Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Alan Wake

    Game » consists of 14 releases. Released May 14, 2010

    When famous novelist Alan Wake goes on vacation with his wife Alice, he has no idea that the idyllic town of Bright Falls will soon be the site of a terrible battle between light and dark that could threaten everything, even Wake's own sanity.

    wallacethegreat's Alan Wake (Xbox 360) review

    Avatar image for wallacethegreat

    A Fight for the Light

     The term “atmosphere” is used frequently when describing a game’s environment or mood. By definition – or at least relevant definition – atmosphere is “any surrounding or pervasive element or influence,” and Remedy Entertainment’s new third-person action/thriller Alan Wake more often than not succeeds in enveloping you with a sense of perpetual tension that is so needed in the horror genre.
     

    No Caption Provided
    Structured similarly to a television show, each ‘episode’ of Alan Wake will last a lengthy 1-2 hours. The beginning of each chapter even has its’ own “Previously on…” to recall past events, and a credits song to bookend the section. (Though the lack of actual credits at the end of each chapter is a missed opportunity.) These segments can be exhausting when done in quick succession, so playing the game as if it were a TV series – meaning, to take a break between each episode – can actually be more enjoyable than playing for longer stretches.

    The game’s namesake and main character, Alan Wake, is a famous horror novelist with a severe case of writer’s block. In an attempt to inspire his creativity for the macabre, Alan’s wife Alice drags him to the idyllic town of Bright Falls. Though soon after arriving in the quaint logging village, Alan is flung into a horrifying series of events beyond his control – or so he thinks. Upon waking up in the woods with his car wrecked and no recollection of the past week, Alan must fight his way through the dark to rescue his wife, who disappeared the night he lost his memory. Sadly, the "end" of the game proper is wholly confusing and lacks some needed explanation, but the already announced downloadable content will hopefully clear up some of the mess.

    At times Alan Wake can be genuinely scary, with the shadow-enveloped Taken emerging from every conceivable direction, hell-bent on stopping Alan from completing his story. The dark forests encompassing the small town can feel claustrophobic; every rustle of a branch or sway of a tree could be a sign that you’re in immediate danger. And as a cue for incoming Taken, an unnervingly fast-moving fog will set in, further obscuring your vision in the dim moonlight. The various Taken you’ll confront range from swift baddies with pensions for axe-tossing to lumbering (no pun intended) woodsmen wielding enormous chainsaws. Luckily – and perhaps a wink at Remedy’s previous titles – a useful dodge maneuver, complete with slow motion, will prevent you from being greeted by the wrong end of a blade. But you’ll still have to manage your stamina, for Alan is an author, not a distance runner, and will grow tired quickly.

     A writer with a gun is a dangerous man.
     A writer with a gun is a dangerous man.

    Strangely, even though Alan Wake is a writer by trade the former Max Payne developer has made it so he can wield a gun with surprising accuracy. The standard assortment of weapons (i.e. pistols, shotguns, rifles) can be found lying around in some often-convenient locations, with copious amounts of ammunition for you to blast through your foes. The flashlight Alan carries with him doubles as the game’s reticule, and the fluidity of aiming and firing a shot sheds noticeable light on Remedy’s shooter pedigree. (Sorry, that pun was intended.)

    The “darkness vs. the light” theme is worked heavily into gameplay. Light is the only means to wear down the shadows that surround the Taken, and Alan will have to use every source of illumination at his disposal. Floodlights, streetlamps and your trusty flashlight are all suitable for exposing the possessed townsfolk, but some set-piece moments require more strategy, such as activating lights to funnel enemies or lighting flares to block paths. The batteries the power the various flashlights you’ll carry are as plentiful as ammunition, which raises the question as to who is leaving all of these spare ammo packs and batteries for you to use. Light-based weapons like flashbang grenades or the flare gun are suitable for taking out larger groups of enemies, while standard flares act as a method of crowd-control – lay one down and any Taken in the vicinity will move back, giving you some much-needed room to work.

     That's right Barry, you keep pulling those strings.
     That's right Barry, you keep pulling those strings.

    If there’s one complaint I have against Alan Wake, it’s some of the more obvious face-lifts the game has undergone in its over five years of development. While cutscenes are fairly well animated (and for some reason letterboxed) the in-game characters look stiff, like marionettes begin lead around on invisible strings. The abundance of collectables scattered around the game begs the question as to whether Bright Falls was once an open world and then scaled back over the development cycle. The occasional driving sequences feel out of place given the linearity of the rest of the game, further reinforcing the notion that Alan Wake may have once been able to roam freely.

    Rough edges aside, the folks at Remedy Entertainment have done a great job of establishing a feeling of constant anxiety when traversing through the game. The town of Bright Falls and its surrounding areas are well detailed, though some rather muddy textures are visible during daytime sequences. The dark woods provide and excellent backdrop for Alan’s battle against the shadows, and the use of light as a weapon augments typical shooter mechanisms. The game shows clear signs of its’ long development cycle, but Alan Wake is not only as a competent third-person shooter, but an intense – and at times even scary – horror game. 

    Other reviews for Alan Wake (Xbox 360)

      After five years in the making, it's time to wake up 0

      A successful, Stephen King-inspired horror novelist, whose dressing style features a suit-jacket with leather elbow pads, isn’t someone you’d expect to be an action hero. However, the titular protagonist of Remedy’s long awaited psychological action thriller, Alan Wake, is surprisingly adept at wielding all manner of powerful firearms. Maybe it should have been expected given Remedy’s pedigree for cinematic action with the brilliant Max Payne, but since Alan Wake’s announcement back in 20...

      17 out of 17 found this review helpful.

      Fright Train to Awesometown 0

      The roof is on fire, gonna burn it to the ground!    I have been on a quest for a really good story driven suspense or horror themed game for a long, long time. Resident Evil 5 was alright, but it didn't have that creepy atmosphere and the story was throw away.  Alone in the Dark had some great ideas and music but the gameplay was simply broken. Heavy Rain seemed to have a lot of promise and it was fun but was hit and miss in both  gameplay and story. And who at Giant Bomb has not played...

      10 out of 10 found this review helpful.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.