Alone in the Dark 3: Just like the Original

The room with the creepy monster proved easier to solve than expected. I had shot at the target in there, but it turns out I wasn't shooting it right. For hitting it right I get a flask and a war stick. A new musical sting plays when I pick it up, in addition to whenever I reload. What do I do with it? I don't know, it doesn't do anything in here though. Further, I don't exactly have a path down.

This is real hard to capture properly

How do I advance? Why, I use the completed flash on the film on the floor. I knew something was on the floor, but it was never clear it was film. Which is something I realize I'm harping on. Anyway, the monster releases an agonizing scream, and then the happy music resumes. Doing, doing-doing, doing-doing.

The bats are much easier to see in motion

Going down the hole loses me several items, mostly ammo, and I have to reload the lamp, light it and then use it. Where upon I am accosted by bats. Might be invincible, might not be, they do attack me before I can attack them, and that's really what's important. I run away.

I hate this so much

To the next screen, where I there are pillars. They brought back the jumping. They brought back the jumping. God damn, I hate survival horror jumping. I have ever since I was a youth and played the Men in Black PC game. But here, somehow despite having fairly chunky platforms, its very much a crapshoot. Naturally, I bite it.

There's something bizarre about this

New death screen, featuring random undead just hammering Carnby with a shovel again and again. Brutal, yet comical. The platforming in this particular game is a special form of hell, there's no way around it. You barely have the space on the opening platform to get to the second one, and while it does get easier there, its a stretch to say it gets good. This isn't like Tomb Raider, which despite being criticized for its controls has very precise platforming, and a good camera. Well, good-ish camera. Platforming in a fixed camera game is a bit awkward, since in addition to the usual navigation, you have to think about it in an arc. And Alone in the Dark already has issues with the edges of things, making me do things precisely in that situation is not good.

At least in situations like this its obvious its a puzzle

I eventually make it to an Indian, he's blocking my path. Well, a good old-fashioned use item situation, no? Amulet doesn't work, but the war stick does. He walks out of my way and a platform raises up.

Whereas here its not

A few more jumps later and I'm stuck. Takes me a while to figure out this isn't just a case where I have to make a precision jump or something. No, I have to use an item. I try the amulet, and another Indian appears, and moves me across. Huh. The platform raises up.

The barrel there contains silver salts, something I don't need...I hope

This takes me right in front of a gambler-type, who attacks me. Using the last of my Winchester ammo, I take him out. But I still hear footsteps, another undead charges me, but I manage to take him out with a few punches. That melee combat is still awkward. This nets me a top hat and a key. This opens a nearby door. This is the big bank-looking building I saw near the beginning, where the dude was watching Carnby get blown up. There's an upstairs, but the only thing I can deal with yet is that key door. It all feels a little pointless.

The hotspots here are not at all obvious

The unlocked room is a library. Its got a bunch of books, one locked and one without writing on it, both no doubt puzzles for me to figure out. There's also a printing plate and a watch, which upon getting changed the music. The one book I can read reveals that the watch is some kind of unlocking tool.

Adjust the picture so we're looking at Lincoln, and you got yourself a strange fighting game

It requires some precision in location, like everything to use, but I get another door unlocked. As I enter, it sounds like Carnby is knocked out and the screen goes black. Is Carnby captured? No, Morrison, the blacksmith is alive. He tells me not to shoot. Showing I don't mean him any harm I walk towards him and a get a story-board. It shows a train station blowing up. I think I get the message.

The animation makes things look so much better

He walks towards the entrance and holds out a gun. I can't get past him, but quickly enough he shoots something, something undead appears in front of a curtain, and moves it, showing a window. He disappears and another one appears close to the blacksmith. I can't do anything to stop him killing the blacksmith, as I'm immobile until he does. He's not that tough to kill, and neither are his two compatriots that just showed up. The watch doesn't work on any more doors so for now I'm stuck here. For some reason Carnby feels like he's much slower than before. I can't go up to the window since Carnby says its too evil.

