Fans of Silent Hill, Resident Evil and Fear Effect 2 can now get the chance to experience how the original franchise will compete in the new millennium.

When we first heard that Alone In The Dark was to return we all jumped for joy. The big daddy of the survival horror genre was set to return on all the latest machines, including the Gameboy Color.<br><br>The Story:<br>Edward Carnby, the supernatural detective is back. This time it's for revenge. Carnby's best friend, Charles Fiske has been found dead off the mysterious island near the coast of Maine - Shadow Island. Carnby's investigation quickly leads him to Fred Johnson, who informs him of Fiske's search for the three ancient tablets that have the ability to unlock an incredible and dangerous power. <br><br>Johnson pleads with Carnby to take the place of Fiske and reopen the investigation in order to recover the tablets. Carnby accepts the mission as his life's goal to find and destroy the murderer of Fiske and avenge his death. <br><br>During the flight over to the eerie Shadow Island, Carnby meets the beautiful but tough high-spirited anthropologist, Aline Cedrac, who joins forces with him to avenge Fiske's death and help Carnby wipe out the diabolical monsters and evil forces that inhabit the island.<br><br>From their first steps on Shadow Island in the cold night of winter, mysterious and evil creatures determined to stop their progress, immediately confront Carnby and Aline. Stricken with a terrible sense of anguish and paranoia, few remaining people on the island cross Carnby's path. Fear lurks around every corner, within every shadow. <br><br>Encompassing the island rests a sombre mansion filled with endless traps and deep shadows. Each and every shadow could hide the deepest secret, or the worst nightmare. Who and what are hidden on this sombre island? Which invaluable secret is covered under its depths? When will Carnby and Aline end this horrible and formidable nightmare?<br><br>As soon as you load the game up you know you’re in for a real treat, the game starts with some incredibly eerie background music which set’s the mood. Once you start the game you are presented with a fantastic CG sequence with a film style plot and dialogue. The intro ends with you getting on a plane to visit an island where your friend Charles Fiske has been found dead. Just as you are about to land the plane comes under attack from some strange creature, deciding that the best way to escape is to jump out the plane with a parachute, Edward and Aline land in different places. This is where the game begins, you get to choose which character you want to play as; Edward Carnby, 33 male who is a private Eye, equipped with a double barrel gun, Aline Cedrac, 27 female who is a Ethnology Professor at Boston university who’s father has gone missing. Depending on which one you select will determine the game you play, and thus the ending. Choose wisely my friends.<br><br>Once you have made that tough decision of which character to play as, the game really starts to get going. The backgrounds are truly stunning, and the sound effects will see you leaping out of your chair. As you are walking through the forest in which you land, lightning will crack, thunder will band and strange howling noise will get your blood pumping. <br><br>The fist bit of action you get is fantastic; as you are walking you spot a glimpse of blood, turning on your spotlight you can see that the blood is leading to a small house, which looks like it belongs on the set of The Blair Witch Project. As you enter the building you see a human resting in the corner of the room who is seriously injured. The game changes to a cut scene, where the developers have used a cunning motion blur effect to make them look even nicer. As you try to help the injured guy he mumbles that there is no use in trying to help him, and that you must leave the island straight away otherwise you’ll be killed. So listening to him you leave the building and carry on with your mission, just as you are about to leave the current scene you hear a couple of shots and a horrifying scream from a creature. This is where you get that feeling when you know you should go back, but do I really want to? When you enter the house all you can see is a bloodbath, with guts and blood plastered across the walls, scanning the floor you can see a key, this my friends is the start to an incredibly scary game that will have you on the edge of your seat all the time.<br><br>The Sound in the game is fantastic, and once again a pure work of genius; I have mentioned this in my reviews before, and this is just another example of how sound in a game of this genre can really make it more complete. From the cracking of the lightning or the screaming of deadly creatures, you should have your TV set on high with the curtains closed for the ultimate spooky effect.</p> <br /> <p>Comments<br>Alone In The Dark 4: The New Nightmare is truly a fantastic game and shines like a diamond stone. With the limitations of the PlayStation, the developers have still managed to cram every last bit of detail into this one. Go out a buy it. Now!