France-based Infogrames released its quarterly financial report today, which attributed its rising revenues to high-profile hits Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit and Alone in the Dark. Prior to going on sale last month, the anime-based fighting game shipped 930,000 copies, and Eden Studios' survival horror remake moved 1.2 million copies worldwide.
The german videogame site 4players.de reviewed the new 'Alone in the Dark' game and gave 68%. Atari wasn't happy to hear that, and says that the review is based on a pirate downloaded version and is only set online to make profit through clicks. Atari wants to sue 4players about 50.000 € if they do not take the review offline. 4players didn't take it offline and 4players claim that they tested the final retail version.
Ever heard of Wind Waker Syndrome? It's that point in an otherwise majestic game where, for reasons obvious to nobody with even a modicum of common sense, a single game mechanic of such staggeringly misjudged magnitude comes along that you immediately want to sling your console out the window, write a stern letter to your local MP then spend the rest of the afternoon sobbing in the corner of your room in silent, endless frustration.
Scandinavian games site GameReactor (The Norwegian edition specifically) were one of the first to review Alone in the Dark. They gave it 3/10. Ouch. However, they then promptly pulled the review, and accusations of shady dealings were levelled against the site by Atari, who said that press copies had only been sent out the day before (the review has since been reinstated, and the 3/10 stands). Odd, seeing as many other European publications also had reviews go live this week, but whatever.
"Alone in the Dark is ultimately likeable, even lovable. Inventive, flexible, considered. It's stunning to look at it in places, too, and it's capable of classic gaming moments. The problem is that every time you get excited about Alone in the Dark, it shuts you down"
Alone In The Dark is shaping up to be one of the most compelling single-player experiences of the year. Strong narrative, gorgeous graphics and hugely flexible gameplay, constrained by highly scripted progression, put us in mind of last year's BioShock, and the comparison is not undeserved. Any fan of action-adventure or survival-horror should be mulling a pre-order for this one as its release date approaches.
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