Game:

Alone in the Dark (1992)

Duration: 7:45

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Original Air Date: October 10th, 2009

Alone in the dark is one of the early pioneers of the survival horror genre and it is also one of the first 3D survival horror titles done well. It was originally made in 1992 for PCs (DOS) and saw a few ports and several sequels. I think the original game beats all the others overall though due to its storytelling, ambience and greater emphasis on investigation, and little linearity.

This game is about a creepy old house owned by an eccentric and ill artist and lover of mysterious manuscripts, Jeremy Hartwood. The house, known as Derceto, is the central location behind the game's many mysteries, the first being: Why did Jeremy Hartwood kill himself? No one knows the answer, but the belief is that the house is haunted or possessed by evil. That's when two characters are compelled to go above and beyond the law and investigate the mystery: a female named Emily Hartwood, the niece of Jeremy Hartwood, and a supernatural private investigator named Edward Carnby. They are apparently the only two people curious or brave enough to dig deeper into the mystery, and you get to control either of them.

The graphics are about what you'd expect for an old 3D game, but perhaps made a little worse in the case of this game. You have to remember that while the 3DO game was made in 1994, it's just an adaptation of a game from 1992. Even in spite of this, the game runs smoothly enough and things are usually distinguishable. The characters are laughably pointy, but that kinda adds to the charm of this old game. The sound is good though and the controls, while a bit cumbersome at first (as you constantly go through menus), can be done very quickly and become secondhand nature with a little practice, making it much more tolerable than some menu-driven games. This is the introduction for Emily. I don't know if I'll put up Edward's introduction, as it's basically the same after his little story excerpt. Enjoy.