Atari has filed suit against German gaming website 4Players for publishing a negative pre-release review of Alone in the Dark, alleging that it was written based on an illegally obtained copy of the game. According to a 4Players editorial spotted by Game|Life, Atari's lawsuit claims that the publication date of the review—which scored Xbox 360 version of the game at 68%—implies that it was written based upon a pirated or preview version of the title. Consequently, Atari seeks an undisclosed amount in restitution.

The Xbox 360 version of Alone in the Dark began appearing on file sharing websites earlier this week, prior to the publication of any online reviews. However, 4Players argued in its editorial that it procured a copy through a retail connection who sold them a copy of Eden Games' horror shooter before the game's European June 20 street date.

Though Atari's suit against 4Players marks the company's first legal action regarding early reviews of the game, the company has also leveled complaints at several other European gaming sites. Going by a Kotaku report, a 3/10 review of the game on Scandinavian games site GameReactor was pulled shortly after it hit the website. Atari accused the site of pirating the game, stating that press copies had only been sent out a day previously.

You can read the entire article at Shack News.