PRESENTATION:

The world of Alan Wake is all about story and this is pretty evident right when you start the game. Alan Wake is presented to the player as your every day thriller writer on vacation with his lovely wife Alice until things go horribly wrong. Without going into too much story the game is based around an evil darkness that corrupts the town. When the days turn into night, this darkness spreads its evil tendrils causing the townsfolk of Bright Falls to do horrible things. It is Alan Wake’s job to find out why this is happening and how he can put an end to it.

What sells this story is the way it is presented to the player. Like a good episodic, twisted, mystery TV show (Think Twin Peaks) Alan wake submerges the player into this surreal world. Instead of your average level-based game, Alan Wake is broken up into episodes. Each episode ends with a closing song and the new episodes start up with a ‘Previously on Alan Wake’ segment. I found myself hooked by the endings of each episode and scrambled to start the new one right away to see where this lead Alan in the story. Each episode also introduces you to new, fresh characters that keep the story rolling. Remedy has found just the right way to do episodic gaming in this formula.

Speaking of characters, Alan Wake is full of a huge cast of characters that each have their own story. There was not one character that you come across that does not have a unique story to them. As you make your way through the game, you come across several things that you can read in the environment giving you a deper look into the story. Not only that but there are radios and TV’s scattered throughout the game as well. The radios broadcast the Bright Falls radio station with some hilarious and creepy callers. The TVs show episodes of what can only be described as a ‘Twilight Zone’ type show. The cool part about the TVs is that the videos shown are in black and white but using live actors. I think my favorite character in Alan Wake would have to be the Lamp Lady (hopefully a tribute to Log Lady from Twin Peaks!) but Alan’s best friend Barry comes in a close second. There are some hilarious moments in the game involving Barry that will have you possibly doing a spit take.

Mixed in with the presentation is the great way cinematics are presented to the player. In most games you will usually find these at the beginning or end of a level but in Alan Wake they are thrown in during key moments of the story – a great mix put in by Remedy that really keeps the flow going. The story of Alan Wake is outstanding and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Mixed with a fantastic presentation Remedy really outdid themselves on this one.

GAMEPLAY:

Alan Wake 3rd person thriller in the vein of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. What Alan Wake has that these other games don’t is the unique system of controlling the light. Since darkness is your main enemy, it makes total sense that your main weapon of defense is a simple flashlight. Using the left control stick moves Alan around the environment and the right stick controls your flashlight. You have your normal jump buttons and item switching as with any other game. Where it gets interesting is the left trigger when pressed lightly will shine the light and aim at a target. To really blind your enemies you can hold down the left trigger button and it will boost that light causing the darkness to fade from the target at a slow rate. Once the target has been drained of their darkness the player can hit the right trigger buttons unleashing hell with their weapon of choice. Of course using the bright light a bit too much cause cause the batteries to drain. Thankfully batteries are found all over the game and as you progress you can upgrade your flashlight to more powerful versions. Alan Wake also uses an interesting health recharge mechanic as throughout the episodes are conveniently-placed street lamps. Some of them require you to find a generator to use but once you get the light running you can stand under it for a recharge. This also serves as a checkpoint and a safe haven where you can run Alan away from the impending darkness. You will also encounter heavy duty spotlights you can use, flare guns, flares, and the BFG of light-based weapons: the flashbang. The flash bang can clear out a whole area in a matter of seconds. It really was like Christmas morning coming across the flashbangs as you don’t have them often.

While most of the action takes place on-foot in the forest, Alan Wake manages to throw in a little bit of vehicle action as well. At a few points in the game you get to hop in a truck in order to run down some darkness. Bright Falls is a huge area and this really helps you get from one area to another while providing a nice breather. Although, some of my vehicle’s moments were causeed by me nearly crappig my pants as certain events scared the hell out of me. It is not often that a video game will literally cause me to jump in shock. Like a good thriller, Alan Wake has plenty of those moments. The entire game is filled with ‘Oh hell!’ moments as things jump out at you or appear in front of you. For many games of less-than-normal fortitude, Alan Wake will be a ‘play with the lights on’ kind of game.

The gameplay is not perfect however. As with most 3rd person games, the controls are a bit unresponsive at times. There were times in the game where I wanted Alan to move one way but he just did not want to go there. His movements became unnatural and resulted in several hilarious stutter-stepping moments. The camera did cause a little bit of an issue when using the aiming-mode as it would swing to a totally different area then what I was aiming at. None of these were game breakers though.

GRAPHICS AND SOUNDS:

The world of Bright Falls is a beautifully-eerie landscape. From the daytime play areas where the sun was shining off the mountain tops to the creepy, fog-filled night, everything set the visual mood. What was impressive was that when the darkness was coming you would be signalled of this by trees spinning in circles and the quickly-rolling, creepy fog. This added a lot to the jumping out of your seat moments. Alan Wake is meant to be played in a dark room and if you do so be prepared to have a nightlight and a teddy bear sitting next to you.

The only complaint about the graphics would be some weird graphic issues that caused for some funny moments. Parts of the cinematics had some weird model issues where body parts would cause strange collisions. There were also several moments of screen-tearing but none of these issues were enough to stop playing the game.

The sound in Alan Wake is outstanding. From the excellent voice work of the actors to the sounds of the environment. Alan Wake is built on story and each character came across as believable. You get hooked by what the characters are saying and each moment kept you on the edge of your seat. Kudos to Remedy for bringing in a quality voice cast. The environmental sounds also really helpd to keep the mood going – The rushing of the wind as the darkness surrounds you or the very creepy towns folks that have been infected by the darkness… Some of the one-liners thrown by these baddies are spit take funny and funhouse creepy.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

While Alan wake is not perfect, it is a game that every Xbox owner should go out and buy. With its episodic nature, players can keep the story going as the first DLC pack is slated to drop at the end of June. Alan Wake is a scary thrill ride from beginning to end and I encourage all of you Shogunites to step into the world of Bright Falls.