Alan Wake w/ The Signal DLC Review
Every so often a game comes along that has hype behind it but for one reason or another stumbles when it comes to overall sales figures. Released on May 18th earlier this year by Remedy Entertainment (of ‘Max Payne’ fame) exclusively for the Xbox 360, ‘Alan Wake’ has found itself playing this role. Whatever the reason for the slow sales, whether it was a lack of promotion or the fact that the blockbuster mega seller, ‘Red Dead Redemption’ was released the same day, ‘Alan Wake’ has quickly became a favorite among gamers of the suspense/thriller genre and has a dedicated following among its fans. Additionally, a special treat given to those that bought the full game is a free token to download the first DLC ‘The Signal’ which was released July 27th on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Alright so with some of that basic information out of the way now it’s time to understand what makes ‘Alan Wake’ such a unique experience and why it’s regarded by many to be one of the most underrated games of this generation.
Genre & Plot
‘Alan Wake’ can best be described as a supernatural psychological thriller/suspense game with a third person shooter aspect. You play as Alan Wake, an author, who takes a break from writing to clear his writer’s block. Wake along with his wife, Alice Wake, go for a relaxing vacation in the mountainous region of Bright Falls, Washington. Upon arriving in Bright Falls, Alan and Alice proceed to a cabin on Cauldron Lake where they will be staying during the trip. Not long after arriving in Bright Falls strange things begin happening to Alan which culminates with his wife disappearing mysteriously into Cauldron Lake. From here Alan’s journey to save his wife and understand the strange occurrences that fill Bright Falls begins. In the end Alan has to find out who, or what, is responsible for his wife’s disappearance and how he can return his life to normalcy again. During this process he’ll learn how his own writings could be responsible for his situation and how they are the key to correcting his life.
Throughout the game Alan will come into contact with several people throughout the Bright Falls community and spend much of the story with his close friend and publisher, Barry Wheeler, who acts as a comic relief to break up the suspense. Throughout Alan’s story mysteries will be solved and new one’s will begin as Alan struggles to understand what is going on around him and how to defeat “The Darkness” which is his main adversary in the game. In a game that is largely dependent on the storyline and the twists and turns along the way I won’t give too much more away but what I can say is that ‘Alan Wake’ follows a fairly linear path and the DLC packs are true extensions of the original game. Now whether or not you are a fan of games that use DLC as a true extension of the original game and sort of force feeds the DLC packs on fans who want to finish the story is up to you and something you should consider when deciding whether or not this game is a worthy purchase. However with exceptional DLC packs like “The Signal” (which is free remember) you may not care about paying the extra money to further this amazing story especially considering “The Signal” shows that ‘Alan Wake’ DLC packs will be full featured and not something as simple as extra gun packs.
Gameplay & Atmosphere
The atmosphere and gameplay of ‘Alan Wake’ is where the game really shines and sets itself up as a truly unique gaming experience. When Remedy Entertainment created ‘Alan Wake’ it is obvious that they intended to put gamers into a world where gameplay mechanics were integrated with the main plot of the game and to use the game’s atmosphere to only heighten the experience further. As mentioned earlier “The Darkness” is Wake’s primary enemy throughout the game. What “The Darkness” is able to do, without giving away too many spoilers, is take over people and use them to its advantage. This comes into play in regards to gameplay in that one of Wake’s main weapons is his trusty flashlight (which can be upgraded by picking up stronger versions throughout the game). Wake uses his flashlight to remove “The Darkness” from his enemies so that he can defeat them with whatever weapon he has at the time (pistol, hunting rifle, shotgun, etc.). The extra benefit of the flashlight and one of the features that makes ‘Alan Wake’ so unique is that the flashlight also acts as a reticle to defeat your enemies. So once you have your flashlight on your enemy that is essentially like your “cross-hairs” in most other third person shooters. This process takes almost no time getting accustomed to and really creates a nice fluid gameplay. Another notable gameplay feature is the weapon selection method which is pretty much your standard d-pad controlled selection with the “RB” button being able to throw flares, flash bangs, etc. that can keep your enemies at bay. Also the “LB” is used for dodging enemy attacks such as when weapons are thrown at you or an enemy attempts to hit you. Dodging comes with a nice slow down effect (Max Payne like) showing you dodge the enemy.
Slow down effects like the one used for dodging are just one of the many things Remedy has implemented to heighten your experience through the gaming atmosphere they create. A slow down effect is also used for when enemies pop up around you and it’s a nice way to give an idea of where enemies are in relation to you. Additionally because the game occurs mostly at night and in the forests of Washington, Remedy had a golden opportunity to really add to the tense, nervous, and suspenseful feel of the game and they succeeded. One of the most enjoyable features of ‘Alan Wake’ is the use of things like fog, wind, the sounds of wild animals, and so forth to really keep you on the edge of your seat as you roam through the beautifully designed forests. Such subtle additions as the sounds of owls in the trees to hearing twigs snap around you gives you that jolt of surprise that makes you whip Wake around frantically just knowing an enemy has somehow snuck up of you. Add to that the sound of wind in the trees and the fog swirling around you (both at varying levels throughout the game) and you have a gaming environment that really sucks you into Wake’s world and makes you feel like you are part of the game. The atmosphere of ‘Alan Wake’ along with the gameplay and story really helps cover up what is probably the weakest part of the game, the graphics (which are still really nice and enjoyable).
