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A Winning Mix of RE and Silent Hill

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Although the Alone in the Dark series gets credit for being the originator of survival horror, Capcom's Resident Evil franchise took it to the mainstream. Now, with the release of The New Nightmare, Infogrames and Darkworks tip their hat to RE, as well as Komani's Silent Hill, and the result is a game thick with atmosphere containing all the good and bad points of typical survival horror.

AITD looks fantastic. The backgrounds are prerendered, but your character (you get a choice of two, each with separate yet overlapping adventures) wields a flashlight a la Silent Hill, but everything in the game is capable of being illuminated in real-time light and shadow. The effect is astonishing, and contributes masterfully to the ambience. Some creatures fear the light while others are drawn to it, making combat more strategical than merely blasting everything that moves. Add that the flashlight is movable via the analog stick while walking, and you have a wonderful graphical achievement.

Edward Carnby returns to investigate a friend's death on Shadow Island, and he's suitably equipped with all kinds of delicious weaponry (a triple-barreled shotgun??? Yes please!). The other selectable character, Aline Cedrac, isn't so heavily armed, and her adventure relies more on puzzle-solving. Some of the puzzles are needlessly vague, but in the end more realistic than Resident Evil (no helpfully labelled keys this time) and fit better into the overall game structure. Control is clunky, voice acting is grin-inducingly cheesy, and the menu interface is a bit complicated, although helpful on-screen icons indicate ammo count and remaining life during battle - a welcome change.

Not since Silent Hill has a game sounded so eerie. Faraway shrieks, nearby rustlings, a minimalist soundtrack all create a murky experience that is truly unsettling. Sometimes sounds will fade noticeably (the rainfall disappears during thunderclaps, for example), but Darkworks knows how to creep you out, sonically and visually.

Amazingly, the DC version of New Nightmare is cheaper than the PlayStation version, yet is a far better game, due mostly to the improved visuals. Save for the light/shadow meshing technique, it does nothing revolutionary, but delivers an engrossing plot and fantastically creepy atmosphere. As the Dreamcast fades into the gaming sunset, gamers are lucky to have bargains like this. AITD is a marvelous creation of fear on two discs - far scarier and darker than Code Veronica - and any survival horror fan would be nuts to pass this deal up.

Makes "Code Veronica" look like a game by Disney

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: October 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

"Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare" pushes the graphic power of the Dreamcast to it's limits with the best graphics I've ever seen on any system. The control interface can be confusing but you get used to it quickly, and the lighting effects are simply amazing. When lightning strikes you feel your hair stand on the back of your neck, and the sound quality is very excellent, you can hear screams and footsteps from a few yards away, that alone is proof that Darkworks made this game as a labor of love. The only drawback is, and it is a big drawback, are the puzzles. The puzzles are incredibly confusing at times and do seem more tedious than challenging. That one flaw stops "Alone in the Dark" from being a Dreamcast classic. But at this price this is a must have for any fan of survival horror or any Dreamcast owner.

ALONE IN THE DARK:THE NEW NIGHTMARE

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: October 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

THIS GAME IS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO RESIDENT EVIL GAMES IN CONTROL AND PRESENTATION BUT WITH BETTER GRAPHICS AND MORE TERROR.IF YOU LIKE RESIDENT EVIL GAMES,THEN YOU WILL LOVE THIS GAME.

What a disappointment!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

What a disappointment. I had such high hopes for this game. First off, I don't see what all the fuss is about the "wonderful graphics." Frankly I've seen much better (read: Code Veronica). The frame rate is quite choppy at times, and the cut-scenes aren't much better. The characters faces are completely stagnant in many cut-scenes, the voices are flat and uninspired, and movement is done half-assed by using a blur effect when a character moves. The controls are substandard...granted you don't have a lot to work with in this genre, but Code Veronica had much more accurate and tighter controls. Also, people rave about great sound, and the sound was decent - when there was sound at all. Many parts of the game are completely silent. And as for the gameplay overall? Yawn. I was so bored by the game overall, and the lack of plot development, that I read through a walkthrough, just so I could finish the game faster. What a waste of money -- I'm trying to sell this one right now. Check out Switchouse if you're interested in forking over your money to me in exchange for this game that had serious potential. I'll send it over ASAP because I know that this game will be shelved permanently.

not very fun

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: October 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

this game kinda stinks. its mory scarey than it is fun. it just really isnt a whole lotta fun to play.

Last man standing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 7
Date: September 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Well, i guess you people haven't noticed it yet, but this game is pure terror. Yeah baby all blood!! for the old school Alone in the Dark fans, is a great time to remember a great game. I grew up playin' this game 24/7. I've already pre-ordered this game so you can tell how excited i am!

Shop

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 9
Date: February 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Sorry, my English is more or less, so...
Please, can you send me more informations about to buy yours products out of USA.

Thanks.

Put The Lights On

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: October 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Alone in the dark is one of the scariest games I have played. This game has some of the best graphics and sound effects I have ever heard. I was a little confused playing it but was able to figure it out very quickly with the clues. The feeling of being alone in the dark and having things jump out was like pure terror. It is a great game I would recommend it to anyone.

A pretty nice game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: October 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ill try to keep this simple for you.

Alone in the Dark is definately creepy, even more so than Resident Evil. The game is definatley VERY long and can wear you down. Without a walkthrough, the game is almost impossible! The graphics are amazing, though. The camera angles are the same as resident evil (one shot from the corner and things like that). The controls are basically hopeless. The next game they make, I hope that they'll make it easier to actually walk like a normal person. This game is for anyone who can stomach quick, scary action, and suspense. This game is pretty nice.

OMG THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVA!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: April 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

OMG my brother got this game for me and it is great! I dont know why you people are dissen this game giving it like 3 or 4 stars what the heck? Sure this game and be hard at times but what are ya gonna do sit there and cry? go buy the gameshark. but truley this game has the best graphics ever i mean there is one piont early early in the game where it shows a movie and a answering machine is one the desk, you cannot tell is that is video game likish it looks so real! YOU SHOULD GET THIS GAME RIGHT AWAY! (i am reffering to the Dreamcast version)

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