Alan WAKE ME UP!!!

[Juese]

Finished it up tonight. The story was excellent, and I thought it concluded well. I was really sucked into the atmosphere and writing of it all. I wasn't as into the combat by the end, only in that I never got the hang of dodging. But, because of that, the game turned into a lot of running, and the big moments/standoffs were almost more awesome because of it. Not that they needed that extra push. Loved the flash bangs, I'm gonna miss not having them in everything else I play for a while. I kinda turned Alan into a clumsy ninja, throwing down a smoke bomb and running as best I could.

Without spoilers, I'm curious how people feel about the game kinda shifting to the comedic side in the second half of the game. I ate it all up, but I also felt the tone shifted a bit, and I'm not sure if that works for everyone.

All in all, yeah, way to go Remedy. Enthralling from beginning to end.

[MrCerebellum]

My big question is who was writing away in the window behind the waitress because it didn't look like Wake.

I could be wrong but it looked like that FBI agent Nightingale to me. Not sure why, as it looked like he fell victim to the Darkness...

The AI's ability to aim projectiles was nucking futs. Just when I thought I faked one out I end up dodging INTO the flying hammer or axe. This made each battle very intense - near or far.

I'm curious how people feel about the game kinda shifting to the comedic side in the second half of the game.

Yeah, especially when you buddy up with Barry and you get to the Left 4 Dead 2's Dark Carnival finale stage fight. I felt it didn't take anything away from the darker tones of the game.

[Ekkebus]

I think it says a lot that I'm so short on free time at the moment, I have UFC and a ton of Mario Galaxy 2 left to play yet I'm still yearning pretty hard to do an Alan Wake replay.

[Wood]

My copy just came in today, and I did play a lot of it while I was visiting. Interestingly enough, I like the fact it's a western horror game. That is, it's not trying to emulate Silent Hill or Resident Evil for its scares. That is, it doesn't try to paint a soul-crushingly lonely atmosphere, like Silent Hill, and it doesn't try to do a ton of startling moments, like every other Survival Horror game. I think it knows the difference between scary and startling, and its something I appreciate. The writing is very well done, and using the flashlight as a aiming reticle is very clever, actually. Just about everything in this game is just very clever and I am very glad the developers had all the time in the world to make sure this game came out good.

The two things that really took me out of the game, though, was the facial movements of the characters and running into a dumpster that moved with the same ease as running into a cardboard box.

[gobbleskat]

I saw Agent Nightingale in the window.

Anyone who is dissing the quality of the storytelling in this game or it's ending clearly hasn't played the game.

I took the ending such that not only is Alan stilll trapped in the lake, he has reset the town so to speak. I like that the world was basically given a second chance, and the existing characters can be expanded upon in the future chapters, whatever form they may be. I am interested to see how Alan continuing to write in the cabin is going to be used to shape future events. I can really see the different chapters focusing on different characters: Alice looking for Alan, Nightingale...being a drunk, etc. I think they have a lot of potential to shape a really awesome over-arcing narrative. In the way that a good TV series has more room to play with it's characters than a movie does, Alan Wake could definitely let itself expand indefinitely if Remedy just chooses to let the world grow, with Alan guiding it from Cauldron Lake.

Very exciting stuff. Needs to digest more. Need an Old Gods of Asgard album release too.

[Ekkebus]

Its not a lake, its an ocean.

Was there ever an explanation for where Nightingale came from and why he had such a mad on for Wake? Is that something that's covered in the Limited Edition book? He just seems to drop in out of nowhere.

[gobbleskat]

That was the part of the story that always seemed weird to me. Everything about the game is so polished, it felt very much like Nightingale's motives and backstory were omitted almost intentionally. The LE book is definitely giving some backstory on the man, but I'd be surprised if they gave his whole story through a piece of supplemental literature that not everyone has access to. We'll see, I should be finished with it shortly.

Steve noticed noticed the symbolism of Rose holding the lantern, and her parallels to Cynthia Weaver as the new Lady of the Light. He also deemed Nightingale the new face of the Dark Presence, which I think I concur with. Not only is he the only character shown standing indoors, in darkness, but it makes sense that they framed the shot of Rose with him looking on in the background for contrast. If he is the new DP I think we'll get a lot of his character being expanded in the future, much like Jagger's.

