@crashpunk thanks man. your avatar makes me laugh.
I really think the best examples they can look to are the munch pre-release materials. The concept for the game already had a dark atmosphere and perfect tone but it was unfortunately scrapped. I think now's the perfect chance to redeem some lost potential. Even if it's not possible to change the mechanics, a few small aesthetic changes in this direction would definitely be worth the effort. One more example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkCiD...eature=related
(even has the more natural jump that most people have mentioned)