Product Description

Region Free, Will Play On Any 360 Console System

Central Park is hiding a secret. Built as a safe haven not only for the people of New York, but for something else entirely. The vast parkland has been protected by generations of guardians while the most expensive city in the world reached skyward on its fringes. Now the truth can no longer be contained, and paranormal investigator Edward Carnby finds himself inexplicably cast into the eye of the storm as over the course of one apocalyptic night he must uncover the earth-shattering secret behind Central Park. New York will never be the same again.

• Central Park - One of the worlds most iconic and best loved urban landmarks has been accurately reproduced using satellite data and thousands of photographs
• Captivating Story - The story reveals the conspiracy behind Central Park and challenges beliefs on the afterlife based on ideas and theories drawn from real-world spiritual philosophies
• Narrative Intensity - Taking cues from blockbuster TV drama's, the story is told in a TV season-style narrative structure to deliver maximum intensity throughout, keeping the player hooked
• Real-World Rules - Revolutionary technology brings a new level of environmental interaction to the gameplay where anything you could do is real-life, you can do in the game
• Immersion - The player is plunged into the heart of the action in real-time with full movement control, in-game inventory system, on-body damage and healing system, and physiological effects
• Photographic Rendering - Edens proprietary Twilight technology and rendering engine create a lavishly detailed game world with highly realistic and advanced cinematographic effects including depth of field, camera focus, numerous light sources, moisture, reflections and high dynamic range effects.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1900 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Atari
• Released on: 2008-06-20
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.co.uk
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. .

Stunningly spooky views of NYC. .

The odd wildlife of Central Park. .

A whole new inventory system. .

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 favour 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.

Manufacturer's Description
Central Park is hiding a secret. Built as a safe haven not only for the people of New York, but for something else entirely. The vast parkland has been protected by generations of guardians while the most expensive city in the world reached skyward on its fringes. Now the truth can no longer be contained, and paranormal investigator Edward Carnby finds himself inexplicably cast into the eye of the storm as over the course of one apocalyptic night he must uncover the earth-shattering secret behind Central Park. New York will never be the same again.

Customer Reviews

An exercise in frustration
I have been looking forward to this game for such a long time and got it today as a present. I just played it for a couple of hours and I am totally disappointed. The control system is awkward at best with the camera swinging around all over the place. It seems to take an age for the controls to respond to anything and it feels very clumsy.

Also there are points in the game (and I am not very far in at all) where you have no idea what it is you are supposed to be doing. I have got to a point where you are supposed to get to a security guard and have blundered about for about an hour before giving up and switching off the Xbox.

The graphics and physics are great - which is just about all the game has to offer really.

It would probably be better on the PC as it seems that a mouse/keyboard combination may be a better control system than the Xbox controller.

I doubt I will bother to play this again, so it is destined for trade-in already.

I would suggest that you rent this before buying.

*EDIT - to add insult to injury... I gave this game another go today and it seems that the fancy graphics and physics works the Xbox a little too hard. For the first time ever I got the dreaded RROD (Re Ring Of Death) while playing this game!

Great interactive tech demo - but a very poor game.

The on-foot sections are admittedly quite fun, although the controls are needlessly complicated - and this is from somebody who has played through all the old Resident Evil and Silent Hill games.

But the driving sections are just too terrible for words! They are frustrating to control and and the total lack of checkpoints during these sections wasted hours of my life that I'll never get back. I felt like Eden games were having some kind of joke at my expense.

Perhaps it was for failures such as this, that they implemented a DVD-style menu system, which allows the player to select differnt Episodes and sequences within each episode. So if you get stuck in a section, you can just move onto the next.

The thinking behind this was supposedly to allow all players to be able to finish the game. But you're not finishing the game if you've skipped half of it! If they really wanted players to see the end of the game, then why did they not simply include an easier difficulty setting?

I think the real reason for this implementation, was in the hopes that players would use it to see more of the game's set-pieces. The other reason for this was to aid in presenting the game as though it was a season of a TV show, and in this respect, it does it rather well. There is even a 'Previously on Alone in the Dark' section, when you load a game in.

I waited a year in excitement for this game! I eagerly devoured all the videos and tech demos, which seemed to suggest that this game was getting back to what I like most about survival horror games, but in the end, Eden seemed to manage to screw it up in ways I wouldn't even have thought existed! That these monumental screw-ups exist alongside some very good ideas makes the game even more disappointing, because you can't help see what could have been.

Perhaps if they had spent less time making tech demos and more time making an actual game, things may have been improved.

Another problem is the inventory. The way it works is actually quite clever, but the fact that the game does not pause while you are using it, can lead to a lot of frustration, while you fuble around while enemies close in.

I know that in real life it wouldn't pause while searching your pockets, but then again, in real life, you would be able to move and avoid attack whilst doing so. Not pausing while in the inventory may be realistic, but it is not fun.

It's a real shame too, because the story is quite compelling. If this was actually turned into a TV series, I'd SO watch it!

I shelled out for the Limited Edition, and now I just feel as if I have been mugged. What a joke.

The only good thing about this game, apart from the creative puzzles, was the excellant soundtrack.

I'd rather play ObsCure or Alone in the Dark - The New Nightmare, than this new abomination any day.

Now I'm going to have to wait, and hope that Silent Hill Homecoming or Resident Evil 5 hit the spot. Maybe Alan Wake will fill the Alone in the Dark-shaped void - if it ever materialises that is.

Either way, for the sake of your sanity - AVOID ALONE IN THE DARK!

What's the fun if it was easy?
Now I might be a masocist, but I loved the game. Yes I have lost many an hour trying to drive to Central Park, but I can now do it it 2 or 3 trys now (and aint I proud lol) and going round the park killing deadly trees does take up time (specially when I hadn't worked out I could use the GPS in the menu... duh!) But in all it is strangely satisifying to complete, they always say the best things are worth fighting for *tries not to put tongue in cheek*

I think the reason I loved it... apart from great graphics, story.. yadda yadda yadda, is that it actually takes you time to master the control and to complete. I am fed up of games that take me 2 days to finish and I haven't once wanted to throw my console out of the window.... Alone in the Dark makes you want to do that about every 10 minutes... how satisfying lol

So if your a masocist with too much time on your hands with double glazzing ~so you can never actually get the console out the window, you will love this game!!!!