There is a telling moment very early on in Alone in the Dark when you realise you are in for something special. Lulled into thinking it just another survival horror rerun down pokey linear corridors, suddenly an in-game cutaway opens out upon the breathtaking expanse of Central Park by night – courtesy of missing chunks of masonry where a New York skyscraper wall should be. It’s any self-respecting acrophobe’s nightmare: as you gaze out, teetering vertiginously on the brink, an unearthly stillness and quiet ling­ers across the park and over what is usually one of the nosiest and most frenetic cities in the world. Meticulously detailed, chock-full of sinister atmosphere and gorgeous to look at, it is developer Eden’s statement of intent that you are going to play not just a good game but a great one.

As paranormal investigator Edward Carnby, you wake up to find yourself about to be used as pigeon fodder at the hands of a foul-mouthed heavy. Until, that is, something begins tearing fissures out of the solid concrete all around you like strips of paper. And someone or something has been performing DIY surgery on Carnby’s face. As for that wonderful park, any genuine New Yorker will tell you that if you wander around the greensward late at night you’re asking for it. Especially when the only picnic to be had, with so many of the teeth-grinding undead out for a midnight stroll, is you. A damned inconvenience, because Carnby has to uncover an earth-shattering secret lurking in the park in order to save his hunky hero skin.

The production values of this reinvented classic adventure game franchise are impressive. The game’s blockbuster TV drama-like structure (think Lost and 24) offers cliffhanger episodes linked by the unfolding story arc. Scripted with hard-edged dialogue by writer Lorenzo Carcaterra (Sleepers, Law and Order), each episode is preceded by a voiceover and visual recap. Effectively, anyone can finish this game. If you’re a bloody fool you can even jump right to the last episode – and in so doing miss all of AITD’s immersive gaming glory.

Using developer Eden’s own Twilight technology, the light and shade effects are stunning (witness the shaft of light distorted by a flickering ventilation fan along a dark corridor as Carnby blinks and staggers his way to consciousness). And the game’s ‘Real World Rules’ technology means interaction with (and utilisation of) everything around you in the free-roaming environment of the park. Hotwire a car, rummage in the glove compartment – but don’t toot that horn! You’re likely to attract the attention of those hungry nocturnal picnickers if you do. The enemy AI will instinctively get at you by the shortest route it can. It moves, kills and eats. You. If you’re wounded, it picks up the scent of your blood. As any seasoned zombie killer will tell you: easy – shoot ’em in the head! But not these shambling blighters. They’ll simply get up again and learn to dodge when you shoot. You’ve got to torch the bastards!

Alone in the Dark is a pyro­maniac’s paradise. Fire is your friend. Eden has given it a brilliant life of its own. It is the game’s ultim­ate weapon. Anything that can burn will burn, including you. Tarry too long to admire the lick of a few pretty flames and you are soon trapped atop your own terminal Bonfire Night. The same versatility that allows you to make use of fire extends to the equally versatile inventory system. To avail himself of useful combinations, Carnby simply flashes his jacket open (while roaming the park? Surely no accidental joke!).

Gleaning elements from other games, whether it be FPS, RPG or vehicular chaos, Eden wisely chooses not to rely on any one to the detriment of others. The mix works in a way that most crossovers rarely do, because the core strength of this game is its superbly realised setting and atmosphere. Eden pulls off that rare feat in horror of making open spaces scary. And your average flesh-eating zombie is the least of your worries when it comes to what is lurking in that eerie expanse of Central Park.

Add to the unfolding story (names like Hammett and Crowley tantalise throughout) and free-roaming environment (employing advanced high definition cinema­tographic effects) a series of adrenalin-rush set pieces like ‘59th Street’ (a breakneck race across splitting tarmac as New York coll­apses all around you); ‘Ride to the Museum’ (your car pursued by a horde of mutant ‘vampirz’ exercising more savagery than a pack of Folkestone seagulls after a bag of chips) and effortless first and third person switching, and there’s a bit of everything for everyone here. This game is a Jack-of-all-trades and yet is masterly with it. If there is a release with more flair, loving attention to detail and fully rounded game play this year, I’ll be aghast. No stroll in the park, this one. Alone in the Dark is a glorious gaming rampage.

Click here for Nick's account of his real-life trip to Central Park in search of the truth about conspiracies, cockatrices, Martians and monster koi carp.