Well technically, there is some slow mo effect when you fire the flare gun... but I'm not sure if that's just my PC's frame rate taking a dive! I've been a huge fan of Remedy Entertainment since the original release of Max Payne(2001). It was a third person action game that took the world by storm as it unleashed its furious gun fights that were influenced by the John Woo style of violence with beautiful cinematography. In other words... it was the introduction of bullet time and slow mo effects in games. When I read the news that Remedy were working on Alan Wake, I was delighted at first and later horrified that it was to be an XBOX360 exclusive with Microsoft as the publisher. After multiple delays and rumours that the project had been put on hold, Alan Wake finally arrived on the XBOX360 in 2010 and two years later, here it is... on the PC... the platform it was first showcased on.
With Alan Wake, Remedy explored and expanded the narrative elements a lot more(literally, as the plot is focused on a writer and his written work). They've clearly been influenced by films and TV series as each level or chunk of story is presented as a single episode. Each episode is preceded by a recap of the previous episode(previously on Alan Wake...) and ends with an outro with song and all that like a proper ending to a TV series. The episodes end in a cliff hanger with cinematography techniques clearly inspired by the works of film.
What's With The Story?
Alan Wake is a famous writer that has written best selling books and has a strong following(he'll meet his biggest fan in Bright Falls). But he's in a dilemma, he hasn't written one in years, a bad case of writer's block. His life is about to take a turn for the worse. Alice, his wife decides that a quiet vacation to the majestic vista's of the mountainous Bright Falls would be just the perfect therapy for Alan.
Clearly much thought was put into casting Wake as a troubled character and the uncertainty of 'is this all real'
It obviously can't just end with 'they then both lived happily after'... so things predictably go very wrong as Alice get's kidnapped. Alan Wake faces a horde of shadows... husks that were once people. They come out in the darkness(the darkness is a theme that the game plays to) and the light being his only saviour from the shadow. It's a thriller and mystery with a dash of horror writing. Clearly much thought was put into casting Wake as a troubled character and the uncertainty of 'is this all real'.
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| The shadow creatures... Alan calls them the taken, are your obstacle in the game |
If that wasn't bad enough, the mix of mystery is further heightened by the fact that Alan finds pages of manuscript that he has written... but he does not remember writing them. The manuscript pages act as collectible trinkets that give players more info on the story. It also helps that the pages act as a prescient hint of what's to come(hinting at the player of what's to come). What you read in the manuscript play outs to a tee in the story of Alan Wake.
Alan Wake isn't a spook fest horror game with plenty of scares like what we're familiar with in Capcom's Resident Evil or Konami's Silent Hill series. It is decidedly more Stephen King than Asian shock fest like The Ring
Shooting Stuff!
I need to emphasise that Alan Wake isn't a spook fest horror game with plenty of scares like what we're familiar with in Capcom's Resident Evil or Konami's Silent Hill series. It is decidedly more Stephen King than Asian shock fest like The Ring. While there wont be leaping zombie dogs or things that jump out at you(well, some shadows do catch you by surprise, but you'll to see them from a mile after playing through the game for quite a bit), the fear in Alan Wake is the fear of anticipating the attack of the shadow and making do with whatever weapon you have. When the the fog begins to roll and the view starts to warp a little, you know that the darkness is nearby.
Your torchlight also points out hints and clues to hidden areas that give you useful ammo
Alan isn't exactly a walking tank
Alan Wake is still quite an action focused game despite the horror novel theme and even though this is relatively new territory for Remedy, you can see the action influence in the gameplay. Alan has a selected arsenal of weapons, from the lowly revolver to hunting riffles and shotguns. You are never given all of them at any one time... Alan isn't exactly a walking tank(unlike Max, who was a killing machine). While you wont have ammo in abundance during encounters(making it pertinent to make sure every shot counts), you'll always get to replenish ammo in checkpoints in the form of lamp posts(ammo's and flares can be found in emergency boxes) that are conveniently placed along the path.
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| The flare gun is this game's rocket launcher. When you let fly, watch the sparks fly! |
Under the light of these lamp posts, the shadows disappear... but once you walk away from it, they will reappear given time. If you're really skilled, you can bait some of them to walk into the light from the lamp posts... instantly pulverising them for good. There are enemies that move fast and big brutes that will charge at you. Some will even constantly try to move around you and flank you. Pressing the shift key will allow you to dodge incoming attacks, giving you a dramatic cinematic view of the enemy missing his attack. Effective use of the cinematic camera but a tad bit disorienting, especially when against multiple enemies(which is to say... most of the time). Alan has his torchlight which you use to focus the light on enemies weakening them and giving you some breathing space from their constant harassment. You'll need batteries that you collect like ammo to use the torchlight against the shadow.
