After being in a coma for about 5 years, Alan Wake is back and looking good…
Last week, I attended an event showing off Alan Wake as well as getting my first hands-on time with the game. After a lot of hype from the team behind Max Payne, does Alan Wake have what it takes to silence naysayers? I can’t talk about the story for two reasons. 1) I’m not really allowed to and 2) It will spoil what is shaping up to be a gripping plot, but it’s looking impressive…
The gameplay of Alan Wake is fairly complex. Essentially to defeat enemies you need to flash light at them to weaken them and then shoot them with anything you can, you can also use flash bangs to take out enemies. In the game, light is your biggest weapon. The setting of the game feels like an echo of Twin Peaks and there are some references to other horror films like The Shining (like the axe through the door scene)
Those who have been following the progress of Alan Wake over the years will know what the game is all about, mostly. Alan is a writer who hasn’t written a book in about two years and after a break to Bright Falls, a book that he supposedly can’t remember writing starts coming true. During my time with the game, I did come across a few pages of the book which makes up the collecting part of the game and looking at the achievement list, it looks like you’ll need to get them all (That’s the only achievement spoiler you are getting!)
In terms of controls, Alan Wake handles like your standard third-person shooter and it seems to hold up well. It takes a little getting used to, but after a while it became second nature to shine your torch on an enemy and then shoot it. Alan Wake does feel like a TV show and even has a “Previously on Alan Wake” moments and based on talking to Remedy, it sounded like this is Season 1 of the Alan Wake show.
All those extra years have paid off visually. Character models look amazing and the setting of Bright Falls is both beautiful and creepy, it’s the perfect surrounding for the game. Voice-acting is also outstanding, as is the great score which matches the dark atmosphere of Bright Falls. The latest screenshots for Alan Wake will go live when the embargo lifts on the 16th March…
Has the wait been worth it? Well, not if you are a PC owner since that version got canned due to the size of Remedy (which is about roughly 50 people) but for 360 owners…I’d say yes, Alan Wake looks set to be the outstanding game that it was always meant to be, I just hate that I have to wait till around May to play it again…