I would like to recommend Alan Wake to anyone who likes a great story. To my surprise it went far beyond the rubber reality "What is real?" theme (masterfully tackled in Jacob's Ladder and The Machinist in my opinion) mentioned in most reviews.
While it has no branching storyline, Remedy used the linearity to tell a tight but multilayered story with a lot of allusions to itself, books, movies, Max Payne etc.
You can buy it on GOG DRM-free, or supposedly on sale later this week on Amazon.
Is it a good game as well?
The gameplay itself is pretty repetitive but smooth and fun.
It all revolves around light - flashlights, flares, flashbangs, electricity, lightbulbs etc. - that you need to use to make the monsters vulnerable to physical weapons / control the crowd / buy a few seconds to take a breath and reload.
There was one truly great moment (so far, I haven't finished it yet) that will enter the gaming history proudly alongside The Cradle in Thief 3 and Haunted Hotel in Vampire Bloodlines. All I will say to avoid spoilers is The Stage in the Country. I laughed manically the whole time.
Last edited by Revisor; 16-05-2012 at 12:16 PM.
Since the Nightmare expandalone is going to be out for PC, will there be a bundle for everything?
A very outstanding novel it is, but as a game it may not be that so. Gameplay is not that superb, but quite stands out itself from other shooters if not all together unique.
I played the first 2 "episodes" of this and it bored me to tears. After the endlessly respawning enemies, even getting the car couldn't save it for me. So I recommend: avoid avoid avoid.
I respect you not having fun, but just as a correction - there are no endlessly respawning enemies. All the waves are limited.
Like I said - the best about this game is the story and the very much optional allusions and details that you have to actively hunt, like radio and TV shows, optional dialogues, manuscript pages etc.
How does it run on PC? Is it a decent port?
Given that you play as a normal guy who aren't going to gun blaze like Marcus Fenix, the control for mouse and keyboard on PC is a very solid one, very responsive.Originally Posted by cosmicolor
But make sure you have enough sleep before playing this game, or the motion sickness will hit you hard.
Those are good signs, will put the game on the list of things to one day have then, thanks.
I would love to try it, but I'm far too scared of flashlights.
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It's a very good port, with solid controls and everything up to FOV adjustable in settings. As Somini says, it's also supported, there have already been a few patches.
The only console remnant is "Press Any Key" at the beginning. And that only barely.
I played it for a bit, the story is a bit cliche because of the I have a writers block, let's go to creepy island trope. Can't say a lot of the story though because I didn't come very far, I'm not really a fan of stressful combat.
Steam | Origin: xRavelle | Skype: TheRavelle | PSN: Voltburn | Watch me struggle through my backlog
It was funny too!
Bought on GoG.com as soon as their email hit my mailbox. No idea when I'll get around to playing it, but the price was good, I like GoG and I like Remedy. It is a shame AW was suddenly yanked into a console exclusive (and probably got its scope shrunk and content spelled out compared to what it was originally going to be), but at least it sounds like this super-late PC port is a decent one.
Did not get American Nightmare. Plenty of time to get that if and when I get around to beating AW.
If?
Last edited by Bhazor; 16-05-2012 at 07:01 PM.
Why are spokesmen always so bad at presentations?
Steam | Origin: xRavelle | Skype: TheRavelle | PSN: Voltburn | Watch me struggle through my backlog
Does the PC version of this have the DLC from the consoles in it? I remember hearing the DLC chapters really improved the game.
Yes and apart from one brilliant section at the end of the second one they're rubbish.
That's just not true - try running around and exploring the forest when you're meant to to following a linear path. The game will just throw waves of enemies at you the second you leave the path.
On one hand the gameplay is more interesting simply because it's not the same 'Shine flashlight at taken -> Shoot' you''ve been doing the entirety of the original game. The two DLC's have a lot of variety - both in terms of new mechanics and environments. Plus they actually take the potential of the initial concept - that this is a story in someones head, and mess around with the players perception of events a fair amount.
On the other...it's nearly all combat or horrible platforming. The best thing about the initial game was that it broke up the dull combat sequences with the genuinely intriguing adventure game sections and a few [weak] puzzles. The narrative also takes a back seat during the DLC, instead simply mocking the player for 'going the wrong way' down a completely linear path - nothing is resolved.
It was a theme they didn't really deal with in the main game; most of the really interesting story elements occur outside of the game-world. And that's highly frustrating. The story of Alan Wake itself [the story told in the game] is about 80% filler content, that simply alludes to the far more interesting story Remedy don't tackle.
It has a lot of references yes, but it doesn't really say anything about them. They're just...there.While it has no branching storyline, Remedy used the linearity to tell a tight but multilayered story with a lot of allusions to itself, books, movies, Max Payne etc.
Last edited by DzX; 17-05-2012 at 11:24 AM.
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