Alone in the Dark is a game we really loathe to not like, but at the end of the day we do have to admit that we don't like it and that the game isn't really all that great. It's a real shame because we can tell that //Alone in the Dark is actually a real good game underneath. The story in compelling, the presentation is gripping and the gameplay itself mixes a load of styles together to make a final product that is unique and interesting.

Unfortunately, all of that potential is lost underneath a sea of problems on the PC version. The controls are unwieldy and awful, the graphics regularly freak out and break, the game can't decide what it is or how it wants you to play it and the balancing has got more holes in than the Incredible Hulk's underwear.

Instant-deaths and poor control schemes are really only the tip of the iceberg, but they do reveal the real problem beneath the ocean of minor gripes. Fixed camera angles and checkpoint saves? This is a console game, ported poorly to the PC and left to fester.

On a console, we can see this game making a lot more sense and having a lot more accessibility. This game was built from the ground up to be played with analogue sticks and that's clearly evidenced by the many mini-games and woeful handling. On the PC though, the game is part oil, part water -- and that mix just doesn't work.

We want to like it, we really do -- especially since we had to go out and buy it -- but the reality is that although the game may be good on a console, on the PC the experience is more infuriating than fun and is suited only to the survival horror hardcore. You know who you are.