Graphics & Presentation
For me the hardest part of ‘Alan Wake’ to describe and review is the use of graphics in the game. The graphics in the game are nowhere near bad but they are not on par with recent releases like ‘God of War 3’ or ‘Uncharted 2’ but I’m not sure many games are. Where the game really succeeds is the scenery as far off mountains, terrain, and buildings are stunning and really make you think you are looking at a HD video of the Washington wilderness. The reason for this, in my opinion, is the way that Remedy has used lighting to really make their textures pop and in the areas of the game where you are playing during the day the way they used sunlight is a sight to see. Additionally the game characters themselves have a realistic look to them which is enjoyable although the characters aren’t extremely detailed down to being able to see their veins or being able to see them sweat and this is where the graphics of ‘Alan Wake’ get a bit muddled. While far off landscapes are beautiful and the characters are nicely detailed from a distance one thing that you notice when observing different things up close is that they have a flat and pre-rendered look. Now this isn’t done to a really annoying level like in some games but it is noticeable and it’s really the only graphical flaw I can note in the game besides some occasional clunky movements by the characters. For example when Wake jumps you notice that it is not very life like and characters occasionally miss steps when walking up stairs. For the most part though character movements are extremely nice and actually add to the fluidity of combat so the occasional blips don’t take away from the game.
Although graphics are a bit off base at times, presentation is an aspect of ‘Alan Wake’ that shines and integrates well with the storyline and atmosphere of the game. One thing you’ll notice when playing ‘Alan Wake’ is that it is setup like a television show more so than your traditional video game. You’ll play through different episodes during the game and each episode will start with a synopsis of the previous episode just as many television shows do. Although a small feature it really adds to the overall feel of the game especially as you begin to unlock the bigger secrets of the game. Other presentation features you’ll notice in the game are the uses of radio and television programs which are both collectible and help push along the story. The last presentation feature that I personally liked is how ‘Alan Wake’ feels like watching a made-for-tv movie based on some sort of Stephen King novel. Even the game itself makes references to Stephen King throughout so maybe it’s an intentional feature and not just something unique to me.
Replay Value
Replay value for ‘Alan Wake’ will really depend on how much you like to collect objects, how much of an achievement addict you are, and how much you loved the story. ‘Alan Wake’ offers objects such as coffee thermoses, manuscript pages, alarm clocks (for “The Signal” DLC), television programs, and radio programs to collect which will help you earn achievements. ‘Alan Wake’ also offers 58 total achievements (including those for “The Signal” DLC) which will require you to play through the game more than once to collect them all. Other than achievements and collectible items the only reason you may want to replay the game is for the gameplay and storyline but with a linear storyline you probably won’t learn anything new besides what information new manuscript pages you find may contain. So ‘Alan Wake’ has reasons to replay the game but unlike current releases like ‘Heavy Rain’ there aren’t any really interesting reasons to play through the game more than once. If you fall into any of the categories listed above, and I think a lot of people will, then you’ll find yourself playing ‘Alan Wake’ more than once. Still I would have to say that ‘Alan Wake’ has limited replay value.
Final Verdict: Skip, Rent, or Buy
Must Buy
‘Alan Wake’ is a game that redefines how people look at games and is a shining beacon of gaming as a serious art form on par with film and print. From the unique feel of the game, to presentation, and to the in depth and engaging storyline ‘Alan Wake’ is a treat for any gamer who wants a unique and cerebral gaming experience. ‘Alan Wake’ is every bit worth its asking price and will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more from beginning to end and beyond. Even with some isolated clunky character movements, limited replay value, some semi force fed DLC, and graphics that aren’t necessarily cutting edge ‘Alan Wake’ is still a must buy for all gamers because the pros far outweigh the cons. Honestly I can’t think of any type of gamer that I would not recommend this game to so get to your favorite gaming retailer as quickly as you can and pick this one up. I guarantee this will be a game you want to keep in your collection and never trade in…a true gaming masterpiece not to be missed.
Final Rating: 9.5 out of 10
---This looked a lot better formatted in a word processor so please excuse the confusing look of this lol.
--written by SKing29 for pileofwit.com ('Merging Sports and Tech Daily")
Alan Wake 2 continues the writer's story, 13 years later.
Remedy has Alan Wake merch on sale, including a pretty blue thermos. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan, and many players who want a thermos find themselves without one, though it does appear that Remedy is attempting to fix things. Nevertheless, it has resulted in a lot of upset, illustrating just how much the thermos means to Alan Wake fans.
"I really, really, desperately wanted him to start it off."
The story borrowed HEAVILY from the King novel "The Dark Half" anyway. Figured there'd be some sort of lawsuit but seems King was in on and ok with it.
King is well know to be really chill with this kind of thing. And with official adaptations. It's cool and shitty. We have had so many low quality movies.
Alan Wake, 9.5? Eh, ok, maybe.
for me is that I've got a 42" bravia and this game being run natively at a lower res and then upscaled looks a bit stretched out and blurry,otherwise the game is fantastic!
wait wait wait
gets a 10 in fun factor and game play rated as a must buy but has limited re playability isnt that a rent
i think you scored that part a little to high unless youre ssaying its perfect and theirs nothing that can be added to make it better
Nice review. Indeed a fantastic gaming experience.