Alone in the Dark Reviews Prompt Legal Action

By Jorge Ba-oh 20.06.2008 19

A handful of early reviews for Alone in the Dark have caused publisher Atari to request removal or be faced being sued.

Various websites published reviews for the game this week, and according to Kotaku have been confronted due to illegal copies being shared via torrent websites. GameReactor was first to comment, awarding the game an abysmal 3/10. Soon after, Atari jumps in to pull the review with press copies only being issued the day before, supposedly.

4Players.de, a German gaming site hands out a slightly more forgiving mark at 68% - again faces accusations of "breaking the law and violating the rights of their client (Atari)". Gamer.no was third in the firing range, also giving the game 3/10 - supposedly from an early retail copy.

Atari claims the pirated versions use incomplete code that likely affect the game's performance. Could it really be a company ensuring outlets receive legal copies, or an excuse to hunt down on poor ratings?

The game hits stores today, June 20th for all next-generation consoles.

Box art for Alone in the Dark
Developer

Eden

Publisher

Atari

Genre

Horror

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  n/a

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  4/10 (3 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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Comments

Interesting. I think it's very likely the reviewed versions could have been incomplete, however I didn't think big name websites would use illegally downloaded games for reviews.

On an off-topic note, I just realised it's a bit silly to still be calling the current consoles "next-generation"... XD

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

lol, it must be as bad as it looks.

I am getting the PC version in the post in a hour.

oh man im going to keep away from this game now

Looked pretty decent from what I've seen.

EuroGamer gave it a 7.

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

jb said:
Looked pretty decent from what I've seen.

EuroGamer gave it a 7.

yeah look okist but i have not play the other games and they alot come out so im give this a miss

Nah Atari are chatting shit. These review embargoes are happening more and more, these days. It used to be that you just couldn't trust single-format magazines and websites. It's not that simple, anymore.

I got mailed my Special Edition of Alone in the Dark 5 yesterday and looked at it a bit. I was out, so I only played it for 21 min - Wii version.
It looks good, textures are crips and not crappy, not bad a look, I think.
I only played it till the ventilation shaft after the lift crashed down, right at the beginning. I never got past the hot air...


It's a bit strange to sue them, even if they used one of these illegal copies, since the game itself overall felt the same, no matter if you used a pre-release-copy taken from the glass master disk or retail version.
But 3/10 seems a bit harsh for my taste. German console magazine 'Gamepro' got a preview this month calling it a game, which seems to be good, giving it a 'very good' mark.
I just wait for more then one opinion, give the game some time - and appreciate, that they converted it for Wii and it isn't bad in terms of graphic and controls. But I never was out in the open field, so I don't know how the levels look like when they are wide and free.
By the way: Cutscenes are great. And you do 'blinking' with digicross down. Smilie

I find your lack of faith disturbing!

jb said:
Looked pretty decent from what I\'ve seen.

EuroGamer gave it a 7.

I saw enough of the Jeux video a while back to know that it was a PS2 game, and that this Wii version was going to be shoddy.

When you read Alone 5 on paper you know straight away that the game they are proposing is simply not possible on Wii with the physics and lighting and everything else the game needs. This Wii version is nothing more than another PS2 project with tacked on controls that came to Wii instead.


ONM gave it a 64% and told the Wii team to call them back when the game was finished.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=4827


Too many bugs/glitches
It\'s simply not finished!


Needless to say the PC version is amazing, I have only just installed it and have only played around 30 mins. Ample time to know it\'s quality as I am sure review will show.

It\'s a freaky game.

( Edited 20.06.2008 16:12 by Linkyshinks )

I wouldn't trust a word of what a single-format website or magazine says. Multi-format ftw!

Martin_ said:
I wouldn't trust a word of what a single-format website or magazine says. Multi-format ftw!

So why are you here...?

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

I'm here for the pussy.

SuperLink said:
On an off-topic note, I just realised it\'s a bit silly to still be calling the current consoles \"next-generation\"... XD
I know, and this has been going on since 360, Wii, and PS3 have been available. Smilie Smilie What\'s even more funny, is they keep referring to PS2 as \"last-gen\". What\'s \"current-gen\", then? Smilie

I must say it pisses me off they keep referring to Wii as \"last-gen\" along with PS2. Why? Only because of processing power and gfx? Dumbasses. Smilie

This situation with Alone in the Dark is rather bizarre. I can\'t imagine these games sites getting their hands on an incomplete or bootleg copy for review. And not even know it?

I\'ve seen the Wii version, and it looks like yet another really haf-assed, low budget effort. Smilie And judging by almost every 3rd party Wii release record (especially Atari), I\'m not surprised. Is it too much to ask that they put some quality effort into the version being released on the most popular system on the f***ing planet? Smilie

The kicker is, the Wii version could\'ve easily been \"the version to own\" if they just utilized the damn thing properly. *sigh* So much untapped potential...


...freak\'n 3rd parties...

( Edited 20.06.2008 18:31 by MechaG2 )

Chance favors the prepared mind.

Yummy. I love misinformed opinions in the evening.

The Wii version definitive one to own? Please.... Linkshinks already outlined why this game fails on the Wii. Being able to waggle your hand around doesn't make a game better. Given the choice between waggle controls and AI, visuals and physics I'll take the later thank you very much.

Martin_ said:
I wouldn\'t trust a word of what a single-format website or magazine says. Multi-format ftw!


lol, I totally agree. The only reason why I posted that was because even a shitty magazine such as ONM noted how shoddy it was.


\"I\'m here for the pussy.


I AM GAY, so please respect my privacy at this difficult time\"

Internal turmoil right there Smilie

( Edited 20.06.2008 19:03 by Linkyshinks )

I'm a confused young person, still trying to discover my sexual niche. Am I making you uncomfortable yet?

knighty said:
Yummy. I love misinformed opinions in the evening.

The Wii version definitive one to own? Please.... Linkshinks already outlined why this game fails on the Wii. Being able to waggle your hand around doesn\'t make a game better. Given the choice between waggle controls and AI, visuals and physics I\'ll take the later thank you very much.

lol I wasn\'t solely referring to waggle controls, rather utilizing all Wii\'s abilities to their fullest. The system can put out some damn good gfx and more than decent AI and physics, but like anything else takes some effort in order to get results. Lazy, bias, cheap, stupid, whatever. 3rd parties just need a good kick in the nuts. And I\'m just the man for the mission. Smilie

( Edited 20.06.2008 21:46 by MechaG2 )

Chance favors the prepared mind.

Martin_ said:
I'm a confused young person, still trying to discover my sexual niche. Am I making you uncomfortable yet?

Do you want some bum secks? tis free!

anyway moving on... this game looks quite good from the clips ive seen...!

I see all these people insulting the Nintendo corporation because of the lack of mature content. Yet there is something about Nintendo (at least their games) that strikes a certain unadulterated feeling of joy!!!  Pokemon Y - 1048-9263-5562

\"I\'m here for the pussy\"

Wow they have those here??? May i have 2 please?

( Edited 21.06.2008 10:03 by Andrezao )

Well, the screenshots are crap and it was obvious they weren't going to try with the Wii version.

ONM gave it a 64% and told the Wii team to call them back when the game was finished.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=4827


Too many bugs/glitches
It's simply not finished!

Seems like ONM actually got something right.Smilie

Follow Me on twitter :: @Stulaw90 || My Youtube || Backloggery
NNID: Stulaw

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