Alone in the Dark Goes Gold

From BluesNews:
Alone in the Dark Goes Gold is the press release announcing the conclusion of development on Atari's horror/survival game, which is expected in North American stores on June 24 and European stores on June 20 for PC, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2, while the PlayStation 3 edition is expected to follow sometime this fall. And Central Park is scary enough at night even before you account for the "earth-shattering truth" it holds:

Atari today announced that development is complete on the highly anticipated action survival game Alone in the Dark, and the game is on track to ship 20 June in Europe and 24 June in North America for Xbox 360 game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PC, Wii and PlayStation 2 . The PLAYSTATION 3 version is scheduled for autumn 2008. Central Park is hiding a secret. Over the course of one apocalyptic night trapped in Manhattan’s vast parkland, hero Edward Carnby must fight the unimaginable to survive and uncover the earth-shattering truth. New York will never be the same again.

Developed by Eden Games, Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360 and PC aims to change what gamers expect from action games with a ground-breaking reinvention of the classic franchise which debuted in 1992 and created the survival horror genre. Continuing the legacy of innovation of that first game, the new Alone in the Dark re-imagines the genre with engrossing cinematic presentation, compelling gameplay challenges and a thrilling narrative story arc.

The richly-detailed, contemporary setting of New York's Central Park is the host for a challenging mix of gameplay experiences, unprecedented environmental interaction and combat all based on real-world rules and physics. A seamless on-character inventory and health recovery system combine to maintain the immersion as the player drives the story through the free-roaming expanse of Central Park.

Inspired by the story-telling twists and turns of many blockbuster TV series, Alone in the Dark innovates once again with a DVD-style chapter select menu which lets players of all abilities reach the game’s dramatic, riveting climax and get the full value out of the game.

“With its genre-busting mix of gameplay, wide-screen presentation style and DVD chapter select feature putting the player in control, Alone in the Dark will thrill all gamers,” said Phil Harrison, President of Infogrames Entertainment. “It’s a game which will challenge the player but also reward them with a one-of-a-kind video game experience and a huge amount of fun.”

The Wii and PS2 versions of Alone in the Dark have been developed by Hydravision Entertainment in parallel with the Xbox 360 and PC games created by Eden Studios. The PS2 game pushes the hardware to maximise the gameplay experience, while the Wii game has been especially adapted to make use of the unique controllers in a variety of gameplay situations from driving to the real-time manipulation of objects.

In addition to the standard game, Xbox 360, PC and Wii Limited Editions will be available at launch from selected European retailers featuring exclusive items including hero figurine, art book and ‘making of’ documentary DVD.

For more information on Alone in the Dark visit http://www.centraldark.com.

I look forward to this title, as I've said previously, because I have fond memories of the originals. I hope it's just as Lovecraftian now as then... (full article)