review: Alan Wake
Nothing needs doing at midnight more than writing a review for a game where one of your side quests is to find 100 thermoses of coffee. And, that said, I found more than sixty of them. Played the game marathon style today to get through the second half. This departure from how I normally write reviews (being I play them until I get pissed, and then tell you all how it pisses me off) is really because this game didn't do that. Yeah, I got the feeling right away that it was based on the same engine as the horrid Alone in the Dark, which never was fixed, mind you. But this game delivers in serious fashion where AITD failed in so many ways.
First and foremost, it's stunning. I mean in that bleak survival horror kind of way that games like Resident Evil were stunning when remakes surfaced for the Gamecube. But not just in that it's dark and foreboding, either. No, the game is also beautiful when the sun comes out. The people who did the art really got what it was like to be from my part of the world on a nice day.
The gameplay is classic survival horror with slight modifications thrown in to keep things interesting. Throughout the game you'll find pages which will more often than not tell you what is coming, but not when. Might be around the corner, might be three 'chapters' from now. The differences don't stop there either. In a traditional survival game you just blast the crap out of the hordes of walking death and you know there's more ammo coming, well, OK, you can do that here too, but light is more valuable to you. This is because you must first wear the enemies down and then shoot them full of holes.
So, I know it's coming: Hey, Led, what doesn't work about this game?
Well, here's the deal. Sometimes, and only sometimes, the controls will get in your way, or you'll be trying to pick something up, and you won't get the reticle and option to do it. Why? I don't know for sure, but it only gets to be an issue if you're picking things up with enemies coming at you. Namely, this is a problem in the farm level.
For a game about a writer, the pages you find are terribly written, and the story is really more cinematic than inspired by Stephen King, but all-in-all the game is not badly written or acted. It's a real shame single player only games get glossed over by the attention deficit masses. This one, at least, is worth checking out.
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
this is just for the x box, no?
I have this sitting at home, waiting for me to play. I wanted to start it last night but I will only play this as night and the Blackhawks ruined that for me last night. So, I will hopefully be putting it in tonight, really looking forward to playing it. Should be a good change up from Red Dead Redemption.
our friend, Berto, can't say enough good things about this damn game. seriously, he has me on the brink of buying an xbox just to play it (so, yeah, Nate, it's just for 360).
they also made these short films and posted them on youtube a week prior to the release of the game as a prequel. and they're great.
check it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DSR45ZF0r8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV5RPW1iGjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXWlL7qMR_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCisZVNZAu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGGvXoG7jFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PZgAeFoHuA
and, Kirk, fucking love your new avatar.
I was watching Rome recently and when I saw this it made me think of that. When I saved it to my computer, I named the file "Jupiter Accepts" which, if you've seen Caligula, is a great joke!
I'm on the 6th Episode of the Game right now. This game is amazing. I love the story. The game play is ok, but the story just has me sucked in. That's what is really keeping me enthralled.
My only real complaint is that - for a third person game, Alan's back is sometimes too close to the screen. He blocks the view and you can't see what's coming from where.
I watched that prequel thing and the game trailer for it, and it looks amazing and all but it's just Silent Hill. Am I wrong? It's got "Everyone's dead and they're in some kind of Hell" written all over it. Don't get me wrong. I wish I had a x box to play this but it's just SH on a next-gen console.
Well, a lot of people have called it a spiritual successor to Silent Hill. There hasn't been a good Silent Hill game since SH2, so it's about time someone picked up the slack on the survival horror genre.
That's exactly what I thought of watching it, "This is Silent Hill 3, not those other ones." They took SH and belted the story and graphics outta the park.
How's the music in it? Is there music in it? Thinking back, the only thing I remember hearing in the background were crickets chirping.
I haven't played it yet, it's sitting next to my TV waiting for me to start. But from what I gather the only thing it has in common with Silent Hill is that it's a survival-horror game.
The mechanics, art, game design etc are all entirely different.
It's more a spiritual successor to Twin Peaks than to Silent Hill, I think. Definitely has SH somewhere in it's genetic makeup though. Alan Wake is the only game ever to put knots in my stomach, and that was pure desperate tension, not cheap gore or thingy jumps out of closet moments.
The story, it kept me riveted. There's a full novelization I'm tempted to pick up sometime.
The special touches, attention to detail in crafting the game world... absolutely brilliant.
What O'donnell said, I can't say enough good things about this one.
How's the music in it? Is there music in it? Thinking back, the only thing I remember hearing in the background were crickets chirping.
The sound throughout is very well done, ranging from deeply atmospheric to tension building, and includes a fucking awesome rock and roll bit that had me alternating between fist pumping and shotgunning. The game also includes a LOT of really great, fitting, licensed tracks by actual artists that further enhances things.
Also, don't look up the track list of the score or the soundtrack if you're planning on playing. Spoilers afoot!
Alan Wake Parka'd.
and, they made a noveliations of it:
http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Wake-Rick-Burroughs/dp/0765328437/ref=sr_1_1?...
and the first page:
http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Wake-Rick-Burroughs/dp/0765328437/ref=sr_1_1?...
I wonder how much it would cost to rent an x box for a couple weeks...
Gah. I sold one to a friend who decided she didnt want it, and I just loaned it to a buddy. Missed it by thiiiiiis much.
Yeah, I've been thinking About that too, Nate. I think you can hire consoles at my video store.
