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Impressions: Test Drive Unlimited 2
It's been four years -- a.k.a. a long time -- since Eden Studios introduced "massively open online racing" with the original Test Drive Unlimited. The series returns this fall in the sequel, which is still MOOR but not just MOAR of the same. Eden and publisher Atari gave me a peek at the work-in-progress racer yesterday, which was running on PC for demo purposes but at the same resolution and level of detail planned for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. It's already looking gorgeous -- the video above doesn't do it nearly enough justice -- but that's not what impressed me the most. So much has been expanded, tweaked and added to this sequel that I would have believed it if the developer had told me it'd been working on the game since 2006. It also seemed so finished that I couldn't believe we won't be playing it until near the end of this year. %Gallery-92051%
New Test Drive Unlimited 2 screens feature night rider
click to zoom in on the Viper blades After promising the addition of fancy day-night cycles to its dignified open-world driving game, Eden Games has delivered the cold, moonlit proof in a new batch of Test Drive Unlimited 2 screenshots. You see that shot above? There's the night cycle, clear as day. And all it took was for one of the designers to double-click on the sun and press "delete." This just in: Test Drive Unlimited 2's VP of Global Illumination Aseel Houette has contacted us, castigating us for our "gross oversimplification" of the changes made to the game's lighting techniques. "Dear Joystiq," he or she wrote, "I am extremely disappointed by your recent article on our upcoming Xbox 360, PS3 and PC game. Implementing day-night cycles is not, as your gross oversimplification implies, as simple as deleting the in-game sun. That's not how game design works at all. If you delete the sun, the in-game earth is completely destroyed, as are all the beautiful vehicles we've spent months modeling." When asked how the new effect was really achieved, Houette simply insisted that "it's all done with mirrors." %Gallery-87181%
Alone in the Dark: Inferno heating up Europe November 14th
Atari has announced the European release date for their reworking of Alone in the Dark, which was released earlier in the year for just about every other console. Gaining the subtitle of Inferno, the PlayStation 3 release will debut in Europe on November 14th (US gamers will see the game on the 18th) and will contain the definitive version of the game featuring better controls, improved inventory system and an extra sequence found in one of the episodes. Still undecided about the game? Check out our hands-on impressions or try out the demo up on the PSN right now.%Gallery-3898%
Fixed Alone in the Dark gets new name for PS3
Those fixes promised for the upcoming PS3 version of Alone in the Dark are substantial. So much so that Atari and developer Eden Games have decided to rebrand their survival horror romp through Central Park with a fiery subtitle, Alone in the Dark: Inferno. Set for release on November 18, the new version aims to correct many of the annoyances found in last June's release, changes Atari notes were fuelled by media and player feedback, and not -- repeat not -- by a Edward Carnby-shaped totem set ablaze on their front lawn. Inferno's changes include "quicker and smoother" controls and 360-degree camera control, as well as a "more logical" inventory system, improved car handling and a better tip system. Atari also promises "an exclusive new sequence" in one portion of the game for more "excitement and variety." As for those of you who purchased the fettered Xbox 360 version, we're waiting to hear back from Atari if plans exist to patch that version, or if players should simply get used to watching Edward Carnby roast in a 'technically complicated' fire.
PS3 Alone in the Dark fixes coming to 360
There are a lot of things that Alone in the Dark does very well. Building yourself a Molotov cocktail and subsequently taping a box of ammunition to it is not without its charm. Throwing said contraption onto a hapless zombie? Well that's just awesome. Unfortunately, other much more simple things, like camera controls, driving and combat can be a chore. Thankfully, it looks like developer Eden games if fixing many of these issues in the PS3 version. Even better, an upcoming patch should implement many of the improvements into the Xbox 360 version.For example, Edward Carnby, the game's protagonist, now runs by default (rather than when the A button is held). Walking is accomplished by gently pushing the analog stick (what a revolutionary idea). Many other changes, including a better -- and manually controlled -- camera and improved driving controls, improve the game substantially according to Eurogamer. Exactly which PS3 improvements will make it into the 360 version remains unclear, but we'll happily take anything that can improve Alone in the Dark's more annoying aspects.
GC 2008: Eden bringing Alone in the Dark PS3 fixes to Xbox 360 with patch
Did you find yourself driven just a wee bit mad by some of the design decisions in Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360? Well, you're not alone, and developer Eden Games isn't in the dark about what it did wrong.During a Leipzig Games Convention presentation, the studio owned up to the title's shortcomings, promising that a number of them are being addressed in the upcoming PS3 version. Specifically, the camerawork is different (it's pulled back more, and players will have free control using the right analog stick); the player character, Edward Carnby, runs by default; and the atrociously twitchy car handling has been mellowed out.While this is good news for PS3 owners still eager to experience the game, they won't be the only ones to reap the benefits of Eden's hindsight and extra development time. It's been announced that an upcoming patch will bring these fixes – and potentially more – to the 360 version, although no firm date has been given for its release (it'll presumably hit when the PS3 game does in November).