Their rage cannot be contained

The solution is far simpler than I thought, just shoot the window. Now Carnby can go up, and he automatically goes through it, leading to a graveyard. Where the gameover was not too long ago. It doesn't take long before the two grave diggers with shovels come out...but the funny thing is after briefly trying to kill one, I run away, and they start hammering the crap out of each other. Once again it seems I have to figure out a puzzle, as the way forward is too small for Carnby to enter. The central pillar has nothing I can fit in.
At this point, I decide to check the walkthrough again, not to see the solution here, but to make sure I didn't miss something earlier. I went to some trouble to get that bag of gold and it disappeared. Nope...hang on, I missed ammo and a key? Damn it. More platforming later, and I have the key to the locked book. Its about the traditions of the Navajo. The first page tells of Pregzt, the pirate from the first game, as the author of "White Book", which is the one without writing on it. Invisible ink. "...firelight Pregzt chanted impious incantations..." Yeah, got it.

There's a lot of strange in this situation

Putting the war stick in the central pillar, properly, causes the grave diggers to die...and something to shoot out at a tomb with something 3D on it. At first I ignore it, but then I realize nothing else has changed. I don't know, use the ace of diamonds on it...? It works, Carnby enters, gets a message, and a pillar rises to the second floor of the bank. What's on the message? I'll be back. That's a helpful message...wait, its from One-Eyed Jack? From the last game?

An actual survival game in this style might be cool

The room is seemingly unreachable, but it has plenty of stuff in it. An oil can, some pemmican, and a roll of film. What I do with the oil can is simple enough, there's a fireplace in here that needs oiling...which opens up a wall.

Note the faded colors next to the pillars, that's a solid wall

Inside its...something. Happy music plays, I guess its some kind of theme museum? The tacky kind that's kind of popular in American. Animatronic musicians, that sort of thing. Lots of items in here, a hammer, some more ammo, and at the end, a guitar string, musical sheet and the key to a safe. Upon getting that a nearby statue comes to life and tries to shoot me. After dealing with him I hear a persistent whirling sound in the background. There's another one just rotating endlessly, no doubt to hurt me. And of course as I approach another one near the end starts shooting at me. Neither can be killed, so I just run past into the original room.

Who designs a building this way?

In the original room its not obvious where to go, but I do know that Carnby said the sideboard looks strange. I got the pemmican from it, so I start pushing it. Nothing from the left or forward...and as I do so from the right, the view changes to show there's a hallway behind it. I have to wonder if that was always in there or it got added in after testing. You never know in this game.

The more I think about this room, the less it makes sense

This takes me back to the upstairs hallway, with the locked and walled off doors. Its not obvious what I'm supposed to do, but by process of elimination, I use the 30-30 bullet on the only door I haven't entered and then use the hammer on it. That unlocks it and allows me inside. This is a...model store/clothing store/bank. Isn't it whole building a bank? Oh, well. From the model section I get a blasting cap, a map showing me where to use it, and a light bulb. In the clothing store, I use the string on a mounting device, followed by a light bulb and the film.

I can't wait to see Begotten done in Alone in the Dark style CGI

This, curiously, starts up a film, showing someone, I think Emily, getting put in a creepy-looking circle by an undead outlaw. "I'll get you Carnby", is added in intertitles. So this is a taunting message from Stone...who took the time to make this. That's a lot of effort for not much reward, especially considering I didn't discover this the first couple of times I went through this room.

In the bank, there's an astronomy book, not sure how its relevant, but it mentions something about a pearl. I have a pearl. I also notice a painting that seems to be 3D. Using it opens it, and changes the music. It seems to want a code, but I'm concerned that someone is about to shoot me. Wouldn't you know it, I walk to the entrance, and I get shot by someone off-screen and die. Or...wait, that's just a trap. It seems the safe is the only way forward for now, and I'll have to figure that out somehow. Its just spitting out 201, what I should do with that info...I don't know. Still, this game can't be much longer.

This Session: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 50 minutes

 

As an aside, I've started rewriting some of my older reviews. New content may come out slower because of this.