Despite its lack of modes, Alan Wake proves to be one of the most engaging games of the year
The Bad: No co-op mode; laughably bad script; characters lips can't keep up with the words being spoken; seriously…there's no co-op mode…
It's been in development for quite some time, and gamers have been eagerly awaiting its release, but finally Alan Wake has been released. Playing on man's elemental fear of darkness, Alan Wake puts you in truly perilous situations where light is your only weapon…besides an automatic weapon. Danger comes in the form of beings known as Taken, possessed humans who revile the light. It's your job, as Alan Wake, to get through it alive. Does this game have what it takes to be a memorable entry in the horror genre?
Alan Wake, a popular novelist, is suffering from a severe case of writer's block. Hoping to get away from it all, and possibly find inspiration, Alan and his wife take a vacation to Bright Falls, a small town in the Northwest. Needless to say, this town is an absolute perfect setting for the supernatural events that will eventually take place. What's even better is that Alan's wife, Alice, has a fear of the dark. After being given the keys to a vacation home located on a mysterious lake by a strange old woman, Alan and his wife are just beginning to settle in when a power outage separates them. Alan wakes up in a wrecked car a week later, with no recollection of what happened during those seven days, and mysterious creatures known as Taken are after him. What's worse, Alan is finding scattered pages to a story titled "Departure", the title he was going to use for his next novel. It's trying to find out what happened to Alan during this seven day gap that makes the story so interesting and engaging. The fact that Alice is missing is also a driving factor.
The story is excellent. Putting together the missing pieces is a ton of fun as both you and Alan Wake find out what exactly happened to him and his wife. The ending is a little confusing, but there's no denying that this is a top notch story, filled with mystery and suspense, and it's paced almost perfectly. Separating each section with chapters, or episodes, Alan Wake plays out like a television show. At the beginning of each chapter, you'll see and hear, "Previously, on Alan Wake". The major events of the previous chapter are then viewed in the exact way you'd expect a television show to do it. It's incredibly cool, and introduces each chapter, or episode, in a really interesting way.
Here's where I talk about the weakest aspect of the game: the script. For a game so heavily riding on its story, it's really a shame that the script is this bad. Sure there are some funny lines from both Alan and his agent Barry, yet these lines are completely out of context as they wander through the dangerous darkness. Terrible analogies from Alan are among some of the worst dialogue in the game. It's as if the script writers had no idea how to write out a general conversation. Of course, not every line is awful, but so many weaknesses in the script really bog down the overall experience.
What makes up for the incredibly bad script has to be the overall gameplay experience. Taken will come at you from all sides while you remain in darkness, and although you do have a gun, it's basically worthless without light. Your flashlight is no doubt the most useful item in the game. By pointing it at Taken for an extended period of time, you can slowly remove the darkness that surrounds them. Once the dark shroud is fully removed, you can finish them off with whatever weapon you have. It sounds pretty straightforward, but the larger enemies have a lot more darkness surrounding them, making them a lot harder to weaken. It's here when focusing the beam on your flashlight comes in handy. Not only does it stun them for a short time, it erodes their darkness a lot quicker. The only caveat is that this drains your flashlight's battery. Throughout the game you will be presented with situations where you are completely outnumbered, forcing you to keep an eye on both your ammo and your battery power.
The action never gets stale, especially since there are so many ways to deal with the Taken. Early in the game, you are introduced to flares and flashbang grenades. Flares can be taken out to give yourself a little breathing room in case of low health. They can also be dropped so that you can reload your weapon or flashlight while the Taken wait patiently around the light's radius. Flashbangs take on an entirely new meaning than they do in other games. Mostly used to buy you time in dangerous situations, flashbangs in Alan Wake are used to completely obliterate your enemies. Once one is thrown, all of the Taken in the area around the flashbang are completely destroyed. It's definitely a crutch to lean on when things get a bit too hectic. Other than that, there are flare guns which can be fired at Taken with explosive results, as well as heavy duty flashlights and lanterns that have larger batteries allowing you to focus the beam more frequently.
What makes the game so suspenseful has to be the Taken. These things are faster and more powerful than you. The developers certainly did an excellent job of making them look creepy, as the darkness twists and distorts around them. Their demonic voices also add to their scare factor quite a bit. It's through the twisted attitudes and animations of the Taken that make the frantic search for light that much more of a necessity.
Light in Alan Wake is a safe haven. Once you're in it, you're safe. Light from flood lamps also serve as checkpoints. Whenever you enter light, all of the Taken around you disappear giving you some time to reload your weapon and regain some health. It's the fact that light is so scattered in this game that makes it feel so important. The Taken are truly a scary foe that you feel can punish the slightest mistake with death. It's this feeling of suspense when you're in the darkness that makes the light such a godsend. However, you'll occasionally come to lights that have to be jump started by an engine to turn on. This may seem like no big deal, but jump starting an engine to turn on a flood lamp isn't as easy as it sounds when several Taken are breathing down your neck.
Alan Wake is able to keep you enveloped in its twisted world through its television and radio shows. In some areas, you'll find a television displaying a show called Night Springs, a spoof of the popular 1960s show Twilight Zone, where crazy and unexplainable things happen to normal people. These shows, while certainly strange, are rather entertaining to watch, as they remain just as realistic as the environment of Bright Falls. Radio shows feature an old man talking to townspeople in the dead of night. They're also fairly entertaining, as the stories the radio host discusses with his guests sound eerie and unnatural. These shows are not only realistic, they put you in the perfect mindset for what you'll inevitably have to face once you set foot back into the darkness.
Alan Wake is a linear, scripted game. This allows for some truly creepy moments as household objects are levitated and thrown at you by the darkness. This linear design also allows for clear goals as the camera can zoom in to certain areas where you need to go. It's all about working your way from one light source to the next while fighting off Taken and solving a fairly easy environmental puzzle or two. However, there are some areas where you have a capable computer controlled ally leading you through an area. These sections are incredibly fun, because although you still don't feel safe, just knowing you have someone watching your back is a welcome feeling. Traveling with a companion is really fun, which is why it's incredibly disappointing that there was no co-op mode included. Survival mode or maybe even a co-op campaign would have been excellent additions, but sadly, they're absent from the overall package.
Alan Wake's environments are definitely its strong point when it comes to graphics. No area you traverse will actually feel like a video game level. Each area feels open and realistic. Characters are animated nicely, yet the facial animations could've been a bit better. Character's mouths also have trouble keeping up with the words that they're speaking. Other than that, lighting effects are incredible, and seeing Taken dissolve into the air looks outrageously cool.
Again, it's a shame that the script is so bad, because the voices for each character sound great. It's apparent that the actors try their best to sound the part, and the demonic mumbling of the Taken sounds really creepy. Alan Wake also does an excellent job narrating through the entire game. Music is suspenseful and creepy, which is just what one would expect from a game based on supernatural events and paranormal activity.
All you have is the single player experience, which will last you around eight, maybe nine hours. However, due to the excellent pacing, the game feels like it's over before you know it, but the adventure is definitely top notch, and shouldn't be missed by anyone who has an Xbox 360. I strongly recommend a rent, because it'll only take around two to three days to complete. Yet even after you finish the adventure, you'll want to go back and experience it again. Sure, the lack of a co-op mode is disappointing, but Alan Wake more than makes up for this with its nonstop action and suspense.