Alone in the Dark 2(EU): Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Alone_in_the_Dark_EU_Pal_Front.jpg|thumb|right|]]
= Overview =
= Overview =


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*'''Code:'''  
*'''Code:'''  
*'''Type:''' Survival horror
*'''Type:''' Survival horror
*'''Developer:''' [[I-Motion|I-Motion]], [[Krisalis Software|Krisalis Software]]
*'''Developer:''' [[Interplay Productions|Interplay Productions]]
*'''Publisher:''' [[Infogrames|Infogrames]]
*'''Publisher:''' [[Infogrames|Infogrames]]
*'''Language:''' English, French
*'''Language:''' English, French
*'''Release Date:''' August 3, 1994
*'''Release Date:''' September 8, 1995
*'''Region:''' FR
*'''Region:''' EU
*'''Barcode:''' 3 329720 009399
*'''Barcode:'''  
*'''Local Title:'''  
*'''Local Title:'''  
*'''Rarity:''' 1
*'''Rarity:''' 1
*'''Notes:''' I can't find any evidence of a pan European release, the French version just seems to be a repackaged version of the US as it seems to be NTSC (Letterbox in PAL)
*'''Notes:''' I can't find any evidence of a pan European release, the French version just seems to be a repackaged version of the US as it seems to be NTSC (Letterbox in PAL), There has been reviews in UK and Germany Magazines though, to indicate there was a pan wide European version either planned or released


== Summary ==
== Summary ==


Alone in the Dark 2 is the se
Alone in the Dark 2 is the second instalment of the Alone in the Dark Series.


== Gameplay ==
== Gameplay ==


Players choose between a male or female protagonist (Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood respectively), and are then trapped inside the haunted mansion of Derceto. The player character starts in the attic, having ascended to the top of the mansion without incident, and is tasked with finding a way out of the mansion while avoiding, outsmarting or defeating various supernatural enemies including slave zombies and giant bipedal rat-like creatures. Though able to kill most enemies with simply fists and feet, the player character can also find and utilize various weapons.
The original game's horror theme has been significantly de-emphasized in the sequel. While there are some supernatural goings-on (Voodoo black magic), the main villains are gangsters and pirates. While the enemies are revealed to be possessed by evil spirits, and are green and zombie-like in appearance, they are far from the shambling walking corpses of the first game, and walk, talk, and behave much like ordinary people, arming themselves with guns and shooting at the player. The player can pick up weapons on the way with firearms such as the Revolver equipped at the start of the game, Shotguns, Tommy guns, a Derringer pistol, Flintlock pistols and melee weapons such as Swords. The game world is larger than that of the original, encompassing not only a mansion, but also the surrounding gardens as well as a pirate ship hidden in caverns beneath the house; however, unlike the first game, with the exception of the main house, its locations may only be explored in a strictly linear sequence, a pattern that would continue in later sequels.


Many opponents can be beaten by solving a particular puzzle rather than a straight fight—indeed, a significant number of opponents cannot be killed at all. Much of the game involves exploration and puzzle-solving, and optionally searching the house for clues as to what occurred before the player's arrival.
Although much of the game is spent playing as Carnby, the player will occasionally take control of Grace Saunders. Grace, a child, cannot fight and is instantly captured if the gangsters spot her, so instead she must sneak around and defeat the gangsters by turning common household objects into booby traps.
 
The player character can search any area, open and close doors, push certain objects, and pick up some items. Items in inventory can be used, opened, read, thrown, or put down, though not all of these options are offered for every item. Inventory is highly limited, and the player must often discard items to make room. It is possible to discard items that are needed to complete the game, but discarded items remain in play and can be retrieved later, even if the player character leaves the room. Available space in inventory is determined by weight, not number of items; for example, a player may discard a book and two knives yet still not be able to pick up the heavy statuette.
 
