Not perfect, but pretty damn cool nonetheless.

User Rating: 8 | Alone in the Dark X360
I, for one, have been looking forward to AITD for a while now, but the some of the reviews that have surfaced left me a bit worried, I picked up the game anyways, and I can honestly say I am more than satisfied with the game. For one, the story is interesting bordering on compelling. It may seem like a typical good-vs-evil yarn, but the presentation and TV serial-like aspect makes the game far more interesting than some of the games that have come out recently. The voice work is cheesy at times, but it gets the job done and pushes the story along nicely. Plus, the graphics are good-looking for the most part, but there are some hiccups which turn to be noticeable annoyances.

The gameplay is what is going to polarize most. For my part, the controls take some getting used, since the game revolves around improvising weapons on the fly while trying to dodge some nasty looking baddies. Veterans of Silent Hill, Resident Evil, or any old-school survival horror might feel at home with the frequent fixed camera angles and tank-like movements. I am no such veteran, but the controls weren't overly complicated and I was moving around like a pro in no time. There's also a first person view, which I find the better than the third person, but it's not totally smooth and can chug along at times. However, the ability to create your own weapons like sticky bombs, mini-flamethrowers, Molotov cocktails, or improvise with existing weapons like pouring alcohol on bullets to make flaming bullets or piercing a car's gas tank and using it as large bomb makes the game stand apart from other games in the same genre. Not only that, but the crazy bossfights and option to approach any situation whatever way you want makes it that much more appealing. Plus, players can swing melee weapons about by using the right analog stick. You would move the stick in the direction you want to swing, chop, or ram. It's different and takes some getting used to, but the outcome is satisfying and spices up the combat a bit more.

In conclusion, improvising with weapons, pretty graphics, amazing (and I do mean amazing) score, TV show-like presentation, interesting story, and (dare I say) innovative melee combat make up the good parts of the game. Unfortunately, the difficulty, somewhat frustrating camera, finnicky car controls and minor bugs keep the game from becoming great. Still, AITD is a very enjoyable experience if you give it a chance. Here's hoping that Eden can continue the story!