Previously, on Alan Wake…
I was able to finally play this game over the weekend, despite having since it came out in May. I have been looking forward to this game ever since I first heard about it way back during E3 of 2005. Back then, the game was slightly different and it was also supposed to be a PC game as well (which was later canned for reasons I totally don’t agree with). Eventually, it was restricted solely to the Xbox 360 and took quite a long time to complete.
The game is developed by Remedy Entertainment who is mostly (a.k.a. “only”) popular for the Max Payne series. They also developed a Carmageddon style game before Max Payne but not too many people have actually heard of it. If you ask me, if my company was only know for one game series, I’d be glad to know that the series was as solid as Max Payne.
Part of what made those games so amazing was the contribution of Sam Lake, a Swedish writer and employee at Remedy who lent his writing talent to both games. Coincidentally, most of what makes Alan Wake such an incredible experience is that it was also written by Lake. The game is split up into 6 chapters that play very much like either chapters in a novel or episodes in a Twilight Zone styled TV series (with a little less cheese).
From the very beginning, The story pulls you in and keeps you there with an intense sequence that instantly lets you know how the game will be played and how the element of light will be used throughout the game.
I can’t really say much about particular events that happen without spoiling anything. I’m also not claiming to be any kind of game reviewer– But I can say that this game will keep you guessing and guessing until the very end. It’s filled with awesome plot-twists, moments of extreme suspense, and just an overall engaging story. You won’t want to put it down until you’ve finished it.
That brings me to my next point regarding the length of the game. I just have to get this out there. A lot of game sites and publications have noted that this game is pretty short… but the spin they put on it was that it was a bad thing. First of all, let me say that the game is exactly as long as it needs to be, it never felt like it was dragging on in any way or cut short in any way. Secondly, this game is not short. My definition of a short game would be something like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 where you can blast through the campaign in about 4 hours or any other game in similar length where it wouldn’t be at all far-fetched for even a more casual gamer to beat it in one (or one and a half) sittings. Alan Wake probably took me about 10-12 hours to beat. I’m not exactly sure because there is no gameplay counter or anything. But each of the 6 chapters can easily take 2 hours each, or more to beat. Some are shorter than others, but even the short ones are quite lengthy.
I enjoyed Alan Wake 100% through and I’m very excited to play both of the planned DLC episodes (The Signal is already out and The Writer is planned for release). This game is easily on my “play multiple times” list.
If you have a 360 and are any kind of fan of thrillers, action games, or just a fantastic story, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.>
