Alan Wake, the long awaited game that was one of the first titles give a glimpse of next-gen technology. With fantastic visuals and a eerie thriller feel, its easy to see why this was a much wanted title. With several delays and the company Remedy to be working in stealth mode, gave very little to the fans for years who eagerly awaited. But in 2010 the wait is over, Alan Wake is here and ready. Now the only question remains, was it worth the wait?
I'll answer that straight up. Yes and No.
Why Yes and No you may ask? Well allow me to explain with out going in too much detail or giving away spoilers. Alan Wake is a great game. You'll have fun running around in the woods deep in the night, defeat the "taken" people and destroy possessed farm equipment. Its a great thrill ride with mystery that filled with odds n ends to piece this grand story together. However...theres a bit of a problem. Its a typical problem that we see that plagues games in long development. Dated Tech. I say this because you could clearly see that much of the animation was stiff and the characters through out the game was filled with "Glove" or "Mitten" hands. They had no individual fingers to grab or point. Also the lips animation was decent at best.
Ok, Ok. Maybe thats a bit tad picky and sure, some rough Animation isnt going to ruin this game. Which it doesnt, because what makes up for it is the amazing atmosphere that can change on you in a second. At first your on a nice quick walk, then the next second the sky turns black filled with terrible shadows out to get you. Its fun...at first. Unfortunately this begins to grow very repetitive as you tackle the same foes over and over again. Not to mention the task filled with out the game begin to feel more like choirs instead of neat experiences.
Bottom line, Alan Wake is a solid game that every 360 owner should experience once. Its with out a doubt worth that first play through. Ultimately thats Alan Wakes greatest strength and biggest weakness. You'll complete a game in under 10 hours and have you wanting more but sadly there is hardly any replay value. No multiplayer, no extra Acts or side quest. Pretty much after you beat Alan Wake your just about done. On my first play through I completed in around 8 hrs and had over 600 achievement points and felt very little need to continue to replay. For a game thats gonna set you back $59.99 you'll want to expect more for value as this ride is only worth getting on once.
VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "All in all, it’s not hard to see why Alan Wake has received a bit of a cult following (there’s that famous foreshadowing again). It’s a title that blends themes and gameplay, while pushing the limits of storytelling by putting stories within stories and letting you read those stories before you get to that part in… the story. It has flaws, to be sure - the gameplay side can’t quite keep up with the rest of its ambitions - but overall it’s a great game that stands out among its peers and is undeniably… one for the books."
Alan Wake 2 continues the writer's story, 13 years later.
Remedy has Alan Wake merch on sale, including a pretty blue thermos. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan, and many players who want a thermos find themselves without one, though it does appear that Remedy is attempting to fix things. Nevertheless, it has resulted in a lot of upset, illustrating just how much the thermos means to Alan Wake fans.
There will be episodic content released for it.
"Speaking at CES Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices head, Robbie Bach, said that Alan Wake's story will be continued episodically after the release of the core game.
"Story-driven like a TV series, Alan Wake will be told in episodes, with even more episodes available on Xbox Live after its launch this year," said Bach."
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