn't look bad -- in fact, these are things you don't see in many other survival horror games -- but we're just waiting to see some gameplay that lives up to the atmosphere created by the cinematic trailers that have been released.
Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and see the promised demo before the week is out. We're really hoping it will make believers out of us. We want to believe.
The survival horror genre hasn't been to big on the Xbox in general, recent releases not withstanding of course. And Atari's fifth series entry is going to be one of the big games to tide scare-happy gamers over until the ever awaited other fifth game in a series, Resident Evil 5. Even though Alone in the Dark 5 was pushed back to June 24th, it's expected to sell well and we're glad that there'll be a demo long in advance of release. Set tentatively for release in early May, gamers should have well over a month before the game hits shelves to evaluate it in some form.
At this point it's difficult even to make a joke about Alone in the Dark's constant delays. It's been delayed so much that we're losing track. First it was November. Then it was March. Then it was May (after Atari announced that it wasn'tdelayed until September). It's like one of those nightmares where the thing you desire is always just out of reach. The latest push, if you insist on keeping track, is to June 24 in the US and June 20 in Europe. The reason behind the delay is to allow developer Eden games some more time to polish the game to a mirror shine. For what it's worth, this is the first actual date we've seen attached to Alone in the Dark for some time (as opposed to a more nebulous release month).
All we know is that if we don't get our horror fix soon, we may have to resort to something drastic like reading.
Alas, it's not another sticky tape laden tech demo. No, this one is a straight up CG trailer. No gameplay here folks, move along. That said, it is certainly one sexy CG trailer. Featuring one Edward Carnby seemingly running for his life and one nameless evil that is seemingly bent on taking it, the video -- at the very least -- gets us excited for the possibility that Alone in the Dark might actually be good. You know, if it ever comes out.
In the hustle and bustle of GDC, it looks like we missed the beginning of a new series of videos about Alone in the Dark. Entitled "Real World Rules" the videos take a look at the environmental interactions that are possible in Alone in the Dark. It seems that the game is taking a different approach to survival horror. Rather than collecting more and more powerful weapons, emphasis is placed upon collecting and combining real world objects in order to solve puzzles and dispatch enemies. One of our favorite combos featured in the video: pierce a bottle of fuel, wrap it in tape, and toss it directly onto the back of an enemy (where it will stick, thanks to the tape). Since you pierced the bottle, you've not got a handy trail of gasoline leading from your feet to the enemy or, to put it more clearly, a fuse. Light the fuel trail on fire and BOOM, bad guy flambé. Episode one is embedded above. Find episode two after the break.
It's been a rough week for Alone in the Dark. First, it was reported that the game would miss its projected March release date (which was itself a delay from last November), then Atarimade it clear that the title had not been delayed 'til September. However, the company did not confirm a March release. And so here we are with the latest headline: Alone in the Dark has been delayed until May. An even more interesting wrinkle, the PS3 version of the game will not see the light of day in May, and has been pushed to an indeterminate date sometime later in 2008. So there you have it, folks, the final word on Alone in the Dark. Unless they delay it again, of course.
Man, if we had a nickel for every game-related countdown site on the internet, we'd easily have, like, at least ten nickels. Make that eleven, as a new countdown site by the name of CentralDark.com has popped up. The website was revealed via an email distributed by Atari, and features a video about Central Park. The video discusses how strange it is that Central Park hasn't changed in over a hundred years, citing several fictional newspaper articles by authors with names like "Samuel Raimi" and "Johnathan Carpenter" and concluding that the park has a dark secret.
In other words, it looks like a teaser site for Alone in the Dark, which takes place in Central Park and is being published by Atari. The game's release is expected early next year, so it wouldn't surprise us if this is the beginning of its marketing blitz. The countdown ends in twenty-five days. Anyone want to take bets?
Okay, okay enough videos already, we get it. But come on, it is Halloween and you have to admit it is quite enjoyable watching brand new trailers of your favorite horror games ... right? Right? We knew we'd win you over.
Atari just released a newly new Alone in the Dark 5 trailer entitled "Central Park". From what we can tell there isn't any in-game or gameplay footage, but there's a heck of a lot of artistic license going on. The music, the camera shots and lighting (oh the lighting!) make for one enjoyable cinema experience. Enjoy the latest Alone in the Dark trailer, because we're not sure how many more videos we'll be posting today seeing that we're kind of hitting our limit. And you probably are too.
Over at Gamestop, they have a pretty solid pre-order deal for future Alone in the Dark purchasers that is a mix of money savings and free swag goodness.
