Alan Wake - (original video game)

[Danny]

One thing i like but was completely taken aback by since noone mentioned it is that the beam of light is your aiming reticle. Aside from a very basic HUD its neat that it feels like you just see the guy and unless you look for it the health bar, map and ammo count are virtually unnoticeable.

[MinionZombie]

So all in all, worth it, eh? I'm still not sure which game I'll be buying first this Tuesday. Then again, I just finally started on Mass Effect 2 this week If you're unsure, I'd figure Red Dead Redemption might be best for you - you'll get a ton of play time out of it - but I do recommend you get Alan Wake at some point soon to check it out. One thing i like but was completely taken aback by since noone mentioned it is that the beam of light is your aiming reticle. Aside from a very basic HUD its neat that it feels like you just see the guy and unless you look for it the health bar, map and ammo count are virtually unnoticeable. Aye, that is a pretty cool little touch I have to say. In the first portion of the game, right at the start though, the 'light in the sky' that tells you how to tackle The Taken was a bit ... weird, I felt. But briefly seen, so whatever... Current progress - mid-way through Episode 3 of 6.

[Tricky]

So is this the kind of game that in 5+ years time will still be fondly remembered in the same way as the original Resident Evil, or Half Life? or another one of those much hyped & easily forgotten games that we all have gathering dust on our shelves? I really want to play it, but as an exclusive PC gamer these days I wont get the chance unless they do decide to port it over. I've been telling myself for a few years that I would eventually buy a PS3/Xbox 360 when the price dropped but they're still retailing over £180 in most places 4 years after release so im not paying that out just to catch the tail end of the current generation, I could just upgun my PC further for that money!

[darth los]

So is this the kind of game that in 5+ years time will still be fondly remembered in the same way as the original Resident Evil, or Half Life? or another one of those much hyped & easily forgotten games that we all have gathering dust on our shelves? Judging by history it's probably the latter. Classics such as the ones you named are few and far between. My fingers are crossed but my hopes are not high.

[Danny]

oh for the love of fucksake. Ive only got 9 achievements left to go and ive beaten this 100%, started it in nightmare mode and you need like 4 batteries worth of the flashlight boost to take out the first enemies in the tutorial and one hit from the weakest takes away your health halfway! Getting all the manuscripts is gonna be a bitch. -and still got 10 thermoses, 3 crates and 3 signs to find. If your just starting the game dont worry about trying to alter your gameplay experience to get x kills with x weapon or something theres enough of everything in the game to get all your achievements in one go and if you dont its cumulative for your live profile, not game save, so you can go back to any bird heavy point for example and redo it till you get the kill 1000 birds achievement, but theres really more than enough in one play through so i would advise just exploring the game and enjoy playing it rather than sticking to a weapon for an achievement or something.

[Danny]

I just beat alan wake on insane mode and i can safety say it IS survival horror and i think remedy only disassociated from the moniker so it wouldn't be associated with what has been a mediocre genre this generation. I can say that this is by and far the greatest horror game of this console generation. it is literally the best of its genre available on current gaming consoles. You know im a cynic with a heart of coal and ive really had to think about my judgement on this. The first time i finished it i felt a little let down but honestly that was the high expectations and knowing about all the stuff that was cut or reworked. However without any what could have been style bad taste in my mouth this game, which does have some rough edges is a superb game. The biggest gripes are a mild camera twitchyness and low res textures at some points, but these ARE 2005 graphics on the whole so i really cant complain. this was a game that began its creation at the same time as halo 2 it is a deeply atmospheric game that puts the pacific northwest town of bright falls on par with silent hill or raccoon city in terms of horror gamings iconic locations. The soundtrack is a joy to listen to, both orchestral and licensed music it all has a class, a character that sets it above its contenders. It gives off a feeling in the same way as when you first watched pulp fiction. you knew it was something special in its medium that would be brought up and wrote about for years to come. As i said its got some flaws but honestly few games are without obvious flaws. Remedy have once again set out to tell an atmospheric story like nothing else on the consoles and whilst the plot is standard horror faire that leaves nothing in terms of lasting contributions to gaming narrative development, the path it leads you on is a superb, if a bit too woody ride that ive gone through 3 times and probably will again in the next few days. The characters were great, the setting - amazing. Honestly i think it would be my game of the year right now if mass effect 2 and heavy rain wherent such goddam stellar titles as well. Right now ive got to get 1 chest, 2 signs, 5 coffees and 8 manuscript pages to 100% everything on the game- and get through the night in bright falls section without dying and im not upset i have to replay this game again. Hell theres another replay in need just for the video in video developer commentary of the collectors edition and the dlc starting next month so i can totally say this was worth the wait from remedy. ...and its interesting to note remedy has been caught at some interviews calling this game "alan wake: season 1" lately... -actually my one major gripe is   the uneeded and pointless fbi agent who disappears in the middle and isnt seen again till the ending.

