When Remedy Entertainment announced that it’s next title “Alan Wake” was being developed back in 2005 for the Xbox 360, it was rumored that it would be a game changer for the survival horror genre. With the game finally being released this year, it is safe to say that it almost nails the expectations and provides an experience unlike almost any other video game this year.
“Alan Wake” borrows from “Twin Peaks,” “24,” “The X-Files” and the work of Stephen King to weave an interesting tale that blends fiction with reality. Rather than the high octane shoot-em-ups that Remedy provided with “Max Payne,” what “Alan Wake” provides is a much more story driven narrative that features its protagonist as a author rather than a bad ass.
Wake has some interesting problems to deal when vacationing in the town of Bright Falls. His wife goes missing, the community is filled with a bunch of weirdos and when the sun goes down, the paranormal arrives. Without giving too much away, the story spans six “episodes” – complete with ending theme songs from an awesome soundtrack – where the tale of what’s going on in Bright Falls slowly unravels. Each episode is filled with its chills and thrills, but the ending may leave you scratching your head. Regardless, “Alan Wake” is one fun romp that is best enjoyed with the lights off.
So where’s the action? Well, good old Alan Wake has his trusty flashlight to fry the baddies of the darkness and a variety of guns to finish them off. That’s the gist of it, and it may sound simplistic in its approach, but when it is quite intense when it gets going. The action scenes with the town’s possessed may get a little repetitive, but remains fun for the most part.
Littered throughout the game are radios, manuscripts pages and TVs that feature special content that drives the plot along and keeps things interesting until you get to the very end. Make sure to check out the “Night Springs” show, which is very Twilight Zone-esque.
Graphically, the game looks elegant with the environments take top billing here. The town of Bright Falls looks magnificent as everything from the mountainous terrains to the shrubbery that surrounds the police station is padded with detail. It definitely helps add to the creepy factor as things fall and appear out of virtually nowhere. The voice acting is also solid and truly lets off a sense of realism to the episodes.
At 7-10 hours, the game isn’t extremely long but there are future episodes planned as downloadable content to keep the plot evolving. If you are a fan of the survival/horror series, “Alan Wake” is a must have for your collection.
Pros
- Excellent pacing and innovative story elements will get non-players involved with the game
- Lots of goodies to search for. Not quite a “sandbox” environment, but enough free exploring to keep you engaged.
- Graphically beautiful. Good games with bad graphics suck. This isn’t one of them.
Cons
- Relatively short.
- Combat sequences can get repetitive
- The ending is somewhat of a letdown compared to the buildup.
Rating: 4 out of 5
max payne is quite full of violence, i do not recommend it early teens-;”
Max Payne is so full of blood, gore and violence but i like him;,”