Alan Wake Review

Alan Wake has been a game people have been hearing about for quite some time now.  Endlessly promoted with, for what had seemed, no release in sight.  Finally, the game has hit the stores a couple weeks ago, and I’m glad to give my thoughts on the game.

Gameplay:

This is one of the first attempts to introduce the concept of games being played in an Episode format on the console (Half Life 2′s episodes are the only other Episode based games that come to mind).  Each episode can seem to last from 45 minutes to a little over an hour.  There’s six episodes in the game, each that leaves you with a cliff-hanger egging you to play the next.

The controls are intuitive, and there’s no complaints to be had there.  Playing as Alan, you are given essentially less than 10 weapons throughout the game, but they are all capable.  The “weapon” to be used the most in the game – the flashlight.

Remedy put a lot of hard work to make lighting an essential part of the game.  You’ll find yourself breathing sighs of relief when the few moments during the game take place during the day.  Otherwise, the flashlight is your main way of seeing in the dark, the target for your gun, and a weapon of it own.

The story:

The story of the game was an interesting one.  It’s something that does keep you interested in the game.  It is unique, and one which keeps the game going, until the ending.  The story was the main thing that kept me wanting to finish the game, but the ending was one that disappointed me.  While it wasn’t Halo 2-esque, it just didn’t match up with the journey the rest of the game took me on.

Remedy’s Hard Work:

Remedy has been hard at work to make this game look spectacular.  While I do not believe it beats what I deem to be the benchmark of Xbox 360 graphics (Gears of War, and now Gears of War 2), they did manage to create an environment that can astound most players.

The views that you can see while controlling Alan are amazing.  Throughout the game I was impressed, every Episode of the game provided the opportunity to see their hard work.

Final Thoughts:

In the beginning of the game, I was unable to stop.  Using the flashlight was unique, Remedy’s detail to environmental design was significant, and the story kept me in it.  However, some point around Episode 3 or 4, I began to just want to beat the game.  I wasn’t drawn in with the same passion as before and playing the game merely became the thing I had to do just to finish the story.  While I feel like I was a little let down, especially with all the promoting that was put into the game over time, it is still a game that I believe should be played.  Maybe check out your closest Blockbuster, as this may be the best way to get the game.

Final Score: 9.0/10