Atari's Alone in the Dark Remake
Atari has had more problems in the last year than many video game companies have in a decade. They've cut jobs, lost a CEO, delayed games, and put out some middling fare. For years, they've been working on a remake of Alone in the Dark (originally created by Capcom).
Fast forward to 2008 when Alone in the Dark producer Todd Slepian is telling us (optimistically) that the Atari offering will be worth the wait. From GamaSutra: "The fear and the horror comes in more from the mood and the music and the lighting and the question, 'What's behind this locked door?' kind of thing, not necessarily from like blood and violence and gore." There's a lot riding on this game for Atari; if the stylish game doesn't sell well for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Atari itself may be Alone in the Dark, a once-proud game company that gave up the ghost during the recession of 2008.
Shit, I thought this was about a new Alone in the Dark film. I whipped out my Wizard Video going to video games back with Halloween and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Atari going to movies with Alone in the Dark. In any event, looks like a bad damn game. It seems Atari doesn't quite understand the difference between a good horror game and a bad horror game. For starters, relying on pretty visuals is a big ol' no-no.
I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until it drops and I have it in my grubby hands. But judging from past performance recently, my hopes aren't high. Maybe we'll all be pleasantly surprised.