Alan Wake

Alan Wake Review: A Beautiful Nightmare by Remedy

Max Payne was revolutionary. Despite the numerous delays the game suffered, it fed into the frenzy of action/combat that had been crafted out by the Wachowski Brothers-Matrix phenomenon. The game also brought forward a unique style of storytelling narrative which combined noir sequences in a stylish graphic novel format to forge an alternative to a regular barrage of cut-scenes that were seen in most action games of that day and age.

After Remedy completed the sequel to their hit game, they started working on a project called “Alan Wake.”The game, many believed, would be the next step in evolution when it was announced in 2005. However, the numerous delays the game suffered mad

e one forget about the existence of the title t

ill it resurfaced at last year’s Electronic Exposition. So where does “A-wake”, as it is fondly dubbed, stand in a generation that has seen the horrors of the Locust Horde, Urobors and the artifact nestled in Ishimura.

Alan Wake does not suffer from insomnia for starters, the whole bit of him being A-Wake has been dropped to accommodate a regular survival horror story that is both satisfying and convoluted. The basic premise is that of a writer who models himself after Stephen King and his wife (Alice) visiting a place called Bright Falls. After a mishap Alice disappears from the cabin where they were put up and thus Mr Wake begins his treacherous quest to locate her. There can

not be much said about the plot in the review since it holds the ga

me together and it is clear from the onset that

Remedy has spent a significant amount of time and effort in crafting a rather intricate premise.

As beautiful and idyllic is Bright Falls under the glinting sun, it beco

mes a horror fest in the dark. Light and Dark is the basic structure that holds all the gameplay mechanics together in Alan Wake. All equations in the game hinge on these two primary

aspects which have been translated into gameplay mechanics. The town of Bright Falls has been engulfed by an entity called “The Dark Presence” and is slowly transforming its inhabitants into what the Alan terms as “The Taken”.

In true video game fashion, Alan Wake uses the light to exorcise The Taken scattered throughout the game and subsequently puts an end to their misery by using bullets to decimate the dark presence that has engulfed them from sanity. As mundane as it may sound, the game paces the enemies in quite an exhilarating manner. Not only does the variety of the taken keep improving as episo

des go by, the threat and fear that they are to instill during the playthrough also increases subsequently. The dark presence does not restrict itself

in engulfing human entities, there are a significant number of objects that are scattered through the game (tractors, bulldozers, giant mine carts, iron beams, cars) that also confront the player on numerous occasions.

To aid Alan’s quest, he is introduced to a flashlight, which

is used to weaken the physical manifestation of the dark presence of the Taken, then he uses his trusty arsenal (a revolver, flare gun or a shotgun/hunting rifle) to obliterate them from the face of the planet and what remains vaporizes into thin air. This is the basic gameplay mechanic that c

onstructs the action sequences throughout the game. Alan Wake also intersperses vehicular segments to add variety to playthrough experience.

These sequences also add the dimension of light and dark into it and mirror driving sections from any open world game. The difference lies in the utilization of the vehicle’s headlights to exorcise the Taken and crushing them with the brute force of metal. If most remember the initial gameplay structure whe

n Alan Wake was announced, it was designed to be an open world game with modules of exploration. The vehicular sequences, we assume, have been retained from that structure of the game and hence feel quite out of place. The reason why this is being emphasized is because the

re are numerous areas where the game breaks into cutscenes to emphasize on a driving section which could have been reconstructed into an actual gameplay sequenc

e.

The mechanic that is used to destroy The Taken is rather straightforward. The light beam is a replacement for the targeting reticule found in all action games, and focusing the light beam on the enemy is reminiscent of the pull back mechanism that has become a rather standard method in third person shooters. Though this may sound repetitive, the developers have added a few gameplay mechan

ics to ke

ep combat fresh, tense and be in line with survival horror.

The player constantly needs to keep reloading not only his gun but also his flashlight during combat by pressing keys. The reload mechanic is eerily similar to reloading a chainsaw bayonet from Gears of

War. Though the sequence is not timed, the player needs to constantly keep a check on the ammunition that he has and the state of the batteries that are being used in the flashlight. The flashlight’s battery is not utilized when Alan wake is moving about, but when the playe

r starts to focus on an enemy to exorcise the Taken it starts to deplete swiftly, the player needs to keep in mind both these gameplay mechanic during combat.

As episodes progress, the enemies also grow stronger and faster and both require a hefty amount of light mechanics to exorcise the darkness that shrouds within them. The enemies also vary from human beings from various walks of life, the regular ones are the easiest to exorcise and kill and as the game progresses Alan if faced by the cops, hunters and miners who are lunging to engulf him into the twilight zone. The ones that top this bunch are the birds that swoop down on Wake on numerous occasions and only a well timed flare can save him from being consumed by them.

The best part about Alan Wake is its method of introducing players to a narrative, since the plot is entrenched on the fact that whatever Wake has penned down is coming true. The player often finds himself collecting manuscripts that have been scattered across the game, these help in piecing together sequences that often are to occur in a game. During our

playthrough there were numerous occasions when we thought we were going to experience what we had discovered in one of the manuscript pages only to be confronted by something else and other segments saw us witnessing the horror that had been penned down by the deranged writer.

The narrative also relies on radio broadcasts to explain a similar set of pre and post occurrences of events through the game. It feels good to see a lot of loose ends being tied up in an episode, if the player actually has the patience to hunt for all the clues that are scattered all around. There is also a television show titled “Night Springs” (a doppelganger for Bright Falls) which is as eerie and bizarre as the plot of Alan Wake. Besides the show there are television segments that star Alan Wake himself and help to progress the plot. Though the method of delivering the narrative is strong and effective, the dialogue is generic and in no way represents the concept of a writer. Most of it is actually random and takes away from the immersion factor that has been built on during delivering the narrati

ve.

Alan Wake’s visuals are a mixed bunch, they are nice and crisp when the game is rendering in game cut scenes but this visual fidelity loses its ground during actual gameplay. The shadows that lurk in the dark aptly act as puppets of horror and often give players a thrill. These become more enticing in sequences when Alan has to cut across using no weapons. The chase that follows in the dark and gloomy forest showcases the beauty of the game at various levels. The visuals only seem to be hampered by the awkward animation mechanics in the game, since we have been spoilt by the likes of Uncharted 2 and its silky smooth almost human like transition during action, witnessing pieces of rugged sequences in Alan Wake look a tad bit disappointing.

The lighting effects are worth a dekko in the game, we can only go gaga over the moon glinting in the sky to the flares that illuminate the entire screen when they are used. These somber moments in the game are complemented by the soundtrack that plays in the background. However the main gripe that occurs with the sound is the fact that whenever there is bunch of enemies that are going to devour Wake, it switches tracks making it fast and furious, this often leads to a generous giveaway of being attacked by the player.

The Final Word: Alan Wake does not utilize any original mechanic, the episodic mechanic has already been witnessed in the latest version on Alone in the Dark. The utilization of light to weaken and exorcise enemies was seen in a game called “Obscure” that was released last generation. This coupled with the games random story and terrible short length makes it lose brownie points. However, Remedy polishes these mechanics and presents a wonderful package to its community that deserves applause in the world which is constantly being engulfed by the “shooter cum multiplayer phenomenon.”