Unlike its sequels, and much of the survival horror genre, the game is partially non-linear. The player character is initially restricted to the attic and third floor, whose rooms are arranged such that they must be traversed in a linear order. Completing the puzzle at the end of the third floor grants the player character access to the first and second floors. The player can explore the rooms in this area in any order, and can also revisit the attic and third floor if desired. Upon completing a specific puzzle, the player gains access to the caverns beneath the mansion. The caverns are completely linear, and each challenge must be overcome as it is encountered.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==


In 1924, Jeremy Hartwood, a noted artist and owner of the Louisiana mansion Derceto (named after the Syrian deity), has committed suicide by hanging himself. His death appears suspicious yet seems to surprise nobody, for Derceto is widely reputed to be haunted by an evil power. The case is quickly dealt with by the police and soon forgotten by the public. The player assumes the role of either Edward Carnby—a private investigator who is sent to find a piano in the loft for an antique dealer—or Emily Hartwood, Jeremy's niece, who is also interested in finding the piano because she believes a secret drawer in it has a note in which Jeremy explains his suicide. Whether Carnby or Hartwood, the character goes to the mansion to investigate.
It is Christmas of 1924, three months after Alone in the Dark. "Supernatural Private Eye" Edward Carnby and his partner Ted Stryker are investigating the kidnapping of young Grace Saunders. The trail of clues leads to an old mansion named "Hell's Kitchen" - the home of an infamous gangster boss and his gang. Edward decides to pick up the trail when he learns of Ted's disappearance in the mansion. Unfortunately, Edward soon finds out that Ted has been murdered.


Upon entering the house, the doors mysteriously slam shut behind the player character. He or she continues up to the attic, but is attacked by monsters. The player character progresses back down through the house, fighting off various creatures and hazards. The player character finds documents throughout the house indicating that Derceto was built by an occultist pirate named Ezechiel Pregzt, and that beneath the house are caverns that were used for dark rituals meant to increase Pregzt's fortunes and unnaturally extend his life. Pregzt was shot and Derceto was burned down by encamped Union soldiers during the American Civil War. However, Pregzt's spirit lived on, and his corpse was placed by his servants in an old tree in the caverns underneath Derceto. Jeremy Hartwood committed suicide to prevent his body being used as a host for Pregzt, so Pregzt now focuses on the player character. If the player character is incapacitated, their body is subsequently dragged to a sacrificial area and possessed by Pregzt, whereupon the game ends with an image of supernatural horrors being unleashed from the house into the world at large.
Carnby eventually finds out that the mobsters are the corporeal forms of the spirits of pirates that plundered the sea hundreds of years ago, the lot having sold their souls in exchange for eternal life through voodoo magic. Fighting his way into the house and ultimately onto a pirate ship hidden in the cliff on which Jack's house is built, Edward must survive, discover the secret of the pirates' apparent immortality, rescue little Grace, and find out why the pirates are so interested in her.
 
The player character finds a passage into the caverns in Hartwood's study, and makes his or her way to the tree where Pregzt resides. The player character hurls a lighted lantern at the tree, then flees the collapsing cavern. Pregzt is consumed by the flames, and the house is purged of supernatural creatures and other effects caused by his influence. The player can finally open the front doors and leave the house, which is now completely safe to explore (except for physical hazards such as falling to one's death through chasms or rotten floorboards, and two magical books in the library which remain lethal to read). The driver is outside to take the character home; however, the driver is revealed to be a zombie. The zombie drives the car back to civilization.
 
The story is heavily influenced by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. The setting for the story is inspired by Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher". Grimoires found in the mansion's library include the Necronomicon and De Vermis Mysteriis, both taken from Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Other Mythos references include books that feature the narrated history of Lord Boleskine, a direct reference to another Infogrames Cthulhu Mythos-based game, Shadow of the Comet, and the last name of player character Edward Carnby, a reference to John Carnby, a character in the mythos tale The Return of the Sorcerer by Clark Ashton Smith. Several of the supernatural opponents are recognizable creatures from the Mythos, including Deep Ones, Nightgaunts and a Chthonian.


== Development and Release ==
== Development and Release ==


In 1989, Frédérick Raynal, a staff programmer at Infogrames, was assigned to port the early 3D game Alpha Waves. Working on the game inspired him to begin programming a tool for the creation and animation of 3D characters, with help from Franck De Girolami. In 1991, Infogrames CEO Bruno Bonnell proposed a game in which the player would use matches to gain snapshot views of an otherwise completely dark environment. An aficionado of horror films such as Dawn of the Dead, Raynal saw in this proposal the opportunity to create a horror-based game, and was given permission to lead the project.
There were two DOS versions of the game, the floppy disk version and the CD-ROM version. While the floppy version was the original, the CD-ROM release added a full Red Book audio reworked soundtrack, dialogue speech (in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese, depending on the country the game was released) and a new playable section of Grace Saunders not present in the original version, which connected the mansion and the ship areas. This version also removed the copy protection from the floppy disk release.
 
