Atari announced today that Alone in the Dark has officially gone gold. Though the fifth title in the series, it is the first mainline entry to be released on a Nintendo platform.

Alone in the Dark features a cinematic, survival-horror experience that takes place in New York's Central Park. The protagonist, Edward Carnby, is set to uncover an "earth-shattering truth" that will change New York forever.

The game will feature environmental puzzles and interaction, real time combat, and will be set in a world based in real-world rules and physics. The inventory system has also been overhauled, eliminating menus to keep the player immersed. The Wii version will also take use of the Wii Remote's features in order to further immerse the player.

In an additional innovation, Atari claims that players of all abilities will "get the full value out of the game" due to the treatment of the game's levels as episodes from a TV series, a chapter select menu recalling DVD episode select menus.

Alone in the Dark will be available in stores on June 20 in Europe and June 24 in North America.

'ALONE IN THE DARK' XBOX 360, PC, Wii & PS2 GOES GOLD

Development Complete on Atari's Action Survival Opus, Title Ships 20 June in Europe, 24 June in North America

LYON, FRANCE – 9 June 2008 – Atari today announced that development is complete on the highly anticipated action survival game Alone in the Dark, and the game is on track to ship 20 June in Europe and 24 June in North America for Xbox 360™ game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PC, Wii and PlayStation®2 . The PLAYSTATION®3 version is scheduled for autumn 2008.

Central Park is hiding a secret. Over the course of one apocalyptic night trapped in Manhattan’s vast parkland, hero Edward Carnby must fight the unimaginable to survive and uncover the earth-shattering truth. New York will never be the same again.

Developed by Eden Games, Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360 and PC aims to change what gamers expect from action games with a ground-breaking reinvention of the classic franchise which debuted in 1992 and created the survival horror genre. Continuing the legacy of innovation of that first game, the new Alone in the Dark re-imagines the genre with engrossing cinematic presentation, compelling gameplay challenges and a thrilling narrative story arc.

The richly-detailed, contemporary setting of New York's Central Park is the host for a challenging mix of gameplay experiences, unprecedented environmental interaction and combat all based on real-world rules and physics. A seamless on-character inventory and health recovery system combine to maintain the immersion as the player drives the story through the free-roaming expanse of Central Park.

Inspired by the story-telling twists and turns of many blockbuster TV series, Alone in the Dark innovates once again with a DVD-style chapter select menu which lets players of all abilities reach the game’s dramatic, riveting climax and get the full value out of the game.

"With its genre-busting mix of gameplay, wide-screen presentation style and DVD chapter select feature putting the player in control, Alone in the Dark will thrill all gamers," said Phil Harrison, President of Infogrames Entertainment. "It’s a game which will challenge the player but also reward them with a one-of-a-kind video game experience and a huge amount of fun."

The Wii and PS2 versions of Alone in the Dark have been developed by Hydravision Entertainment in parallel with the Xbox 360 and PC games created by Eden Studios. The PS2 game pushes the hardware to maximise the gameplay experience, while the Wii game has been especially adapted to make use of the unique controllers in a variety of gameplay situations from driving to the real-time manipulation of objects.

In addition to the standard game, Xbox 360, PC and Wii Limited Editions will be available at launch from selected European retailers featuring exclusive items including hero figurine, art book and ‘making of’ documentary DVD.

For more information on Alone in the Dark visit www.centraldark.com.