Usually when a big-budget game overshoots its projected holiday release
date and is then silently slipped on the retail shelves during the dog days of
summer, it’s a sure sign that this baby is a bowwow of a product. Alone in
the Dark: The New Nightmare proves to be the exception to this long-accepted
dictum in the industry.

Since
it has been almost a decade (a lifetime in gaming years) since the original Alone
in the Dark, it would be an exercise in futility to evaluate this new incarnation
based on the previous three installments, and, in fact, Infogrames has gone out
of its way to avoid comparisons by refusing to add a number four to the game title.
Yet since comparisons are inevitable, it can safely be stated that not only is
AITD:TNN the most well-crafted of the quartet, but it also continues the
homage to H.P. Lovecraft evident in the first Alone in the Dark so lovingly
created by Hubert Chardot.

As the Monkees once sang, though, “that
was then, this is now,” and Darkworks’ designers have done an exemplary job
not only of updating the series, but also of establishing mood, a very important
aspect for this type of game. Anyone familiar with the works of Lovecraft–and
the percentage of those playing or reviewing this game who have actually read
this difficult-to-read author is probably very low–know that books, diaries,
journals, etc., usually play an important role in his stories. That is also the
case here, as it was in the first Alone in the Dark, as the reading material
found scattered throughout the mansion contains clues to solving puzzles, some
background on the history of Shadow Island, and descriptions of the secret experiments
that are the underlying reason for your visit.

To
update the series from the 1920s to present day, our old once-geeky friend Edward
Carnby is now 33 years of age and has acquired a Goth look: long dark hair, trench
coat, and weapons more reminiscent of Ghostbusters than the Untouchables. He works
for a top-secret FBI department that investigates paranormal and supernatural
activities. His soon-to-be sidekick, Aline Cedrac, is a 27-year-old professor
with a PhD in anthropology, and, as luck would have it, her specialty is the Abkani
Indian tribe.

Aline has been summoned to Shadow Island to decipher three
mysterious tablets. Her flight partner is Ed Carnby, who is investigating the
mysterious death of his partner, Charles Fiske. As they near their destination,
their plane is disabled by an unknown force, and Aline and Ed must parachute to
safety. The game proper begins as the player must choose between Carnby, who has
settled in the woods, or Aline, who has landed atop the roof of the mansion. Your
choice is influenced by how you want to play the game. Carnby is more weapon dependant,
though not in a brute force aspect but more out of necessity, and Aline is the
inquisitive one searching not only for literal bones, but also for skeletons in
her family closet. What they both have in common, though, is they will have to
solve innumerable puzzles as they both work a path through the mansion and eventually
the underbelly of the island to uncover the horrifying secret rituals of the Abkani
Indians.

Many
of the puzzles are the highlight of the experience; some are so subtle as to escape
the detection of the lackadaisical gamer. Not only are there audio clues such
as a squeaking floorboard that may be hiding a secret cache, but also barely noticeable
visual clues like scratch marks in a wooden floor that expose a hidden door in
a bookcase. There are also a variety of “find the key, open the door”
puzzles, but unlike the ridiculous ease of the Resident Evil series where
the key is simply provided, you will work to find the keys in this game. And unlike
the Resident Evil games that mistake unending hordes of zombies as a challenge
and relies on gimmicks like rabid dogs crashing through a window to provide a
cheap thrill, AITD:TNN is carefully crafted to build the suspense as the
plot and relationship between the characters develop.

The strong point of
AITD:TNN is the character and plot development. Though you can only play
as one character at a time, both of their paths dovetail throughout the game,
and it is especially interesting once you have played as one character to then
play as the other and spot details that were influenced by the other character.
Communication between the two can also be established via a two-way radio, and
there will be moments when they actually meet. The writers are to be commended
for actually nurturing a relationship between the characters as the game progresses,
especially in a genre–survival horror–that often features superficial personalities
and situations.

Many of today’s games have beautiful graphics but are soulless;
AITD:TNN uses graphics and sound effects to maximum effect even while employing
every hoary cliché imaginable: screeching disjointed voices, howling dogs,
whistling wind. You’re guaranteed to stumble across misshapen trees, a foreboding,
deserted mansion, and long, winding staircases. Yet every one of these tried-and-true
chestnuts not only works, but also enhances the atmosphere of the game. You will
feel as though you are part of a well-made B horror film.

Before
I leave you believing that all is milk and honey on the macabre Shadow Island,
there are a few niggling problems. A few scenes before the conclusion degenerate
into a romp through some unimaginative maze-like tunnels housing respawning monsters.
This is really the only part of the game that deteriorates into a console-style
survival horror romp. A maximum of only four save slots makes no sense and is
especially frustrating if you are attempting to play as both characters at once.
The music is sparse but effective, yet it can be annoying at times; it usually
consists of nothing more than jarring snare drum or hollow reed rhythms, and sections
were very reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails’ Closer to God. The voice acting,
which is for the most part very good, reaches a nadir in gaming history every
time the bedridden mother is center stage. She emits a horrible, feeble, ridiculous-sounding
cracking voice that seems to have been voiced by a twenty-something doing her
impression of a doddering senior citizen. For God’s sake, if you’re going to spend
a small fortune on a game, spend an extra five bucks and hire a real senior citizen
to do the voiceover so maybe she won’t have to use her Social Security check to
buy dog food for dinner.

The New Nightmare is not for those who shy
away from action elements in a game. It is, though, for anyone who enjoys intelligent
horror. Though some encounters can be avoided, many cannot, and occasional puzzles
consist of plotting an escape route or trying different weapons to discover which
one is most effective against a specific monster. A keyboard or gamepad can be
used to control the characters, and the game ships on three CDs. In my opinion,
though, there is nothing more important in a game than good writing and believable
characters, which is probably the main appeal of adventure games. The give-and-take
between Carnby and Aline as their relationship and trust in each other grows is
actually (God help me, I’m going to say cute) cute, and these are two characters,
like Gabriel Knight and Grace, around whom a franchise could be built.

There
are very few adventurers who will finish this game without a walkthrough, and
that’s nothing to be ashamed of; we can’t all be Sinjin. But if you do find yourself
seeking the occasional hint, at least try not to use the god codes that offer
invincibility or unlimited ammo, for half of the fun, and suspense, derives from
devising routes through shadowy areas fearing that each step may be your last.
Always keep the title of the game in mind, for if you really want to be “alone
in the dark,” then you will learn to use your flashlight to your advantage
to spot hidden clues and chase away the bogeymen.

Final Grade: B+

If
you liked Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare:
Play: The original
Alone in the Dark
Read: Anything by H.P. Lovecraft
Watch:
The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price

PC
System Requirements:Windows 95/98/00/ME
Pentium
II 400 MHz
64 MB RAM
3D video card
400 MB free HD space
DirectX compatible
mouse/keyboard/sound card
DirectX 8.0 (included)