The game's working titles included In the Dark and Scream in the Dark (or Screams in the Dark). Following Raynal's basic vision for the game, Infogrames artistic director Didier Chanfray rendered a series of concept sketches using white chalk on black Canson paper. These sketches were used for an internal contest to pick the game's graphic artist, Yaël Barroz. By this time Raynal already had decided that the game would make use of text to convey the backstory, as he felt computer graphics at the time were not advanced enough to be frightening on their own. He had also determined the game's setting:
A 1920s manor. I wanted a big enough house, where you would start in the attic so that you could completely explore it before finding the way out. The turn of the century allowed for weapons while avoiding the modern commodities that were too difficult to properly handle: electricity, for instance, would have caused atmosphere and consistency problems.
 
Initially he planned to create the game's backgrounds using scanned photos of an actual mansion built in the 1920s, but this idea proved too ambitious for the 3D rendering tools available, and the team had to use hand-drawn bitmaps instead. Items and characters in Alone in the Dark are three-dimensional, rendered upon a two-dimensional fixed background. Mixing polygons and 2D prerendered background images required a fixed camera angle, which designers used to their advantage to create dramatic scene setups appropriate for a horror-themed game. In September 1991, the team of Raynal, Chanfray, and Barroz presented an early playable version of Alone in the Dark - containing only a couple rooms - to Infogrames, who then green-lighted production of the game. The development team was expanded to include Franck De Girolami (programmer), Philippe Vachey (composer), Hubert Chardot (writer), and Franck Manzetti (designer).
 
The game briefly acquired the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game license, but was ultimately denied it when Chaosium determined that the game was too simple to do justice to the rules of the pen-and-paper game. The character Emily Hartwood was added because the conventional wisdom of the time was that a game would appeal to more female gamers if it had a female playable character. To maximize the player's anxiety and fear, the game was designed so that even such mundane actions as walking down a hall, opening a door, and reading a book could cause the player character to die. Though such deaths would only occur in select places, they would make the player feel unnerved whenever taking such actions.
 
During the game's production, Raynal and Barroz became romantically involved and conceived a child. Most of the production was marked with a spirit of optimism and creative enthusiasm, but the bug-testing phase wore out the team, especially Raynal. By the time it was released, he felt dissatisfied with almost every aspect of Alone in the Dark and felt certain that all of its flaws would be noticed by players.


Outside of Europe, Alone in the Dark was distributed in North America by Interplay Entertainment and in Japan by Arrow Micro-Techs Corp, which developed and published Japanese-exclusive versions for the PC-98 and FM Towns computers. The game was also ported to the 3DO by Krisalis in 1994. This version is largely identical to the original, but uses an orchestrated version of the original soundtrack and adds voice acting to the character intros and documents. This version was also published in Japan by Pony Canyon. An Atari Jaguar CD port was also in development by Infogrames but it was never released. A 32X version was also planned but never released.
As with the first instalment in the series, outside of Europe the game was distributed in North America by Interplay Entertainment and in Japan by Arrow Micro-Techs Corp, which once again developed and published Japanese-exclusive versions for the PC-98 and FM Towns computers.


In 2012, when asked for a possible high-definition remake of Alone in the Dark, Raynal said he loved the idea but no attempts have been made yet as he no longer holds the rights to the franchise
The console releases of Alone in the Dark 2 included a port for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer released in 1995 which is very similar to the DOS CD-ROM version, and also versions released for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1996 which featured reworked and fully textured polygonal models, instead of the flat shaded ones from the DOS versions and 3DO port. New FMV cutscenes were also added to these ports. All console releases were also published in Japan by Electronic Arts Victor, with the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions being released as Alone in the Dark 2: Jack is Back.


