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Atari wanted to take the Alone in the Dark franchise into a different direction. Fortunately, they have managed to achieve that feat. Unthankfully, that new vision is somewhat of a letdown. The storyline revolves around the protagonist named Edward Carnby and New York City. He is embroiled in a world of the uncanny and mysticism. The game begins with him being interrogated by some rather eccentric individuals. As the story unfolds, Edward attempts to piece his life back together. Perverse creatures that have an eerie resemblance to zombies also make an appearance, and Mr. Carnby has to traverse his way through The Big Apple to mollify the chaotic infestation. It is an immersive plot, but it can come off as being a tad nonsensical.

The gameplay has some engrossing concepts; however, they are poorly executed. For example, the driving segments in the game sound like a bright idea. The caveat to that are the unresponsive controls. Gamers will literally feel like they are driving with both the gas and brake pedal held down. It is like accelerating and decelerating simultaneously. The control issues do not even stop with the vehicle sections of the gameplay. There are also flaws with the melee combat. For instance, the analog stick controls the manner in which Edward attacks. In theory, that looks to be perfectly fine. The drawback is that it simply feels sluggish. It is as if there is a ten second delay with each attack. The gunfire is not much of an improvement either. When you have a gun equipped, the gameplay arbitrarily swaps to a first person perspective. The problem is that this viewpoint is drastically disorienting. This is due in part to how feeble Edward is from this point of view. If a monster spews any liquid at him, then he will have to blink to clear his vision. By blinking, it means pressing the analog stick to orient him. What kind of ludicrousness is this? Who actually thought this would enhance the realism? The inventory scheme is intuitive, as there are items that can be combined. Players can mix bullets with fire to formulate a deadly concoction. Nevertheless players can only access the inventory via real time. In other words, Edward can be attacked from adversaries when he is cycling through his items. This would not be a problem if it was easy to navigate. Regrettably, it is not. As far as the fire is concerned, it is the only way to neutralize foes. You can throw flammable objects and shoot them to create a scorching hot explosion. There is also a plausibility to bypass certain portions of the game altogether. This is like a scene selection process in a DVD menu screen. The gameplay itself is littered with peaks and valleys. For every pro in the gameplay, there is a con to ruin it.

For the most part, the visuals are a strong point. Fire looks absolutely stunning, and inclement weather conditions are gorgeous. The character models are respectable, but it is nothing brilliant. Their animations are mediocre at best.

The audio is without a doubt incredible. There is a myriad of pleasant musical tunes that are truly remarkable. The voice acting can be over the top, nonetheless it can be facetious.

Overall, Alone in the Dark is an adequate game to hold you over for a weekend. Other than that, it is not worth a full price to be alone in the dark.