Alan Wake

Alan Wake was described by lead writer / creator Sam Lake as heavily influence and inspired by Steven King. Given this description, you expect not just to be terrified, but to be drawn in to a consideration of every item that dots the landscape as a potential friend - or, more often, an enemy. Alan Wake provides all of this, coupled with a wonderfully involving narrative which made me feel as though I was an active participant in an an-screen film or movie, not just a video game.The Story: Alan Wake is a writer in need of some rest and recreation. His wife, Alice, arranges for a visit to the small town of Bright Falls, Washington, with the notion that the beautiful scenery and country life will provide Alan with the respite he needs. The town is indeed small; Alan gets recognized almost immediately. The cabin that they rent is located on an island in the middle of massive body of water, called Cauldron lake. While all seems set for a rustic vacation, on the first night, the lights in the cabin go out, Alice gets abducted by a force unseen, suddenly the game really launches into a whirling battle of darkness and light (literally), as Alan struggles to free his wife from the "dark presence" that holds her captive. Around the third episode of the game you do get a comedic side-kick (Alan Wake's manager, Barry Wheeler), who helps lighten the mood a little, but the search for ways to combat the darkness, and the search for a special weapon left behind by a previous "champion of light" dominates the the game from start to finish. Maybe I haven't said enough to give you an idea of the entire storyline, but it is one that should be experienced, rather than simply told.The Mechanics and Game-Play: The battle between darkness and light is very simply handled: a flashlight is used to dispel the darkness protecting the agents of the Dark Presence (usually possessed loggers and townspeople). Though the dark protection is burned away by the flashlight, the darkness still controls them, so the must be killed with one of several weapons. The revolver is the most common, though a shotgun, a hunting rifle, flare gun, and flash-bang grenades are also available at various points in the game. If it sounds like the combat could be a little repetitive, it is. But the story is so involving in the manner in which in unfolds, this did not annoy me, but might annoy a gamer who is looking for some hair-trigger shoot-em-up action. Sure the baddies come in ever-increasing swarms as you progress in the game, but their variety and the weapons you use to fight them stay pretty much the same. Most of the game takes place at night, with a few cut-scenes and interludes in the day-time. Be sure to turn your up your brightness settings, as the game is very dark indeed.The World of Alan Wake: Remedy did an absolutely fantastic job on the graphics for the game. Even on low settings, the landscapes still look lush and leafy. You get to explore a variety of Pacific Northwest landscape, from Ranger stations to an abandoned coal mine (my favorite). I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and this game was a wonderfully nostalgic trip for me. The music of the game is equally extraordinary. The orchestral soundtrack is just beautiful, and the songs by Poets of the Fall made me a fan of the band.Additional Content: There were complaints that the initial game did not wrap up the story well enough. This goes back to the voice-over from the very opening of the game: it is the mysteries that have no explanation that remain with us the longest. Other reviewers and users have stated that the two additional episodes included on this disc help provide some additional closure. I felt they only added to the mystery, and made me eager for Alan Wake 2 - which unfortunately looks like it will be a while in coming.PC Port: The game played perfectly on my laptop and desktop, running Windows 7 and Steam. The controls are the standard WASD + Shift and Space + Mouse, and I experienced very few glitches. Microsoft did a great job on this port.Summary: The back of the box hypes "Intense Cinematic Action." It is more than just the action that is cinematic. The entire story unfolds in a fascinatingly linear manner. The action and the scares are as real as the wonderful atmosphere: I scare quite easily, and there were some days where I really hesitated to play it (even on the Easy setting) because of the prospect of vague woodsmen bleeding blank ink attack you from all sides. I was so eager to see what happened next in the story, though, that I got past it pretty quickly. Sam Lake and Remedy fashioned a very special game in Alan Wake; and, even though I now know how the story ends, stories never really end, do they? The finalities that you pursue are never attainable. There is always a catch - whether memory or circumstance, sometimes both, sometimes one nested within the other - that perpetually proffers hope with one hand while dashing it with the other. That uncertainty lies at the core of the Alan Wake experience, and has been captured here so perfectly.

