Early GOTY for 360
Alan Wake is the LONG awaited title from Remedy, who previously took forever releasing Max Payne last gen. Sadly, they've already started releasing DLC, so planned jokes about new episodes hitting in 2013 have been thwarted.
The story is fairly complex. I could spoil it here if you would like, but I would advise against it. But I will say that even spelling out the story, it doesn't make a ton of logical sense...which was a goal of the developers. So, well played men. On seond thought, even if you read a complete synopsis, there ain't much going to be much ruined as it is baffling and highly susceptible to interpretation.
The game's main concept is the usage of light to equate with safety. Your most important ally is light as enemies are basically invincible until you can drive the darkness from them. You have to deal not just with enemies, but also possessed inanimate objects, such as gates.
Wake is not without some talents, though. The guns feel suitably powerful, but with scarce ammo. Flare guns and flashbang grenades are the biggest weapons in the game for a reason. When you have ammo, you feel like a badass of sorts. You can avoid attacks and drop road flares to back foes off of you. But, in the end, you seldom have a ton of ammo on higher difficulty levels, so running away is not always a poor option.
You have a wide array of collectibles to find, such as the manuscript pages which almost explain what is happening right then. There are others, such as thermoses, TVs, and radioes which seem to have no real purpose, outside of ambience.
And ambience is something the game has in spades. The game has atmosphere down cold. It is up there with Condemned in the annals of really creepy games due to the ambience of the area. You see the Taken through the mist coming at you. You find a light in the distance and just do all you can do to reach it. It is a thrillling game and one of the few that do horror well.
This is a game that had brutally high expectations and hit them. Some issues, such as the uncanny valley when looking at NPCs are there, but seem unavoidable in games. This is a game that warrants serious examination as it is a definite GOTY candidate and might be one of the most relevant titles of this console generation. Not replayable, but the game is a heck of a ride.
