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WATCH: Horror classic ‘Alone in the Dark’ gets reboot trailer




Four years before Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine started whacking zombies in “Resident Evil”, Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood were facing down eldritch horrors in “Alone in the Dark”.
 
First revealed in mid-August, Atari will be reviving the classic horror franchise considered to be the forefather of the survival horror genre: “Alone in the Dark”. At PAX 2014, the company released the first teaser trailer of the game, along with a couple of screenshots.
 

 
A re-imagining of the original game, “Alone in the Dark: Illumination” takes place in a deserted mining town in Lorwich, Virginia. Previously a thriving industrial town, its inhabitants were forced to flee after raging floodwaters ravaged the mining facility.
 
 
Players will assume the role of any of the game’s four playable characters, which include the Hunter, Witch, Priest, and Engineer. The Hunter and the Witch are descendants of the original game’s two protagonists, while the other two appear to be new to the series.
 
Each hero has unique special abilities and weapons, which range from lightning strikes and healing spells to flamethrowers and a gadget known as the Tesla. Online multiplayer co-op will also allow this team of four to brave the hazards of the ghost town together.
 
Though long abandoned by people, the town is far from empty. Aside from an eerie layer of fog cradling the streets and bizarre creatures lurking in the dark, players will have to contend with a mysterious force known as the Darkness.
 
 
A history of horror
 
Developed by Infogrames and released in 1992 for the PC, the first “Alone in the Dark” was set in the 1920s and stranded players in the massive Derceto mansion, as either private investigator Edward Carnby, or Emily Hartwood, the niece of said mansion’s deceased former owner. With respect to its story, themes, and overall atmosphere, “Alone in the Dark” took major inspiration from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, as opposed to Resident Evil’s obviously more modern horror influences.
 
Graphically, “Alone in the Dark” made use of fixed, pre-rendered camera angles that we would see, four years later, in “Resident Evil”. “Alone in the Dark” was also among the first few games to utilize 3D polygonal characters. Its other key gameplay elements – such as scant supplies and ammo, puzzle-solving and key-hunting, and monsters that can only be killed by resolving problems – would later be popularized by “Resident Evil” and eventually become staples of the survival horror genre.
 
Despite its significant contributions to the gaming industry, the “Alone in the Dark” franchise never achieved the height of popularity of Capcom’s horror games. While 2001’s “Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare” did relatively well, its 1993, 1994, and 2008 sequels were poorly received.
 
And then there were those disastrous films. The first was directed by none other than the notorious Uwe Boll, and starred Christian Slater as Edward Carnby, and Tara Reid as some scientist. In one of the most mystifying casting choices in the history of video game movies, the second film had Carnby played by Rick Yune, a martial artist and former model… of Korean descent.
 
Horror never dies
 
Now seems to be a great time for the horror game, especially with the Hideo Kojima-helmed “Silent Hills” and another “Resident Evil” update in the works.
 
And, in addition to “Alone in the Dark”, Atari will also be bringing back another horror classic: “Haunted House”, based on the 1982 Atari 2600 game of the same name.

This time, it will be a first person single-player game that will put players in the shoes of a psychic named Anya. With her ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead, she must solve puzzles, escape traps, and craft items in order to defeat the specters and monsters prowling the Abbadon Grange estate. It is under development for the PC by Cryptic Games.
 
On the other hand, Pure FPS is developing “Alone in the Dark: Illumination”, also for the PC. The studio’s members previously worked on titles such as Dead Island 2, Battlefield 2, and the excellent Bioshock Infinite.
 
Both “Alone in the Dark: Illumination” and “Haunted House” are slated for release in fall 2014. — TJD, GMA News
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