“Indians” is also certain to disturb players with demonic use of woodwinds, chanting, and percussion. While the blends are interesting and effective, it’s disappointing that the individual forces are treated in such a stereotypical and repetitive manner. The less subtle “Zombie… Cowboys” captures the main enemies of the game by combining stabbing strings with wailing flutes. While such a fusion is uncommon - especially in a classic video game - it absolutely fits the scenario. Meanwhile the scenic writing on “The Good, The Girl, & The Evil” is one half spaghetti western, one half classic horror. The smoky soundscapes of “Haunted West” and “Investigating on the Other Side” are reminiscent of classic detective movies - the latter, in particular, having some abstract jazz touches. Much of the rest of the soundtrack combines to blend filmic influences. It’s just a pity that the composition is held back by the annoying and tedious repetition of the jaw harp. The quality of the synthesis is excellent for a PC game emerging from 1994 and exceeds even the 3DO versions of earlier series’ titles. Just as the game combined elements of both of its predecessor, Mentzen tries to offer the best of both worlds: the horrifying moods and orchestral textures of Philippe Vachey’s Alone in the Dark with the strong melodies and acoustic touches of Jean-Luc Escalant’s Alone in the Dark 2. “Welcome to Slaughter Gultch”, the first substantial piece of music, restores the ominous feel of the series - blending suspenseful orchestration with the unusual timbres such as the jaw harp. As the title was originally developed in France, all the dialogue here is French and was translated for the overseas release. The introduction sets a cinematic tone to the game with spoken dialogue - still a rare addition to video games in 1994 - above ambient sounds and music. Among the bonus goodies of this generously priced release were the soundtracks for each of the three games. Website GOG.com recently released a downloadable trilogy of the first three games in the Alone in the Dark series. While the game was exclusively released on PCs, technological advances enabled CD quality audio to be streamed from the game’s scenes. Long-term Infogrames employee Frédéric Mentzen was selected as the composer and he produced the series’ most diverse soundtrack. Alone in the Dark 3 closed the original trilogy of horror titles in a Wild West setting.
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