Well its the first review I've seen and I've checked on Metacritic and GameTrailers and theres nothing on there yet either! :D

Now Alone in the Dark has been a title I have kept my eye on for quite some time. I don't believe this to be because I'm a fan of the series or even the genre, although both statements would be true. I think it simply comes down to the fact that this game intrigues me in so many different ways. Let me explain.....

First off this is a game which ticks alot of boxes for me. It looks like it has some cool new mechanics (the fire mainly), it is set in New York (who doesn't like a game set in the Big Apple, just look at the sales figures for GTAIV) and it is a survival horror title (something to tide my horror fix over until Silent Hill 5 and Resident Evil 5).

Next up the game is from Eden studios. Now this is one studio which I have history with over the years for various reasons. One such example is their title from the early 00's for the PS2 and PC which had you controlling a team of 4 agents each with varying abilities, requiring you to change between them on the fly to get the job done (quite a unique concept for its time). This was the first game I ever bought for my first ever PC (am sure everyone has games like this they remember for similar reasons, regardless of their quality). Now Eden studios over the numerous games they have now worked on, have always seemed a bit of an enigma to me. They seemed blessed with the ability to come up with great ideas and game mechanics, but always come up short when its comes to implementing them into a top of the range title. Great game mechanics seem to be in abundance here again, from the unique inventory system, the way the environment can become engulfed in flames and the episodic story approach. However, once again from the previews I have seen the "open-ended" central-park approach leaves me with a sense of great reservation.

Finally this game comes from Atari. The great company itself. Now that "Big-Phil" himself is in charge over there, they have already announced that the games currently in development, Alone in the Dark included, are to be the companies final forays into the world of "hardcore gaming". Their future exploits are firmly fixed with the casual gamers in their sights. Am sure I am not the only one who would like to go out with a bit of a bang!

So this game carries alot of weight behind it for a number of reasons. The time has come and the first verdict is in. It has come from the adolescent male focused pubication known as FHM UK and they have awarded it a rather impressive, and may I say, higher than I was expecting, 4/5.