Back at Comic Con 2008, I first heard about a game that was so realistic, and immersive they had done away with the HUD (Heads Up Display). I was told that this game draws you in so close, you can feel the horror. Alone in the Dark: Inferno is that game. This PS3 version is the “fixed” re-release of the game that was originally for XBox 360, PC, and PS2.

Alone in the Dark originated the 3D survival horror genre in 1992, and with this new release to revitalize the dated series. And please, if you’ve seen the film that was loosely based on this series, even though the Christian Slater movie was listed by the Guinness Book as the lowest grossing video game movie of all time, give this new 2008 game a chance.

Nitpicks:

Before we get into the breakdown and the highlights, let’s pretend we at ComicsOnline want to say mean things about games like those other sites and throw out a list of nitpicks. In the tradition of ComicsOnline, let’s call it a Top Five list…

1. Melee combat is a bitch. Call me ill-coordinated, but grabbing an object, running to a source of flame to light it, then swinging it at an enemy felt really hard and clunky in this game. I never got competent at it and I hated every time I had to melee with enemies.

2. The whole time I wanted headshots to kill the human demons. Maybe at least disable them for a while until I could burn them at my leisure?

3. The NPCs were pretty much all annoying. I really wanted to headshot them too.

4. My character seemed to have suffered some serious neurological damage. Beyond the inablility to swing chairs properly, the dude can’t seem to place two wires close together without touching them to save his life, literally.

5. I completely loved the driving scenes. This nitpick is that this game wasn’t finishable by staying in the car the whole time.

Breakdown:

Alone in the Dark: Inferno is an ambitious modern sequel to the original series of games where you play in modern times as the original protagonist, Edward Carnby, but the original trilogy was based in the 1920s. This puzzling fact gets resolved within the course of the game.

In Alone in the Dark: Inferno, you have the ability to change back and forth between true first person and third person, and each view is necessary for certain activities throughout the game. The game includes melee combat, shooting, and driving, and a heavy amount of both platforming and puzzles.

You begin as an amnesiac. You’re about to be killed by a group of men and you don’t know who they are or who you are, much less why they’re about to execute you. Before the homicidal henchman can take you out, a strange supernatural cataclysm begins to destroy the building you’re in. Strange living scars that echo those you see on your face when you look in the mirror are roaming the walls, ripping them apart and devouring any humans that get in their way. Soon, you find the walls of the high-rise room you are in crumbling away and you save yourself by grabbing hold of a grotesque protruding from the side of the building and realize as you look out across Central Park that the rest of the city is being ripped apart as well. It looks like the end of days has come and it seems like it has something to do with you, if only you could remember how or why…

In Alone in the Dark: Inferno, the game is split into easily digestible “episodes” like a TV show, complete with cliffhangers (like the one described above). In each, you learn more and more about yourself, your companions, and the nature of the supernatural disaster that is unfolding in Central Park. I won’t say any more about the plot, as an immersive survival horror game like this is truly spoiled by spoilers.

Highlights:

-The Driving parts Rock. the city is falling to Hell, perhaps literally, and you’ve got to steal a car and escape falling through the crust of the earth to your doom by driving like a bat outta Hell. As the National Champion of the original Carmageddon game, I think I have some authority when I say: Infogrames/Atari did it right; the driving scenes in Alone in the Dark: Inferno are simply awesome and a nonstop thrill.

-The Heads Down Display. To perpetuate the immersive environment, you have no real HUD, but if you look down at your body, you can see your “health meter” as the number and severity of wounds on your body. You can likewise open your coat and look down to check out your inventory by simply seeing what’s sticking out of your coat pockets and how many of each there are.

-The Fire is Impressively Realistic. And as fire is important to the game from beginning to end (it spoils nothing to tell you that the demons can only be killed by fire), it’s yet another thing that draws you in and immerses you further in the game.

-Object Combining. Want to make a molotov cocktail? Simply combine that bottle of alcohol with a handkerchief or a bandage and then light it with your lighter. Need to get more creative? Try combining bullets with gasoline, or placing double-stick tape on one of your IUDs to make sure they stay where you put them until you shoot them.

-An Excellent and Appropriate Musical Score. Like a great suspense or horror movie, (if you’ll excuse the pun) this game’s music hits all the right notes. It sets the scene in complement to the visuals and accentuates the mood.

-An All-Around Spooky Story. As it unfolds, you’ll learn that this Hell on Earth that has come to New York is every bit as biblical as it seems. And in the end, you’ll have a decision to make.

If you enjoy survival horror games, Alone in the Dark: Inferno is a great choice for your next one on PS3. And if you have a horror lover/gamer on your holiday gift list, this may be worth a look as well.

ComicsOnline gives Alone in the Dark: Inferno 3.5 out of 5 narrow escapes.