Alone in the Dark and Wall-E demos now on XBLM
Major Nelson just sent word that, earlier this morning, two new game demos were lovingly placed on the Xbox Live Marketplace and are now available for download. The new demos include a 1.35GB Central Park horror experience in Alone in the Dark as well as a 1.44GB Wall-E demo. We'll probably give Alone in the Dark a test drive, but we're not sure about Wall-E due to his evil attack on Richard. Our fellow blogger couldn't sleep for weeks because of it.Source - Alone in the Dark demoSource - Wall-E demo
Video: Alone in the Dark meets Benny Hill
Speeding up a film and adding "Yakety Sax" as the background music makes anything funny. We all know that. While that holds true for this Alone in the Dark video, it's also interesting to note that the additions make it particularly poignant as well. You see, Alone in the Dark has greatness tucked inside of it, but often the greatness is hampered by the difficulty inherent in the simplest tasks.Case in point, this video covers a sequence early in Alone in the Dark in which the game prompts you to break a car window so that you can open the door and steal it. The only problem is that the game's inventive yet wonky control scheme makes breaking that itty-bitty window about as difficult as taking down a Big Daddy.Out of curiosity, how many of you out there are trudging through Alone in the Dark despite its faults?
X3F TV -- Points>Life: Shedding Light on Secrets
Each week, X3F tips gamers to the tricks of the trade of Achievement hording in Points>Life. Every week a new achievement is unlocked to help you continue your unhealthy obsession with the Xbox 360 meta-game. This week in Points>Life we tackle the return of Alone in the Dark. From developer Eden Games and publisher Atari, Alone in the Dark is a strange game to judge. What it does well, it does very well but major technical issues could halt your desire to progress through the survival-horror classic's revamp. Either way bad game design has never been an issue for achievement fiends and this week we uncover three secret achievements in the game.Due to Canada Day celebrations Points>Life is hitting today rather than Tuesday. Expect Points>Life next week at its regular time.[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[MP4] Download the MP4 directly.
Some Alone in the Dark footage to ponder
With Alone in the Dark finally shipping this week, we thought it fitting to cram one last post with a few gameplay videos. The first video is a melange of scenes from the game, giving a glimpse at the game's story (and more than a few bleeped f-bombs). It certainly looks exciting, though the other three videos (embedded after the break) definitely reveal some of the clunkier elements cited in European reviews so far (voice acting, controls). As of right now, there aren't exactly a lot of choices for 360 survival horror fans (though there are plenty on the way). As such, will you be overlooking the noted faults in Alone in the Dark in the hope that the game is more than the sum of its parts?
Scared stiff: Why should we care about Alone in the Dark?
The survival horror genre is set to get a shot in the arm in 2008 with a number of high profile, not to mention highly anticipated entries all vying for the opportunity to keep us jumping at shadows and screaming like little girls. Or, for those gamers who are, in fact, little girls, just keep them screaming. But as all of us know, build-up seldom equals pay-off, leaving us to look upon these titles with what could be described as a mixture of cautious excitement and malaise. However, rather than simply sit and wait to see what the games have in store for us, we decided to corner the teams working on this year's more notable survival horror titles, and pick their brains in true survival horror fashion -- with an ice pick. But having left the ice pick at the office (my bad!), we opted to simply ask those working on these titles why we should keep their games on our collective radar. This week we'll be talking with people working on such games as Dead Space, Silent Hill: Homecoming and Project Origin, and kick things off today by asking Eden Games' producer Nour Polloni about her studio's re-imagining of survival horror architect Alone in the Dark, particularly, why should we care?%Gallery-14429%
Alone in the Dark producer talks design
At a recent Atari event, the same one in which Phil Harrison stated that Atari would no longer pursue big budget, single-player titles, Gamasutra sat down with Nour Polloni, producer of Alone in the Dark. The interview focuses mainly on the gameplay and design choices that Eden made for the game. Of particular interest is Polloni's thoughts on the game's open design, which allows players to solve problems in ways that make sense to them. Said Polloni, "we didn't want you to search for the golden key to open the door." She emphasizes that players shouldn't be asking themselves what they can't do within the game. In other words, if a player thinks of a logical way to open the door -- smashing it with a fire extinguisher, for example -- it will work. It all boils down to logic and accessibility.It's really a refreshing idea, and one we'd like to see implemented in more games. The interview is a worthwhile read. We suggest you check it out. Oh, and just so you know Polloni isn't merely spewing hot air, check out Joystiq's (very positive) impressions of the game.
Alone in the Dark sees the light, goes gold
Exciting news Alone in the Dark fanboys, Atari just announced today that the Joystiq approved and fire friendly Alone in the Dark has wrapped up development and has gone gold. Currently being copied to DVD at some manufacturing plant overseas, Alone in the Dark will arrive on the Xbox 360 in Europe on June 20th and a few days later, June 24th to North America. And for comparison's sake, it will release to the PS3 sometime later his Fall. Central Park will not be the same later this month, so we advise walking your dog or doing the picnic thing in the park prior to experiencing Alone in the Dark.
