Alone in the Dark: Inferno

One of the biggest improvements has been in the driving sections. In its original form, the game was as unhelpful as possible, with spongy handling and an array of objects to snag you at every opportunity. On at least three occasions you could - if you weren't careful - end up playing the same scripted section over and over until you got lucky or gave up. With the words of enraged gamers no doubt ringing in its ears, Eden has not only changed the handling, but implemented checkpoints to eliminate some of the repetition. It'd be generous to say the driving's a pleasure, but to give you an idea of the difference it makes, something that took me about 50 attempts on the 360 was done in two on PS3. So rather than get bogged down in game rage over a three-minute section, you're allowed to make progress and enjoy the unfolding narrative.

Sadly that doesn't mean there aren't still problems. The unforgivably drawn-out section where you're expected to burn loads of evil roots remains, and still requires an iron will and an unreasonably persistent nature to get through. Eden has at least given this bit some context by introducing the concept earlier, but you still have to crawl around Central Park for hours (with generally limited resources) doing it and it's by far the least enjoyable element of the game, even though it has its moments. It's doubly upsetting because the chapter that follows is probably the best of the lot, throwing a sequence of intriguing puzzles into the mix in a tense finale.

Ultimately the game's inability to tutor players renders it clunky. Properly introduced, it might have met with a warmer reception, and this patched version does little to remedy that. It's easier to forgive the problems that remain, but you still have to accept that you'll be thrown in the deep end a lot, and that a layer of polish is still absent. Giving players the ability to experiment both in a combat and puzzling sense was always going to be risky.