This is the latest addition to the alone in the Dark series, the new sequences of games which border on nightmares. As in the previous games, here too you will counter a series of unfortunate events and find yourself in the midst of spooky, horror mysteries.
The main character is Edward Carnby. He agrees to travel to Shadow Island to investigate the death of his friend, Charles Fiske. It soon becomes apparent that Carnby seeks revenge and not a solution to his friend’s mysterious death. Aline Cedrac, a young scholar, joins the expedition to help decipher ancient Indian tablets. However, the real reason for her joining the team is because she is led to believe that the scientist on the island could be her long lost father. You can play as either Carnby or Aline through the entire story.

Each character has his/her own goals, so the gameplay for the two are entirely different. For some, this may add to replay value, but at times, it can be quite frustrating. The Aline version of Alone 4 is puzzle-orientated and involves less shooting. She merely uses her flashlight to thwart off the ugly baddies from hell. She does not even start off with a real weapon. Carnby, on the other hand, is hell-bent to vanquish the creatures of darkness that inhabit the island.

There are many monsters to avoid or kill when you play as him. Although you communicate with the other character from time to time via a walkie-talkie, these are generally scripted events. The only time you actively use the walkie-talkie is during a silly puzzle in which Carnby must follow Aline’s directions and radio back what he sees.
Unfortunately, this is also where you’ll encounter a bug: if you use the menu system to access the radio, Carnby can’t contact Aline; instead you must use the radio hot-key to get past the scene.

Suspense is what makes movies and games scary. Alone 4 is seriously lacking in this department. For instance, a crack of thunder is followed by a shrill scream. Perhaps, a silhouette of a creature will appear suddenly. Sometimes, a big purple bug will jump on you when you least expect it to. But all these do not add to the suspense element. The music doesn’t help either, as it sounds like a quirky organ version of those old pinball machines from the Eighties.

The gameplay is tough.The controls are similar to those in Resident Evil 3. You need a gamepad. Or else, you could customise the keys. If you want to play two different games with each character, you cannot use the quicksave feature. It will erase the previous games, and the limited four slots you get to save do not even offer a place to type a short description. That’s yet another drawback. The graphics are good and so is the spooky sound effect. The flashlight effect is done well. Mystery lovers and spooky game hunters can go for this one.

Minimum system requirements: Pentium II 300 MHz (or better), 64Mb RAM, 400Mb free hard disk space for installation and 100Mb additional space should be left free whilst playing the game , DVD or 4x CDROM drive, Keyboard and mouse, Open GL-compliant graphics card with at least 8Mb, DirectX 8 compatible sound card, Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME or 2000