Metareview -- Alone in the Dark (Euro edition)

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jun 20th 2008 at 1:30PM }

Early reviews of Atari's anticipated frightfest, Alone in The Dark, have generated quite a bit of controversy. A couple of 3/10s will do that, most of all when the publisher's scorn comes from the suspicion that said European articles were based on preview or pirated code. Though several other sites have now chimed in with their thoughts and less dire scores, Eden's efforts seem to have fallen just short of the game's ambition and promise. It seems everybody wanted to love Alone in The Dark, but had their feelings rebuked by clumsy controls and obvious padding to the game's length.

Xbox World 360 (73/100): "As much as Alone In The Dark deserves to be criticised for its problems, it equally deserves to be lavished with praise for some outstanding ideas and set-pieces. A gracious failure, AITD should stand as a lesson for other developers to see what they should be striving for."
Eurogamer (70/100): "The problem is that every time you get excited about Alone in the Dark, it shuts you down. At times it's akin to Atari's Boiling Point: Road To Hell of three years ago; throw any score on the ten-point scale and it will stick to something, but there's so much friction on the lower end that it's often impossible to pull away and remember when you brushed past genius. You want to love it, but it just keeps letting you down, and in the end that's the impression that sticks to the wall and stays there."
Gamer.nl (50/100): "The game can be compared to an aggressive puppy without potty training. You want to keep him so badly, but every time it seems to go right, it bites, scratches and shits on your carpet." (Translation)

Tags: Alone-in-the-Dark, Atari, Eden, Survival-Horror

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

OMGOMG @ Jun 20th 2008 1:35PM

I'm still going to check this out. Developers should get praise for trying something different.

J @ Jun 20th 2008 9:33PM

Isn't it strange how when a game gets a lot of hype and then scores 10's... ooh it's cause of the hype and doesn't deserve the 10's. But when a hyped game gets low scores... ooh it's cause the hype made expectations too high.

And what is my point? I'm actually not too sure.

I think I'm trying to say that hype doesn't seem to make that much of a difference in scores. If the game is amazing, MGS4, it'll get 10's... if it's not, HAZE, it will get low scores.

There are exceptions, like when gamespot gave ratchet & clank tools of destruction a 70... They learned their lesson. Once you lose credibility, give the same scores as the more credible sites until ppl forget or forgive your sins.

Sorry OMGOMG, for using your post to get my post at the top of the page. aaaand thank u. If it helps, I totally agree with you. You're super.

J @ Jun 20th 2008 10:00PM

lawlz my post got deleted. how about this:

I totally agree with you OMGOMG. It's a shame how it seems that hype can make or break a game. People blame hype for making expectations too high causing the game to be a failure, and blame it when games are scored too high.

The best way is to see the game for yourself. I remember how much i loved mario kart 64 and bomberman 64, and at that time i was too young to care or know about reviews. I didn't realize it received poor reviews. Those were simpler times.

What's very unfortunately about these low reviews is that the INNOVATIVE aspects of this game that you brought up, OMGOMG, will most likely not be reused in future games since this game as a whole is now seen as a disappointment. If there were very few good games out right now, i would give this game a try, but since that's not the case, I can't afford to.

You say they deserve credit for trying. I agree, but with a high production/high cost game like this, the only credit that matters is from my credit card, figuratively speaking. Without it, they're fucked.

better ludwig? I respectfully ask you not to delete my post this time, and I apologize for the previous one. And I apologize again to OMGOMG. I don't even comment that often so you can't say i'm shooting for attention.

J @ Jun 20th 2008 10:02PM

ah fuck it

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 20th 2008 1:36PM

Well... less money to spend.

Cyro @ Jun 20th 2008 2:01PM

Some how I should be happy about that, but I'm not.. :/

FOXHOUND @ Jun 20th 2008 2:28PM

The Gamer.nl review pretty much sums up all the rest, and then some. :\ Well, I guess there's still THE CONDUIT and that SinCity lookin' game(forgot the title)...

Co @ Jun 20th 2008 4:27PM

Way to give this game a fair shake, Fern.

God forbid gamers play the game themselves.

Jakka @ Jun 20th 2008 7:29PM

Well, if the game was hyped as much as other horror games...BioShock for example,the scores would probably be a lot more 80-90ish.I guess Atari couldn't afford to reskin these websites with AitD ads.

And imho, I'm rather interested in the opinions of actual gamers who have played the game.

Martez @ Jun 20th 2008 1:37PM

Too bad they seemed to miss the mark, but it's still good to hear they made a solid effort. I'll still check it out.

NATO_Duke @ Jun 20th 2008 1:42PM

I know I will check this one out, but at the same time I know that I really want to like this game. So its sad to see that it didn't live up to the expectations.

Jhongerkong @ Jun 20th 2008 1:43PM

Atari's probably shitting bees right about now.

