Remedy Defends Alan Wake Changes

Maticus - 170 days 11 hours ago

What he said..

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Leord - 170 days 11 hours ago

Everything is not fun in a sandbox :)

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Dorjan - 170 days 11 hours ago

agreed

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shingo - 170 days 10 hours ago

Am I the last one who got to know this!? :(((((((

It's no longer a sandbox game? Man, one of the MAIN reasons why I was very interested in this game is its sandbox nature with all those beautiful graphics. This is seriously a huge letdown for me. :(

And to those who agree with this step by Remedy, well yeah now the game is more focused on the story but be sure that it has lost a huge portion of fun elements. I was very impressed in 2007 when I saw the first screens of the game. That stunning, dynamic world NEEDS to be free-roamed. :(

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GVON - 170 days 8 hours ago

No way,I was looking forward t just driving around searching for stuff and getting freaked out if I broke my car,then having to roam the woods trying to find a hut or something.

I was left slightly disappointed by the stage demo,and now this :( been waiting for it since I seen it my UK OXM all those years back so my hype has died a little.
But at least the atmosphere is good,but I get a feeling the scale the people/press had once assumed from early previews was more than remedy could deliver,and i'm guessing the game was scrapped more than once during development

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Syronicus - 170 days 8 hours ago

That it was a sand box game and looked absolutely amazing at the same time. Now I understand why the demo at E3 looked so good. They got rid of the sand box aspect of the game and were then able to ramp up the graphics. If I had it my way, I too would do as they have since sand box games are not entirely my cup of tea.

We all know that most, save for inFAMOUS, sandbox games do not look as good as other genre titles because of the size and scope of the game so for them to drop the sandbox idea and make a better looking game here is the best choice possible IMHO.

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shingo - 170 days 8 hours ago

I'm starting to believe they had faced some technical issues and found it best to drop the open-world elements. That "more focused storytelling" excuse I don't buy.

When they showed the game back in 2007, one of the key points Remedy told us that it's a sandbox horror adventure. This is how I have always thought of Alan Wake. Until now >:[

Maybe it was a mistake to show the game to the public that early. Damn hype.

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Marcelles25 - 170 days 6 hours ago

in 05 they announced it for the 360 and pc. every bit of footage they shouwed running it was on pc and it showed realtime lighting and open sand box roaming then E3 09 comes they show first footage on 360 and no longer open world!? it just makes you think.

MGS4 has a great story not because its linear but because they have CUTSCENES and they dont have to sacrifice the sandbox element.

they could of been innovative with the way they told the story like Splinter cell how things super impose off the walls

they made this move purely because the 360 couldn't handle it and to tell you the truth i dont think the ps3 could handle it because both systems dont have enough ram and thats the most important hardware for a sandbox title thats ............

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Marquis_de_Sade - 170 days 6 hours ago

I'm glad, I can't stand sandbox games. My favourite are games with multiple routes or ways through levels, like MGS4 or Halo to some extent.

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ThanatosDMC - 170 days 6 hours ago

I thought it was gonna be bigger than Silent Hill games since SH is somewhat linear except for those instances when you go for a more different ending.

Guess, we cant drive off cliffs or whatever crazy stuff we do in sandbox games.

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Shepherd 214 - 170 days 6 hours ago

and anyone else that thinks this is a problem,

You have to understand this from a developer's point of view. I completely agree with Remedy on this decision because i believe a well told story is the most important aspect to this type of game, and if you try to include sandbox elements, it makes things much more difficult.

Not only will you have to deal with budget concerns, but you also have time constraints, technical issues like trying to program good A.I. that will function decently is a sandbox world, and simply put, they would have to sacrifice other aspects of the game(such as story, maybe some other important details that require much attention) in order to make the sandbox style work. They would have to pure more resources into the sandbox stuff and spend less time crafting a great cinematic experience. Do you nerf the story aspects in order to make a game that many other games have already mastered? or do you make a compelling story, something that few games try to do?

I am glad that the story i am looking forward is not being compromised for something that i feel is less compelling and interesting. From the start, Alan Wake was promised to be a cinematic experience, something that has drawn in gamers who enjoy a great story for 5 years now, all of them following Alan Wakes development. For me they are making a responsible decision. This sort of situation is not as easy to solve as many of you would like to believe.

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edgeofblade - 170 days 5 hours ago

If they start talking about the story as the most crucial part of the game, you know the game will suck. Games that put too much emphasis on story usually have under-developed gameplay. There are certainly exceptions, but that's the general rule I follow.

