Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation reviews

Alone in the Dark, originally known as Alone in the Dark 5 and Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation, is the fifth installment of the survival horror video game series under the same name created by Infogrames.

The game will be released on PC, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable on June 2, 2008 in North America. All projects are being developed by Eden Games, but the PS2 and Wii versions are being created alongside Hydravision Entertainment.[3]


Set during 2008, the story continues with Edward Carnby, the main protagonist from the original game, looking for answers to strange supernatural and bizarre occurrences while battling his way through the opposition in New York City's Central Park.

The game story centers around myths, allegations, and suspicions of clandestine activity in tunnels found below the park. Upon current speculation, a secret society may have an at least minor degree of involvement with the activities of the game's plot. This shadowy society, or organization, is hinted at in the synopsis found in the official game website, and is said to have protected startling secrets from the public, like possible sinister activities in the park, for years. At the time of the game story, it is assumed that this society's effort to keep its secrets from leaking to the public has failed, where the synopsis states, "...the truth can no longer be contained."

When browsing the official website, there are sections of the site dedicated solely to the mysteries of Central Park. Subjects of investigation include possibly mutated trees, unusual aviary migration behavior in the park, astounding insect invasion problems, as well as the park's value in real-estate; which is stated in the website to be in excess of $528,783,552,000, a finding produced in 2007. In addition, the park's value is compared to the national defense budget, with the park being 26% higher in value than the defense budget in 2007. Also, to further support rumored reports of tunnels found below the park, it is said that the atom bomb was invented by instigation of the Manhattan Project (Curiously enough, Central Park is located in Manhattan). Conclusively, at the time of writing, there is a historical reference to a treaty between The Dutch and The English in 1667, in which The Dutch gained the island of Run in exchange for the Manhattan Islands. Ironically enough, Run suffers from poverty, whilst Manhattan remains one of the most valuable islands in the world.

Alone in the Dark will develop ties between these mysterious aspects of the park, while dealing with supernatural elements as well.


Computer requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP/Vista Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz or Athlon 64 +2800 (Intel Pentium 4 3.4 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 +3400 recommended)

Memory: 1 GB RAM (2GB recommended)

Hard Disk Space: 8.5GB free

DVD-ROM Drive: 4X speed or faster

Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or ATI Radeon X1650 XT or better (NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX or ATI Radeon X1950 XT or better recommended) with 256 Mo (512 Mo recommended)

Sound: DirectX version 9.0c-compatible sound card DirectX: DirectX version 9.0c (included) or higher