Alan Wake - Review

"It's done when its done".. Few studios are in a position to command such a power. It's clear that after ploughing through Alan Wake in a few short sessions, the Finnish studio's first title since Max Payne 2, is nothing less than a labour of love. Stark attention to detail is clear from start to finish; this is a world that Remedy wants you to emotionally buy into and after knocking on the juke box in the local diner and listen to two has been rockers grovel back and forth at each other, while tapping the table to the beat of the tune you just put on, you will have all but placed yourself in Alan's shoes.

A local TV known as 'Bright Springs', the local radio station.. Stick around characters for longer than the story dialogue requires and you will be treated to a tonne of extra dialog; all of these things enhance the experience and pull you further into the land of Bright Falls. Down to tiny details such as accurate star patterns in the night sky.. Remedy's obvious care and attention resonates throughout the entire 12ish hour experience. (Look out for the face of Max Payne on the live action talk show in Alan's apartment - quite funny!)

So how does the game play?

Combat is solid. The torch is a fun tool to use and havok physics provide satisfying oomph when blasting the nasties with a double barrel shotgun. The game however is hampered by repetitive level and mission design. At night, there is too much of "get from point A to B" or "make your way through the power station/farm/mine" sections. Also, there are some jumping sections which are terribly awkward to control with glitchy animations killing you more often than bad timing. They feel like a tacked-on after-thought, in an attempt to create some variety. Daytime provides a welcome change of pace, with the games narrative scenes taking place at wonderfully designed locations. Its during these sections that generate the games most memorable moments. The day and night system is similar to Silent Hills alternation between real world and nightmare sections.

The story is a little all over the place come the end and seems to ask more questions than it answers, but it's also in the plot that helps draw you into Alan's world and it's confident enough in itself to create a sense of mystery and intrigue that clearly extends past the scope of the first game.

Anyone expecting a somewhat open world experience be warned - It's linear. Extremely linear. Originally, Wake was designed as so, but later was retracted, redesigned (hence the delays) and is now confined to a very linear path throughout. Not at one point can you branch off and mosey about the town of Bright Falls, or freely travel from one location to the next. It damages the level of immersion you would expect from a game that relies so heavily on it. Seeing as though most of the inaccessible content is already in place, a sequel or DLC might open up the town and surrounding area to us a bit more. If you can get your hands on the Collectors Edition, its more than worth the 5 extra euro. The hard-bound book is fantastic and provides some insight and background stories on some of the characters, which ties really well into the game.

So, was it worth the wait? Alan Wake does feel slightly dated when compared to the likes of Uncharted 2, but when judged on it's own merit, it deserves much praise. It has it's faults, but they don't detract enough from the overall experience. The foundation is there for a rather brilliant sequel and I for one will be looking forward to a return trip to Bright Falls.

8/10