Having just recently finished Alan Wake, I was trying to describe the game to a friend who's mildly interested in the game and is thinking about getting. The reason being the dude really enjoyed Max Payne and Max Payne 2, games we both enjoyed and played to completion back in their day. The comparison is pretty easy, especially since Remedy developed both games. The thing is...I thought about it and Max Payne and Alan Wake have a lot of commonalities - not the least of which is a fake TV-show, dark/noir setting, drug/hallucinogenic themes, brooding lead characters, chasing a quest for a love interest, bullet-time, etc. These are all things I enjoyed about both franchises.
 
However, when I start to think about these games that set them apart from one another, they are all the things I didn't enjoy as much about Alan Wake: the collectibles, the combat, and the driving. Am I way off mark, or am I missing something? The differences are really the only reason I am having a hard time recommending Wake to someone who loved Payne. Both are charming games, especially since the same developer put the time into making them, but slap the character of Max Payne into Alan Wake's shoes, and you have a very similar game (as much as I hate to admit it). There's even a moment towards the end of Wake where the guy on the fake TV talk show makes the Max Payne grimace (I believe this was mentioned on the GOTY Bombcast, but I didn't believe it until I saw it.)