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Alone in the Dark | 
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| From: Atari Inc. Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99 Buy Used: $6.34 You Save: $13.65 (68%)
New (30) Used (20) from $6.34
Rating: 6 reviews
Platform: Playstation2 Genre: Action Games ESRB: Mature Media: Video Game Autographed: No Memorabilia: No Running Time: 99 Minutes Batteries Included: No Age: 17 - 20 years Operating System: Playstation 2 Shipping Weight (lbs): 2 Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 27628 UPC: 742725276284 EAN: 0742725276284
Release Date: June 24, 2008 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | A New Inventory System Players utilize the pockets of protagonist Edward Carnby to hold items which they can view, switch and combine without leaving the game. | | • | Narrative intensity Taking its cues from blockbuster TV dramas, the story is told in a TV season style narrative structure based around episodes that deliver maximum intensity throughout and keep the player hooked. | | • | A Captivating Story Centered in iconic Central Park long-time series protagonist and paranormal specialist Edward Carnby returns to delve into the frightening events occurring in the Big Apple. | | • | Real World Rules In-Game movement has been designed to allow players to do almost anything that is physically possible in the real world. | | • | Photographic Rendering Game developer Edens Propriety Twilight technology creates a lavishly detailed game world with highly realistic and advanced cinematographic effects. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com There's something strange and frightening happening in the middle of New York City's Central Park; something whispered to have been intentionally kept secret; something that players are compelled to explore in Alone in the Dark.Known today as a safe haven for New Yorkers yearning for relief from the stresses of their chaotic metropolis, history records that Central Park was built on a useless swamp, yet as the New York City skyline hurtled towards the sky over the last 150 years, making the city the most expensive real estate in the world, the park has remained untouched. Why? Civic pride? Perhaps, but the recent strange happenings in and around the park are casting doubt on that, doubts that require investigating.
The return of an iconic series |
 Paranormal PI Edward Carnby. View larger. |  Stunningly spooky views of NYC. View larger. |  The odd wildlife of Central Park. View larger. |  A whole new inventory system. View larger. | Enter Edward Carnby, Paranormal Investigator Despite the title, Alone in the Dark is actually the fifth game in a series that dates back to 1992 and centers around the experiences of Edward "the reptile" Carnby. A paranormal investigator by trade, Carnby is looking for answers to the strange events and horrific creatures reported in and around the park, but gets more than he bargained for when all the mysteries and terrors of the park spill out over the course of one apocalyptic night. It's the player's task to avoid the new frightening dangers of the park as you search for the answers to what these supernatural occurrences mean and why they are happening.Gameplay Based on Full Player Immersion Packed full of action and vivid in its realism Alone in the Dark goes to the extreme to keep players engaged and immersed by plunging them into the heart of the action in real-time at every turn and challenging them to survive using full movement control. The goal here is to allow players to do or at least feel that they can do more or less whatever is possible in real life, within the game.Need to avoid a blast of steam or an eruption of fire that has shot up in your path? You can simply side-step it or you can handle the obstacle with a little more panache by using the environment around you, for example by swinging around it using reachable pipes or wires. In another situation you may be challenged by attacking monsters. No problem. You can take the path of least resistance, again by side-stepping them or placing an obstacle between yourself and them, but if you are feeling like taking out a little aggression you can pick up a board, chair, box, etc. and have at it. Nearly anything that you come across that would be usable in real life is usable in game and can be wielded in several different ways.In addition, game developer Eden Studios has done away with a few in-game conventions in favor of real life upgrades. Instead of old-fashioned health bars Alone in the Dark uses realistic body damage and physiological effects to show players how much damage has been done to Carnby by the new dangerous nightlife of Central Park. Basically this means if Carnby has been taking a licking he's going to be a little bloody. Monsters use sensory perception of all kinds to find their victims, so players need to keep aware of Carnby's physical state, as well as the impact he has on his surroundings. Also gone are traditional inventory systems that take players out of the game while you switch or check items in your possession, replaced by an in-game inventory system where items are carried in the folds of Carnby's trench coat. This allows you to stay in the action the whole time. Sticking with the realism theme, the number of items that Carnby can carry is limited, but since ingenuity is built into the system, items can be combined or their uses altered, mostly with tape, so players can adjust as challenges arise.TV Style Intensity That Keeps You Hooked Built around a unique television style episodic narrative game structure, the storyline of Alone in the Dark is split into a number of distinct 30-40 minute episodes, doled out one at a time as you play. This new way to progress through the storyline ensures that players can enjoy the game regardless of the amount of time they have available without ever feeling lost. Each time a saved game is launched, the episode will begin with a video summary of the previous episode to quickly re-immerse the player in the story, removing the need to remember where you were or what you were doing at the end of your last play session. In addition, every episode will also close with a nail-biting, cliff-hanger ending to rattle players' nerves. And when you choose to leave the game, a video teaser of the next episode will play to leave players always wanting more.Vivid Photographic Rendering Even on a bad day, and this will be a bad one, Central Park and New York City are something to see. With Game developer Eden's proprietary Twilight technology and rendering engine, players can expect to see everything from the City's famous landmarks to the manifestations of the evil that have been festering in Central Park come to life as if you were there. This lavishly detailed game world takes advantage of highly realistic and advanced cinematographic effects including depth of field, camera focus, numerous light sources, moisture, reflections and High Dynamic Range effects.Whether it's the innovative game play, the unique episodic game structure, the advanced physics or the return of a ground-breaking protagonist recast in the modern era, Alone in the Dark holds something for players willing to take on the mysteries and dangers at the heart of Central Park.