[MikePizzoff]

So is there any free-roaming in this game? Can you hop in a car and drive around? I think I recall hearing them say this was possible, very early in development.

[Danny]

So is there any free-roaming in this game? Can you hop in a car and drive around? I think I recall hearing them say this was possible, very early in development. nope. theres some sections where you drive around in a car but think the sections in halo where you get a vehicle. its just a bigger, wider path but its still point a to b.

[Danny]

Episode 3. Started playing Halo: Combat Evolved. Ya' gotta get to that control room man.

[darth los]

Just finished episode 1 last night in 1 sitdown. The story is so seamless and immersive the time just flew by. Loving it so far.

[MinionZombie]

Just finished episode 1 last night in 1 sitdown. The story is so seamless and immersive the time just flew by. Loving it so far. *MZ likes this* It's a solid story that kept me interested, with characters I liked and was invested in - so the script was very successful in that respect. I think some people in the 'meeja' bigged it up to be "the be all and end all of storytelling evar!!121!!!1!1one!11!" - when really it's simply a very strong story in a videogame. Videogame writing and film writing are two different things. Alan Wake's current script would falter as a movie, but as a videogame it does very well - indeed it could be made into a good movie with appropriate work and care. Alan Wake has an essence of quality and storytelling that is so often missing from videogames these days ... there are a few iffy bits (like the busted jump function, or portions that feel repetitive), but it's a very immersive story and world and it really does haunt you afterwards. I'm currently reading through "The Alan Wake Files", a book that comes with the Limited Edition that is from an outside perspective - a guy drawn to Bright Falls by his dreams, and him discovering all of what happened during the game months/a year after the fact. Should be interesting and further cement my love for the Alan Wake game.

[darth los]

^^^^ I just read this article and it made some good observations. Two of my favs were that you don't have 1,000 weapons and items to manage and the t.v. and radio shows. I actually stick around and listen to/watch the whole thing! http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/109/1091706p1.html

[MinionZombie]

Damn straight, which is exactly why I got all the radio and tv related achievements. Even took time to watch the adverts during the ... well ... the darkness is after you at that point and I took a time out to watch the telly. It all just adds to the world around you and makes it even more convincing and involving.

[Danny]

Damn straight, which is exactly why I got all the radio and tv related achievements. Even took time to watch the adverts during the ... well ... the darkness is after you at that point and I took a time out to watch the telly. It all just adds to the world around you and makes it even more convincing and involving. Yeah the product licensing was a nice touch. I wasnt really product placement because, lets face it what where they selling? "yep, these batteries will protect you from the taken?" It just gave the world a bit more reality- that and the fucking beautiful pacific northwest. Ive seen some nice sights in the midland dales but any forests and mountains ive been around really paled to what they showed in this game. Gotta say that the extras wherent all that. The book doesnt add anything new to the story, the making off wasnt really a making off and was kind of moot- with the exception of the neat remedy backstory from max payne himsef sam lake. The biggest put down for me was the soundtrack, like 8 tracks from a full listing of over 2 dozen. Its a big gripe with me with modern special editions. The developers will tout that they got a full orchestra or something or a famous musician and that gets you all amped for the soundtrack and you end up with whats essentially a taster disc for a soundtrack soon to be in stores and on itunes Dont get me wrong what there is is nice, the poet and the muse is probably one of my favorite vocal tracks from a vidya not by akira yamaoka and mary elizabeth mcglynn but its so irritating to be sold the "full experience" so often and find your just paying for a taste of something to be released later. Its like the peter molynuex promise keeping syndrome has made the jump from games to there add ons. -and at least peter linked a fair few of us to some torrenty means to get the actual fable 2 soundtrack last year. Better than most people have done i tell yuh w'hut. Time to search online and compile a proper soundtrack myself, by cracky!

[darth los]

Update: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/70...ll-Happen.html