Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

This game really scares me. Every details in this game look so real. The shadow of the character, lightning, thunder.

The character's movements are good. This game is like a horror movie.

Greatest horror game since Resident Evil.

(This is a review for the PS1 version)

This really is, or would be a GREAT resident evil clone if not for one thing: respawning enemies. Yup. Enemies will often respawn in this game.

Having a very limited set of resources such as ammunition or health pickups is a classic element of survival horror. Managing your resources in these type of games adds a layer of complexity to each playthrough. You have to consider: can you attack the enemy in this situation? Do you have the ammo? Or would dodging/running from the enemy in question be more wise? Can you come back later and clear the room out when you might have more ammo? This is where the "survival" part of the term or survival horror comes into play.

But because the enemies respawn in this game, that whole balance is completely ruined imho. In a good survival horror game from this era, the player will eventually become so skilled at conserving resources that they'll end the game with a surplus of ammo/health pickups. Here though, every time you start to amass a nice cushion of heath/ammo pickups, you'll wind up wasting it on enemies you didn't realize were going to respawn.

...and no, running past these enemies isn't as easy as it can be in other survival horrors because often you'll be in a very narrow corridor with no way to go forward down the hall without bumping directly into enemies. The game also does NOT have some sort of melee weapon (like RE's combat knife) to be there as an option when you're out of ammo. When you're out, you're screwed.

It kind of boggles my mind that these game developers CLEARLY understood what made games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil appeal to people. This game is ALMOST a classic. I love the pre-rendered backgrounds, the voice acting isn't laughable, and the story has a very nice Lovecraft vibe. I really want to love this game. You might even like this game, if nothing I've described above puts you off. But it's not for me. I need more balance in my survival horror.

Alone in the Dark was the first type of survival horror game way back in the early 90's but it was Resident Evil that got the genre really noticed but Alone in the Dark is known to be a great game. Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare is just as creepy and horrifying as the Resident Evil games and Silent Hill games since it has a creepy atmosphere, scary monsters, puzzles, books to read, guns with limited ammo and the camera changing at different angles. The enemies in this game can really make up jump since some can warp out of the shadows. Ammo has to be collected and used sparingly but a difference is that when aiming your gun an ammo meter shows at the bottom letting you know how many bullets are in your gun also you can walk very slowly when aiming. The game lets you chose between two characters, Edward Carnby and Aline.

If you're a fan of survival horror games then Alone in The Dark: The New Nightmare is one to look out for. 10/10

First off I would say this game's gunplay is a lot better than Classic Resident Evil games. You have two different aiming mode, one is a typical Survival horror aiming but this time you can move, the second is a full 3D aiming which allows you to aim at specific places. This alone makes the gameplay better than Resident Evil (In terms of shooting).

Moving and other stuff is the same as Resident Evil, you have tank controls, fixed camera, and a lot of backtracking.

Now the bad thing is that the gameplay is very clunky, even for a 2001 game. You get keys but there are no real clear information on where to use them, so I just ended up using the keys on every door to see which one it opens. The good thing is that most keys are just used once and they are gone. A bad thing is that you don't automatically use the keys so if you have more than one you will have to go to your inventory and press "use" on both keys to see if either works. This becomes tedious very early on. If you ever played the very first Metal Gear on the MSX, it is very similar to using keycards in that game.

Another bad thing is that the enemies are extreme bullet sponges. Unlike Resident Evil, enemies in The New Nightmare does not react to your shots (for example they don't really move back and they don't fall down). This is a problem because if there is an enemy or enemies in front of you, you can't run past them and have to kill them. You will spend an entire clip on killing one of these creatures. There is really no strategy, you can't aim for the legs, shoot them, and then run when they are down. Also enemies to respawn so it is very frustrating when you clean a room of enemies, then come back later to find them back there but this time you are low on ammo.

Another thing is the game isn't really scary (although there are some nice little jump moments). The reason is that these creatures aren't scary, they are inspired by Native American folklore and H.P. Lovecraft.

Anyways, this game is just "ok."

7/10

I have been a huge fan of survival horror, ever since I started playing Resident Evil for the PSX some four years ago. Since then, I have played through countless tired imitations...only a few of which captured the genuine atmosphere of the first RE. I used to play Alone in the Dark 1 and 2, and it became obvious that if any game was to give the genre the boost it needs, it would have to be the one that started it all...

So when AITD: The new nightmare was announced (it's been a while...), I was more than thrilled. So I took it home just last week and hoped for a revelation. Turns out Infogrammes were really devoted to making this a special game...still, they could have done better.

The graphics are simply great for a PS1 title. The lighting effects and the rendering used for the flashlight are extremely well done. The monsters look pretty decent...and the backgrounds rival those of RE3.

The gameplay is basic Resident Evil, altough the inventory screen does add some "new" features...you run around a deserted mansion and slowly discover what happened on Shadow Island. This brings up the story, and it is a very decent one. The only drawback is that you can guess the ending, and thus, the whole story after only an hour or so of gameplay.

My only real complaint would be the polygonal characters. They are very poorly animated (especially Aline Cedrac).

So I guess we'll have to wait for Silent Hill 2. I guess SH will be the game to lead survival horror beyond the B-Movies (however enjoyable they could be...)