As you know I do like a good video game. With that in mind I am going to try and get more video game reviews on the site. As they are going more cinematical they fit in quite nicely on the site. Zach Lien was kind enough to do the first review for me. If you want to review any video game, film, book, comic or TV show new or old then email them over to me at stuff@liveforfilms.com
Game: Alan Wake
Platform: Xbox360
Players: 1
Genre: Psychological Thriller Action-Adventure
Rating: Teen
It’s been five years since Remedy came out with their last game. Five long years. They left us off with the gritty, graphic noir Max Payne 2, which set a high bar for any future Remedy games. The Payne series had a compelling story and wonderful gameplay mechanics. Remedy has returned with Alan Wake, and they have delivered above and beyond any of my expectations.
The story of Alan Wake is elegantly told right from the start. The moment you start playing you are flying above a beautiful wooded mountain range somewhere in Washington State. As in the Payne series, the main character narrates throughout the game. You are Alan Wake, a famous writer who has an extreme case of writer’s block. He has decided to take a vacation with his wife, Alice, in a secluded town surrounded by nothing but mountains and pines. The town is very small, and everyone knows each other by their first name. This adds charm to the already quaint and inviting setting. Very quickly you are introduced to many of the supporting characters, which you will meet later on in the game as well. Through speaking with them an intriguing story begins to develop. I won’t go into too much detail here, but everything in the game has a purpose. This exposition is brilliantly handled and is done in many ways. In the beginning we rely on conversation, but this expands to radios, televisions, and manuscript pages scattered throughout the town. These manuscript pages are from a novel that Alan has been working on. Once you find each page Alan narrates it for you. You will quickly realize that everything he has written is happening to him in real life.
A strange darkness has overtaken the town, making the night time your enemy. Your only true safety is the light, which you can use in various ways to your advantage. The darkness controls people, turning them into ‘taken,’ which you must fend off or destroy. This is done by utilizing light sources to break the darkness that protects them. Your flashlight is the main source of light, but it can quickly run out of batteries as you expend it on enemies. Luckily you will find batteries in safe zones, which also act as saving points. After you have broken through the darkness of an enemy you may choose to kill them (by gun, flare, or several other weapons), or in many cases, run away from them. This rings even truer in both hard and nightmare mode. Once I had beaten the game and unlocked nightmare mode, I decided to give it a try. The gameplay experience completely changed from a psychological horror to a psychological survival horror. Gunfire does next to nothing, and you’ll find yourself replacing flashlight batteries constantly. Most of the time when choosing between fight or flight it will be the latter. It certainly made for a new experience, also extending re-playability.
As seen in the screens and videos Remedy has released, the graphics are simply stunning. On many occasions I found myself stopping at a cliff just to look at the scenery. The draw distance seems to be endless. Look at the sun in game and you’ll find yourself covering your own eyes; bump a rocking chair and it rocks back and forth; step through the forest and the foliage sways. However, when night time comes the real showcase starts. The forest, complete with shrubs, bushes, fallen logs, and more, is completely believable. As you shine your flashlight at your surroundings, rays and shadows animate the scene. It really is quite a sight to see, and one I haven’t seen done in many games. Everything has an eerie realism to it.
Sound effects and music is top notch. While alone in the forest, you’ll hear the breathing of a nemesis, or what I found even scarier, nothing but the wind blowing through the trees, leaving you with the feeling of impending doom. Voice acting is spot on, with each character cast with a voice that fits the face, especially Alan Wake himself. Music is subtle, creating just the right tone for each situation. It rises and falls depending on the current action. And at the end of each episode (there are six total, presented as TV episodes), a song is played. I actually found two artists I really enjoyed, and the fictional band from the game isn’t too shabby either.
I will conclude with this- the game is well worth the purchase. My only gripe is its shortness, as it took me roughly 12 hours to complete. However, for those with the same problem, Remedy will be releasing episodes regularly, starting with the first on July 27th.
