Alone in the Dark 2
Encyclopedia
Alone in the Dark 2 is the 1993 sequel to 1992's survival horror video game Alone in the Dark
created by Infogrames
. The game is the second installment in the series. It was ported to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
in 1995 under the same name, and to the Sega Saturn
and Sony
PlayStation in 1996 as Alone in the Dark: Jack is Back in Europe, and renamed as Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack's Revenge in North America.
of 1924, three months after Alone in the Dark
. "Supernatural Private Eye
" Edward Carnby
and his partner Ted Stryker are investigating the kidnapping
of young Grace Saunders. The trail of clues leads to an old mansion
named "Hell's Kitchen" - the home of an infamous gangster
boss and his gang. Edward decides to pick up the trail when he learns of Ted's disappearance in the mansion. Unfortunately, Edward soon finds out that Ted has been murdered.
Carnby eventually finds out that the mobsters are the corporeal forms of the spirits of pirates that plundered the sea hundreds of years ago. Fighting his way into the house and ultimately onto a pirate ship hidden in the cliff on which Jack's house is built, Edward must rescue little Grace, and find out why the pirates have taken an interest in her.
), the main villains are gangsters and pirates. While the enemies are revealed to be possessed by evil spirits, and are green and zombie-like in appearance, they are far from the shambling walking corpses of the first game, and walk, talk, and behave much like ordinary people, arming themselves with Tommy Gun
s and shouting at the player. The game world is larger than that of the original, encompassing not only the mansion, but also the surrounding gardens as well as a pirate ship hidden in caverns beneath the house.
Although much of the game is spent playing as Carnby, the player will occasionally take control of Grace Saunders. Grace, a child, cannot fight and is instantly captured if the gangsters spot her, so instead she must sneak around and defeat the gangsters by turning common household objects into booby trap
s.
versions of the game, the floppy disk
version and the CD-ROM
version. While the floppy version was the original, the CD-ROM release added a full Red Book audio
reworked soundtrack, dialogue speech (in English only) and a new playable section of Grace Saunders not present in the original version, which connected the mansion and the ship areas. This version also removed the copy protection
from the floppy disk release.
A port for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
was released by Interplay
in 1995. It is very similar to the DOS CD-ROM version.
The versions released for the Sega Saturn
and PlayStation in 1996 featured reworked and fully textured
polygonal models, instead of the flat shaded ones from the DOS versions and 3DO port. New FMV
cutscenes were also added to these ports.
illustration on the top. It is a short adventure featuring the young child Grace Saunders. During halloween
, she enters a small toy store after dark and gets locked in it. There, the toys are alive, and Grace must save Santa Claus
from an evil Jack-in-the-box
. Jack in the Dark is an adventure game
that focuses purely on puzzles and has no combat. Later CD versions of both Alone in the Dark and Alone in the Dark 2 came packaged with Jack in the Dark.
Alone in the Dark (video game)
Alone in the Dark is a 1992 survival horror video game developed by Infogrames. The game has spawned several sequels as part of the Alone in the Dark series , and was one of the first survival horror games, after the 1989 Capcom game, Sweet Home...
created by Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
. The game is the second installment in the series. It was ported to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
in 1995 under the same name, and to the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation in 1996 as Alone in the Dark: Jack is Back in Europe, and renamed as Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack's Revenge in North America.
Plot
It is ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
of 1924, three months after Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark is the title of several works of fiction:*Alone in the Dark, a series of video games*Alone in the Dark , a 1992 video game and the first in the series...
. "Supernatural Private Eye
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
" Edward Carnby
Edward Carnby
Edward Carnby is a fictional paranormal detective featured in the Alone in the Dark series of survival horror computer games created by Infogrames. He has been the main protagonist in every game to date, with the exception of the mini game, Jack in the Dark, which instead features Grace Saunders,...
and his partner Ted Stryker are investigating the kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
of young Grace Saunders. The trail of clues leads to an old mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
named "Hell's Kitchen" - the home of an infamous gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
boss and his gang. Edward decides to pick up the trail when he learns of Ted's disappearance in the mansion. Unfortunately, Edward soon finds out that Ted has been murdered.