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talltony - 170 days 5 hours ago

they removed the open world elements out of this game. It is blatantly obvious it is because of the limitations of dvd 9.

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Greywulf - 170 days 5 hours ago

Not only were there excuses for the graphics saying "well its because its a sandbox.. thats why it doesn't break any new ground or look like Uncharted" Remedy ran up against the reality of the 360, and now they have removed the sandbox portion from the game, which I imagine is a re-write of an entire engine, and it still didn't get any nods at e3. more than likely because this was the version they've only been working on the mechanics recently, not the PC-Tech demo version from 2005.

So we are here, in 2009. Alan Wake isn't sandbox, and its visuals aren't on par with Uncharted, let alone Uncharted2. There was a ton of "wait for alan wake" talk as far as showing off the capabilities of the 360.

There you go.

Sure it will be a good game. But We have to go from 2009 on, since nothing else applies.

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himdeel - 170 days 5 hours ago

...and was not a sandbox game. I think Remedy will make a great game and fans will be very satisfied to me that's what really matters. I can't play sales. Even while the prospect of this game being sandbox at one time was very exciting it's still should be a great experience.

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Blaze929 - 170 days 5 hours ago

Who the hell was attacking/complaining about the change? They know what they are doing, its Remedy.

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SL1M DADDY - 170 days 4 hours ago

This game was hyped to be the best looking title to hit the Xbox 360 in the near future and now it's just another action horror game... Boy, the future sure is not as bright as it was a few months back.

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MrEko - 170 days 4 hours ago

Cause I've always had the feeling there aren't enough sandbox games. Especially, good ones. I don't have enough time to list cut scene, mission based games and First Person Shooters but, I guarantee there are more of them than sandbox games.

On the flip side. I totally agree with their decision if it is what is best for the game. There is nothing worse than a crappy sandbox game or a sandbox game that acctually isn't (Think Driv3er). If their hearts aren't in it to make it a sandbox- so be it.

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shingo - 170 days 3 hours ago

@ Blaze929: Dude, tons of people are disapointed by this. Go to the official forums and see it for yourself. I'm disapointed to be honest and my hype went down much.

And I don't get how some here are comparing the success of non-sandbox games like Resident Evil or MGS to Alan Wake, lol. Those are different things. This game was first shown as an open-world horror adventure, that's the MAJOR idea the game is built upon and in a way it could have redefined the horror genre with that.

It's like one of the posters here said "it's no longer the same game". It could turn out to be good (please don't be another Alone in the Dark) but it's definitely not the Alan Wake I was hyped for.

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orange-skittle - 170 days 2 hours ago

@ Marcelles25

WTF are you talking about? When was MGS4 a sandbox game? The game is linear. Just because you have a broader scope to walk around in doesnt change the fact that the game initiates cutscenes when you take the designated path. There's no side missions or alternative endings that change the initial outcome?

These people did Max Payne, why would you question their decision making...you're all just nerds. These people get paid to make AAA titles and you can clearly see Alan Wake has a complicated story. Especially since light plays a big role in the game. He cannot eliminate the shadow spirits w/o light. Sometimes the flashlight batteries go out and he has to find alternate sources, so how do you encompass this element in a sandbox game? Use your f-ckin' head and stop thinking like a nerd that collects hentai pics and movies.

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Marcelles25 - 170 days 2 hours ago

im gonna take it you didnt understand me

look at my comment, "MGS4 has a great story not because its linear but because they have CUTSCENES and they dont have to sacrifice the sandbox element. "

Rephrased,"MGS4 has a great story not BECAUSE ITS LINEAR but BECAUSE IT HAS CUTSCENES and they (being REMEDY) dont have to sacrifice the sandbox element for story telling if they added cutscenes..............

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GWAVE - 170 days 2 hours ago

This is sad. Alan Wake was hyped up to be an epic game of epic size and scope with a huge world to explore. And of course, the huge world PLUS the great graphics is part of why people payed attention to it (much like the original Far Cry and Crysis: size + graphics).

But now we're saying goodbye to the open world. Oh well. I'm sure the media will find a way to spin this around and make it look good. I'm gonna laugh when next week we see some article titled "Uncharted 2 isn't open-world because of limitations in the Cell".

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Arnon - 170 days 2 hours ago

Lol? They said that there's still exploration in the game. The only people who are complaining from what I see are people who's comments do not even belong in this thread.

