Sunday, August 29, 2010

Melancritic Reviews Alan Wake

So, Alan Wake! Remedy has been working on this XBOX 360 exclusive for quite some time, first annouced when the XBOX360 was announced, which by now was quite some time ago. Promoted as a Psychological Action Thriller, it's the attempt of he team behind Max Payne to show what the team is capable of, and in some aspects they certainly deliver, while in others it is quite lacking.

Click on ''Read More'' to view the entire review!



First of all, let me just say that the lighting and the atmosphere in this game is drop dead gorgeous. Remedy really didn't hold back in trying to recreate a beautiful mountain town and the eerie feeling that comes with it. Props to the designers at Remedy for that fact. A lot of studio's could learn from the way these guys create environments. In short, Alan Wake looks very pleasing visually, but that's just the wrapper of the gift, you have to see what's inside, right? 

Storywise, it's pretty good. Alan is a writer who has ''Writer's Block'', (Don't we all one day), but it has persisted for several years. His wife decides they should take a nice holiday, so off they go to Bright Falls to have a relaxing time. At one point, Alice vanishes and Alan decides that he will rescue her, and this is where shit hits the fan. Alan finds that there is one evil force behind the chaos that then breaks out in Bright Falls, and Alan, hoping it will let him find his wife, decides to fight this darkness. (Because we all know that that is the most wise thing to do, right?). The story is a little bit typical, but has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. Unfortunately there are no real big cliffhangers and ''mindfucks'', mostly just puzzled minds, who eventually get their answer, but players will be left with a ''Meh'' feeling in the end, thus it doesn't deliver fully on the ''Psychological'' aspect on which the game promotes itself.

But on to the ''Action Thriller'' Part, the gameplay! Alan Wake doesn't really shine here, in fact, the gameplay is it's weakest point. Players are forced to walk from Point A to Point B continuesly. While this is not essentially bad, it's what's between Point A and B which really makes a game. Players are presented with people consumed by darkness, which is nothing more then them being covered in a black fog. Unfortunately, these generic enemies and possessed objects are the only enemies you will ever find, and are all killed in the same way, burn the light of with thine holy flashlight, then deliver two shots to the head. It's an experience that get's quite boring, and because players will know what they are up against, the '"Thriller'' Part is quickly taken away. No need fearing in what you can expect, right? The story slightly makes up for this, but this is a GAME we are supposed to be playing.

While the Enviroments are top notch and the story is quite decent, the gameplay is well below sub-par. The parts between cutscenes get tedious quickly, and sometimes I personally felt like I had to do a tedious task before I had to see the next point of a B-Movie. (Note: When Gaming feels like working, then you are beating the purpose of gaming). Alan Wake is by no means a bad game, however it does not deserve the label of ''Psychological Action Thriller'', as it fails to deliver on all three words. Perhaps ''Interactive Story'' would have suited this better, and I perhaps feel that if  Remedy decided to bring out the episodes as Arcade Games, I.E. Alan Wake: Episode 1, etc etc etc then it could have been much more successful.

Leave a comment and don't forget to follow!

Alan Wake is available on the XBOX 360


26 comments:

  1. I look forward to more reviews - Also just a word of advice, use the "jump break" when typing your blog posts, it helps keep things organized :)

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  2. The ''Jumpbreak?'' Could you please explain what that is? o.o

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  3. gave you some love.

    love for love, blog looks good too.

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  4. Hi i just followed your blog, been looking for someone who reviews games- do you take requests? My blog is: http://tip-to-life.blogspot.com/ if you want to check it out

    thanks!

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  5. Love me some video games, keep up the great work.

    http://joltfitness.blogspot.com/

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  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  7. sounds cool expecting those awesome reviews

    http://checkyourselfs.blogspot.com/

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  8. Game play is a big deal breaker for me, I was considering buying this game on the premise of its story line but with no actual "game play" I might reconsider buying it and get Halo Reach instead.

    http://emmanizzle.blogspot.com/

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  9. I've been wondering about this game and thanks to you I know not to buy it.

    I have some cool stuff on my blog if you want to check it out.

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  10. i'LL CHECK BACK DAILY FOR UPDATES :D
    savagenugget.blogspot.com

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  11. Loving your reviews so I've followed you :)
    http://myblogforbloggingblogs.blogspot.com/

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  12. would you say this game is worth purchasing, or just worth a rental? just curious.

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  13. This is awesome - love game reviews. Any chance you'll take a look at Starcraft 2?

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  14. StarCraft 2 is indeed on my to-do list. Unfortunately I can not afford all games.

    Split/Second will be reviewed tomorrow!

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  15. loved this game. unfortunately started it at too easy difficutly which sucked =/

    hit me back at http://thenatureofreality2k10.blogspot.com/

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  16. Nice reviews. Doing something similar on my blog. Maybe we can collaborate since I also have limited funds and can't buy every game coming out.

    http://ggnewsandreviews.blogspot.com/

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  17. I still need to review Alan Wake for my gaming site/blog

    http://www.xboxedge.com

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  18. Great review dude. Can't wait to see upcoming reviews.

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  19. HEYOOO
    lovin the blog
    barkusbb.blogspot.com
    hit me up dawg!

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  20. Good review, really helped me decide whether or not to buy

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  21. I've heard great reviews for this game and this is just adding on more reasons why I should purchase the game, thanks!

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