Alone In The Dark 2

Where Alone in the Dark had you spending all your time trying to escape from a house (and destroying it in the process), Alone In The Dark 2 (AITD2) has you trying to get into one.

It's Christmas Eve, 1924, and Edward Carnby is contacted by his old drinking buddy and synchronised embroidery partner, Ted Striker. Apparently, the young daughter of a wealthy family, Grace Saunders, has been kidnapped and is being held in Hell's Kitchen, an evocatively-named mansion once featured in a cover article in Spooky Homes and Gardens. Striker then disappears, and it's all down to Carnby to get into the mansion and: save the girl.

Once again, the game is placed firmly in the scary world of voodoo, black rites and reincarnation. It turns out that the people holding the girl are One Eyed Jack, his black witch chumette Elizabeth Jarrett and a whole host of zombie pirates dressed as 1920s gangsters, equipped with machine guns rather than the more traditional cutlasses and parrots. In order to carry on being a successful zombie. Jack needs to sacrifice a child once every 100 years, and Grace is the lucky winner.

The game

ATTD2 betters the original game in every way. There are more puzzles, characters, ghouls and zombies, a bigger playing area, more camera angles and the game engine has been improved. Carnby no longer walks like someone with chronic haemmorhoids and a sharp pebble in each shoe - he walks properly, and a lot more quickly, too. The improvements also mean that a lot more people can appear on screen at the same time. This is bad news for Carnby, of course, because it means he faces clusters of bad guys at a time, but good news for you because there's so much more to look at while they kill you.

The best part about the game is the variety in the gameplay: whereas in the original ATTD you had the choice of a male or female character, but both acted and reacted in the identical fashion, with AITD2 you practically get two games in one. At one point in the game, Carnby is captured and you then take control of the young girl. Grace, being only about a foot tall, has trouble opening doors, is scared to go down steep staircases, and has to use guile rather than brute force to evade or incapacitate the zombie killers from hell. Tricks and traps using marmalade, a teddy bear and ice cubes all come into play, and the amusing effects are something of a relief from the unremitting fear AJTD usually generates.

The CD-Rom

As well as the expected improvement in the quality of the ingame background music, the cd-rom version features the now traditional ehancement of digitised speech by "resting" actors, enabling them to practice their pirate accents, and you to avoid reading all the books that crop up in the game. There are also some folksy songs and a new section with a jazz band in the background.

Apart from that, the cd-rom version simply has everything the disk version has: brooding atmosphere, constant danger and frightening confrontations. It's better than Alone in the Dark, and there aren't many games you can say that about.

Part Two

You swooned at the arrival of Alone In The Dark 2. Gasped at last months teasing first instalment of the TruePlayer solution. Andy Clerkson doesnt give you time to pause for breath as he utterly spoils one of the best adventure games of all time.

Ground floor

For those who have just joined us, weve negotiated the maze, found the underground passage, broken into the basement and just picked up the Santa Claus suit (last issue). Go up the stairs and take a sharp right (dont worry about the lil chef guy) then right again. Dont cross the path of the statue, but wait, facing the open door to the kitchen. Hang around for the chef to come back. When he comes up just behind you, make a run for the open door. He follows in your footsteps and the statue throws its trident and takes him out.

In the kitchen, take the frying pan and eat the eggs and bacon. Run over to the chef and give him a good beating with the frying pan (try and trap him in a corner). Chef dead, take the wine and the poison and use the poison to make poisoned wine.

Leave by the open door and place the poisoned wine in the hatch in the double doors on your immediate left. Two zombies stagger out and die (poisoned, you see). Put the two coins in the juke-box type thing. This opens the door and a gold doubloon appears on the floor behind you. Pick it up and head into the room that has just been revealed.

Pick up the tommy-gun, charger, and bullet-proof clip (dont use the charger or vest yet). Go back to the statue and take the crown from its head. Now go upstairs.

Upstairs - landing

Kill the two gun-toting zombies. Go through the door, turn right and open the first door on the left (the billiards room). Pick up the Derringer (your Thompson has jammed) and kill the zombie. Take the sword he drops, as well as the book and piece of parchment from the bookcases at the back of the room. Go out and turn left to the bedroom.

