This Week in Defunct Games - May 25, 2012

What Is It? The Game & Watch is back with another set of long-forgotten gems from the 1980s. For those too young to remember anything older than a Game Boy, the Game & Watch was Nintendo's earliest portable. Using an archaic LCD screen, Nintendo created simple action games with very limited animation. As the title suggests this is the second Game & Watch collection, offering Nintendo 3DS owners a choice of six classic games.

This time around gamers are treated to Parachut, Chef, Donkey Kong, Helmet, Vermin and the unlockable Ball. These games are simple, usually requiring perfect timing in order to catch, smack, crack and jump your way to victory. Not only are these games presented in their original glory, but Nintendo managed to recreate these games and insert Mario. Although the two versions have the same ultimate goal, there's enough of a difference between the remake and original to warrant playing both.

Does It Still Hold Up? Unsurprisingly, none of the games in Game & Watch Gallery 2 are very deep. These were small titles meant to be played for only a few minutes, simple enough to pick up and play without any instructions. The remakes are slightly more playable than the classics, but I found myself spending more time with the original graphics. To their credit, Nintendo did an excellent job recreating these ancient games. I'm glad they did, even if I quickly got bored.

Is It Worth The Money? There are some strong titles in Game & Watch Gallery 2, but it only took a few minutes to get bored of many of the titles. The good news is that Game & Watch Gallery 3 is likely right around the corner, offering more than ten must-play releases (including my beloved Donkey Kong II). Gallery 2 doesn't quite stack up, which makes it hard to recommend. There's nothing bad about this collection, but it doesn't feel as inspired as other Nintendo releases.

What Is It? Stop me if you've heard this before: You're stuck in a spooky mansion full of puzzles, locked doors and limited ammo. And just when you've mastered the tank-like controls, you're forced to go toe-to-toe against a whole host of ghoulish monsters. But here's the kicker: The game I'm describing isn't a Resident Evil sequel; it's actually Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare for the PlayStation.

Before Jill became the master of unlocking there was Edward Carnby, the unlucky hero of Alone in the Dark. Despite bumbling his way through several adventures, The New Nightmare is only Edward's second console outing (the first being a game nobody played on the 3DO). This time around we hear of a mysterious murder on a shadowy island, so it's up to our hero (and his female sidekick) to crash a helicopter on the island and get sweet, sweet revenge.

Much like Myst, last week's dreadful PSone Classics release, Alone in the Dark is full of vague puzzles that have no interest in helping you out. Sure, the game tells you that a door has been unlocked, but not where. After solving nearly every puzzle, the player is forced to backtrack and guess at what to do next. This ultimately hurts the pacing and keeps Alone in the Dark from hitting the same highs as Resident Evil.

Does It Still Hold Up? Visually, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare squeezes every last bit out energy out of the PlayStation hardware. The background graphics are stunning for a 32-bit game and I was reasonably impressed with the audio. However, players are still forced to battle an unwieldy control scheme. Couple that with annoying combat and you'll find that an otherwise stellar presentation is marred by terrible play mechanics.

Is It Worth The Money? I've always been intrigued by the Alone in the Dark franchise, but turned off by some of its design decisions. I am thoroughly impressed with the game's visuals, right down to the creepy figures you only see in the split-second flash of lightning. Sadly, the rest of the game's mechanics hurt the enjoyment a decade later. Also, it's worth noting that this game has been released on newer systems (the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2), so this isn't even the best looking version. The New Nightmare can be a lot of fun, but know what you're getting yourself into before spending the money.