After rumours back in April that Alone in the Dark 5 would appear on the Nintendo Wii and DS, Atari has spoken out to officially confirm that it is indeed the case. Subtitled Near Death Investigation, the Infogrames-developed title is a follow-up to 2001’s Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare.

There is no available information on the special features for the DS as of this moment moment in time, Atari did mention, however, that the Nintendo DS version will feature gameplay similar to the PC Game In Memoriam (notable for its Alternate Reality-style gameplay, in which the player receives e-mails from other in-game characters, including the game’s main antagonist, as well as being asked to find a lot of information and clues to the games’ puzzles on the Internet, both from real websites, and from specially-created websites that have been mixed in with other “real-world” domains.) Interesting…

On the Wii side of things, Atari explained the console’s unique controls briefly. Players will be able to control the camera, aim and shoot your weapon with the Wii Remote, while the Nunchuck will be used to move your character (with the analog stick, presumably).

Darkness descends onto Wii and DS…

Check out some of Alone in the Dark 5’s other features:

• Will take its inspiration for gameplay from Resident Evil 4 (ironic given RE1 borrowed from AitD1’s gameplay.)
• Strong focus on action.
• Set in present day (contrast with previous AitD games).
• Set in New York, with main game taking place in exact recreation of Central Park.
• Central Park areas include forests, zoos, lakes, museums, theatres, restaurants and the surrounding metropolitan area.
• Central Park also used because of the diverse population that uses it. During the game, people from many different cultures offer their views on life and death.
• Central Park’s also used because open areas contrast with typical claustrophobic environments usually seen in horror games.
• One of the key questions explored in the story is why this massive park exists in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities
• Plot centers around an investigation into paranormal links to the afterlife.
• Player can lean towards “good” or “evil” and it will affect the outcome of the game.
• Varied gameplay. Players choose own method of progressing through game- exploration, puzzle solving, stealth or combat.
• Interactive environments- uses Havok 3.0 physics. Dynamic fire- flames spread realistically. Player can use any item in the area to help themselves survive.
• Gameplay is structured like a TV series, with each 30-40 minute segment having its own action climaxes and plot twists. Launching a saved game will show you a summary of what happened previously in the game. Exiting the game will show you a short preview of what is coming up in the game. Plans to release extra “episodes” post-launch.
• Player can switch to first person view at any time.

No release date has been announced at present, but be sure that we’ll keep you posted.