== Reception ==
== Reception ==


Reviewing the 3DO version, GamePro described it as "a clunky, semirealistic game", citing restrictively linear game design, an overly slow-moving player character, and "silly-looking, quirky-moving monsters", though they did praise the moody sound effects and 3D camera angles. In contrast, Electronic Gaming Monthly commented "A faithful translation of the PC title, this game has excellent graphics and sound ... for fans of more deliberate game play, this is the one to get." Next Generation reviewed the 3DO version of the game, and stated that "Alone's subtle mix of eerie music, grim animation sequences, and suspense-filled storyline create an atmosphere of tense horror that adds an interesting new twist to the standard graphic adventure."
Maximum was more harsh with the 3DO version, saying that the game is far too old to be worth converting to home console. They said it looks especially poor due to being (by pure coincidence) released in Europe at the same time as the PlayStation version: "The Sony conversion boasts texture-mapped characters moving at higher speeds and with less loading time, whilst the poor old 3DO struggles with flat shaded polygons, a smaller screen size and a chugging frame rate."[4] A reviewer for Next Generation complained that a combination of poor control and awkward fixed camera angles makes battling enemies more difficult than it should be. He nonetheless gave it a strong recommendation, and summarized it as "a direct port of the PC title, and a huge game with a great cinematic feel and lots of fiendishly clever puzzles."


===Magazine Reviews===
===Magazine Reviews===
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! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| Console Plus || Sept 1994 || {{Template:Flag-fr}} || 91% || Un jeu d'aventures exceptionnel qui vous tiendra éveillé des heures durant. L'adaptation est de bonne qualité
| Maximum: The Video Game Magazine* || Jan 1996 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 2/5 ||  
|-
|-
| Ação Games* || Oct 1994 || {{Template:Flag-br}} || 90% || Originalmente lançado como game para PC, Alone in the Dark logo se transformou em clássico para os amantes dos games de terror. Agora os jogadores de 3DO tem a oportunidade de encarar este arrepiante desafio. O esquema de jogo e a movimentação estão idênticos aos do computador. Apenas os gráficos ficaram um pouco inferiores ao original. Mas não compromete. Todo o clima de suspense e terror que caracterizam o game foi mantido, prato cheio para quem gosta de diversão inteligente com muitos sustos.
| Next Generation* || Dec 1995 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 4/5 ||  
|-
|-
| Computer and Video Games (CVG)* || Oct 1994 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 86% || After the tragic Dr. Hauzer I was sceptical about how this would perform. No need, though, because this is a spot on conversion from the PC original, and it runs at a speed comparable to a 486 33mhz PC. The sound is the biz in this version and the only difference is that you can't have as many saved-game positions as the PC. Alone is an excellent game but there are too many collectibles which are of no use in the game. I'd prefer it if this had been the sequel.
| Game Players* || Jan 1996 || {{Template:Flag-us}} || 81% || Don't get me wrong, this ain't a bad game at all. In fact, it's exactly the kind of huge, creepy adventure I wish there were more of for home consoles. It's just a lot harder to work through than it could be.
|-
|-
| Megablast* || Sept 1994 || {{Template:Flag-de}} || 85% || Die Optik mit den superben Animationen hat sich auch am 3D= das Prädikat „brillant“ verdient, und die mit Digi-Sprache und Wolfsgeheul aufgepeppte Soundkulisse steht da kaum zurück. Binnen Kürze bereitet auch die Padsteuerung viel Freude, man kann hier also nur zuraten. Der technisch opulente Besuch im Dunkeln hat so viel Atmosphäre und aufregende Monsteraction zu bieten, daß Adventure- und Metzelliebhaber gleichermaßen auf ihre Kosten kommen – uns sich jetzt schon auf die Fortsetzungen freuen werden. Denn am PC/CD-ROM geht Alone in the Dark bereits in die dritte Runde!
| 3DO Magazine* || Mar 1996 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 80% || A considerable advance over the original in terms of graphics, violence and size, but slowdown makes a very tough game even more demanding. Newcomers should definitely start with the original, but both games demand almost all the 3DO's NVRAM.
|-
|-
| Gameplayers* || Jan 1995 || {{Template:Flag-us}} || 85% || The 3DO version improves some on the PC title by adding extra digitized sound effects and voices. Overall, this is a scary little number that's well worth the time and effort. Go for it!
| Joystick* || Nov 1995 || {{Template:Flag-fr}} || 70% || Un jeu comme Alone in the dark ne peut faire que l'unanimité auprès du public. Hélas, les trop nombreux accès au CD ralentissent le jeu et perturbent l'action.  
|-
|-
| 3DO Magazine* || Dec 1994 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 91% || Multiple camera angles, haunting polygon graphics and a Voodoo inspired storyline make this an incredibly intimate and atmospheric adventure. Originally released on the PC in '93, it still looks pretty amazing and although it uses a lot of NVRAM, is well worth a look.
| Video Game* || Jan 1996 || {{Template:Flag-de}} || 67% || Zugegeben, der zweite Teil sieht grafisch besser aus. Dafür spielt er sich aber schlechter. Auch wenn Ihr stillsteht, hampelt Euer Charakter permanent rum, schaut sich die Gegend an oder macht sich mit der Knarre wichtig. In Konfliktsituationen wird hierdurch und durch die oft lausigen Blickwinkel das Zielen beim Schießen oder Schlagen erschwert. Im ersten Teil ist die Kameraposition zwar auch nicht immer optimal, behindert werdet Ihr dadurch aber seltener. Ein “Pfui“ geht an die Entwickler, weil sie den zweiten Teil direkt vom PC rübergezogen haben. Das heißt, Ihr hört die originalen 8-Bit-Sprachsamples (in “Soundblaster-Qualität“), und die Musik wurde anscheinend direkt von einer Roland-Sound-Karte aufgenommen (nicht gerade schlecht, jedoch ziemlich dünn). Die Grafik verfällt oft ins Ruckeln, und die Ladezeiten wirken im zweiten Teil weit störender als im ersten.
 