Fight the sword-wielding arms with the sword (the best method is to lunge in at them and then backtrack, lunge and backtrack, lunge and backtrack, etc.). When the arms drop off take the parchment and join the two pieces together. Place the crown on the head of the white bust and go into the adjoining room. Pick up the amulet and youre off on a levitational ride to the attic.

Attic

Pick up the piece of paper and flask. Leave the room and kill the karate zombie in the sharp suit (he leaves a grenade behind), and the fat guy with the gun (he leaves a key). Theyre difficult but killable: try to fight with the white-suited chap between you and the big mutha and theyll accidentally hurt each other. Go to the chest and youre automatically given a tommy-gun and charger. Go into the open room. Put the doubloon in the jack-in-the-box and take the pom-pom. Open .the door and throw the pom-. pom into the conservatory. The spooky clown goes after the furry ball, gets all tangled up and dies. Now prepare yourself: put on your body armour, throw the grenade down the chimney (this kills a zombie down there) and jump down.

Ground floor revisited

When you land, whip the tommy-gun out and shoot em (run away and use the doorway tactic). Kill the three zombies and take the red ball from the Christmas tree. Go back upstairs to the billiard room.

Upstairs - billiards room

Put the red ball in the machine by the billiard table (cue nice animation and the opening of a secret door). Go to the revealed door and open it with the key from the attic. Bingo! The lights go out and you're trapped in a cell. Next you see Grace (but cant reach her) and One Eyed Jack. He gives his life-story spiel. Grace toddles off and Jack follows her.

Use the Music Mans hook to pick the lock on the green door and head back downstairs towards the kitchen. Before you get far, old hag Elizabeth gets you in the voodoo levitation grip and goes through the whole life-story bit as well.

Grace

You awake in the ship and can consider yourself captured. Carnby's shackled up and youve switched to the adorable Grace Saunders. Push the little board away to get out of the celh Go through the hole and pick up the sandwich, the pepper and the bird seed. Give the bird seed to the parrot which will tell you that the Captain's staff is in the Captains cabin. Smart bird.

Go out the door and turn left. Skip down the corridor and duck into the hole on the immediate right until the pirate walks past. Once he's past, quickly double back on yourself and go up the ladder at the far end of the corridor. Go up the next ladder to the deck. On deck you must be careful not to disturb the pirates. Go to the right of the screen, around the outside of the crates, hugging the sides of the ship until you reach the second open hatch. You are safe behind the barrel by the hatch but you need the tinderbox lying next to it. This is an incredibly delicate and precise operation; move too close to the pirates and they will find you so get your angle of approach just right. Take the tinderbox and hightail it down the hatch.

Captains cabin

Get the Captains staff from the cupboard by the bed, pick up the crystal vase from the shelf and take the little cannon from the little chest. Use the cannon (Grace automatically puts it in the right place), then use the pepper on the cannon. Throw the vase at the door to attract the pirate outside. When he comes in use the tinderbox on the cannon so the pepper explodes in his face giving him a terminal bout of the sneezes. Go out the door and through the one opposite. Pick up the chickens foot, ring the bell and get in the dumb waiter, picking up the key in there on the way.

House kitchen

Use the key on the sideboard on the right to open the door. Take the ice box and the molasses and head to the far door (next to the table). Go out the door until you hear the zombie coming. Go back into the kitchen and place the molasses in the doorway with you in the kitchen. The zombie gets stuck in the molasses and you can head the long way round back -through the kitchen and two rooms with Christmas trees - to get back to the hall.

Go back upstairs to the landing. Theres a zombie here, so place the ice in the doorway - he slips and dies. Head into the billiards room and take the token from the billiard table. Go to the Captains room and walk to the far side of the chair by the desk. Use the Captains staff to get a key and book. Now go to the little annex room where Carnby found the amulet. Use the Captains staff while standing on the central square and it transforms to a Loa staff and transports you back downstairs to the hallway.

Go to the room with the music box and place your teddy-bear down near the upright bed (it looks like a wardrobe) on the wall of the corridor. Then come back to the music machine, put the token in and the zombie will come. Skip back round past the teddy-bear. When the zombie reaches the bear, the bed will fall and squash him (this doesn't always happen and the zombie might just get stuck by the bear - if he does just walk around him anyway). Head to the kitchen, ring the bell and go back down in the dumb waiter. Back on the ship you get caught (again).

