Derceto. Have you ever heard that name? No? But you should, if you are reading these pages. Derceto, in fact, is the location where kicks off one of the most popular sagas in video game history and answering to the name of Alone In The Dark. It was the year of the Lord 1992, when Infogrames offered to the public this first adventure dynamic style then popularized by Resident Evil and the protagonist, Edward Carnby (at the time, little more than a collection of pixels with a mustache and a handful of polygons), still has a hard core of fans - if you do not like Miss Croft and the soldier Snake - still quite numerous.
In recent times, the media in general have too wrapped up with a thoughtful embrace, telling us of the glories and wonders that would bring the game Eden Games in the gaming community; reshape a genre (see that of the Survival Horror) was the promise smaller. Combine the thrill of an FPS with the charm of an adventure, where in addition to the mouse, you must also squeeze your brains ... plus a wide choice of faculty, seasoned with a cinematic style to embarrass even the best Hollywood productions ... was, instead, the greatest promise. History, however, teaches us that, by large promises, often derive great disappointment (maybe it was just that, but transeat). Alone In The Dark has succeeded, at least in part, to dispel this myth? Let's find out from the beginning, which is always the best thing.
In this fifth installment of the series, set, "temporally speaking" in 2008, play as the aforementioned Edward Carnby, a man in the middle between Dylan Dog and Johnny Smith (just a little bit more handsome physically), which will be against his once again embroiled in a demonic plot-based monsters, dark characters a little nervous, demons, spirits and company hell in the city that never sleeps (see it in New York, even though I did not quest'appellativo never been clear, ndAleNet). In this case, the hub of all activities ectoplasmic and not in the American city seems to be the dear old Central Park ... and it's right there and in the surrounding areas - understood as sewers, hell realms, cathedrals and the like, that we, in as Edward, we firstly push back the forces of evil to where they came and at the same time, to discover the truth about some minor details (!), such as our incredible longevity. Things every day, so ... and to think that it all started with events just beyond the normal daily routine, such as a plague of insects, the genetic mutation of some plants and a mass migration of birds Yorkers .
From the very characters, or even before you start playing, the legacy from the console (in this case the Xbox 360), it is immediately obvious: not so much, as you might imagine, the options available in the video section (which are several ) and for mouse & keyboard settings, as well as the icons on the screen. Programmers have certainly lavished considerable efforts to adapt the incredible amount of moves that can run our hero to a first pad and a keyboard then, but in the end, the result has left us somewhat perplexed. Beyond the movement a little too woody all the characters of the game, so check with Edward keyboard with a pad that is really difficult and unpleasant. Not being able to rotate the camera with the mouse even paying any gesture that exiles from going straight like a caterpillar on a minefield, you must press the arrow keys, as well as those of movement. Although it may be nice to have as inventory the inside pocket of his jacket, it is equally unpleasant, however, having to press three buttons to use at least one object ... not to mention, various combinations of multiple objects: set up a third coat will be a demonic desire for all the gaming sessions. But, the number of keys (which, to be fair, in some games it is even higher), is more of an obligation to study too many combinations for actions that should be carried out "on the fly" as you shoot or break a door, which makes the game extremely cumbersome also the most experienced gamer. To contribute to the difficulty of movement, reach two other factors: the first is an imperfect management of collisions between polygons. The second, even more heavy, however, is the handling of the camera. Wielding a weapon, switching from third-person view (ie from behind), to the first: the result is that if an enemy moves, we'll be several seconds to find the right button to turn away and aim again ( Indeed, we are quite slow ...), or we will have to press the right button to switch to third-person view, then turn on ourselves and move at the same time, pull back the gun, aim ... in the hope that in the meantime , our enemies did not we already bitten.
Speaking of opponents, we can say that the park is quite diverse: bats, demons, zombies of various origin and nature, cracks in the wall ... well, there is enough to not get bored. Too bad the AI that drives them is the same as a pygmy marmoset, so do not expect wonders seen in FEAR .
One of the strengths of Alone In The Dark is the interaction with the environment, really 360 degrees. Almost every object reacts to what is happening on the screen - albeit with a few minor imperfections and we will be able to burn, move, break, break up a large part of what appears on the screen. Thanks to this flexibility ... physical, programmers have allowed us to deal with the various situations in more than one way. For example, in the pictures around, you should be noticing a good Edward in which the faces of black silt rather hungry and susceptible to heat and light. In this case, just to name one, there are more ways to break the deadlock: take a beam and burn it, or hold a light bulb (after throwing insults galactic to be able to put in the batteries) to create a corridor of light thanks which escape or even use the good old scotch to apply it on a chemical torches and create illuminated areas where to find shelter. Even the possibility of using an insecticide combined with a lighter as a kind of flamethrower, has its because ... well, the possibilities are many and all inherent inventiveness player's turn. Many are the puzzles in the game and we can say that the nature of the game is much more devoted to the resolution of puzzles of various kinds and nature, rather than the mere animal action.
Another of the fundamental characteristics of the game sponsored by Atari, is the division into chapters - almost all available now, the game itself. In short, thanks to the special menu, we will be able to choose which chapter of the game to run, jumping ones that seem the most boring or at least the most difficult. And the plot? Simply said: just like in a show at the beginning of each chapter we will see a "Previously on Alone In The Dark", in order to take stock of the situation and understand, in broad terms, what we missed in the chapters prior to that we have chosen to play. An idea that would not define it beautiful, it ugly, but rather, "special": undoubtedly, less accustomed to titles such as the one discussed today, will be very happy to have this opportunity.
To give a further small shock to the gameplay, the Eden Games have decided to include also the driving sessions. In some chapters of the game, in fact, we will sit, for example, at the wheel of a taxi flight to the Big Apple as the world around us, literally crumbles, but unfortunately the driving model is far from accurate and then these sessions will be reduced, in the end, the mere memorizing a route and turn the steering wheel at the right time.
On the purely technical, AITD is not exactly state of the art, even if there is' nothing that really kick up a fuss. The frame count remains stable in almost all situations, while the count of polygons has never, however, particularly high. All the characters suffer from arthritis (you can tell by the way they walk) and, compared to some locations very rich in detail - as in the episode set in the sewers, most of the time we will be moving in space as wide as graphically bare.
On the audio front, we note some interesting music, compared to SoundFX not really ... from top of the class.
In conclusion, we can say that the last but not least Atari product is a cauldron of good ideas, unfortunately cooked with a hint of concern ... a true, genuine sin.
comment
Alone, in the dark, it is not easy to write in a few lines what is Alone In The Dark, but above what could have been - and unfortunately it was not. A title that carries within itself a reminiscence of a saga that could be called immortal and that, to some extent, was destined to remain in the hearts of fans since its first incarnation, for a long time to come. The multiplatform title examined today suffers from a technical implementation is not perfect, which contrasts with some basic ideas very convincing. The plot, the story, the background of an epic capable of writing an important page and indelible in the annals of the game ... all these elements have been sacrificed on the altar of multi-platform and, to a lesser extent, marketing. Being in the dark, with a pad malfunctioning, it is not the most pleasant thing in the world. Too bad, really.
View other game at http://funnygamemania.blogspot.com