Release Date: May 18, 2010

Current Price: $19.99, 14.99

Platforms: Xbox 360, PC

ESRB Rating T (Teen)
Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Official Trailer:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Plot

Money, fame, and a lovely wife. Famous Author Alan Wake has it all. But there is one problem. He has had writers block for two years and cannot write another book. Alan and his wife, Alice, decide to go on vacation to a small town called Bright Falls. On arrival of the town they go into a diner, where a man is supposed to give Alan a key to his cabin. Instead a mysterious lady gives him a key and directions to a new house on an island on the local lake. Alice thought that going to a different atmosphere would maybe help Alan with his writers block. Alan gets frustrated and leaves the house. The power in the house dies and Alice is worried, she is afraid of the dark, and then Alan hears her scream. He sprints inside and cannot find his wife. Next thing you know you find Alan, one week in the future, not remembering anything that had happened within the previous week. One thing he does know is that there are creatures lurking the dark, creatures called the Taken. Alan shines his flashlight on the Taken until all darkness is taken out of the creatures. Then he shoots them. Alan must find out where the Taken are coming from, where his wife is, and how to get the hell out of Bright Falls. This story is full of plot twists and plot holes. But after the end of the actual game, plus two DLC's, it comes to a satisfying ending that I will never forget. The ending also leads to a sequel. Alan Wake is a very touching and emotional story and you will not forget about it.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Alan Wake isn't very special. You spend most of the time in a forest or somewhere dark. I actually was relieved when I was in the daytime parts of this game due to the fact that some of the stuff i the night time can be pretty creepy and really hold onto you. The game is more story driven so there isn't much to talk about. You basically run around a forest most of the time and get from point "A" to point "B" without being killed. You have two weapons. A flashlight and your choice of firearms. Most of the time you are stuck with a pistol, but occasionally you will find a hunting rifle or a shotgun. You use the flashlight by holding down left trigger (xbox) and holding it on the enemy until the enemy explodes with light. Once you have taken out all of the darkness out of the enemy you shoot it with your weapon. Ammo and batteries are very scarce and this game and to me felt like the first real survival horror, besides from Dead Space, that I had played in quite some time. Though the game is classified as a Psychological Action-Thriller, which it is, I also see a huge essence of survival horror in this game. While I was playing this game at two in the morning I literally was scared out of my mind. Watching my character go through some of the events that he did really made the game feel like the character and I were one. Not a separate bad-ass that runs around and blows shit up like Master Chief or Duke Nukem. Instead you fell like you are Alan Wake, and if anything happens to him you will fall apart as well. Not a lot of games do this but I love it when they do because I can actually connect to the character where in other games I just feel like I'm a random soldier or something running around killing people. If more games added the sense of connection between your character and yourself I would personally enjoy it much more.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

You do have short driving sequences every now and again. The driving is simple. Right trigger (xbox) is go, left trigger is brake, and A is shine headlights. The headlights help you shine the darkness out of the enemies and then you can smash them with a car. The gameplay of Alan Wake can get a little stale. Which is a problem. Like I said with LA Noire I couldn't play this game for more than two or three hours at a time without boring myself. But the story really keeps the game going and is what made me keep playing it the whole time.

Graphics/Audio

The graphics in Alan Wake are simply amazing. They aren't acted but they are generated very well and I hope to see the sequel (if ever made) to be acted. The whole game is beautiful. Cut scenes are gorgeous and lifelike. And often I felt as though I was reading a book or watching a TV show or movie. The mist looks eerie and mysterious and the trees and mountains of the forest look amazing. The facial expressions in this game are fantastic and they couldn't have gone wrong with the graphics in this game.



The one thing that I am most impressed with has to be the soundtrack. The soundtrack is so amazing I am actually considering buying it. Also the voice acting is superb and could not be any better. It actually feels like they are adding emotion into every word and really mean what they are saying unlike the robot type speaking of other games.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Issues

The issues in this game are very few. One major issue is that while playing on Nightmare difficulty, enemies are about three times as hard and there is much less ammo. Also in regular setting the difficulty really spikes up in the last quarter of the game. There aren't any screentare or framerate issues that I have come into. But I have heard people say that there are. Also like I said before the gameplay can get a little boring. Over all this game doesn't have many issues but the issues can be a big deal.

My Opinion

Alan Wake is an amazing, story driven game. I bought both of the DLC's and played them multiple times. I hope to see a sequel and I hope you guys will give this game a chance

Overall Rating

Alan Wake gets a 9/10. This game is fantastic and I suggest it to anyone who is looking for a great story and having a relationship with the character.

Thanks for reading this guys
Skate Duck wrote this whole thing 100%. The only thing I took was pictures and videos. I hope you guys liked it and expect more in the future