It's pretty slim pickings for fans of survival horror on the Xbox 360. We've had a few third-person shooters, but the emphasis has always been on the shooting rather than the horror. Dead Rising gave us some of the inventory management and zombies that we've come to expect from the genre, but opted for a slightly more slapstick approach to violence. In many ways, Alone in the Dark is the first big survival horror game, featuring the prerequisite item management, skewed camera angles and screams in the dark. The good news for fans of survival horror is that it's got some truly brilliant moments that rank among the best that the genre has to offer, with some truly next-gen puzzles and brilliant set pieces. Unfortunately, Alone in the Dark is ultimately a victim of its own ambition, with a few half-baked ideas and sections dragging things down. Put up with those, and you'll find a game to love.

The premise of the plot isn't anything radically new, but it's a well-told story. You play amnesiac Edward Carnby as he wakes up in a dilapidated building next to Central Park in New York. He's about to be escorted to his execution by two evil henchmen types, but unsurprisingly, not all goes according to plan. The characterisation's solid, if a little Marvel comic book, and there are enough twists and turns to keep you interested. The plot's neatly split up into eight different episodes, complete with cliffhangers and twists at the end of each segment, and you'll get a handy recap everytime you load a save game. It's an innovative technique, which divides the game up into more digestible chunks very nicely.

What works

Alone in the Dark has a dizzying breadth of gameplay. You'll control Edward in the third person for exploration, but you shift into first-person for shooting. The best parts of the game are undeniably the puzzles. You'll often be forced to combine items in your inventory to solve elegant physics-based puzzles. They're pleasingly lateral- with a couple of exceptions you can figure the puzzles out by looking at what you've got in your inventory and what you can see, rather than having to go on a switch or keycard hunt. It's fantastic and great fun. As for combat, melee weapons are handled in third person, with your right analogue stick controlling the swinging motions of your weapon. It's a system with a nice visceral edge to it, and succeeds because it's a bit clumsy. Edward's not invincible, and the fights have an added tension to them because you're continually forced to run or find alternate means of dispatching your foes. You can also combine items in your inventory to create new weapons. For instance, if you can manufacture molotov cocktails by combining bottles with handkerchiefs and setting them alight, and even make them sticky by adding double-sided sticky tape. The set-pieces in the game are stunning as well, with Alone in the Dark's production values shining through.

What doesn't

The problem is, for every two ideas that work, there's one that really, really doesn't. The set-pieces, while impressive, often rely on you memorising sequences of events. The driving sections in particular are a mess. The sudden scripted sequences and the bizarre physics governing the car mean that you just have to memorise the route ahead in perfect detail and get lucky in order to survive. Be warned, for these sequences can drive you up the wall. Especially in combat, the camera system takes a lot of getting used to, with the shifts in perspective often feeling arbitrary. The fire mechanics of the game - for instance having to burn the foes in order to dispatch them- don't really work. Extinguishing the flames isn't particularly challenging and hunting around for a fire source to eliminate an enemy before it resurrects comes across as wearing rather than tense.
Additionally, especially for the puzzles, the third-person camera might be stylishly placed, but often fails to give a full view of the action. The inventory management just feels a bit too slow, with you having to go through your jacket to find different items. It's a cool touch first time round, but gets wearing quickly. Oh, and watch out because there's a hideous amount of padding to be found as well.

Ultimately, Alone in the Dark is one for dedicated gamers, for fans of the genre. If you can put up with some questionable design decisions, then you'll find a lot here to like. But be aware- it's not perfect by a long chalk and you'll occasionally have to put up with a myriad of frustrations to get to the good stuff. At the end of the day though, you have to have respect for a game that tries to do something new.

Related Posts:
Alone in the Dark review piracy kerfuffle
Phil Harrison manages to sell the episodic format for Alone in the Dark

Came straight to this page? Visit www.xboxer.tv for all the latest news.