Product Description Uncover the earth-shattering secret hidden in New York's iconic Central Park in Alone In The Dark. History records that Central Park was built on a useless swamp, yet as the New York City skyline hurtled towards the sky over the last 150 years, making the city the most expensive real estate in the world, the park has remained untouched. Why? Civic pride? Perhaps, but the recent strange happenings in and around the park are casting doubt on that, doubts that require investigating. Edward Carnby, Paranormal Investigator is looking for answers to the strange events and horrific creatures reported in and around the park, but gets more than he bargained for when all the mysteries and terrors of the park spill out over the course of one apocalyptic night. It's your task to avoid the new frightening dangers of the park as you search for the answers to what these supernatural occurrences mean and why they are happening.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
This game should be alone in the dark... December 27, 2008 Christina A. Young Well first let me start out, I had some high expectations for this game. I had not been a big fan of the series but I had figured this new game would warm me up to it.
This wasn't the case.
Graphic-wise: It's the standard average for a PS2 game. Nothing terrible, but nothing spectacular. I'm assuming it would be better on the PS3 or Xbox360, since they have better graphics.
Soundtrack: This is perhaps the only positive feature this game has. It had some beautifully composed moments on some scenes.
Gameplay: I found the game anything but entertaining. It felt more like a chore trying to get through levels where most of the time your obstacles are just booby traps or exploring through dark-lit locations. There are monsters here and there but they don't exactly add anything to the game. They felt more like extras. Even the boss fights consist of shooting like crazy until they fall--you'd think there would be a strategy involved since nearly the levels have strategies you need to develop to get by them.
There was nothing unique about the game that I saw made this game Alone in the Dark. It felt like an average PS2 action game you'd pick up on the shelf. Or leave on the shelf for that matter..
Story: Left much to be desired, in my opinion. The game began off at an interesting point where our hero encounters bad luck from the start but then it just went downhill from there. The characters do nothing to move the story along and were far from interesting and became boring/annoying very quickly. Edward himself hardly speaks most of the time in the game.
The story dragged on for me. I was at first interested to find out what was going on, but the levels and obstacles you had to get through to get answers and continue the story was not worth the time. The challenges are distracting and make you lose interest in playing really fast. The story could've been better played out.
After having finally beat the game, I was rewarded with more questions and a disappointing plot ending.
Technical Issues: When they say "Alone in the Dark" they aren't kidding!! The levels were so incredibly darkly-lit. Even when I turned my television brightness up, it hardly made a difference. This game didn't have a brightness control option so for the entire game I was running around blind. Not enjoyable whatsoever.
There were also moments the sound just dropped a few levels during the game. So I had to turn up the volume a lot of times.
Most of the other reviews here have touched up on the other technical issues.
Overall: Weighing out everything about this game, it's not worth the time or money. The only reason it's survival-horror is because of how incredibly bad this game is. To satisfy your curiosity, I suggest RENTING this game!!! Then whichever you decide to do next is up to you. For me, I'm grateful that I didn't spend my hard-earned money on this.
Dying Alone In The Dark December 18, 2008 LBOSS (USA) I think this is the lowest rating I've ever given any game. No matter how many times I attempted to play this game, I ended up dying, stuck, or just plain frustrated and bored. The sad thing is, is that I can see how this could've been a good game.
For example, the player should have the opportunity to save whenever and where ever he or she feels compelled to do so. This way, dying wouldn't feel so emotionally painful. Also, being able to free roam without being attacked would have been nice and could've saved the game for me.
The best feature of this game is the "Chapter Selections" option. But, that's not saying much when all you do is either stand there like a jack a** out of confusion or die over and over again. Shucks. Like I mentioned above, you can't even free roam in peace.
For those of you who can handle it, AITD could possibly be a fun game to explore, but as for me, I don't have the patience to keep dying over and over again only to be resurrected to the same old senseless death or even worse, feeling a bit confused for not always knowing what to do next.