"This game's gonna suck! We all know how Remedy is! They make terrible games and lie to us and have ever since FOREVER!"

First off, the whole "sandbox" thing? Yeah, that was talked about back in 2005 and then went into the shadows. So I'm not sure where you guys are getting the fact that 2005 = 2009. If you saw the footage/gameplay/screenshots back then and saw what it is now, it's almost done the Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Secondly, just shut up. None of us have played the game. The only justification of how good this will be is to look back at their past creations. Which, to say the least, were revolutionary.

Time to round um up.

SL1M DADDY
Greywulf
Shingo
Dustgavin
Vx_

Mods, where are your bansticks?

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cyberwaffles - 170 days 2 hours ago

i'm probably talking out of my ass, but could it be that free roaming would be too much for the 360 to handle? i mean from what i saw during tech demos on the PC, i couldn't possibly see the 360 or even the ps3 pulling it off. not taking potshots at anyone, just wondering if there was actually technical limitations with the console version which forced them to pull back some features and gameplay elements.

i could all be wrong and just speculating, but i know there has been a lot of bullshit talk from developers and PR's in the past such as sony saying the reason they got rid of rumble for the sixaxis because it was "last gen" and it interfered with the sixaxis motion sensor in the controller when it was actually because of a lawsuit.

i do agree that the sandbox style of gameplay could have possibly compromised the story, but i still think the story could've been perfectly in tact no matter what. imo, it's possible to make a very linear game out of a sandbox game (no matter how oxymoron that sounds.) just my two cents.

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JokesOnYou - 170 days 1 hour ago

If Remedy thinks this decision will make a better more focused game on storytelling, and gameplay rather than sacrificing a bit of one of these more important elements for "free raoming" then I'm all for it....the game is looking amazing and the E3 demo looked like spooky fun game, so strip away the open-world aspect and you're left with a awesome action-horror game.....I'll take that any day vs an unfocused game that had so much potential but ultimately wasn't as good as it should of been because the dev's didn't make the right decsions for the game. Remedy knows what their doing....I don't make a lot of predictions, but I'm usually right when I do, you watch, AW will be awesome....well based on what we've seen so far and Remedies track record its really a no brainer.

JOY

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SL1M DADDY - 170 days 1 hour ago

Go cry to mommy little one. It's called an opinion and last time I checked, it was OK here to have one. If you don't like it then make your own website and play Nazi and ban anybody that doesn't agree with you.

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Arnon - 170 days ago

"LOL @ the fanboys that defend this crap."

"@ Pennywise
Not true!!!

If it were released on two discs, then it could be officially called last gen."

"What do you mean no weather? No night? No ralley racing?

What a joke! I was at least expecting that with two DVD's and only 400 vehicles that they could at least toss in a night driving level or some dirt tracks. And this is supposed to compete with GT? Really?"

These aren't opinions. This is trash. Especially in a place where you do not even like the thing they're talking about. That, by the way, is trolling. Open Zone is your turf.

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GUNS N SWORDS - 170 days ago

splinter cell conviction's half stealth half sandbox, crackdown2 is a sandbox, assassin's creed 2 an other sand box game, GTA4's 2nd dlc......more sandbox.

i got over 150 hrs of sandbox rigth there, do i really need 20 hrs more?

people, has anyone yet gotten the chance to fully complete gta4...once. (let alone twice like i have :)

ok with that out of the way, frankly it didn't even cross my mind that this game was going to be a sandbox game. (if you look at the gameplay it all points to a "pre-determined" pathway, if you correctly look at it.)

http://www.gamersyde.com/st...

honestly i'm fine with whatever gameplay style remedy wants alan wake to be, i just want the game to look like the way it does right now, and to be done.

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whothedog - 170 days ago

AW will still probably be good but I think the main reason it stood out is because of the sandbox aspect. I'm sure they can take it out and rework the engine/game so that its still a good game but I don't think it will be as memorable as if it followed through with the sandbox side of it.

Only thing I question is how long did they change this and why are they now telling the fans/followers of the game of these details. I don't really care why just seems like they would have had to make this decision awhile ago and if that's true than why we hearing about it now.

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Marcelles25 - 170 days ago

THE REASON WHY THIS GAME WAS GNNA BE BIG IS BECAUSE IT HAD GOOD GRAPHICS AND WAS AN OPEN SANDBOX....THATS WHY THERE WAS SO MUCH HYPE BEHIND IT

and now remedy cant live up to what they PROMISED at the beginning and then they use a cover up like,...Well we needed to have a good story

well if they are good developers (which they are) they should of found away to incorporate the story in a unique and more interesting/innovative type of way

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beans - 170 days ago

"Alan Wake isn't sandbox, and its visuals aren't on par with Uncharted, let alone Uncharted2."

