NeoGaf is absolutely crammed with delicious details regarding the new Alone in the Dark game for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. While the series has had its fair share of problems according to most critics, this new one is looking undeniably good, and the emerging details are starting to truly blow me away.
The game promises all manner of dynamic gameplay with the returning Edward Carnby, who is either a time traveller or a relative with the same name, since the original Carnby was in a game set 80 years prior. The unique gameplay will see you controlling Carnby’s movements with the left stick, and controlling his arm with the right stick. The analog sticks will be the sole way of making Edward attack — very interesting, and very difficult to pull off right, one would imagine. Applause for ambition, and let’s hope it works.
Of course, just swiping at enemies isn’t going to do, not when there’s so much tasty fire to throw around. Pyromania seems to the be the main selling point of Alone in the Dark, and many of the new details talk about its use in the game. If you like setting things alight and driving exploding cars into things, Alone in the Dark is for you.
There is too much info to post on the main page, so hit the jump for all the new major points, as translated from a German magazine. Isn’t it funny how Germany often gets great game scoops, when that country bans half of them? Also, check out the attached scans. DO EET!
- The game stars Edward Carnby, which is the name of the original game’s hero.
- You can combine different items in your inventory, such as a spray can and lighter. FIRE!
- Some enemies can only be killed with fire, like the crawfish enemies in the scans. KILL IT WITH FIRE!
- The developers wanted New York’s Central Park to be the setting because they “wanted a pretty place that everyone knows…and [then] distort it”
- Want to turn a car into an explosive? You can. Get a screwdriver from the glove box and use it to bust the car’s tank. Drive the car down the road while the gas leaks. You can then lock the steering wheel and eject yourself from the moving car before using your lighter to set a trail of fire from the leaking fuel to the moving car. Now that’s just fantastic.
- You can set your whole environment on fire, but you can go too far too, and end up having to run for it.
- Some monsters wear a leaking oil bottle. Some monsters are bloody stupid then, aren’t they? You know what to do.
- Combine a bottle of alcohol with a rug and your trusty lighter for molotov fun times.
- To light your way through the mostly dark game, you have to — guess what — set things on fire! A burning chair leg can light your way.
- Sometimes fire can betray you and block your path. In an ironic twist, you’ll have to extinguish you. FIRE, I TRUSTED YOU!
- The game gets compared to TV shows like Lost or Heroes in terms of suspense. I watched an episode of Lost once, partway through the second series just so I could have no clue what was going on and call it rubbish in my ignorance.
- There is a female lead as well, called Sarah, and a main antagonist who is not named. He wears a black raincoat and has a scarred face, however.
- The screenshots in the scans are from the 360 version, but the different ports are said to be equal, graphically.
- That said, porting to PC may be an issue because the twin thumbstick controls aren’t being said to translate well to keyboard and mouse.
- The game can be played entirely in third or first person.
- As already stated, there aren’t attack buttons. You use the right stick to make motions and Carnby acts accordingly, with different strength depending on the force with which you move the sticks.
- Over 1500 photos of Central Park were used to create the virtual version.
- A lot of work has gone into character’s faces, with scars, pores and wrinkles being added to the detail. Hopefully the animation matches.
- The bats in the scans can be fried with an electrical cord. To fight enemy’s in Alone in the Dark, seek a parent or guardian’s permission.
- In the game’s demo is a flooded area with an electrical cord dipped in it. To safely traverse the area, you use a bar to push the cord carefully to one side over a nearby rail, making the water safe for passage.
- Good old Havok physics. Realistic environment deformation is the order of the day, and you can splinter wooden doors and batter metal objects. There are also no pointlessly locked doors in the game. This would hint that instead of key searching, a horror game cliche’, you just find the nearest big heavy thing and lug it through the door. Now that’s a man’s way of problem solving, son.
- The fire is said to be very realistic, igniting objects one by one. Chairs and tables will collapse after burning for a while. Thankfully, you can fight and hold a torch at once, too.
- Uwe Boll’s sequel to the first movie is done. Just an FYI.
- Duct tape lamps in dark hallways to scare away an evil fluid that hides there. I imagine this is something like the black oil from X-Files.
- Everything you find in the environment can be used as a weapon. Just pick up the nearest blunt object and start swinging.
- Zombies are best put down with close quarters weaponry, but once they’ve been hacked or battered to death, you need to set the corpse on fire. You can also trap in by lighting circles of fuel on fire — just like in the movies!
- Combined items can be set to hotkeys. Works for me.
- As already stated, a number of vehicles can be driven in Central Park. Raiding glove boxes yield helpful items, the car radio can be switched on, and you can even hotwire cars.
- Car physics are taken straight from Eden’s other game, Test Drive Unlimited.
- If you can see a location in this game, you can get to it. You’ll be able to reach every visible spot in the game. No pretty painted backdrops in this one.
- Similar to the show 24, the story is set out as several episodes that take place over the course of an hour (realtime or in-game? Not sure yet). This has been done to avoid “suspense holes.” A sequel is already being planned as Eden wants to redefine the franchise.
- An amazing new level was unveiled, in which Carnby is driving down 59th street in a taxi while an invisible shockwave is tearing up the city behind him. Skycrapers come crashing down around you while asphalt is flying, and you’re passing through the traffic, all in realtime. It’s all accompanied by an orchestral soundtrack, choral singing and slow motion sections. Good lord, this game sounds amazing.
- The editor of the German mag compaes the game with Half-Life 2 in regards to the mixture of physics and game design.
- The game is coming out in Spring 2008. Between you and me, this could be one of the first massive splooge fests of the year.