Alone In The Dark Left Me Alone In The Dark August 10, 2008 Killamanjaro (Palo Alto, CA USA) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been a gamer for years... 36 years to be exact and this game was filled with innovative promise. I don't even know where to begin on how bad this game is. Woulda given it half to no star but that was not possible.
The concept is there... the gameplay, controls etc. is not. Even the storyline is a bit lack luster. I have worked for gaming companies and know what goes into making a single game... A LOT from start to finish.
Perhaps Atari needs to revamp their development teams or pack it up, go out of biz and take a vacation...
This is the worst game for the PS2 I have ever played and if it were possible to get my money back, I would. I might even ship it back to Atari.
Don't buy it.
A forever gamer, till the day I die.
Pretty BAD July 12, 2008 A. Griffiths (London) 8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Oh dear...this is the lowest score I have given to a PS2 game for a long time. Alone In The Dark on the PS2 fails really glaringly in many ways, and provides a thoroughly unsatisfying game experience.
The game is a kind of action/survival horror story, with you playing as Edward Carnby, trapped in a collapsing and monster-filled New York. Right from the start the controls will baffle you, and they conspire against you having any decent fun at every single opportunity.
Yes it's that bad. The game is almost unplayable due to the terrible, unresponsive and sometimes downright un-useable control system. Nothing works well. In several chapters, Carnby has to climb up and down ropes and swing about to reach ledges. The implementation of this makes it impossible to judge when to let go. Then there are the car driving sections...awful cars that don;'t even drive in a straight line even when you don't push the L-stick at all, and which spin off into instant death at the slightest clipping of any obstacle. Then there's the fighting...a gun that can only be fired in 1st person. Melee weapons that can only be swung in 3rd person. And both with a real time lag. Then there's the camera, constantly wobbling and bouncing around behind Carnby's head. You can't see the scenery or anything very clearly, let alone where you are running. Thank heavens the 3rd person viewpoint actually keeps still. Then there's the inventory...all in your pockets which you have to look in and pick things out of. Then there's the first aid packs and general healing. How does this work? I don't even know. And then there is...eyes-closed mode. Oh my god. Words fail me when trying to describe how terrible this is. You try keeping the R3 button held down without actually tipping it from side to side. And right at the end of the game theres a perilous twisting catwalk with instant death drops at each side to traverse, that you can only SEE in eyes-closed mode. I can guarantee you will be screaming. Screaming for your money back, probably. I'll say this though, the game designers have been fiendish in making you work out exactly what you have to do. There are no clues. Walk into a museum with a couple of monsters in it and there is no way out. Not a single clue. Walk into a factory where the floor is covered with deadly slime. "Use the spotlights" some helpful dame says. How? The panel has no instructions on it. And worst of all is the saving...save spots are at set points, and if you die somehow you often have to go back and do some tortuous skill-based action sequence over and over again, as many of the set-pieces are trial and error based. Hideous.
Now that just leaves the graphics, and these are no champions either. Characters are blocky and awkward. Carnby has this awful gaunt square-jawed hero face that looks really ugly. I have seen better graphics on PS2 games from five years ago! The collision detection is awful, and Carnby was forever teetering on invisible cliff edges or falling off when he should have been standing safely.
But I persevered and played it right to the end, bracing myself for a very uncomfortable finale...but let me tell you though, I was gobsmacked by the feeble winding up of the game. I actually thought I had got the "bad" ending and had missed out an entire final level. But no...a final nail in the coffin. Oh well at least I was happy that I could stop playing it.
Sorry folks, but this game is a stinker. Games are supposed to be about fuin, and with everything that's wrong here. Alone in the Dark is no fun at all.
RENT IT FIRST, BUT DONT BUY!!!!!!!!!! July 10, 2008 Jose Luis Sepulveda (USA) 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
LIKE I SAID, DONT BUY THIS GAME! IT TOTALLY SUCKS. I WAS ALL HYPED UP AND WAITING FOR THE RELEASE OF THIS GAME BUT I WAS TRULY DISSAPOINTED! THE CONTROLS ARE SO DIFFICULT TO GET USED TO AND THERE ARE SOME PARTS IN THE GAME WHERE IT GETS FRUSTRATING. I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA HAVE CONTROLS LIKE THE ORIGINAL GAME RELEASED ON THE PLAYSTATION 1. THE CAMERA ANGLES ARE ALSO HORRIBLE. SO PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME OR IF U WISH TO CHECK IT OUT, RENT IT AND SEE FOR YOURESELF. DONT THROW 40.00 DOWN THE DRAIN LIKE I DID AND I WISH I WOULD HAVE NEVER PURCHASED THIS CAUSE THERES NO REFUNDS FOR OPENED GAMES!
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