Alan Wake

[capt_weasle]

I don't do well with scary movies. Around when I was eight or so I was on vacation with my family and we were all settled down for a movie. I have to note here that my mother has a knack for picking out the strangest films, in this case it was The Haunting. While I looked back on that movie at realize how ridiculously cheesy it was, at the time it scared the shit out of me. I can no longer watch horror movies (well, not much really counts for horror these days. Gore =/= horror). I suppose I should say that I can actually watch and enjoy them, but sometimes the movie can just get to me in ways I don't find comforting (most recently with Paranormal Activity), so in general I avoid them. So this brings me to Alan Wake, the psychological thriller that has been in the works for over half a decade. When it first broke through at E3 a few years ago I piqued my interest but until about a week ago I completely forgot about it. After reading a review on Kotaku on the game, I decided I had to get it. Unfortunately, it was supposed to be pretty scary, so I was a little weary about the purchase. But then I sat back, took a long, hard think and said, "You know what? Fuck that shit. I'm playing this alone at one in the morning with the lights turned off, because I want the full experience." And guess what? It's scaring the shit out of me, and I am fucking loving it.

The Good:
- Not another shooter: Your greatest weapon is your flashlight. Your enemies are just regular townsfolk, but possessed by a darkness that protects them from conventional weapons. Shine your light their way, however, and in no time the darkness will have faded from around them and you're free to fill them with lead. Some enemies have a stronger "field" of darkness around them so it takes longer for it to fade when you have your light on them, but you will also get the chance to use flare guns, flares, and flash bangs to aid you when things get overwhelming - which they will.
- Light, light, light: While it's always nice to be able to save whenever you want in a game, in Alan Wake the checkpoint system is very well done. There are light posts scattered throughout the game which signify checkpoints when you reach them. It feels so relieving to be running through the forest - with the shadows chasing you down - and suddenly see a lamp post up ahead. It really lends to the emotion of the moment. However, occasionally the lamps need to be started by revving up a nearby generator, which really adds to the chaos when you have multiply enemies surrounding you and you just want that damn light.
- Not your usual hero: For once in my life I finally feel like the character I'm playing is human. When you're sprinting through the woods, you'll need to either slow down or stop to catch your breath; climbing a ladder feels like actually climbing a ladder (unlike your usual first-person, "floating up a ladder" feel). When you first receive your gun, Wake tells you that the only time he's ever fired a gun was in some shooting range decades ago. When you first start firing that gun, you can tell he's inexperienced. You might think this just makes for poor gameplay, but you're wrong. There is a level of desperation that is very tangible when you're fending off the darkness with your revolver, especially when you have to reload you can feel that rush of anxiety, and as you yell at the screen, "RELOAD FASTER RELOAD FASTER OH DEAR GOD THEY'RE COMING CLOSER," you can tell he's thinking the exact same thing. No more faceless super-space marines with oversized muscles that serves double as a gun rack.
- It looks fantastic: This is a beautiful game. Despite the fact that the majority of the game takes place in a dark forest at night, there is so much detail to everything. You really feel like you're in that forest. The light and shadow mechanics are the best I've ever seen in a game. The flashlight works just like you would expect as you shine it around the trees and rocks and flowing rivers. And the wind? Holy shit, this gets to me. When you start getting in the deepest part of the game, the wind picks up and the fog rolls in in such a way that mimmicks a real nightmare. And fuck, it actually feels like a nightmare I've had, and it really gets me. It's amazing.
- It's damn frightening: Most "horror" movies and games out there rely on things suddenly popping out at you when you're distracted. Cheap thrills that only get you in the moment. Sure, Alan Wake has those moments, say when a crow suddenly flies out in front of you, but the game in no way relies on this tactic. The real fright here is the atmosphere: you're in a dark forest in the middle of the night. It's windy. It's quiet. The fog is rolling in and it's only you and your flashlight. You know *something* is out there. You can hear the footsteps in the dark (this is where you really want to have surround sound) but the only thing around you are trees and rocks. This is where the game gets you. It crawls under your skin and makes you a part of the experience. It's the moments where your foot suddenly gets caught in a bear trap, and while you frantically attempt to pull it out, a dark figure comes rushing at you from among the trees. You shine your light at your foe as you reload the revolver as fast as you can, when suddenly another enemy hits you from behind and you drop your controller and pee your pants a little. I love it.

The Bad:
- The cutscenes: I love cutscenes. For me, the story plays just a big a role in a game as the gameplay itself. Unfortunately, the transitions between the playable game and the cutscenes are rather awkward. Especially because the scenes are very stylized, it makes the game world look suddenly bland in comparison once the scene ends (though the in-game graphics still pull you back in quickly). For example, at one point I found myself running away from a whirlwind of shadow that was throwing cars, trash cans and other debris at me, and towards a shed in the distance. As I finally reached the door to the place, it faded to black, made me wait a couple seconds, and then started a cutscene. While everything looked and felt great, there was that moment of transition that just killed some of the tension. Half Life actually did something great for me: while I was sad there wasn't any cinematic style scenes, I got to witness everything first hand as it happened. But really, this problem isn't that intrusive.

The Ugly:
- Nothing. Honestly, I can't think of anything *so* bad that it brings the game down in any way. It's a fantastic game, really.

I do have a confession - I haven't beaten it yet. I believe I'm around the halfway point, but unfortunately I'll be in Oregon for the next ten days and won't be able to play it, so I decided to put this up while it was fresh in my mind. That said, I will definitely add more to this post when I get back in the game, because there is so much more I want to discuss, but I want to see where these things lead and how the affect the game in its entirety. Also, I'm sure I'm forgetting some things that I'll add later. So for now, if you've beaten the game, kindly and clearly mark all spoilers with tags. But buy this game, it's super awesome.

[capt_weasle]

So I finally had the time to sit down and finish the game. I must take back a few of the things I mentioned, such as the "scary" aspect of it. While it certainly has its moments, and it creates a creepy atmosphere perfectly, the game does get repetitive, thus taking away some of the suspense. I was a little disappointed at the ending, because, well, it doesn't really end. The story will continue via DLC sometime soon, but I'd like a game you can just finish in one go. While overbearingly cynical (it *is* Zero Punctuation, after all), a lot of the things I didn't like about the game can be summarized in this video. Overall, still a very good game which I highly recommend, though I would have to wait until the DLC comes out and I can finish the story before I would recommend you buying it versus just renting it.

[squibbles]

DLC? Ahhhhh, why do game companies hate me? :(

I was really looking forward to getting this, but I dunno...if I won't be able to see the finish, that's kind of lame. :/

[capt_weasle]

Technically the main plot of the game is wrapped up, it just leaves too many loose ends to really be satisfying.

[Luminaflare]

The DLC is supposed to link the first to the second game or something. I'm just going to wait till either a friend gets it so I can borrow his copy or some sort of GOTY or DLC complete pack comes out.

[Slayr]

The first DLC is free for people who purchase the game, it comes with a code in the container y thing.

[Zephyr]

Looks really cool, hopefully it comes out for PC in a year or something because I don't have a 360. That's one more off my "Save up for" list.