|-
|-
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)* || Sept 1994 || {{Template:Flag-us}} || 8/10 || Multiple camera angles, haunting polygon graphics and a Voodoo inspired storyline make this an incredibly intimate and atmospheric adventure. Originally released on the PC in '93, it still looks pretty amazing and although it uses a lot of NVRAM, is well worth a look.
| Video Games & Computer Entertainment* || Dec 1995 || {{Template:Flag-us}} || 60% ||  
 
|-
| Video Games* || Jan 1996 || {{Template:Flag-de}} || 70% || Zugegeben, der zweite Teil sieht grafisch besser aus. Dafür spielt er sich aber schlechter. Auch wenn Ihr stillsteht, hampelt Euer Charakter permanent rum, schaut sich die Gegend an oder macht sich mit der Knarre wichtig. In Konfliktsituationen wird hierdurch und durch die oft lausigen Blickwinkel das Zielen beim Schießen oder Schlagen erschwert. Im ersten Teil ist die Kameraposition zwar auch nicht immer optimal, behindert werdet Ihr dadurch aber seltener. (...) Durch bessere technische Qualtät und die tiefere Schauergeschichte ist Alone In The Dark 1 in jedem Fall das bessere Spiel des Duetts.
|-
| Edge*  || Oct 1995 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 70% || Of course, despite these flaws 3DO Alone In The Dark is a great game – even a group of particularly stupid monkeys would have had a job mucking up this conversion. It looks good, the gameplay is engrossing, and the soundtrack is atmospheric. And it’s worth noting that this two-year-old title is more playable than much modern 3DO software.
|-
| GamePro* || Nov 1994 || {{Template:Flag-us}} || 70% || Alone in the Dark is for gamers who want a little puzzle, a little challenge and lots of hangtime. While the action is nothing to write home about, you'll marvel at use of fully animated polygons and 3-D views. The problem is, after that you'll be all alone.
|-
| Mega Fun* || Oct 1995 || {{Template:Flag-de}} || 62% || Die 3DO-Umsetzung des bekannten PC-Spiels hat in Sachen Grafik glücklicherweise nichts eingebüßt: Es sieht immer noch gut aus, wie die Dame im Rock das Gewehr lässig über die Schulter legt. Grafik allein reicht aber leider nicht: Die (häufig verhinderbaren) Kämpfe sind recht reizlos, da die gegnerischen Figuren - auch die eigene - ihr Pensum an grafisch anregenden Manövern schnell ausgereizt haben. Imposant sind die Auftritte einiger Monster, die von guten Sounds unterstützt werden. Ein Gefühl von Action während des Kampfes vermisse ich aber, da Interplay seinen bösen Buben kein eigenes Taktikgefühl zuerkannt hat. Schade, daß die sehr schön gestalteten 3D-Räume durch den mangelnden Reiz des Spieles fast wie ein Innenarchitekten-Demo wirken. Das Mysterium zu lüften. sollte für Fans dieser Spiele-Kategorie jedoch ein Grund sein, sich dieses Spiel einmal anzuschauen.
|-
| Famitsu* || Apr 1994 || {{Template:Flag-jp}} || 33/40 ||
|-
| Next Generation* || Jan 1995 || {{Template:Flag-gb}} || 3/5 ||  
|-
|-
|}
|}
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== Other Versions ==
== Other Versions ==


