With the release date set for June 24, 2008 on PS2, PC, XBOX 360, and Nintendo Wii (PlayStation 3 version to follow) this is a game you will definitely not want to miss from Atari & Eden Games.

Taking the fear to a new level, the next-gen Alone in the Dark features the macabre style of the series played with new gameplay mechanics and a broader-reaching, action-packed play style. Explore fully-interactive realtime worlds, interacting with physics and roaming the wide-open, fright-filled environments.

This next-gen Alone in the Dark is also built around a unique episodic game structure — the story is split into a number of distinct 30-40 minute episodes, doled out one at a time as you play. Each time the player launches a saved game, the episode will begin with a video summary of the previous episode to quickly re-immerse the player in the story and removing the need to remember where they were or what they were doing. Every episode will close with a nail-biting cliff-hanger ending to rattle players’ nerves, and if the player is leaving the game a video teaser of the next episode will play to leave them wanting more.

Now here is a blast from our gaming past! Hugues Johnson deserves credit for the excellent work scanning the entire catalog. Remember when the graphics were so bad that the instructions, game box and killer artwork was all our imagination really had to make these early games so compelling. Take a minute to check out the wide range of games available for Atari’s 2600 console 27 years ago. Enjoy.

1981 Atari Product Catalog

Now here’s a blast from the past - Activision’s 1981 advertisement for Ice Hockey on the Atari 2600. With state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay that designer Alan Miller says, “My Activision Ice Hockey includes many of the features and much of the speed of real ice hockey.”

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From developer Eden Games the following two tech demonstrations - the first shows the inventory system and how items and environmental objects can be manipulated, as well as how items may be used together. The second tech demo shows the realistic use of fire with various objects in the game. It also shows how objects are affected when shot.

Atari has new video of actual gameplay for Alone in the Dark 5 scheduled for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I really like how he looks into his jacket when accessing your inventory.

Watch this timeline on video games spanning 35 years, from Pong all the way to our current generation of titles - it’s quite apparent that we’ve come a long way. How many of the games featured have you had the opportunity to play?

Remember this commercial for Atari’s “64-bit” Jaguar game Cybermorph? Watch this blast from the past and appreciate how far video games have come graphically.

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In the olden days of gaming, when quarters were a hot commodity and color graphics were the newest innovation, one name stood out as king: Atari. The games were visually simple, but still retain their hold as some of the most challenging and fun games ever created. Sadly, it’s just too difficult to carry around an Atari system and a bag of cartridges and controllers (both joystick and paddle) with you wherever you go. So, we’ve found a pocket sized solution.

Each keychain has a secret - they contain real games. Plug in the included 6 foot cable (on a battery powered reel) into the keychain and your TV , and you really can enjoy the games of yesteryear. Yes, you read that right: these keychains contain real Atari games, and are fully playable!

Here’s how the games break down:

* Joystick 1 - Asteroids and Millipede
* Joystick 2 - Centipede and Yar’s Revenge
* Paddle - Pong, Breakout, and Warlords

Each keychain comes with a separate pocket size reel that holds six feet of cord and RCA jacks (included). Powered by 3 AAA batteries (not included). Single player only. They retail or $14.99 and are available at ThinkGeek.

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