Alone in the Dark

On June 24, 2008 Atari will be releasing the newest iteration in the Alone in the Dark series of games. The game will be released for the PC, Wii, Xbox360, PS2 and PS3 (release date to be determined later).

Alone in the Dark has been around for a long time. The first game in the series was published in 1992 for the PC by Infogrames. In 1994 Interplay ported that game to the 3DO.

This game will be the fifth in the series and rumors abound that it will also see a release on the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP.

The last game in the series, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, was released in 2001. It is important to note that up until now every version of this game has been worked on by Infogrames. This new version is being created by Atari and Eden Games. Before you begin to wonder why that is I'll give you a very quick explanation: Infogrames owns a 51.2 percent stake in Atari and they have for many years.

In January of 2001 Infogrames (IESA) purchased Hasbro Interactive. By doing so they also acquired Microprose and Atari. In 2002 IESA also acquired the remaining 80% of game development studio Eden Games.

So, even though the game is not going to bear the name Infogrames it is still being developed by Infogrames.

Taking the fear to a new level, the next-gen Alone in the Dark features the macabre style of the series played with new gameplay mechanics and a broader-reaching, action-packed play style. Explore fully-interactive realtime worlds, interacting with physics and roaming the wide-open, fright-filled environments.

This next-gen Alone in the Dark is also built around a unique episodic game structure -- the story is split into a number of distinct 30-40 minute episodes, doled out one at a time as you play. Each time the player launches a saved game, the episode will begin with a video summary of the previous episode to quickly re-immerse the player in the story and removing the need to remember where they were or what they were doing. Every episode will close with a nail-biting cliff-hanger ending to rattle players’ nerves, and if the player is leaving the game a video teaser of the next episode will play to leave them wanting more.

Alone in the Dark