Carnby eventually finds out that the mobsters are the corporeal forms of the spirits of pirates that plundered the sea hundreds of years ago. Fighting his way into the house and ultimately onto a pirate ship hidden in the cliff on which Jack's house is built, Edward must rescue little Grace, and find out why the pirates have taken an interest in her.
Gameplay
The original game's horror theme has been significantly de-emphasized in the sequel. While there are some supernatural goings-on (Voodoo black magicBlack magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
), the main villains are gangsters and pirates. While the enemies are revealed to be possessed by evil spirits, and are green and zombie-like in appearance, they are far from the shambling walking corpses of the first game, and walk, talk, and behave much like ordinary people, arming themselves with Tommy Gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s and shouting at the player. The game world is larger than that of the original, encompassing not only the mansion, but also the surrounding gardens as well as a pirate ship hidden in caverns beneath the house.
Although much of the game is spent playing as Carnby, the player will occasionally take control of Grace Saunders. Grace, a child, cannot fight and is instantly captured if the gangsters spot her, so instead she must sneak around and defeat the gangsters by turning common household objects into booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s.
Releases
There were two DOSDOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
versions of the game, the floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
version and the CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
version. While the floppy version was the original, the CD-ROM release added a full Red Book audio
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
reworked soundtrack, dialogue speech (in English only) and a new playable section of Grace Saunders not present in the original version, which connected the mansion and the ship areas. This version also removed the copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
from the floppy disk release.
A port for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
was released by Interplay
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
in 1995. It is very similar to the DOS CD-ROM version.
The versions released for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and PlayStation in 1996 featured reworked and fully textured
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
polygonal models, instead of the flat shaded ones from the DOS versions and 3DO port. New FMV
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
cutscenes were also added to these ports.
Jack in the Dark
Jack in the Dark is a small game made during Alone in the Dark 2 production. It was used as a promotional game distributed at Christmas 1993 (just before Alone in the Dark 2 release). The game was on a single floppy in a golden wrapping featuring a Jack-in-the-boxJack-in-the-box
A jack-in-the-box is a children's toy that outwardly consists of a box with a crank. When the crank is turned, it plays a melody, often "Pop Goes the Weasel". At the end of the tune there is a "surprise", the lid pops open and a figure, usually a clown or jester, pops out of the box...
illustration on the top. It is a short adventure featuring the young child Grace Saunders. During halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, she enters a small toy store after dark and gets locked in it. There, the toys are alive, and Grace must save Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
from an evil Jack-in-the-box
Jack-in-the-box
A jack-in-the-box is a children's toy that outwardly consists of a box with a crank. When the crank is turned, it plays a melody, often "Pop Goes the Weasel". At the end of the tune there is a "surprise", the lid pops open and a figure, usually a clown or jester, pops out of the box...
. Jack in the Dark is an adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
that focuses purely on puzzles and has no combat. Later CD versions of both Alone in the Dark and Alone in the Dark 2 came packaged with Jack in the Dark.
Sequels
Like the first game, this sequel managed to produce more sequels:- Alone in the Dark 3Alone in the Dark 3Alone in the Dark 3 is the third installment of the Alone in the Dark survival horror video game series created by Infogrames. The video game was released in 1994. A Windows 95 version of the game was also released in 1996, under the name of Alone in the Dark: Ghosts in Town...
(1994) - Alone in the Dark: The New NightmareAlone in the Dark: The New NightmareAlone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, alternatively known as Alone in the Dark 4, is the fourth installment of the survival horror video game series Alone in the Dark, developed by Darkworks and published by Infogrames. The game was released in 2001 in North America and Europe on several platforms...
(2001) - Alone in the Dark (2008)