Video: Finally! Some Alone in the Dark enemies
Until now, there hasn't been much talk of the enemies Edward Carnby will be facing in Alone in the Dark. We've seen a few random enemies, but thus far, no real details have been revealed. Thanks be to Eden Games then, as they have released a new developer video that explains the game's enemies and what you'll be doing to combat them. You'd better learn how to dispatch them too, as the video explains they will track you down, even following your trail of blood to do so. Thankfully, Edward can come up with plenty of impromptu weapons using his inventory and the environment. Enough talking about it though. Go ahead and watch the video.Getting excited yet or do you still need convincing?
PS3 version of Alone in the Dark getting a frame rate fix; not cancelled
You'd certainly be forgiven for believing that the release of the PS3 version of Alone in the Dark was looking a little unstable. There's been no real word on it for a while, despite the 360, Wii, PS2 and PC versions hitting store shelves next month. Thankfully, Eden Games have gone on record to say that a PS3 version is "not that far off." Claiming that they are having some frame rate issues, the game is still being fixed and tweaked in order to make it ready for public consumption. The game will definitely be coming out this year, according to Eden Games' Nour Polloni. It's good to know Alone in the Dark hasn't been cancelled on the PS3 as many had feared. Being the cynics that we are, however, we can't help but think this is another one of those strategic delays, considering that the game was due out a week after arguably the biggest PS3 release this year: Metal Gear Solid 4. Just a thought.
No more big budget games for Atari
Phil Harrison, recently appointed president of Infogrames (parent company of Atari), has gone on record stating that Atari isn't likely to pursue any more big budget, single-player games after Alone in the Dark. Harrison told Gamasutra, "I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future." Harrison did add that the company will still pursue "really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games." Harrison sees online, socially driven games as the future for Atari and places emphasis on episodic content.So, while a direct sequel to Alone in the Dark sounds unlikely, it's possible we might see similar games released in an episodic manner instead (as was the original plan for Alone in the Dark, which still incorporates an episodic structure). Harrison sees episodic games with integrated community features as a new direction for Atari and the games industry in general, giving video games the kind of "water cooler" effect that television shows enjoy. Sounds interesting to us.[Via Joystiq]
Joystiq is impressed by Alone in the Dark
One lucky Joystiq blogger managed to get some extensive hand-on time with Alone in the Dark, the upcoming series revival being created by Eden Games. When all was said and done, Joystiq got to sample three hours of gameplay, giving them the chance to try out the combat, driving and platforming elements present in the game. The verdict: it's good. Surprisingly good, actually, with Joystiq equating the game to "a great season of 24, albeit one with a supernatural twist." Head on over to Joystiq for their full impressions. Hopefully, we can all get some hands-on time with the game ourselves soon, as a demo should be arriving any day now.
Free Alone in the Dark music tracks
While the verdict is still out on Alone in the Dark as a full game, there is no denying that the music is right on target. Honestly, what better fit for a survival horror game than a creepy children's choir, right? Right. Good news then, as our friends at Gamertag Radio are giving away three samples from the game's soundtrack -- performed by Grammy winner Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices -- for free. We've checked out all three tracks and can assure you that they are of adequate sweep, depth, and creepitude. Head over to GTR to grab 'em for yourself. Also, GTR will apparently have some pretty extensive hands-on coverage of the game going up tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled.
Pre-order Alone in the Dark, get some free goodies and $10 off
Over at Gamestop, they have a pretty solid pre-order deal for future Alone in the Dark purchasers that is a mix of money savings and free swag goodness.If you plop down your pre-order cash before Alone in the Dark's June release, you'll not only get $10 off the game itself, but they'll also throw in a free t-shirt and a free soundtrack as well. This offer isn't good for the special edition seeing that Gamestop doesn't even have a listing for the special edition on their site, but if you're all but guaranteed to make a Alone in the Dark purchase, then this pre-order deal is a must.[Thanks, NUCK1N FUTS]
A pair of Spring Showcase Alone in the Dark videos
Of all the things that could have been showcased for Alone in the Dark at Microsoft's Spring Showcase, we're not sure we would have picked the two sequences featured in these videos. Alone in the Dark is a survival horror game, right? As such, one would expect to be treated to sequences of surviving horrifying situations. Speaking literally, we suppose these videos do just that, but we were expecting some ghosts, monsters, a mutant insect, something. What we get is some ledge-grabbing platforming and a car escape sequence. Don't get us wrong, it doesn't look bad -- in fact, these are things you don't see in many other survival horror games -- but we're just waiting to see some gameplay that lives up to the atmosphere created by the cinematic trailers that have been released.Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and see the promised demo before the week is out. We're really hoping it will make believers out of us. We want to believe.
