Alan Wake

First of all, I am a fan of Alan Wake and I'd play the sequel in a heartbeat if they ever made one. It's atmospheric, cinematic and rife with panicked encounters. At least, it is for the first two chapters. After that, it loses much of its magic for the simple reason that you become conditioned to it. There are only so many possessed humans jumping out of bushes and coming at you with an axe you can handle before it becomes laborious to blind them and then shoot them. Rinse and repeat over and over again for 6 full chapters. What the game desperately needed was a more varied backdrop than endless forests at night time and swarms upon swarms of the same enemy type. Despite this, it remains one of the better horror games out there, and for this very reason it is still that cult classic that people just can't seem to stop talking about. If you haven't had your hands on a copy yet, what are you waiting for?

The titular Alan(Matthew Porretta; flawed, yet likable) has written several successful crime novels, only now he can't seem to get started on the next one. He and his wife Alice(Brett Madden; loving, without just putting up with everything) go for a vacation in the sleepy port town of Bright Falls, Washington. To reconnect, to relax, to get away from it all. Unfortunately, that's not up to them. Something strange happens. She disappears, and he now has to get her back, as things around him make increasingly less sense. What is actually going on?

Her phobic fear of the dark sets up the core conflict between that and light - large static lights are Safe Havens(regeneration is sped up significantly, they're among the checkpoint saves, and enemies disappear back into the shadow that they appeared from - like in a slasher flick), smaller ones provide aid via a set source of brightening. And your handy flashlight, that you can find different strengths of, the better, the more batteries(which you have to manually replace, lest you wait for it to slowly recharge, without using it) it'll take to fill it, can slowly(or faster, if you "boost" it - which drains it, and is the only way you can more accurately aim!) drain the evil protecting the Taken - people from the area who are being controlled. Their pitch-shifting taunts(regular phrases, related to their profession - hunter, deputy, etc.) and the poltergeists(normal objects, like a steel beam, "invisibly" raised and thrown at you) are the only aspects that can seem silly to those of us not big on supernatural possession fiction.

Once you've removed the black, Venom-like(Spider-Man villain, not "poison") substance covering them like that, these nearly-usual-looking(they poured some water on the designs to make them "slightly off" - it worked) can be dealt with with bullets, from the revolver, hunting rifle or one of two kinds of shotgun(which can push them back whether it'll kill them or not - and that may be necessary! You can only carry one two-handed weapon at a time; choose carefully, you can't carry much ammo). Reloading can be sped up by tapping the key for it, something I hope makes its way into more like this - it gives you something active to do to speed it up, and keep in mind, it's all "one bullet/shell at a time" with this arsenal. Flares can be carried while walking, or dropped in place(you just bought yourself a few seconds of peace), and will prevent them from getting too close, and the flaregun and flashbangs works like grenades(that won't hurt you). Carefully using all of these in conjunction with each other is vital to get through this.

Although there is arguably almost too much action, for something that is a psychological thriller that nearly gets into horror, it doesn't get monotonous(in spite of the fact that with the gameplay, like Left 4 Dead, it doesn't take long to "try everything"). Provided you're into the story; if not, this isn't for you. The episodic nature(complete with "previously on", cliffhangers and separate focus that all adds up to a cohesive whole) keeps this tight, with the plot moving, characters introduced and developed and the setting changing throughout, without losing you along the way. It's something as rare, today, as a mystery that answers nearly every question brought up along the way, if the very ending is unsatisfying(which the two hour DLCs don't change - if those don't come with your copy for free, I wouldn't bother with them). The downside is that the length suffers - 9 and a half hours to complete the six chapters, and while there is replayability(in the three difficulties), some of it, like Achievements and collectibles(purely for the doing so), harm the otherwise solid immersion.

Another thing that has that outcome is the mini-radar; I understand it's a GPS - however, in something like this, disempowerment is important, and this is the only thing where they get that wrong. It attracts attention to the otherwise inobtrusive HUD. Each part of this opens with a bright day sequence, giving you time to breathe, and wonder if what is going on is all in your mind - albeit as you progress, these get increasingly eerie. It goes on to nighttime, with everything around you feeling dangerous. The atmosphere is able to instantly turn from serene to threatening. Rivers and cliffs that you have to cross on rickety bridges or go near on old, abandoned(recently or otherwise - much in this is just "that which was quaint, is now sinister with the passing of a few hours since people were in and on them") buildings that you don't trust to not collapse. You're almost exclusively in the gloomy forest, and yet it doesn't get old.

