Alan Wake

Alan Wake: Review 

By GunGrave TZA

Remedy Entertainment have become known for taking a very long time to create their games, but when they are finally released, they are always excellent. Max Payne still to this day effects game design as a whole, with the concept of "Bullet Time" introducing a whole new gameplay element to the third person shooter genre. Max Payne 2 improved the gameplay even further, making it more fluid and enjoyable. And now, after 5 years in development, Alan Wake was released. And it is a completely different game to their previous pieces of work. Does it follow their tradition of excellence? Or does it run out of batteries?

Presentation: 9.5/10

Alan Wake has to be one of the most bug-free video games on the market. After playing through the campaign three times, I have come across a single bug. And that was not even game-breaking. The menus look very nice as well.

But the thing that really makes Alan Wake brilliant is it's story. It has to be the most well-told, well-paced, enjoyable, engaging, intriguing and satisfying stories I have ever come across in video games. The initial setup of Alan having to find his missing wife is interesting enough in itself, but then realising that his works of fiction are starting to come to life and attacking him adds a further element of mystery.

Now, of course other video games have had interesting themeatic or storytelling devices, but Alan Wake is by FAR the best timed. Timing can be incredibly important in a story, particularly in the thriller/supernatural genre, and every mystery that is braught up is answered at exactly the right time: Far enough to keep the player interested in what will hapen next, but soon enough that the player doesn't get sick of how long it is getting dragged out.

Also, no single answer is ever unsatisfactory, as each seems to appear believable in the quasi-realistic world the game is set in. It never seems to be rediculous or inconceivable, unlike a quite similar TV show (WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ISLAND). The inclusion of splitting the game into 6 chapters greatly helps the pacing of the game, espicially with the inclusion of ending each chapter on a cliffhanger.

However, the story has one very minor problem that prevents it from becoming truely flawless. The ending. It wraps everything up nicely while leaving a door open for the sequel, but the intentional way it was done is disappointing. I understand and respect that they were going for a David Lynch-like, unclear ending, but there's a reason David Lynch isn't world known. By going for this type of ending, it kind of alienates your audiance as it isn't quite clear as to what happened, espicially in the world of video games with casual games becoming more and more common. That doesn't make it any less great, it just makes it less accessible. Which is why, no matter how much I wish to, I just simply can't give the presentation a 10/10.

Graphics: 9.0/10

The visuals are good, but nothing special. The character models seem above-average, but something stops them from ever being anything more. The models have nice details here and there, with some really sharp texture work, but they again don't particularly do anything that excels.

Then it becomes night, and everything changes. The lighting engine is one of the best avalible in the business right now, matched only by the CryEngine in terms of style. It is bright, vivid and sharp, with dark winds blowing the trees around you and the bright red flare the only thing between you and the Taken. The flashlight espicially looks great throughout the game.

The artistic design is also outstanding because it manages to capture the setting so well. Bright Falls really feels like one of those quiet, American towns that the rest of the world could have no idea about. If it were a real place, I'd of baught a ticket there already.

Sound: 9.0/10

The sound does exactly what it should do for a story-based game. Compliment the mood. The sound effects are really loud and impactful when it needs to be, such as when it comes to weaponry, but it also manages to know when to be subtley there, such as when the wind starts picking up as the Taken arrive.

The voice acting is great across the board, with some really nice performances. My only real problem was with Barry. Yes, everybody loves him and I think he's pretty awesome too, but at times the voice actor sounded or delivered the lines too... Whiney, for a lack of a better phrase.

The soundtrack is the best part of the audio part of the game. I still remember the track that plays when you arrive at Bright Falls. The single most memorable artists, though, are Poets of the Fall. I really want to personally thank them for the pitch-perfect music they made for the game. The Poet And The Muse had a great, sombre tone, while War amped you up perfectly for the inevitable finale.

Gameplay: 8.5/10

While the gameplay of Alan Wake is very well made and done. There is nothing particularly wrong with the core gameplay. It has very responsive controls, with fast aiming and shooting, and gives you some nice gameplay choices with a mixture of weapons from the pistol to flashbangs. The play on light and dark elements also adds more thematically to the story. There are also some nice varieties of Taken, with each type requiring a slightly different approach to defeating them.

...But that's it. Aside from the occasional possessed objects flinging at you, all you do is fight the Taken again and again throughout the campaign. There are also occasional platforming sections and puzzles, but they are usually extremely rudamentry (heck, Duke Nukem has more complicated puzzles and I'm not even joking). But Remedy clearly know how to solve this problem, as both DLC episodes had a very high amount of gameplay variety.

And again, there's nothing wrong with the gameplay. In fact, it's fast, easy to pick up and play, and has some nice strategical choices to boot. Doing it again and again for an entire campaign, however, can wear you down.

Lasting Appeal: 7.5/10

Unfortunately, this is the single weakest aspect of the game. The campaign is nice and long, with it lasting between 8-12 hours depending on how fast you play through the game. But there is a lack of incentive to play through it again. There are a few collectibles, sure, but of the 3 that are avalible only one of them really adds anything to the experiance. The manuscripts flesh out the background of certain characters really nicely, but around 60% of them are just narrate what is happening in the game. Coffee thermoses are a nice Twin Peaks reference but are just another thing to do, and the cans are a way to kill time. The gameplay simply isn't rewarding enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. However, like all great single player games certain moments have to be played again and again, such as the ending chapter.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Alan Wake managed to not only be another great addition to Remedy's growing library of quality games, but it also manages to be their best. With some very solid gameplay mechanics, an incredible story and some of the best visuals out there, it will only be a matter of time before people start recognising it for the great game it is.

Well done, Remedy. Well done.