Alan Wake, while not being the genre defining game many hoped for, is an entertaining and enjoyable experience
After five long (almost an infinite amount of time it seemed) years, Alan Wake doesn't dissapoint, at least, not to me. Straight out the gate I will tell you it doesn't re-define the survival horror genre, and it doesn't set itself apart from its peers in said genre. What Alan Wake does however, and does so with surperb justifcation, is story telling.
The story of Alan Wake is broken up into chapters, much like any other game (much like Resident Evil 5 actually). However, the route Remedy have taken is to call them episodes, very much setting the game up into one or two hour episodes in which the player plays through, like an interactive T.V show. Each episode begins with a recap of the last, and ends with a delicious cliff-hanger. Remedy even threw in the cheesy, "previously on 'Alan Wake'" convention used by so many T.V shows.
Now, the story of Alan Wake is simple. Best selling writer Alan Wake is suffering from writers block while trying to start his next book. To counter this, Wake and his wife, Alice, go off to North-Western town of Bright Falls for a peaceful vacation. When the couple reach their cabin, Alice is suddenly kidnapped and the horror begins. Alan then must spend the rest of the game searching for his missing wife.
As the player goes through each of the six episode, the seemingly simple kidnapped story will evolve into a full blown supernatural thriller, with each episode resulting in a major plot-twist.
I really can't sing enough praise for Remedy in terms of their writing in Alan Wake. In no way does it surpass Rockstar or Bioware, but what Remedy exceed in is keeping you totally compelled and second guessing everything. A good story will give you just enough information for you to make up your own mind, and once you have devised a version in your mind, the story will throw another curve ball at you. Alan Wake is never preachy, it never treats the player as dumb.
In terms of gameplay, you control Alan Wake in a very typical third-person style. One of the interesting things I found in moving around the world maps was, by clicking the right analog stick, you could shift the perspective of the camera to either behind Wake's left or right shoulder.
The biggest element to Alan Wake's gameplay, and combat mechanics is the flashlight. This is a game which deals with light and dark to an extreme measure. You move around almost entire dark enviroment, relying on your flashlight to reach your desnitation safely.
The other practial use of the flashlight is probably the most important. Alan Wake, while trying to struggle through the darkness, must also battle agaisnt shadowy figured imbued with darkness. To defeat said enemies, you must firstly shine your light over them, and them bring them down with an assortment of firearms. It worked very easily, pulling the left trigger will aim both your flashlight and gun. Wait until the darkness around the foe has disapaited, then unload some caps in them with the right trigger. It's a flashy style of combat, that, does admittidly grow tiresome, does feel rewarding.
In Alan Wake, you are able to use several weapons. The revolver is the basic firearm, with the shotgun being the heavy weapon option. However, since darkness is your man enemy, items like flare guns can be used basically like a rocket launcher. Oh yeah.
Visually, this game is stunning. The character models are well detailed, with most major characters being caught with motion capture tech, with the in game characters resemblng real world peoples. The environments you play through are highly detailed. Textures are clear, objects are detailed, the world of Bright Falls and its surroudning forests are almost seem almost real. Remedy certaintly went through this game with a fine comb. However, I will recall one downside visually, and that is with the lip syncing of the characters, and some animation glitches.
The soundtrack to Alan Wake is fantastic. The sounds, the score, the music. Everything audible in this game was delightful to hear. The biggest highlight for me was the inclusion of several real world songs (performed by bands not widely known by the general populace), each one bringing a layer of reality to the story. Several songs by Poets of the Fall are well placed within the game to tie everything together.
All in all, Alan Wake is a well told, solid experience of a game. It is clear it falls into the realm of survival horror, especially with its hardest difficulity level, but the writing and the story I feel elovates it above its peers. I really dig the T.V like format, with the ending of each episode drawing me in even further into the story being spun in front of me.
However, with such high praise for the writing, the story telling, the voice acting, the sound, and the overall direction of the game, the downside is that the actual gameplay suffered. Although gun, the light/gun mechanic does wear thin after time. The short play time also hinders this fantastic game from becoming one of the greats.
Story: 10
Visuals: 9.5
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 8