Alone in the Dark goes a bit Ray Mears

Aug 24 2007

When we hopped over to Eden Games' offices in Lyon to getall the gosson the new Alone in the Dark, the game that could potentially steal Resident Evil 4's crown, we were told that the aim was to produce the first fully interactive game world. We were told that any on-screen object could be picked up and used in a manner that you would realistically use it. Well, now we've got asome screenshots which reveal that plan is coming into shape.

This shot of Edward breaking out of a flame filled corridor is getting us particularly excited. Using a fire extinguisher as a battering ram, it appears there is a degree of improvisation in how you can use the things you find. It also confirms tales of fire being able to spread through the environments, with Ed putting this to good use in another screen by wielding a flaming chair. What a poser.

Above: Was that a fire door? Ed's gonna regret getting quite so forceful if it was.

The fallout of this is potentially massive. No longer would survival be a case of wandering a room aimlessly until you happen to examine the right object and set off a pre-set sequence, or crossing half the play area to take a key to lock - but would actually require some thought. Just imagine the tension of being stuck in the consuming heat of that fiery corridor without an inkling of how to break down the door. It beats the hell out of simply finding a switch.

Then there are other less obvious choices - the flaming chair certainly springs to mind. And given that whatever hellish minions come after you are only a small facet of the dangers to be faced, the only thing we can be certain of is that there will be more uses for these toys than mere splicing and dicing.