I remember playing this game, and let me tell you that the story is so solid that you don't have to worry about the time it has been since it came out. The story to this game is so well established, and the graphics are on par with current games, that you will enjoy playing this game if it is your first time, or playing it for nostalgia.

This is an extremely creative horror tale; lots of creepy environments and a really novel and interesting "combat" system where you fight back with light, mainly. Also the larger story line and town where it takes place are pretty interestingly crafted. If you like horror games, you'll probably love it. But to me, the game seemed to rely on the same old "pile on the enemies to just barely the point you can survive", a bit too much. So if you're not a horror-game regular but want to try really outstanding examples of the genre, you might want to look elsewhere.

Overall, this game has a fascinating storyline, probably one of the best I have seen in years. In my opinion, game companies have become very lazy and complacent, but this game is neither. Incredibly fun to play and watch. (like a tv show)The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is for one very simple reason. The gameplay itself can be rather difficult at times. There are times when I run out of flashlight battaries or bullets, and have no way to fend off the darkness. I find supplies eventually, but maybe after dying like 3 times. Which is another thing. You die in like 3 hits. Which isn't really a bad thing, but became quite annoying.I reccomend this game if you are one who is into more in depth storylines and not actual gameplay.

Been playing this game for about a week now and it's quite good. The story is very intriguing and I'm really not sure what the hell is going on. But I want to keep playing. The graphics are awesome. Very lifelike and sharp with great lighting. The combat system is very unique and challenging. And even the voice acting is great. Overall this game seems like its going to be a great experience. I'll let you know if and when I solve this thing.

Great game. One of the first in a while where moving the character around in 3rd person view (with a keyboard and mouse no less) works really well. I highly recommend it. I am an avid non-military type of 1st person shooter/adventure person, so this is long overdue. Not that I don't have a collection military type shooters. I am using a newly home built PC made especially for intense graphical gaming, math simulation, CAD drawing, C++ programming, etc. This game is graphically intense and you need a good machine to work it without turning down the graphics features. I don't have a console so I am not sure how well it works on those. The game claims it is DX10 for Windows 7, but I don't see where it is much better then DX9 games. It is on a par with games like the Half-Life 2 series as far as I am concerned. What is really great about it is the lush forests the game is set in. Again, you need a good machine to fully realize the beauty of the game. As usual you get a lot of enemies and not enough ammo. But that is just me. You need to learn to shoot and scoot properly to get through it. Definitely a game to acquire.

Alan Wake- game is Fun for the older kids and adults in the family!

This is a really great game. I loved the story. I found the controls in this game to be simple and easy to work with. The story line plays like a thriller based on a book and keeps you hooked till the end. I didn't find it to be all that scary but there were times I just felt the need to turn the lights on while playing. The graphics are ok. It doesn't have the graphics of some of the latest top games but it still looks great and won't keep you from enjoying the game. If your looking to play a game with action, mystery, and suspense I don't think this game will disappoint.

Not only does this game force you to install steam to play it, it also forces you to download the entire 6.9 GB game from Steam as well. What is the point of the disc?? I can get a better deal from Gog.com where I can play it straight from my hard drive without having an annoying launcher program.The game is okay with a very cliche story that is not even finished even with the extra episodes. It is not that "thrilling" as it is difficult to play. The controls are bad because the dodging and sprint action is on the same key letting the computer "guess" what it is you want to do. The gameplay is very repetitive where nearly every case it involves you shining light on an enemy then followed by shooting which is in itself also awkward. There are no headshots and every enemy takes an assigned amount of bullets before they go down taking no consideration on where you were aiming.The voice acting is well done in my opinion, but the facial animation is pretty dated even for 2010 standard. The environment is probably the best part of the game, where nearly every vista is breathing taking and beautiful.Other than that, it was just another game that you had to go through so you tell others that you've played it.