PC Versions including MS-DOS, PC-98 and FM Towns, Mac and a later release on IoS. There were also planned but cancelled releases for the Atari Jaguar and 32X.
PC Versions including MS-DOS, PC-98 and FM Towns, Mac, Playstation 1 and Sega Saturn.


== Credits ==
== Credits ==


*3DO Producer: Vince DeNardo
Original Version Credits
*3DO Programming: Krisalis Software Ltd.
*Produced by: Bruno Bonnell
*Produced by: Infogrames
*Directed by: Christiane Sgorlon
*Directed by: Franck De Girolami
*First Assistant: Vincent Terraillon
*First assistant: Vincent Terraillon
*Production Designer: Patrick Charpenet
*Production designer: Patrick Charpenet
*Screenplay: Hubert Chardot, Frederic Cornet, Christian Nabais
*Screenplay: Hubert Chardot, Frederic Cornet, Christian Nobais
*Scenario Coding: Christiane Sgorlon, Christophe Nazaret
*Scenario coding: Christiane Sgarlon, Christophe Nazaret
*Animations: Frederique Bourgin, Jean Marie Nazare
*Animations: Frederique Bourgin. Jean-Marie Nazaret
*Settings : Jean Christophe Blanc, Christophe Anton
*Settings: Jean-Christophe Blanc, Christophe Anton
*Music and Sounds: Fre'de'ric Mentzen
*Music and sounds: Frederic Mentzen
*Publishing: Olivier Robin, Edith Protiere
*Publishing: Olivier Robin, Edith Protiere
*Game Manual: Larry Fukuoka
*Translations: Beate Reiter
*3DO Testing: Scott McKelvey, Nino Levitin, Ryan Rucinski, Raphael Hernandez
*Special Thanks to: Bruno Bonnell, Eric Mottet, Olivier Goulay, Norbert Cellier
*Translations: Beate Reiter- Vialle
 
*Special thanks to: Bruno Bonnell, Eric Mottet, Olivier Goulay, Norbert Cellier, Bill Heineman and Sasha
Interplay Productions Credits
*Producer: Vincent DeNardo
*Line Producer: Ryan Rucinski
*Director of Quality Assurance: Jeremy S. Barnes
*Assistant Director of QA: David L. Simon
*Lead Tester: Dan Forsyth
*Testers: Lawrence Smith, Jeff Woods, Aaron Olaiz, Derek Gibbs
*Tutorial Text: Lawrence Smith
*Graphic Design: Salma Asadi
*Illustrations: Vance Kovacs
*3DO Packaging Concept and Design: David Gainesa


== Linked Titles ==
== Linked Titles ==


* EU NTSC Version - [[Alone in the Dark(EU - NTSC)|Alone in the Dark (EU NTSC)]]
* North American Version - [[Alone in the Dark 2(NA)|Alone in the Dark 2]]
* North American Version - [[Alone in the Dark(NA)|Alone in the Dark]]
* Japanese Version - [[Alone in the Dark 2(JP)|Alone in the Dark 2]]
* Japanese Version - [[Alone in the Dark(JP)|Alone in the Dark]]
* Prequel - [[Alone in the Dark(EU)|Alone in the Dark]]
* American Demo - [[Alone in the Dark - Demo|Alone in the Dark - Demo]]
* Sequel - [[Alone in the Dark 2(EU)|Alone in the Dark 2]]
* Cancelled "Threequel" - [[Alone in the Dark 3|Alone in the Dark 3]]
* Cancelled "Threequel" - [[Alone in the Dark 3|Alone in the Dark 3]]


