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""Alone in the Dark 2 - Great Potential, but a Big Mess""

Introduction

Alone in the Dark 2 is the sequel to one of the first and best horror games ever made. While the graphics of the Alone in the Dark Trilogy are laughable by today's standards, they were very pioneering and impressive for its time. There are moments in these games that make you jump, situations that scared your pants off, and puzzles that are incredibly satisfying to solve.

Private Detective Edward Carnby, the same man that survived Derceto Mansion in the first Alone in the Dark, is back to investigate the disappearance of both a little girl named Grace (same girl from the game "Jack") and another investigator, Striker. The location of Alone in the Dark 2 is Hell's Kitchen, a mansion near the sea where both Grace and Striker are thought to be. You'll be fighting you're way into the mansion, finding Grace and Striker, and blasting you're way out again, all the while being pursued by gangsters, pirates, ghosts, and more.

Storyline: 9/10

Not bad at all. They actually go into detail on not only the plot, but they have books throughout the game that describes the backgrounds and strengths of the bosses and other characters throughout the game. In my opinion, I came to like all of the good characters - the not-so-athletic Striker, the fearless Grace (seriously, she is one brave little girl), and the classy Edward Carnby. Oddly enough, the only person they never explain is Grace. They eventually explain why they kidnapped her, but not from where or anything else for that matter.

Overall, the storyline was pretty good. Not as deep as the first Alone in the Dark, but still pretty good.

Graphics: 9/10

For its time, the graphics were amazing. Most of the graphics are just as good as the first Alone in the Dark. The monsters are a lot more recognizable and well done. The game also includes photos and storyboards, which are all well drawn and do enhance the game. The backgrounds are pre-rendered like in the previous game, but now many of the objects

There weren't too many shortcomings in the graphics department. The taxi in the beginning of the game noticeably lurched a lot, when the car in the original Alone in the Dark did just fine. In my opinion, Carnby's all-blue outfit took a big downgrade from his snazzy suit in the first game, which is ironic since everyone else's got a significant wardrobe upgrade. Both of these are very minor, and detract very little from the game.

Sound: 7/10

The music may be nice and most sound effects work well, but the voices in this game are hysterically BAD! Whenever an enemy sees you, they'll shout after you in a variety of ways that just aren't scary. The only voice that I would consider scary would be the "Hey You" that sounds like Michael Jackson speaking in a soft voice (creepy). I'm not sure if they were purposefully trying to make the voices bad, or if that's just how it turned out.

Gameplay: 2/10

Let's start with the positives first. Alone in the Dark 2 allows interaction with the environment in a way that, up until this time, wasn't matched. You could pick up, push, and otherwise interact with most of the items around you. Often, there's more than one solution to an obstacle. If there are too many enemies in one room, you can often use poison, explosives, or other methods to thin their numbers. There is a sense of accomplishment in figuring out one of the game's puzzles. As for the fights, it's often fun to lay ambushes for enemies that are otherwise stronger. Even when they outnumber you or have more firepower, you can use terrain or footwork to defeat them.

Unfortunately, what hinders this game from being one of the best is that it's frustratingly glitchy. The single biggest pain is trying to push ANYTHING. You supposedly have to be in the right position for it to work, but there are objects that I circle, trying to push at every possible angle, for twenty minutes (I'm not lying), and still having zero success. Even some objects that I've successfully moved in previous games won't budge at all even though I know where I should be standing and where it should move.

There have been other glitches that have forced me to start the game completely over would be spoilers for me to go into detail on. Thrown weapons get stuck behind objects, then randomly come loose later and kill you (you'll know what part I'm talking about when you get there - apparently it happens every time to most people). Certain items, when dropped on the ground, can't be picked up, and you can't walk over them. I unknowingly blocked myself from getting back through a doorway because I left an item like this in the way, and had to start the game completely over because of it.

Alone in the Dark 2 involves has a lot more shootouts than its predecessor, which sounded pretty cool at first. Unfortunately, many of the shootouts in the game were nightmares simply because:

- The camera angles used during these shootouts are designed to look cool, but prevent you from seeing your enemy. Unfortunately, you're enemy always sees you, so there are many instances where you're being shot from off screen with no way to defend yourself besides running around hoping to get a better camera angle.
- If you're lucky enough to get an angle that lets you see the enemy, you have no reticule or other way to know where you're aiming, so you just point the gun in their general direction and start spraying. Hopefully, you can see where the bullets are hitting behind the enemy, then adjust your aim accordingly.

The only reliable solution to this was to get the enemies attention, then lure them somewhere where you have a good angle or you can shoot them as they come around a corner.

Overall, if the game had taken care of its glitches, it would have been quite a fun game.

Replayability: 2/10

What makes the desire to replay the game low is knowing that I'd have to go through the glitches again. I ended up trying to replay the game anyway, since my brother and sister wanted to see it. However, we got stuck over and over and the parts with the glitch pushing. I ended up trying to push a barrel unsuccessfully for fifteen minutes when my siblings got bored and left (I'd successfully pushed it on my first time through after much painstaking effort, and knew where to push and where it needed to go, but to this day I haven't been able to get that barrel to budge again).

Overall: 5/10

It's strange. I really like this game yet I am incredibly frustrated with it at the same time. Many aspects of it are great, but the glitches make it a nightmare at times. You get into it enough to want it to progress, but then you simply can't. It's worth playing as long as you understand that you may get frustrated and even completely blocked from proceeding at several points.

If the glitches were resolved, I would boost the grade to 8/10 or 9/10, easily.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/09

Game Release: Alone in the Dark 2 (US, 09/25/94)