Wow...trolling at it's finest lol.

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GiantEnemyCrab - 170 days ago

"Lol? They said that there's still exploration in the game. The only people who are complaining from what I see are people who's comments do not even belong in this thread."

Exactly. It's the same usual suspects Greywulf, TallTony, Sl1mDaddy. It's the same PS3 fanboys that whine and complain about 360 constantly. These guys could give 2 sh*ts about this game and they are acting like drama queens. I'm on the Remedy forum and people are NOT freaking out about this.

This is FN Remedy and they have their reasons and don't give this DVD9 crap a go when you have no grounds for any of your slams on this game. Their is still exploration, the graphics still look off the hook and the atmosphere is still the same and looks excellent.

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Whut - 169 days 22 hours ago

the game will still be good.

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y0haN - 169 days 21 hours ago

I think we can give them the benefit of the doubt, it's Remedy. Max Payne & 2 were amazing games.

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cmrbe - 169 days 21 hours ago

then why did it take 5 years for them to come to this descision?.

It really dosen't look good for them or this game. Sounds like Too Human to me.

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JokesOnYou - 169 days 16 hours ago

The game STILL has exploration....however it is understandable if some 360 fans are dissapointed that it won't be a full sanbox game, honestly I didn't know it was originally suppose to be a sandbox title until recently. Reading the forums and previews I always thought the hook was the story and the use of light/dark was what many talked about, including weather and graphics. All of that is still there...so I don't see anything worth "defending" on Remedys part...and not surprising the ones complaining the loudest are the usual ps loyal folks.

JOY

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rockleex - 169 days 15 hours ago

Just imagine if it was a PS3 game that went through this.

The internet would self-destruct with the amount of articles claiming Sony's death.

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Leord - 170 days 11 hours ago

Well, there's of course always the risk removing features is just that - a feature that is removed, and the game is less for it. I think this seems like a positive change though...

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Natsu X FairyTail - 170 days 11 hours ago

not really.

Remember SplinterCell:Conviction's 1st Style of Game?

it was kind of a Sandbox game but in the end they went back to the board and came up with this new Style that looks even better than what they had showed us at the past E3s .

plus its remedy we're talking about! Only Quality!

:)

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Fyzzu - 170 days 11 hours ago

Are these changes late in the day, though? Bear in mind we haven't really heard anything about Alan Wake in a long, long time - E3 was the first "reveal" we've had on it for what seems like years. This might've been in the works for awhile.

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Fyzzu - 170 days 11 hours ago

Come to think of it, Max Payne is a pretty good comparison for them to make. In much the same way, we had absolutely no info on that for ages and it started popping up on vapourware lists before there was the big reveal and media blitz just prior to release, with a lot of stuff (as the post said) changed.

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AndyA - 170 days 11 hours ago

Fair point and I do have some faith in Remedy. Just wasn't convinced by the E3 demo.

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Vx_ - 170 days 8 hours ago

da game guna be shorter for sure

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KingsofOmega - 170 days 2 hours ago

Guerilla were practically getting hatemail for not having Co-Op in Killzone, and now Remedy remove basically the entire gameplay, form a game with an even longer development cycle, and suddenly this is a 'great move'?

I hope this gets ripped to shreds by reviewers.

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frayer - 170 days 11 hours ago

Poor bots. The limitations of the 3fixme continue to hold back games. Now Alan Gimped is just some Alone in the Dark clone.

Poor welfare bots will gimp FFXIII just like Alan Gimped.

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Murderdolls - 170 days 9 hours ago

Sorry you can't play it.

Nice double post by the way /facepalm

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tha_meat_beater - 170 days 9 hours ago

just to get it to run on the gimpbox 360.

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Vx_ - 170 days 8 hours ago

Ill get it for PC but with the nerfs they are doing to the game (so that it can run on the 360) Ill be waiting for reviews 1st.
graphic nerf = check
game's environment size nerf = check

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Murderdolls - 170 days 8 hours ago

Nerfs? You're probably a World of Warcraft player. Sorry bud but your bad computer won't be able to run this game.

@ Loney guy AKA 1.3 - It's already running on 360 sorry to disappoint.

