$20 Game of the Week: Alan Wake (Xbox 360)

The last time that the name Remedy was attached to a game, Max Payne and Mona Sax were blowing away mobsters back in 2003’s Max Payne 2. Since then, the Finnish developers have been working on this Xbox 360 exclusive. It was one of the first titles announced for the system, and then info on it became scarce, almost to the point where one would think it was canceled. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, and Alan Wake finally hit shelves last year. Although it didn’t sell anywhere near what it deserved to, it provides gamers with a unique and memorable experience. You play as the title character, Alan Wake. A struggling writer from New York, you and your wife travel to Bright Falls, a town in the Pacific Northwest hoping to get away from it all. However, things go awry rather quickly. You wife goes missing, you keep finding pages of a manuscript you’ve written, although you don’t remember writing it, and worst of all, you’re constantly attacked by a darkness which has taken over everyone and everything in your way.

in Alan Wake, the light is your best ally. Your flashlight burns the darkness off of your enemies, making them vulnerable to a well-placed gunshot. Flares act as shields, temporarily keeping enemies away from you. Flare-guns act as rocket launchers and flash-bangs act as smartbombs, while spotlights can recharge your health. The occasional vehicle acts like a tank with its headlights. The controls work well, as Alan can aim, shoot, and dodge his enemies’ attacks. There isn’t too much variety in the enemies, but thier AI keeps battles challenging as they try to gang up on you and flank you.

What’s unique about Alan Wake’s presentation is that each of the game’s levels is presented like an episode from a TV series, with each level beginning with a recap and ending with a licensed song. Remedy does a good job of making Wake’s world come alive. During the daytime sequences, you’ll meet with the townspeople, many of which have colorful personalities of thier own, and are almost easy to get attached to. The game draws it’s inspiration from the show Twin Peaks and the Twilight Zone, along with the works of Alfred Hitchcock, Dean Koontz, and Steven King. There are even subtle references to Remedy’s Max Payne. Speaking of which, remember those TV shows you saw throughout the game? Well you’ll love the Twilight Zone-like Night Springs. Also of interest is the manuscript pages scattered throughout the game, similar to Bioshock’s audio logs. They provide everything from flashbacks, to looks at behind-the-scenes events, hints, and even foreshadows future events. The catch however is that Alan Wake doesn’t remember writing any of them. Some of these pages can only The coffee mugs on the other hand, seem to be there strictly for achievement purposes. Speaking of which, the achievements have some hilarious titles and descriptions. When you see the bubble pop up, hit the guide button and see if you don’t chuckle a little bit.

There are people who will look at this and see just another “me too” survival horror video game or a Resident Evil/Silent Hill ripoff. However, this could not be anymore wrong. The game is more of a psychological thriller than a survival horror game (although it’s more of a Silent Hill game than Homecoming was). It might scare you, but it’s real purpose is to keep you guessing, and the game succeeds. When you’re done with the main game, there are two more episodes available on the Xbox live marketplace. Now that remedy’s masterpiece is finally here, it won’t be much longer until we see Max Payne 3.