Cambys return

Youre controlling Carnby again in the brig. Reach down with the right arrow-key and pick up the key. Use it to get out of the chains. Youll have to engage in unarmed combat with the zombie, but judicious use of the head-butt sorts him out. Take his sword. Go through the door and swashbuckle it up with the next zombie (youre probably low on life so use the doorway tactic again). Take the flask - you need it - but the tommy-gun is no use against pirates.

Head out to the passage, sword in hand, and kill another zombie. Take his pistol and fuse. Go left (as you come from the parrots room) and into the room at the end of the corridor. Run in, turn right, trap the shooting pirate in the corner and stab him to death with the sword. Pick up the life and pistol bullets when he dies.

Go to the room next door. Kill Peg Leg, pick up the chain-mail shirt, another pistol and more ammo. Push the barrel in the far corner out of the way and pick up the bottle and second suit of chain-mail. Throw the bottle and get the parchment inside. Go back out into the corridor and left. Kill yet another zombie and go into the room with the forge. Kill both the zombies, get the key from the corner, the pliers and the burning poker.

Use the key on the one remaining door. You might want to don a chain-mail overshirt here as the zombie coming at you is a nifty sword-smith. Kill him and take his barrel of gunpowder and book. Go up the nearest ladder.

Next level

Enter by the door on the right (room with a cannon). Kill the sleeping zombie and take his ammunition. Use the pliers on the cannons chain. Push the side of the cannon to move it away from the wall and put the short fuse in the cannon. Go to the bunk room directly opposite and place the barrel of gunpowder down just inside the doorway. Go back to the cannon and use the hot poker. The cannon goes off, and every single one of the snoozing zombies dies in bed. Go back in the bunk room and take the sack of gold and flask.

Go to the closed door next to the cannon room and use the gold. This attracts the two little boys. Kill them and go into the galley (from whence they came). Take the flask, go into the adjoining room and kill the head chef. Pick up the metallic Jack of Diamonds and use it to open the door to the captains cabin (opposite galley). Cue speedy synth music and youre stuck on the ceiling again.

Grace part deux

Just in the nick of time, in wanders Grace. Use the Loa staff on the captains statue and the door will open. Toddle bold as brass up to Elizabeths table and use the chicken foot. Lizzy gets a taste of her own medicine, Grace ends up on the lifeboat and Carnby hits the deck.

Back to Camby

Get the hell out via the nearest door before the funky phantom gets you (he cant be killed). Head up the far ladder to the deck. Put on your last chain-mail shirt and fight your ass off with pistols, swords, the lot. Kill the Music Man and take his hook, then do away with the two cronies. Head up the mast to slaughter the fat guy. Use the hook to slide down to the other mast and have an acrobatic duel to the death with Billy Smarts Circus zombie (the safest way to kill him is with the pistol, if youve managed to save any bullets). After this zombie has been killed and fallen off the mast, you can jump off without dying (I dont know why).

Pick up Captain Nichols sword. Run to the main mast and use the pliers to free little Grace. Next, run over to the cannon facing the mast - you dont have to really do anything to it but this stops it firing and blowing you up before you get a chance to finish. All thats left is a pretty pedestrian sword fight with Old One Eye. Just keep hacking, hes really a crap fighter, but there is the added excitement of having to kill him twice. When hes dead, watch the credits role. You and Grace are reunited. Ahhhh! Alone no more.

Before Resident Evil, there was Alone in the Dark, and in its day, the original Alone In The Dark set precedents for 3-D RPGs, made its developer (I Motion) famous and set PC gamers to drooling. Unfortunately, that was then and this is now;A/one In The Dark just can't compete.

It's not for a lack of trying, though. Alone In The Dark 2 has a fascinating story, but it controls badly, the load times are excruciatingly slow and the graphics are crude to the point of distraction. What went wrong? I don't know, but unless you have unlimited patience, you should pass on this one.

Graphics - 5

Sound/FX - 5

Gameplay - 5

Rating - 5

A sequel to the popular PC game, Alone in the Dark 2 is another mystery thriller.

As detective Edward Camby, you must find a kidnapped girl and rescue her from a band of gangsters. To locate the victim, you search 15 levels filled with mazes, trapdoors, passageways, and ruthless rogues.

The combination of puzzle and strategy play features more than 70 new characters and is illustrated with terrifyingly realistic rendered polygon graphics.