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| Ha! You missed me! |
On a related note, the way you view and control Alan is a little awkward to put it lightly. Since you have an over the shoulder view slightly off the left(by default), using the WASD to move Alan tends to veer him a little off his natural centre of view. He'll move slightly to the right when the W key is held down. You do get used to compensating for this off the axis sort of control but it is a noticeable issue that will annoy the hell out of you in the beginning.
Camera issues aside, Alan Wake successfully blends action together with frightful suspense without either one overpowering the other. Dodging enemy attacks, and deciding when to use the big guns(such as the flare gun) is vital in combat. You'll grapple with how best to use your limited resources all the time in Alan Wake, but it never frustrates you that you do not have any ammo at all(most of the time... if you're a bad shot, then perhaps there will be times you'll be out of ammo). Oh and you can't simply try to run away from the enemies. They are too fast, you don't sprint fast enough and long enough.
Technical Hodgepodge
Alan Wake was first demonstrated as a tech demo for Intel's new multi core processors(which at this point, we're all commonly using multi core processor's now). The history of the game's development meant that by the end of it's almost legendarily long development cycle, it was snapped up by Microsoft in a publishing deal that gave them exclusivity on the XBOX360 platform. It also meant that Remedy was not going to be making a PC(or a PS3) version of the game.
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| Driving feels clunky. There's a few segments where you drive a vehi... oh look! A butterfly! |
The flare gun has a habit of killing enemies and my frame rate at the same time
Alan Wake on the PC is a port of the XBOX360 version. Self published and ported by Remedy Entertainment with the assistance of fellow Finnish developers Nitro Games(East India Company, Commander: Conquest of The Americas, Pirates of The Black Cove). I've not had any recent PC game slow down much on my relatively old machine. Alan Wake reminds me I probably need an upgrade soon. It chugs along a little in areas with intense lighting. The flare gun has a habit of killing enemies and my frame rate at the same time. This has mostly got to do with the impressive dynamic lighting effects. Since light has significant gameplay effects, lowering the quality of the light rendering spoils the experience quite a bit(I wouldn't recommend you lowering the quality of the lighting much).
Which means that if Alan Wake is demanding too much from your PC, you'll have to balance out other graphical setting rather than messing around with the lighting quality much. It is worth it though, as the lighting in Alan Wake will leave you blinded at times at the almost cinematic over exaggerated effects(light doesn't look that way in real life... unless your eye is a camera lens). Traversing the black, lonely woods, with the threat of mysterious shadow people hanging in the back of your mind; the comforting glint of the bright light just up ahead is always a welcome sight when you come across one.
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| Barry Wheeler is your agent... and he's a lively character |
Conclusion
Alan Wake isn't the most frightening horror game ever made, it doesn't pretend to be one(although it might give that impression to gamers going by the trailers). It mixes action, suspense & thriller with a dash of horror to produce a unique gaming experience of its own. The plot of a writer possibly loosing his mind and his work turning into reality isn't an uncommon one in other mediums but set in a video game with the use of some memorable cinematic style makes for an unforgetable experience.
While Alan Wake might not be a milestone game for the video games industry like Max Payne was(completely changed third person action games), it still manages to offer satisfying gameplay with perhaps a tad bit over the top mystery on top of it... as icing on the cake. It is not going to shock you, but it will at least befuddle you on just what the hell is going on.
Pros:
- Cinematic style makes Alan Wake rather unique. Levels are divided into episodes and each episode begins with a narration.
- I quite liked the story book element of finding pages of the manuscript throughout the game.
- Good voice acting of characters. Barry is especially good.
- Excellent lighting effects
Cons
- Puzzle elements too simple and straight forward. Not really a puzzle game but the puzzles almost seem like an afterthought to artificially slow down the pace of the game for a change.
- Facial animation comedic at best.
- Quite demanding on older machines.
- WASD controls take some getting used to.
- Alan Wake is a one way street. It's linear... not necessarily a bad thing.
Verdict: Not A Milestone Like Max Payne Was But An Enjoyable If Not Sublime Piece Of Gaming
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