IT'S night. Coils of darkness are snaking in all around you, and all you have to keep you sane as hideous sounds creep ever closer is the feeble light of your torch.

What's worse? Knowing the creatures are outside the light of your torch or the moment you actually see them, up close and all too personal? Welcome to Alone In The Dark.

For those in need of a quick history lesson, Alone In The Dark was the original survival horror series. Where Resident Evil has trampled in the last few years has been in the footsteps of the intrepid ghost hunter Edward Carnby. Carnby returns in this tale, but he's undergone a makeover the likes of which even Michael Jackson would be impressed by. No disintegrating noses here, though, as the stuffy old professor has become a hip, cool gothic investigator. Paired with the attractive scientist Aline, the duo set off to investigate Shadow Island, where all manner of unspeakable evil has been unleashed.

Both characters are playable in separate stories which form two halves of a whole, with plenty of character development in each, especially Aline's as she searches for the truth about her father.

The graphics are lush, dark and un-nerving. Despite only being 2D backgrounds, the programmers have pulled off a neat trick with the flashlight, laying a 3D wireframe map over the backdrops to make the light look realistic when the torchlight plays over them.

The torch isn't just there to look pretty, though, forming an essential part of your armoury at times as some of the evil critters you face are driven away by light.

While the game may be overly simplistic in the puzzles it presents, it still offers a great deal of brooding suspense, and with quality titles on the PlayStation disappearing fast, it's definitely one to pick up. On the PC, controls don't suffer from the usual problems of games pulled from a console, although gamers there might have expected the graphics to be upped a bit.

Graphics 4/5

Sound 4/5

Gameplay 4/5

Gamespan 4/5

Overall 4/5