I may not have been alone, but I was in the dark.

You couldn't pay me to walk around New York's Central Park, alone, at night. So why is it that's what Eden Games is asking me to do in the new, Alone in the Dark? Because it's scary, that's why.

Last night I got a preview of the new game hitting stores this week. I only got to see about the first board or so but I liked what I saw, or could see, rather. Hence the "dark" in the title. But don't worry, it's not long before you find the obligatory flashlight, or you know, your building goes up in flames.

Speaking of flames, you're going to spend a lot of time setting them and putting them out. You won't get bored with it though because it's entirely unpredictable, kind of like a real fire. Plus it looks amazingly realistic. Lucky for you the fire extinguisher never run out.

You play the typical amnesiac who has no idea the hell he's just woke up in. And with all the fire, it might as well be. There's some sort of demonic force at work which I only got a small look at during my preview. Bloody rips form in the walls that move like tentacles and suck people into the floor, wall or ceiling. A helpless (read, annoying) damsel gets possessed and leads you to believe you're a part of all the crap that's going down. Luckily all that fire comes in handy with these demon people. As long as you hit them in the right spots, setting them on fire will dust them like the vamps in Buffy.

Since I didn't get to see much of the game I'll be honest and say I got bored with it pretty quickly. I didn't even get to see the park. Though there seems to be a lot of room for a quick progression and a lot of fun. Items in the game have an almost limitless variety of combinations for use. If regular bullets aren't good enough for you, add some alcohol to them and you've got fire bullets. Players with a big imagination will likely be creating some stuff that will become popular on game forums and wind up being the standard.

Playing into television drama fans, Alone in the Dark follows the new episodic format last seen in the Lost video game Via Domus. You get a preview of the next episode when you finish one and see a "previously on" type of recap the next time you load up. Oddly enough you have the ability to fast-foward if the game gets to hard. Blasphemy to hard-core gamers but it sounds like a great idea to me. The last thing I want to do is get frustrated enough with a game to never finish it so I hope other games follow suit down the road.

Anyone looking forward to this? Play the original?

Grand Theft America

Holy crap. "Grant Theft Auto IV" made half a billion dollars in it's first week. Yes, I said half a BILLION!

And you thought the $300 million "Halo 3" made in it's first week was impressive. Take-Two Interactive dropped the bomb this morning, GTA 4 sold over 6 million units globally, making it the most lucrative launch in interactive entertainment history. Almost half the total was sold on it's release date. Granted, GTA 4 was released for XBOX 360 and Playstation 3, while Halo 3 was only on XBOX 360, but still. I'm sure it didn't hurt that they sold a $90 special edition either. Though why my boyfriend, or anyone else for that matter, needs a fake safety deposit box I'll never know (and don't wanna know).

"Rockstar's goal is to make each new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise even better than those that preceded it, and Grand Theft Auto IV is a smashing success on that score," said Ben Feder CEO of Take-Two. Smashing success? Is that the best he can come up with? They're probably gargling with liquid gold right now. 

There had been talk that the release of GTA 4 would hurt Iron Man's box office numbers. Obviously that wasn't the case. Personally I think that's a ridiculous argument. I think people who play video games are coherent enough (contrary to popular belief) to realize taking two hours out of their day to see a good movie is OK. The game will still be there when they get back. Video game sales only hurt the box office when there are crappy movies out.

$500 million dollars. It's hard to even comprehend that amount. Last years Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association only made around $63 million. And that's from fundraising done all throughout the year! I'd like to challenge each and every one who bought GTA 4 to give $60 to MDA this year as well (I may be a touch biased having MD myself). Once they've got $500 million, next year you can all give to another charity.

I guess it's true what they say, crime does pay.

Professor Layton and the Curious F%#&*@~ Village!!!

AAAAND breath.

I started playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village for my Nintendo DS yesterday. Seven hours later I threw my DS on the floor. Thank god for that nerf armor.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village is an adventure game developed by Level-5 which uses puzzles to move you through the story. You can play a demo of the game on it's official website (click the title of this entry). In order to reach certain areas of the game you must complete a specific number of puzzles. If you get stuck on a puzzle you can use "hint coins" you find along the way. Each puzzle is worth a certain amount of "picarats," a unit of value that tell you how difficult the puzzle is. If you guess wrong, the number of picarats you'll receive decreases the next time you attempt it (it will stop decreasing after the second wrong answer). Picarats are used to unlock bonus features at the end of the game.

Now, I know I'm partial to the adorable factor, that's the main reason I decided to play it. I mean, look at that picture. Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke are too cute for words, especially when they're thinking REALLY hard about a puzzle. I guess all that made me underestimate the make-me-feel-like-I'm-taking-the-SAT's factor. Seriously. I felt like I was taking the SAT's or an IQ test for seven hours. And I've only solved 48 puzzles so far. I'm an intelligent woman, but trust me when I say this game likes to be sneaky at times.

All in all, it's a good story so far. A nice little murder mystery with a few missing people thrown in for good measure. There's even a few cats! We all know how much I love cats. Would I recommend Professor Layton and the Curious Village? Not if you have high anxiety or anger management issues that's for damn sure. But if you enjoy that sort of thing, go for it. Remember, it IS adorable. And hey, if you wind up loving it, there's already a sequel called Professor Layton and the Devil's Box out in Japan which should be here in no time. Actually they are both part of a trilogy. The third installment is in development.

Well I better go get myself ready for another marathon of torture, uhh I mean, fun! The cover of the box says, "Solve brainteasers to crack the case," or your DS in my case.