PojoMofo @ Jun 20th 2008 1:44PM

nah, nah, nah, nah
nah, nah, nah, nah
hey, hey, hey goooodbyeeeee

Nice knowing you Atari

klitorisaurus @ Jun 20th 2008 2:20PM

Cyro @ Jun 20th 2008 2:22PM

-1

Jhongerkong @ Jun 20th 2008 2:34PM

±1

Maverick Saturn @ Jun 20th 2008 1:53PM

Meh ¬_¬ There goes my excitement, I'll rent.

killploki @ Jun 20th 2008 2:03PM

anyone who avoids a game or movie based on what a reviewer says is an idiot.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 20th 2008 2:05PM

So are you saying I should play the 50 Cent game because it would be wrong to avoid a game that got so many 0-5 scores?

arrrgh @ Jun 20th 2008 2:05PM

what about multiple reviewers?

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 20th 2008 2:16PM

You know, part of me agrees. The part of me that had $60 ready in waiting for Haze. Meanwhile, reviews warned me. A friend of mine, the person who isn't an idiot like myself, avoided the warnings and snagged his copy anyway. A week later, he told me the reviews were right. Now I still have interest in playing Haze, but more like a $20 game, rather than a $60.

I use reviews to tell me WHEN to buy, not WHAT to buy and often a bad review is every bit as informative (sometimes more so). THESE reviews are telling me "wait for the $30 pricepoint." I still want to play it. After all, what else in the genre do we have? An American Company proving they know fuck all about Silent Hill (seriously, Pyramid Head is in Homecoming... INSTAFAIL), the creator of Silent Hill remaking Siren, and Resident Evil 5 coming out sometime maybe this year.

Alone in the Dark may be a bad survival horror game, but when the pickins are this slim, sometimes you gotta slum.

killploki @ Jun 20th 2008 2:58PM

i never said you had to rush out and buy a game, but at least give it a chance with a demo or rental if it interests you at all. decide for yourself if its a game you get enjoyment from, not what someone who might have different tastes in games tells you what to do.

Mr Khan @ Jun 20th 2008 2:59PM

I never listen to reviews, which i suppose is a risky way to roll, but i've only been disappointed twice, i suppose (Pokemon TCG for GB, and the original Crystal Chronicles)

even with new IPs, new franchises or whatever, the vast majority of my uninformed purchases, or gut purchases have panned out

NATO_Duke @ Jun 20th 2008 3:36PM

Saying people are idiots is a bit extreme don't you think? Not everybody is an in-touch blogger or has the demos to play. In fact, I sure dont see a demo of this game for me to try.

phobic99 @ Jun 20th 2008 2:03PM

Hmm an aggressive puppy that shits on the carpet huh? Guess I'll wait until it's under $40.

J @ Jun 20th 2008 2:10PM

get off my ice!

el serpiente @ Jun 20th 2008 2:50PM

Snowjob...heh...best GI Joe name ever...

cc123 @ Jun 20th 2008 2:03PM

Shame. Will still give it a shot during a quiet period.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 20th 2008 2:03PM

I knew this was going to turn out badly, and sometimes I hate when I'm right. This would be one of those times.

kataztrophy @ Jun 20th 2008 2:05PM

Over/Under: 3 years till Atari closes down for good.

Wilhelm @ Jun 20th 2008 2:16PM

Damn... it looked so good too. Well, hopefully they come out with a demo, or else I guess I'll just rent it.

todd @ Jun 20th 2008 2:17PM

Oh well, cancel reserve.

klitorisaurus @ Jun 20th 2008 2:20PM

Sure makes the PS3 delay much easier to swallow.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 20th 2008 2:26PM

Goes down well with whine.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 20th 2008 2:27PM

goes down well with whine.

Frojo @ Jun 20th 2008 2:23PM

well i just pre-ordered this last night so it better deliver.

I'll sell it after i beat it for BF:BC but i still really want to play it.

Tim The Enchanter @ Jun 20th 2008 2:54PM

Sorry to say, but sounds like you're just lining up the disappointments. I hope for your sake BF BC is good.

Frojo @ Jun 20th 2008 3:36PM

yeah well sometimes games are just simple fun, i'll just have to ignore my critical side

Phylicus @ Jun 20th 2008 8:46PM

BF: BC is fantastic because of the multiplayer. The SP campaign is "meh" at best. But it does everything in the MP perfectly. The demo only comes with one map and one MP mode and I just stopped playing after 13 hours.

It's just that good.

Frojo @ Jun 20th 2008 9:31PM

Yeah i know about battlefield, i played it basically for three days straight when the demo came out, even with the lag it was fantastic.

riggs @ Jun 20th 2008 2:28PM

sticky tape ftl :(

Professor Lario @ Jun 20th 2008 2:55PM

Too bad. Looks like I'll get Condemned 2 instead.

Mr Khan @ Jun 20th 2008 3:02PM

Bad news for Atari, i suppose. Though many will still buy it

It was a bold idea, and a fitting continuation for one of the first 3D horror titles

Neptune @ Jun 20th 2008 3:17PM

Truly a shame. I had high hopes for this game.

PSN & GAMERTAG: jorojoserojas - Wii FC: 0749-8609-3752-6926 @ Jun 20th 2008 3:31PM

I'm usually a review follower, especially considering how much it costs to be a gamer...

...but for some reason, this game still intrigues me. My attention is already captured, so I just have to check this out.

I appreciate all the work that went into the development, I guess.