Along the way, you find pages from Departure, the book Wake was going to author. And it explains(via narration, which our protagonist also does over the course of it) what is going on that we don't see, as well as predicting things that then happen! This is very foreboding, making you wonder how what you read comes to happen, or what will occur after it. The twists and pace keep you constantly wanting to go on, to find out more. Early on, this does waste some time, and other than that, the script can be hit and miss - on the whole, this is solid. Dialogs aren't repetitive(outside of the ones, along with monologues, that restate objectives - those even go over regular ones! And as usual, these come when you're exploring, I wish you could turn them off), acting is great with nearly no exceptions and the people in this are credible, interesting and varied. The bubbly diner waitress, a fellow New Yorker "lost in the wild", etc.

There is a lot of disturbing content and a little blood in this. I recommend this to any fan of the creepy horror and themes of Stephen King. 8/10

Alan Wake, game released in 2010 and developed by Remedy Entertainment. In the game you play Alan Wake, a very famous writer who hasn't written any books in recent years because he's suffering from writer's block. With encouragement from his wife Alan along with her they go to the small town of Bright Falls and then Alan begins to experience supernatural experiences and seeks to unravel the mystery behind it all and rescue his beloved wife who is missing.

Alan Wake is a game with an interesting narrative, during the game, in addition to having the narration of Alan's thoughts, we also have other elements that make the game feel like a book, both for the events and for some lines and type of language used in certain scenes. The Gameplay elements in its base is from Survival Horror, I as a fan of this genre really enjoyed being able to face enemies with Survival Horror mechanics. The game's soundtrack I thought was impeccable, very good and mixes very well with the moment, being often a tense and electrifying track to keep the tension of the fight, but the game also prefers to keep only with the ambient sound, causing many of the sometimes a build up of tension, of knowing that at any moment something might appear, of knowing that nothing around you but your flashlight can protect you.

The characters as any good plot are well developed, at most there is a single character that doesn't have much basis but we can know more about him through the manuscripts we found. From Alan to characters like Waitress Rose are well presented, even though some have little screen time, the game's narrative makes us empathize with them and know that they exist, besides it's a small town and we have this feeling that everyone know each other.

The game's story is something extremely good, in addition to all the elements I've told so far that makes the game wonderful, the story is the main course, as it is an original, deep, interpretive and well-developed plot, a game rich in its universe, not delivering the information to the player from trays, but building the story little by little until reaching its conclusion. I particularly love this type of plot that makes you pay attention to understand things, and as I said above the narrative contributes a lot because it makes you get stuck in the plot and want to know what will happen next.

Alan Wake is an extraordinary game that I won't forget, the experience I had playing was unique, still this year 2021 Remake will be out so I hope more people will play this wonder. Alan Wake clasp with a 9/10 grade.

Over 5 years in the making, the spiritual successor of Max Payne 1 is a very cinematic game with good narrative and atmosphere. The tutorial may seem lame, but it gets better. The combat mechanics combining firearms and light work well. The graphics are excellent, if not technically, then certainly artistically. This is an xbox port done right, with minimal consolitis, after using the following tweaks: add "-rigidcamera" (no mouse accel) and "-noblur" to the executable's launch commands, and max the FOV and "direct aiming" in the settings). Be sure to play this at night in a quiet room when there is no one else in the house - anything else does not do it justice.

OK its not a gun fest, no mutants or screens covered with body parts....but it does not need it. It looks great (not bad now even today 2014) the acting parts are well done and the cut scenes are A+, there are no corners cut, they cover all the bases.

Sound FX and music are again A+, there is no driving score all the way, but they add what they need to just to keep it spooky and at times fun.

Story, well thats the big thing, all talking about its like this film/book/movie, and TBH there are a few that are close but there is more than enough differences to make it original.

I would say mix In The Mouth Of Madness (film) Twin Peaks (tv show) Shinning (book) =amazing story that draws you in, you do feel like you are part of the story....almost like you are reading it.

It has action but for likes of Resident Evil fans, they might find it lacking, but for me it was just right.

I really hope they do more like this, but seeing as how long this one took to get finished and final come out.....well I will not hold my breath....but there is DLC for it, which is next on my list of to do's.