[Ekkebus]

I wonder if future episodes are going to kind of play out like Eternal Darkness where you take on the roles of different characters to fight The Dark Presence but instead of the book binding them together, its Alan Wake writing from Cauldron lake. Like I mentioned before, I felt strongly coming out of the ending that Wake knew exactly what was going on and what he needed to do. I don't feel like he's trapped in the cabin, I feel that he's there by choice.

[gobbleskat]

I 100% feel like it was a conscious decision on his part. That Eternal Darkness structure is exactly what I was more or less hoping to see. I think shoehorning Alan out of the lake and back into the protagonist's spot through some contrived event would only serve to hurt the significance of his choice. I would much rather see Alice as the main character for a full on sequel. Being that she has been touched by the DP she is in a prime position to take up the fight, especially if Alan is guiding events from the cabin. I just feel like there is so much more story to tell, and I for one am really excited about the DLC and the propect of a full on sequel as well.

I go back in my mind and try to think of why this game ended up being so appealing to me, just to make sure I'm not gaga over the latest horror/thriller style game simply because of what it is. What I keep thinking is that while I clearly loved the story and the ambience, and even though the delivery of that story was top-notch, the game really excells because is just so simple on a whole. Rather than an over-reaching like GTA4 and trying to do a myriad of gameplay elements in a sub average fashion, or doing several different things in a better than average fashion and then repeating them ad nauseum with zero variation like Arkham Asylum, Alan Wake found the right balance of quality gameplay elements and applied them appropriately. There are only a few real scenarios in this game, and you will do them in almost every level: Wander, fight Taken, fight birds, fight big possessed objects, drive. On paper, there isn't a lot of variety, but the integration of these elements into the levels was so suberbly woven that it never felt like a chore to be faced with the same situations over and over, namely because they didn't ever feel like the same situation. You spend probably 60% of this game wandering in the woods with a flashlight, and I was constantly noting to myself how I couldn't believe that it wasn't feeling repetative. The circumstances and justifictions were constantly variant, whether it was a standoff with Barry and Sarah, a mad dash to escape the Dark Presence, or even just braving the swelling Darkness in the hopes of a thermos or a manuscript page. Alan Wake serves as a shining example that a small, solid core of gameplay elements is all you need when you understand how to integrate them creatively. The pacing in this game is top tier and fluid, so much so that I fear future DLC chapters may wizz by too quickly!

[gobbleskat]

Also, a note about the soundtrack:

Petri Alanko's score is moody and beautiful, and I really appreciate the the subtle nature to the majority of the original music composed for the game. The lisenced music, for the most part, felt a lot more appropriate than it usually does in video games. I was not surprised in the least when Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds showed up at the end of chapter 3, as the game feels like something right out of his music (listen to that hidden track on the old X-Files "Songs in the Key of X" soundtrack if you don't believe me ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr7o_UFzrzY). I'll admit Space Odessy kind of threw me though. Although The Poets of the Fall isn't exactly exactly my cup of tea, their contributions as The Old Gods of Asgard were appropriate to the tone and didn't feel forced the way songs written to fit into a story often do. In general I jusr really appreciate music ties to the real world that are both appropriate and familiar, but aren't designed to make me run out and buy new albums. A soundtrack should enhance the movie/game/show, it shouldn't be a commercial. Again, well done Remedy.

[Juese]

Agreed, which is why when Space Oddity did come up, me and Mackey both made some faces/disappointment grunts. Really it stands out more than the facial animations. But again, minor thing at that point. A soundtrack that was unique and put it's stamp on the world, but I can't exactly walk around and hum. Very good.

[gobbleskat]

Nearest thing I can think of is that they were going for some connection between Thomas Zane and Major Tom himself. The Tom the Diver theme has definitely been stuck in my head for the past month, but that one is the most standout by far.

[Ekkebus]

The DLC episodes are being priced at $7 a piece and Remedy estimates they are about 90 minutes of playtime a piece. Us that bought it have a code for The Signal anyway, so honestly an extra $7 for The Writer feels fair to me. No more episodes are planned beyond that but I'm sure if sales are good we'll see more. Here's just hoping they can hold up the high standard that the game has laid out for them.

[gobbleskat]

So, essentially, $3.50 an episode for supporting an awesome game's developer by buying it new? Pretty sweetsville.

You chose....wisely.

[Jaekwon15]

Alan Wake on sale for 39.99 this week at best buy. i'm tempted.