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<gallery>
<gallery>
Alone_in_the_Dark_EU_Pal_back.jpg|Back of the box
Alone_in_the_Dark_2_Screenshot_1.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_EU_Pal_Contents.jpg|Contents of the box
Alone_in_the_Dark_2_Screenshot_2.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_EU_Pal_disc.jpg|Picture of Disc
Alone_in_the_Dark_2_Screenshot_3.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_Screenshot_1.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_2_Screenshot_4.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_Screenshot_2.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_Screenshot_3.jpg|Screenshot
Alone_in_the_Dark_Screenshot_4.jpg|Screenshot
Consoles_Plus_Sept_94_Alone_in_the_Dark_Review.jpg|Console Plus Sept 94 Review
</gallery>
</gallery>


[[Category:3DO Games]]
[[Category:3DO Games]]

Latest revision as of 10:16, 13 June 2021

Overview

  • Full Name: Alone in the Dark 2
  • Code:
  • Type: Survival horror
  • Developer: Interplay Productions
  • Publisher: Infogrames
  • Language: English, French
  • Release Date: September 8, 1995
  • Region: EU
  • Barcode:
  • Local Title:
  • Rarity: 1
  • Notes: I can't find any evidence of a pan European release, the French version just seems to be a repackaged version of the US as it seems to be NTSC (Letterbox in PAL), There has been reviews in UK and Germany Magazines though, to indicate there was a pan wide European version either planned or released

Summary

Alone in the Dark 2 is the second instalment of the Alone in the Dark Series.

Gameplay

The original game's horror theme has been significantly de-emphasized in the sequel. While there are some supernatural goings-on (Voodoo black magic), the main villains are gangsters and pirates. While the enemies are revealed to be possessed by evil spirits, and are green and zombie-like in appearance, they are far from the shambling walking corpses of the first game, and walk, talk, and behave much like ordinary people, arming themselves with guns and shooting at the player. The player can pick up weapons on the way with firearms such as the Revolver equipped at the start of the game, Shotguns, Tommy guns, a Derringer pistol, Flintlock pistols and melee weapons such as Swords. The game world is larger than that of the original, encompassing not only a mansion, but also the surrounding gardens as well as a pirate ship hidden in caverns beneath the house; however, unlike the first game, with the exception of the main house, its locations may only be explored in a strictly linear sequence, a pattern that would continue in later sequels.

Although much of the game is spent playing as Carnby, the player will occasionally take control of Grace Saunders. Grace, a child, cannot fight and is instantly captured if the gangsters spot her, so instead she must sneak around and defeat the gangsters by turning common household objects into booby traps.

Plot

It is Christmas of 1924, three months after Alone in the Dark. "Supernatural Private Eye" Edward Carnby and his partner Ted Stryker are investigating the kidnapping of young Grace Saunders. The trail of clues leads to an old mansion named "Hell's Kitchen" - the home of an infamous gangster boss and his gang. Edward decides to pick up the trail when he learns of Ted's disappearance in the mansion. Unfortunately, Edward soon finds out that Ted has been murdered.

Carnby eventually finds out that the mobsters are the corporeal forms of the spirits of pirates that plundered the sea hundreds of years ago, the lot having sold their souls in exchange for eternal life through voodoo magic. Fighting his way into the house and ultimately onto a pirate ship hidden in the cliff on which Jack's house is built, Edward must survive, discover the secret of the pirates' apparent immortality, rescue little Grace, and find out why the pirates are so interested in her.

Development and Release

There were two DOS versions of the game, the floppy disk version and the CD-ROM version. While the floppy version was the original, the CD-ROM release added a full Red Book audio reworked soundtrack, dialogue speech (in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese, depending on the country the game was released) and a new playable section of Grace Saunders not present in the original version, which connected the mansion and the ship areas. This version also removed the copy protection from the floppy disk release.

As with the first instalment in the series, outside of Europe the game was distributed in North America by Interplay Entertainment and in Japan by Arrow Micro-Techs Corp, which once again developed and published Japanese-exclusive versions for the PC-98 and FM Towns computers.

The console releases of Alone in the Dark 2 included a port for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer released in 1995 which is very similar to the DOS CD-ROM version, and also versions released for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1996 which featured reworked and fully textured polygonal models, instead of the flat shaded ones from the DOS versions and 3DO port. New FMV cutscenes were also added to these ports. All console releases were also published in Japan by Electronic Arts Victor, with the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions being released as Alone in the Dark 2: Jack is Back.

