Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing

2003’s Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing is regarded as one of the worst games in the history of the medium, with good reason. The Stellar Stone developed title involves players making their way through the US in an effort to get cargo goods delivered within time. In actuality, however, playing it is an exercise in pain as you try to wrestle with the game’s multitude of bugs and other technical inefficiencies that will make you want to throw your controller in the air.

15. Past Cure (2018)

There’s sordid plot, shoddy action and oddly ilfitting puzzles in a supernatural third person shooter…and then there’s Past Cure. The development team was small and fairly inexperienced, thus resulting in uneven AI and performance. However, that doesn’t excuse the story which was just a meandering mess when it wasn’t outright dull.

But this game, Alone in the Dark: Illumination, it takes home the prize for least enjoyable Beta test I’ve been involved in.

I appreciate the fact that this is the “Initial Beta Build” of the game, I do, but even with that in mind there’s no excuse for a 3+ minute load time before even reaching the first menu screen that can crash in the background. After my first 30-40 minutes of gameplay, which was exceptionally disappointing,  it became readily apparent that there was no reason for this load time. That is, if you manage to make it past the load screen. I sat through multiple crashes and KTD’s. And this wasn’t restricted solely to my personal experience, even a skim search through other tester comments turned up similar reports.

"I appreciate the fact that this is the “Initial Beta Build” of the game, I do, but even with that in mind there’s no excuse for a 3+ minute load time before even reaching the first menu screen that can crash in the background."

Once I battled my way through the lengthy load times, I was introduced to my character. “The Hunter Class” character goes by the name of Theodore ‘Ted’ Carnby, a Leon Kennedy-esque, leather jacket clad pseudo hero that dual wields two six shooters and pulls an AK47 out of thin air.

Despite running the game at it’s “Extreme” settings, the character model is a chore to look at, what I could see of him at least. The field of view is eye-achingly narrow and it gets only more narrow when you aim your weapon, that’s not to mention what it does when you sprint, look down or jump.

Sprinting throws just how awful the character model is, into the harsh light of criticism. ‘Teds’ shoulders couldn’t fit a standard fire exit and his jumping animation is more akin to being lifted into the air by a hook.

Moving forward into the game, I ran into horrible lag. The visuals, soundscape and overall aesthetic of the game, despite being in Beta, can’t fully justify the games dreadful performance. Running the game on Extreme settings and running it on Low settings sees no improvement to performance on my end, but other testers have reported performance ranging from abysmal to great.

The specifications listed on the Steam page aren’t very demanding and my PC crushes the required specifications, so the performance is an objective concern that needs addressing. The one redeeming factor that I can point out in regards to visuals is the Skybox which really is beautiful. Layers of cloud can be seen blowing in overlapping folds while lightning rips the sky asunder.

Gameplay is unfortunately a let down. The overall gameplay feels disjointed and disappointing which is unfortunate because the gameplay premise is at least a little bit interesting. Keeping the lights on, staying safe and staying on the move keeps things feel as though they’re moving forward. The demonic hell spawn that rush you pose a considerable threat when they close the distance and start clawing, their ranged attacks however, are easily avoided.

"The best aspect of this game is its level design. The stages are expansive enough to ensure you’re never able to watch all the corners."

The catch to their charging attack style is that they are nigh-unstoppable when you simply shoot them, the trick is to get them into the light then shoot them when their skin crackles. Only then do you really have a chance of killing them in numbers enough to survive the attack. The downside to this is that it’s not implemented nearly as well as it is in say, Alan Wake.

On the subject of killing your enemies, it’s actually rather difficult to tell when you’ve scored a kill or even a hit for that matter. There is absolutely zero feedback in the game. If you’re playing with a keyboard and mouse then you’re probably acquainted with the lack of vibration feedback, but this is often compensated for by powerful feeling weapons.

Firing your weapons doesn’t feel powerful or at all meaningful, this may have been excused if it was a problem that was exclusive to silenced weapons, but even your dual magnums, which are typically comparable to cannon blasts, are quiet and pathetic. This lack of punch coupled with the fact that enemies barely react to bullet wounds, really makes the entire experience feel flat and uninteresting. The melee animation, which is hopefully a placeholder, is laughable.

The best aspect of this game is its level design. The stages are expansive enough to ensure you’re never able to watch all the corners. There’s an interesting mix of close quarters environments and larger more open spaces. When you’re in the smaller areas there’s no real sense of horror, but the threat is at least more prevalent. Open spaces leave more room for the enemies to close with you and bring their claws to bear. Some tweaking needs to be done though, switches are tricky to press in the middle of combat and there’s constant buildings and textures popping in.

As I said in the beginning, I understand that this is a Beta and these problems may well be fixed by the time the game ships. There is a lot potential for this game and it has a lot of space to grow, it’s certainly a title that would prove interesting when it is in a better state. Hopefully Pure FPS can take the feedback from testers and turn this game into something worthwhile.

If you have been simultaneously hyped and wary of Atari’s upcoming Alone in the Dark: Illumination, the reboot of the pioneering survival horror series, then you’re being given a chance to put your doubts to rest. Or well, you might be given one, since Atari will be inviting fans for a private beta of the game starting January 29. To enter the beta, visit the game’s Steam page.

“Alone in the Dark has a passionate following of players who have kept up with the series since the original 1992 release,” said Fred Chesnais, Chief Executive Officer, Atari. “By introducing cooperative multiplayer, this new game engages the nostalgic fan-base and introduces a new generation of PC gamers to the franchise. We have a long-term plan for Alone in the Dark and there will be much more to come.”

