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Hey, everyone.  Yes, long time no see.  Almost two months of no internet with the execption of work, which is filtered so I could read the site, but not log in.  I know, I know, I was missed.  But fear no more!  I am back!  (bitches)

I just downloaded the new demo for Alone in the Dark.  Also, Mirror's Edge, of course, but that's not what I'm talking about tonight.  When this game was first announced, I was really excited.  I never had really played an Alone in the Dark game, but this just seemed too interesting.  So many good ideas and it really excited me.  However, I did not have an Xbox 360 at the time.  Although it ended up being a blessing in disguise.  From everything I read, the game apparently wasn't all that great.  Control and camera issues plagued it to the point it was unplayable.  Even through this it was acclaimed for it's innovation.

After many a bad review (over which Atari decided to try to get sue happy, but that's another story), it was decided that if they were going to release it on the Playstation 3, they would need to fix these problems.  Smart idea.

The demo starts at the beginning of the game, which reminded me of The Darkness.  Starts off first person, where you can't really see what's going on.  Of course, as the bad guys around you shove you awake and do their thing, it gives you the basics of how to move and what not.  The whole "blinking" mechanic might take me a bit to get used to.  No such thing as a camera issue anymore.  It works just as you expect it to with the right stick.  No problem.  It definetly brings some interesting ideas to the fold.  I did have some issues with lighting.  Even on the brightest setting, it was hard to see at times.  Sure, it's supposed to be "Alone in the DARK", but not "Alone and Where the Hell Am I Supposed to Go?  I Can't See a Damn Thing"

I did enjoy the use of the right stick to swing items and bash things.  It felt natural and something a little different.  It was all going well until I finally got out of the building I was stuck in.  That's when they made me drive.  Oh, god, why did they make me drive?

The driving controls were so loose that I felt as if I was playing Crazy Taxi, just with all the fun cut out.  Here's a hint: if you are going to make a crazy, action packed driving sequence, don't randomize the traffic.  Focus on making it action packed and fun.  Some of the traffic is controlled, but you'll randomly have another hit a bus, then decide to back up right in your path.  Not good.  As long as this doesn't continue to play a major part in the game, I'll forgive it, though.

The one thing I will not forgive is the voice acting.  Is it seriously this difficult to find a decent voice actor?  Even anime has decent English voice acting now.  And I haven't heard "fuck" used so uselessly so often since the first Yakuza game.  (again, context people.  Ask 'does it make sense?'  In this case, it doesn't)  All in all, it seems like it'll have to be a rental for me.  I definetly want to give the whole game a try, but probably not going to buy it.

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