Though short and aimless, the intensity of Alan Wake's first downloadable adventure is worth playing.
The first downloadable episode of Alan Wake picks up immediately following the full game's perplexing and sudden ending, but don't expect all of the pieces to start falling into place. In fact, don't expect any of them to. The Signal provides the same amount of chills and gloomy atmosphere you'd expect, even offering up some truly intense moments in its short span that put most of the feature title to shame, but it fails entirely to deliver the narrative punch eager fans had been hoping for. It would be one thing if the episode made the context of the feature game's ending even more mind-boggling, but it doesn't even do that. It dangles the story just out of reach, and though the dialogue is still as fresh and rich as ever, it all seems to lack purpose.
Alan's primary goal in the retail game was to find his missing wife and solve the mystery of the Dark Presence. He does both of those things, but in substituting himself in place of his wife within the grasp of the Dark Presence, he has essentially trapped his own body and mind. In "The Signal," you'll literally journey through his mind as it struggles to fight off the Dark Presence. The imaginative brain of an author and the limitless potential of the Dark Presence cause for some truly startling and entertaining moments throughout, but his search for the "signal" left by Thomas Zane seems almost hollow. There is no drive behind it, no purpose. It's merely there to expose the player to the fact that Alan is no longer in control of his own mind, but if you'd paid even a little bit of attention to the end of the feature game, you'd already know this.
Some minor quirks to the gameplay manage to keep it fresh, and the giant leap in difficulty certainly makes this single episode more intense than the entirety of the full game. As seen at the end of Alan Wake, the player can shine the flashlight onto floating words to make certain objects appear; this is the primary method of revealing ammo and other supplies in this episode. Similarly, certain words are linked to events or objects that can aid you in your battles against the encroaching darkness. The word "blast" in front of the furnace in the basement of the church will unleash an intense shot of flames when you shine your light on it, incinerating any dark beings in its path. There are several other words that can help you conserve your ammo and wipe the floor with the Dark Presence, so use them all to your advantage.
The first episode serves as a means of introducing us to the inner sanctum of the Dark Presence, a twisted world made even more unbearable by Alan's imaginative mind. It's a truly frightening place and the use of shifting locations adds to the constant feeling of dread. Combine that with the absolutely necessary and welcoming increase in difficulty and the small improvements to gameplay, and you have a very enjoyable experience. Had the story actually been present, this would have been a much more complete package. The episode will last you roughly an hour, just about the length of an episode in the full game. But upon completion, you'll only be left with the same questions as before. As a free DLC to those who purchased their retail copies of the game new, or even at its budgeted price of $7.00, this is certainly worth checking out.
Pros: Sufficiently challenging; even more intense than the full game; combat remains fresh
Cons: No narrative direction; short, even for a DLC
The Final Verdict: 8/10
Though short and aimless, the intensity of Alan Wake's first downloadable adventure is worth playing.