Reception

Maximum was more harsh with the 3DO version, saying that the game is far too old to be worth converting to home console. They said it looks especially poor due to being (by pure coincidence) released in Europe at the same time as the PlayStation version: "The Sony conversion boasts texture-mapped characters moving at higher speeds and with less loading time, whilst the poor old 3DO struggles with flat shaded polygons, a smaller screen size and a chugging frame rate."[4] A reviewer for Next Generation complained that a combination of poor control and awkward fixed camera angles makes battling enemies more difficult than it should be. He nonetheless gave it a strong recommendation, and summarized it as "a direct port of the PC title, and a huge game with a great cinematic feel and lots of fiendishly clever puzzles."

Magazine Reviews

Name Date Region Rating Notes
Maximum: The Video Game Magazine* Jan 1996
2/5
Next Generation* Dec 1995
4/5
Game Players* Jan 1996
81% Don't get me wrong, this ain't a bad game at all. In fact, it's exactly the kind of huge, creepy adventure I wish there were more of for home consoles. It's just a lot harder to work through than it could be.
3DO Magazine* Mar 1996
80% A considerable advance over the original in terms of graphics, violence and size, but slowdown makes a very tough game even more demanding. Newcomers should definitely start with the original, but both games demand almost all the 3DO's NVRAM.
Joystick* Nov 1995
70% Un jeu comme Alone in the dark ne peut faire que l'unanimité auprès du public. Hélas, les trop nombreux accès au CD ralentissent le jeu et perturbent l'action.
Video Game* Jan 1996
67% Zugegeben, der zweite Teil sieht grafisch besser aus. Dafür spielt er sich aber schlechter. Auch wenn Ihr stillsteht, hampelt Euer Charakter permanent rum, schaut sich die Gegend an oder macht sich mit der Knarre wichtig. In Konfliktsituationen wird hierdurch und durch die oft lausigen Blickwinkel das Zielen beim Schießen oder Schlagen erschwert. Im ersten Teil ist die Kameraposition zwar auch nicht immer optimal, behindert werdet Ihr dadurch aber seltener. Ein “Pfui“ geht an die Entwickler, weil sie den zweiten Teil direkt vom PC rübergezogen haben. Das heißt, Ihr hört die originalen 8-Bit-Sprachsamples (in “Soundblaster-Qualität“), und die Musik wurde anscheinend direkt von einer Roland-Sound-Karte aufgenommen (nicht gerade schlecht, jedoch ziemlich dünn). Die Grafik verfällt oft ins Ruckeln, und die Ladezeiten wirken im zweiten Teil weit störender als im ersten.
Video Games & Computer Entertainment* Dec 1995
60%
  • - Need review page

Other Versions

PC Versions including MS-DOS, PC-98 and FM Towns, Mac, Playstation 1 and Sega Saturn.

Credits

Original Version Credits

  • Produced by: Bruno Bonnell
  • Directed by: Christiane Sgorlon
  • First Assistant: Vincent Terraillon
  • Production Designer: Patrick Charpenet
  • Screenplay: Hubert Chardot, Frederic Cornet, Christian Nabais
  • Scenario Coding: Christiane Sgorlon, Christophe Nazaret
  • Animations: Frederique Bourgin, Jean Marie Nazare
  • Settings : Jean Christophe Blanc, Christophe Anton
  • Music and Sounds: Fre'de'ric Mentzen
  • Publishing: Olivier Robin, Edith Protiere
  • Translations: Beate Reiter
  • Special Thanks to: Bruno Bonnell, Eric Mottet, Olivier Goulay, Norbert Cellier

Interplay Productions Credits

  • Producer: Vincent DeNardo
  • Line Producer: Ryan Rucinski
  • Director of Quality Assurance: Jeremy S. Barnes
  • Assistant Director of QA: David L. Simon
  • Lead Tester: Dan Forsyth
  • Testers: Lawrence Smith, Jeff Woods, Aaron Olaiz, Derek Gibbs
  • Tutorial Text: Lawrence Smith
  • Graphic Design: Salma Asadi
  • Illustrations: Vance Kovacs
  • 3DO Packaging Concept and Design: David Gainesa

Linked Titles

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