Just buy one Sunday, great deal at Walmart.
Starting on June 13, Walmart will let you take home a $50 gift card with the purchase of a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade unit. With this you'll also get a free wireless controller.
So I played through Episode 1 of Alan Wake tonight.
WOW.
What this game does well, it does AMAZINGLY well. The atmosphere is amazing, you're on the edge of your seat the entire time. The sound design is brilliant. When you first walk into the cabin and hear the footsteps upstairs it is rather frightening. Also, all the physics effects and use of wind is really, really well done.
I'm loving it so far, can't wait for more.
And now that I've played it, I can comfortably say it isn't anything like Silent Hill. (you can actually fight back)
i wasnt paying attention, did sam lake write the book? the whole game is/was his idea. i dont think he's one of the microsoft dimestore novelists. and he seems to have a hell of an imagination. he also makes a cameo opposite wake toward the end.
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
Pretty sure it's some guy called Ric Burroughs.
I got a feeling I'm going to end up buying this game and then renting an x box. Which is as stupid as it sounds. I should just rent the game too. But I like having all the great games I've played through on my shelf same as with any great book or movie.
I just can't get it through my head to buy an entire system for one game. And if I do have this one, then when the next game solely for x box comes along it'll be a little easier to go ahead and get a system too.
Wait, didn't a new Splinter Cell come out or is coming out soon?
The new Splinter Cell came out last month.
There are plenty of reasons to own one.
please don't say Halo is one of them.
Well, Halo is in fact a damn fun game if you have a group of friends. It is far more pick-up-and-play friendly than any other shooter. You don't sell 11 million games if your game is trash. But no, that wouldn't have been on my list of reasons to own one.
Mass Effect Series
Alan Wake
Gears of War series
Fable 2
Red Dead Redemption
Dead Space (especially for someone who seems to love SH)
There really is a long list of outstanding games, especially when you can get one for basically $150 with 2 controllers.
Shit, I totally forgot about all the great, inexpensive Xbox Live games too. For instance:
Shadowcomplex
Braid
Geometry Wars 2
Castle Crashers
Carcassonne
is there a huge difference in not having one with the Hard Drive? because, yeah, i can pick up an arcade 360 for about 200 with a few games and an extra contoller. and for about 300 i can get the 120gig HD with abut four games free. i think.
Well, there are certainly big advantages to having the hard drive. Most notably, it gives you room to download games and DLC to. You can also optionally install games to the hard drive for performance gains.
However, you can now also plug any USB flash drive (up to 16GB in size x 2) into the USB ports and use it for storage.
So, if I were just interested in getting one on the cheap, I would get the arcade and use a flash drive if I wanted to download stuff. Otherwise, if the extra $100 won't break you, you're certainly better off scoring one with a hard drive.
$300 for a 120GB Xbox with 4 games is a damn good deal, IMO.
Reasons to own an xbox:
- Controls are way better
- Splinter Cell: Conviction
- The Gears of War Series
- Alan Wake
There's plenty more reasons, but those are enough right there.
get online start a red dead redemption cult gang?
There's an xbox cult group 
i like where this thread is going.
+parker, +o'donnell
but i'll need wireless internet too!
^NOT LOOKING.
I just bought this and am looking forward to playing it all night long.
Step back. Evaluate. Recognize.
Just did Episode 2 last night. So damn good.
Anyone know how many episodes there are? I'm thinking 5? So far it seems like an episode is nearly 2 hours in length, which for me is the perfect amount of playtime after the sun goes down.
I think there were 6 if I remember right.
And, yeah, they seemed about the perfect length to play one episode and quit.
I love how when you start a new episode it does the "Last time on Alan Wake..." and recaps.
Yeah, I really wanted to dive into the next one, to see what happens, but by the time I finish one it's 11:00pm and I do the math and just force myself to wait. Hopefully I can play tonight. God damned sun needs to go down before 9:00pm!
haha!
Playing in the dark definitely adds to the experience. And I know what you mean about wanting to dive right in to the next episode. This games story kept me more intrigued than any other game I've played. Like I was so into the story, I couldn't wait to see where it was going. What twist they were going to throw. All these clues. What's it leading to. I really enjoyed the story of this game more than any other.
It's also very telling that literally, the first two words in the game are "Stephen King"...
I saw a lot of comparisons to Stephen King books. But some people have said they don't see it. It's just got the same atmosphere in my opinion. I could have seen Stephen King writing it.
Besides, every one of Stephen King's books take place in a little town just like this one. Right?
Yeah. Clearly it doesn't have King's exact style on it. But so far, thematically, there is a lot of stuff going on and Alan is clearly a stand-in for an author like King.
I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I don't want to ruin anything.
Enjoy. You can only play it for the first time once. haha
P.S. - Do you think so far that the soundtrack is perfect?
Yeah, the soundtrack has been really well done. Remedy really nailed this out of the park. Though I'm still not entirely sure what the point of bullet-time dodges are.
I don't know what you mean "bullet-time dodges"
You know, when you dodge an attack and it gets all slow like The Matrix?
Oh - yeah, I just thought it was a cool feature. Pointless really. It does give you an achievement though if you do so many I think. And it's the only real way to successfully dodge attacks.
Yeah, it just seems that Remedy really needed to put it in there to remind people that they invented the technique. It doesn't hurt the game at all, it just seemed like an odd addition.
Awesome, I think i might have to pick this up.