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AngryTypingGuy - 170 days 8 hours ago

"next they'll have to downgrade the graphics, drop the frame rate, and cut a few chapters" -- no see, this is an XBOX 360 game, they usually only have to do those things on the PS3.

By the way Frayer, if you actually read the article, you'll see that they did that for storyline reasons and not limitations.

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Vx_ - 170 days 8 hours ago

btw my PC run most 360s games and they even look better(was playing the crap ME game), additionally i can add different patches to the game,, bet you don't even know what um talking about

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Murderdolls - 170 days 8 hours ago

God I really hate the way you type lol.

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dustgavin - 170 days 7 hours ago

LOl! 360 fans actually think that they made the changes for storyline reasons.

Nope. It is because of the Dvd9 limitations showing their true colors.

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fadic4 - 170 days 3 hours ago

why would u say somthing retarded like that when i can get it for my pc

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Tony Scarboni - 169 days 22 hours ago

Don't get me wrong, I'm sick of sandbox games, but I always loved how the old school Resident Evil games were like mini-sand box games. They just let you loose in an environment(mansion, police station, lab) and you had to find your way around, a lot of time revisiting the same locals, but that made the puzzle elements funner.

The whole open world theme works well w/ horror games(Resident Evil, Legacy of Kain, Silent Hill)

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NewZealander - 169 days 20 hours ago

double face palm lol, frayer is gimped!

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jBat17 - 169 days 15 hours ago

what makes it so special compared to say silent hill or RE5? the graphics they showed at E3 was no better than those two.. it looked good for a sandbox game but it was no better than RE5

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tha_meat_beater - 170 days 8 hours ago

i guess the fact that it sucks @ss is also the reason why its such a sh!tty console

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Murderdolls - 170 days 8 hours ago

Yeah high five bro! Right on!

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Murderdolls - 170 days 8 hours ago

Would you expect anything else? They gotta stick together and support each other.

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Vx_ - 170 days 8 hours ago

i have a feeling dat ur da same dude :|

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Natsu X FairyTail - 170 days 8 hours ago

nah we aint the same guy.

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Ashriel - 170 days 3 hours ago

Excactly. I'm glad not everyone here is a mindless sony fanboy ^^

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cmrbe - 170 days 2 hours ago

just did now?

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morganfell - 170 days 7 hours ago

"Ignorance Reing in your brains"

Priceless self pwnage.

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Vx_ - 170 days 5 hours ago

http://www.internetslang.co...

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dreamhunk - 170 days 5 hours ago

I agree I guess I can kiss this kind of game play just because of consoles

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

dumb down game, xbox 360 is holding pc gaming back! Instead gamers get a real alan wake game we get a rehashed dumb down mindless button mashing game the console games are use toand prize so much.

good by cool cutting edge alan wake game! yea I bet microsft was like yea the verion of the can't be done on consoles. We need to dumb down alan wake because the xbox 360 can't handle it.

people would buy the pc alan wake game over the xbox360 because we can't do an cool cutting edge open world on consoles.

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KionicWarlord222 - 170 days ago

Disappointing graphics?

It was runner for best graphics on ign.

http://games.ign.com/articl...

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devilhunterx - 169 days 8 hours ago

ahem!

dis⋅ap⋅point⋅ing:

–adjective

failing to fulfill one's hopes or expectations

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cmrbe - 170 days 1 hour ago

I will give you a C+ for your efforts

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vega75 - 169 days 18 hours ago

Why even entertain them with a responce to their trolling. They are still upset the the PoS3 couldn't handle ghostbuster and it was the lead plat-form. Let alone handle a game like Alan wake. Beside they have anything until uncharted 2 comes out. No-ones playing/interested in KZ2 anymore. Infamous is a sales flop. What else do they have

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dustgavin - 169 days 17 hours ago

How is Star Ocean and Race Pro treating ya? Plus, you get all that awesome DLC! That is way better than killer first party titles.

Have fun with Gay Tony and Milo.

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air1 - 169 days 3 hours ago

the 360 library has been treating me good since launch, it took sony what almost 2 years to get that limp d!ck up. a shame really considering they have more devs than micro and ninty combined. did you enjoy e3 when sony had 0 games to announce with a release date? i know when i will be playing coviction l4d2 shadow complex forza... and have fun with your dildo stick, dont forget ky is sold separate...

yea i know vega the greatest fps of all time couldnt hit 2 million. that game sucks donkey balls all it is is modern warfare with better graphics and we all know graphics dies quick just about as quick as it fell off the chart, ouch!

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