In the shadow of the colossi
I wouldn't surprise anyone by proclaiming loud and clear that survival horror is a genre that is inexorably bogged down, due to seeing many sequels flourish. Of course, a new Silent Hill or a new episode of resident evil is always an event. However, we notice that the atmosphere is less worked in favor of a better visual realization. Two years ago, the excellent Project Zero had surprised the players as well as the press with its unique atmosphere. This fall, which will welcome Resident Evil : Outbreak et Silent Hill 4 : The Room, will perhaps be upset by the arrival of a brand new title: dark. Developed by the French studio Hydravision, dark is a survival-horror that takes place in an American university in which funny things are happening. Very largely inspired by the wave The Faculty, Scream, Buffy, this new French production, after the saga Alone In The Dark by Frederic Raynal (Infogrames), plays the card of teenager films to the fullest: atmosphere, characters, dialogues and music. In addition to a new universe, it is also the arrival of a Cooperative Mode which gives dark double interest. From now on, you will shiver together!
The Forbidden Experiment
After their basketball practice, Shannon, Josh, Stan and Kenny (there's even a Mr. Garrison… Who said South Park?!) go their separate ways in order to enjoy their evening like any good self-respecting student. However, no one expected to discover the terrible secret that Leafmore High is hiding. Being the latecomer of the group, Kenny will pay the price of a malicious person who drags him into the basement. And it is in the cellar of an old garden shed that the high school student will disappear and his screams will not change anything. Intrigued by the disappearance of their friend, Josh, Shannon, Stan and Ashley (his girlfriend) will lead the investigation through the school to find him. But when night falls, the school welcomes newcomers, warlike creatures propagating in the dark recesses of the sideboard. As you will have understood, your wanderings will bring to light a secret that had been dormant for ages in the corridors of the establishment...
The crazier we are, the louder we scream!
The originality ofdark is to propose 5 characters to embody. Each protagonist is endowed with a special ability that may prove essential during the story. Thanks to her first aid courses, Shannon heals her teammates better than the others since she offers a 25% health bonus with each healing. Ashley and Kenny are the sportsmen of the lot. She is good at taekwondo and shooting. Kenny will be able to sprint for a certain period of time. Josh, the little weasel, will have a certain ease in flushing out clues and solving puzzles. And finally, we find the essential star of lock picking, namely Stan, the bad boy of the group. The little guys apparently didn't learn the lesson of Scream which says never to split up, since you'll quickly split the group in two. Two searching, and two waiting at an assembly point. In the manner of Resident evil zero, it will be possible to change characters by pressing Circle. You will be able to give orders to the teammate controlled by the computer so that he helps you in the adventure. The four directions of the D-pad correspond to four different actions: come, stay, attack and help. All this being valid if you play solo at dark. Do not hesitate to press Select to see the health status of the characters since on the screen nothing appears. During the game, you have to rely on the vibrations of the Dual Shock to know if death is near. But in the Characters Menu, the photos of the different protagonists get damaged as the damage is taken. Avoid losing any of your friends, because even if the "game over" only appears once all the characters are dead, your chances of success melt like snow in the sun.
The unique experience
Now try the originality offered by dark. Plug in a second controller and play in Cooperative Mode with one of your friends. From then on, the game takes a whole new turn. Far from a cooperative Baldur's Gate where everyone stumbles upon a maximum of enemies, here we are dealing with a real understanding. It will often be necessary to protect his teammate during a lock picking or when he solves a puzzle. Because the enemies leave you no respite. And as often, it's when you least expect it that they appear en masse to reduce you to a pulp. So that it's not too messy, the fixed camera angles change according to the movements of the main player and if your teammate is not in the frame, a small logo appears on the screen to locate him. Of course it's better to stay together even if opening doors or other interactions only require one player. As with any Cooperative Mode, you will have to share your arsenal, ammunition and healing drinks. In the event that a player dies, it is of course possible to return to the assembly point in order to embody a new character.
Unquestionably, this is the major asset ofdark which could make you tremble RE : Outbreak, the opus of the saga resident evil cut off from its online mode for Europe.
At night all cats are gray
The creatures that you will find in the title of Watervision appear in the darkness of the classrooms, in the dark recesses of the basements. And it's only logical that light will take a preponderant place in the game. Sunlight or artificial lighting, depending on the degree of intensity, the enemies will burn and disappear in a cloud of blackish vapor. Breaking windows to let in the last rays of an autumn day is very effective in defeating monsters. As soon as night falls, it will be necessary to bring flashlights to keep them away. However, nothing beats a good load of buckshot in the sideboard to overcome even the toughest enemies. And arsenal level, dark is well off: iron bar, baseball bat, pistol, colt, shotgun, shotgun, laser (you can find everything in a high school!). One of the ideas taken from the saga resident evil is the ability to combine two objects together. So you can proudly sport a flashlight on your rifle using tape, unlike the marine of Doom 3 Who would have done better to follow in class! Who says lamp, says remarkable light effects. You have to admit it dark does pretty well graphically. The seedy school of Leafmore High, once plunged into darkness, seems gloomy to us and the beam of the lamp seems harmless when we discover the increasingly huge creatures of the game. Alone In The Dark, it is possible to walk around with your torch using the right analog stick. There are also the effects of darkness which are worked since each movement of monster is accompanied by a cloud of black spots which prove, if necessary, their attachment to darkness. The gameplay is very intuitive since it is similar, in the shooting phases, to resident evil. Browsing through the inventory doesn't require breaking the rhythm via an endless Start button. In dark, the L2 and R2 buttons allow you to select the objects and weapons to be used. This therefore gives the game a sustained pace, especially since the movements of the protagonists are faster and less stiff than in the Capcom or Konami sagas.
" The bell rang … "
The picture is almost idyllic and it is true that on many levels, dark does not disappoint. Even the soundscape is on point since you will shiver and panic as soon as a howl tears through the night, a floor creaks or a shutter slams. The dialogues fit perfectly with the "pimply teenage horror" genre, as does the music, a mix between punk (Sum 41 and Enhancer) and choir songs. However, there is still a point on which dark fall is its lifespan. Despite three difficulty levels, the game is botched in barely ten hours of play and even if the enemies are rather tough, the large number of save discs helps to avoid mistakes. Obviously in 2-player mode, we advance much more quickly since we no longer take into consideration the survival of the teammate managed by the AI. The other aspect a little neglected by Hydravision concerns the puzzles that are a little too basic... And to say that we complain about resident evil ! Finally, we can also note the lack of surprises that make us jump from our armchair. Apart from a few enemy bursts with a crash at the start of the game, dark is not an overly terrifying title.