“With the introduction of a single-player mode with the merciless Hunter, within the first environment, the menacing Coal Mine, we are laying the foundation of Alone in the Dark: Illumination,” said Peter Banks, Senior Product Lead, Atari. “Subsequent updates will introduce new, compelling elements building on this first beta period. The multiplayer mode will also enhance the strategic light-based gameplay, complement the diverse character capabilities, and ensure ongoing fun.”

Alone in the Dark promises a return to the series’ roots- it is set to debut some time this Spring, so stay tuned for more news and information.

The game, which is currently running on Unreal Engine 4, is slated to be published by the series owners and industry legends, Atari. The game is also currently set to be released on November of 2014 with no specific date having yet been released. Unlike most other entries into the series, Alone in the Dark: Illumination is a wholly online experience using a purely multiplayer based gameplay model.

HTML1

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

​Development on Alone in the Dark: Illumination has been in development with Pure FPS for an undisclosed period of time, but during this secretive development period, the title was simply referred to as Alone in the Dark. The game was originally set to be announced in may of this year, but was later pushed back until the PAX East show when the development was presumably a bit further along and a more stable build of the game was ready to be shown.

Despite only being announced officially in May of 2014 (at Pax East) the game has already left its closed Alpha testing period and is set to enter its beta testing stage of development in the Fall. The beta programs access will be available to a limited number of players who pre-order the game ahead of time at selected retailers. Because of this and the undisclosed development time prior to the announcement, some remain sceptical over how high the games final quality will be.

Story

​The plot of Alone in the Dark: Illumination unfolds in the abandoned town of Lorwich, located in Virginia close to the southern border that divides the state from North Carolina. The town was abandoned after a sudden and terrible flood struck and utterly destroyed what was once a successful industrial towns only means of generating income. The striking of the flood caused a mass exodus of the Lorwich people, leaving the town nothing but a shell of it’s former glory days. Since then, the town has fall into disrepair and is largely forgotten.

The flood itself was a mysterious accident, swelling up as it did without warning or clear signs of impending danger, and since that day nobody has stepped foot in the town for fear of the tales being true. There have been stories of creatures and shades moving in the towns now pervasive fog. “The Darkness” that creeps across Lorwich is rumoured to be nothing other than evil.

Gameplay

​Unlike the games that made the series popular, recent ventures into the Alone in the Dark have steered the series away from it survival horror roots, evidenced in the last Alone in the Dark game and Alone in the Dark: Illumination.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination is an online only Action Horror game that sees players group together in teams of up to four players in a cooperative play style where each character has a distinct personality, ability and equipment. Some characters have access to conventional weapons such as pistols and rifles whereas others will make use of arcane magics.

While the game does have a clearly defined and constructed environment, there are some randomly generated assets in the game. Enemy locations, room layouts and locked doors for example can all appear in different locations. The goal is for the team to make their way to the end of the stage and reach a vault where they can find safety, very much like the safe houses in the popular Left 4 Dead series.

Characters

​The Alone in the Dark franchise was always driven forward by player interactions, thus characters were important. Alone in the Dark: Illumination is no different in that regard with each character bringing different abilities to the game. August 31st 2014 saw the reveal of the four characters that would act as primary protagonists being revealed.

The Hunter – The Hunter is a direct descendant of Edward Carnby​,​ the main male character of the original Alone in the Dark as well as three subsequent sequels. The Hunter makes use of heavy hitting firearms like the AK-47, M4, P90 or a Flame-thrower.

The Witch – The Witch is the great granddaughter of Emily Hartwood, the main female character of the original Alone in the Dark. The Witch primarily uses weapons that are steeped in magic. One of her abilities is the ability to possess enemies.

The Priest – The Priest is a new character that has been created specifically for Alone in the Dark: Illumination, he has no known connections to other characters in the Alone in the Dark series. Much like The Witch, The Priest makes use of magical abilities, but we don’t know anything about his powers just yet.

The Engineer – The Engineer is is a new character that has been created specifically for Alone in the Dark: Illumination. She has no known connections to other characters in the Alone in the Dark series and she uses long range firearms as well as an array of mechanical devices that she has created.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Globally recognized video game publishers and producers Atari have finally shed some light on their upcoming titles, Alone in the Dark: Illumination and Haunted House: Cryptic Graves.

Before being utterly usurped by Konami and Capcom, Atari were once the undisputed kings of survival horror thanks to their A Long in The Dark and Haunted House games, Chief Executive Officer Fred Chesnais (not too humbly) echoed the sentiment when he spoke at PAX Prime this year, saying “Atari was at the forefront of the survival horror game genre”.

Whether or not the latest Alone in the Dark will be on par with some of the recent survival horror hits like Silent Hill, Resident Evil and even games like Five Nights at Freddies (shut up, it counts) remains to be seen, but Fred has said, ” The modern and updated versions of these games will resonate with enthusiasts of the classics worldwide, and engage new fans through suspenseful, action-packed PC gameplay.”

That concerns me purely because survival horror need not include “suspenseful, action-packed PC gameplay” as a crutch. Fans of the original Alone in the Dark can vouch for this.

Haunted House however is set to be a horrifying first person adventure through a game riven with scary stuff that goes bump in the night. Vague I know, but you gotta work with what you’re given and Atari aren’t being particularly generous. It looks as though it has an Amnesia: Machine For Pigs vibe, but not quite as grim.

Forgive me for sounding down on Atari in this section, but I find it hard to write this for you folks knowing that the buzz words alone all but assure a mediocre outcome. After all, Haunted House is being developed by the same team that made the (I’m not making this up) “critically acclaimed survival horror game, Anna”.  Yes, the same Anna that more or less bombed for being drab and nonsensical.

Time will tell as to what quality of game we can expect with these two upcoming horror titles when they arrive some time in Fall of 2014.