Alan Wake

[DalekFlay]

Got this in the last big Steam sale for $10 (with the expansion thinger). Looking forward to playing it and wishing it were a real PC game.

 

[Multidirectional]

I had enough fun with the base game, but few months after finishing it I decided to play through these expansion episodes and I'm severely bored with the first one. It's taking me over a month to get through it, I find myself only being able to play for several minutes before quitting. Is this "point the flashlight at words floating in the air" thing gonna last for entire episode? For some reason it's a major turnoff for me. Gotta be among the most boring things I encountered in videogames. Up there with Far Cry 2 checkpoints.

 

[felipepepe]

Really? I found then a refreshing change from the usual "kill baddies in forest"... but do not fear, as the expansion goes on you go back to killing baddies in the forest...

 

[Multidirectional]

but do not fear, as the expansion goes on you go back to killing baddies in the forest...

Phew, that's a relief. I guess I can find motivation to go through "refreshing change" parts then.

 

[Metro]

Wow...this game surprised me.

Cons:

-Terrible camera angles as typical from a console port.
-Somewhat unresponsive controls.
-Combat is highly repetitive.

Pros:

-Unique combat mechanics.
-Good story. Also quite unique. (A thriller...that's new)
-Great music.
-Excellent graphics.
-EXTREME attention to detail. The game LOOKS like the Pacific Northwest. The stuff in the environment is very unique...there's even product placement which as much as it's there to act as a commercial it does add some realism surprisingly. Locations all have small bits of lore exposed by examining things. The songs were made just for this game in a way that FEELS wonderful. I can't quite express all the "little things" I'm trying to mention, but they're there.

So, in other words: shit game play but pretty to look at.

 

[ghostdog]

Good story ? Unique ? A thriller... that's new ?



I thought the writing was bad. It was like a really bad copycat of Stephen King.

Unique ? No, the story of a horror writer getting caught up in his novel isn't unique. It's been told many, many times. Much better.

A thriller ? Nope, that's not anything new to videogaming.

 

[Gragt]

I thought the writing was bad. It was like a really bad copycat of Stephen King.

The interesting part is that Alan, who narrates the story, is a mediocre writer and there is nothing ambiiguous about it, but it seems to go over the head of most people, both fans and detractors of the game. It's actually quite clever because it appears on the surface as a copycat of Stephen King, a real-life mediocre writer, but the whole thing is self-aware and ends up playing like something Rod Serling would have written.

Unique ? No, the story of a horror writer getting caught up in his novel isn't unique. It's been told many, many times. Much better.

Being unique or original is an overrated quality, but still Alan Wake is a video game that is formatted like a tv show that follows a writer who narrates a book he's written. I don't see that every day.

 

[CorpseZeb]

Yup, AW is not about "story" per se, but about "story about story" or "game about game". Indeed, this is not a average horror cliche game. Both DLC have pretty clear massage about that "meta-level" or "self-awareness", especially.

 

[Metro]

It's Dear Esther with guns. This whole 'self-awareness' tripe is just a rhetorical ploy to disguise what is otherwise a mediocre at best game. 'Yes, yes, I made an awful and generic horror console shooter as a sociological commentary on all the awful and generic horror console shooters.' We are what we pretend to be.

 

[Gragt]

I still haven't played Dear Esther but from my limited knowledge I doubt the comparison is apt. Also what sociological commentary? Alan Wake's story simply makes fun of a certain area of pop culture while drawing from the same well.

 

[CorpseZeb]

It's Dear Esther with guns. This whole 'self-awareness' tripe is just a rhetorical ploy to disguise what is otherwise a mediocre at best game. 'Yes, yes, I made an awful and generic horror console shooter as a sociological commentary on all the awful and generic horror console shooters.' We are what we pretend to be.

Well, you are right in sense, that I like both games - DE and AW. Except, Dear Esther is not a game, rather an sort of existential experience of death, while AW offers a proper gun'n'run'n'shoot gentlemen activity... Anyway, "story about story" thingy, is a metaphoric vehicular similar to the classic tragedy, e.g. something bad happens to the hero, not because he is an adventurer or soldier of fortune or a bad dude, on the contrary, bad things happens because a good guy made a good choices that eventually come to the bad end, thus creating an "irony" feeling. Alan is good guy trapped in the bad writing of his, he is not a hero, he's just happen to be a bad writer. So we have an "irony" elements - good guy, writing mediocre a prose for a living, was punished (literary) by lack of true talent, because a better writer could make a better story, and thus "save" Alice or himself or much of troubles that happened, at least.


Ps. AW shooting elements are somewhat generic, but they have a nice "lighting it" first elements, thus whole thingy is able to creating some strategic elements (well, at least at the hardcore mode, because ammo name is awful plenty...).

 

[Multidirectional]

Ps. AW shooting elements are somewhat generic, but they have a nice "lighting it" first elements, thus whole thingy is able to creating some strategic elements (well, at least at the hardcore mode, because ammo name is awful plenty...).

It also has one of the most important things - shooting has a nice "feel" to it. Guns don't lack punch, so even if it is repetitive I can enjoy it until the end of game.
Finished both DLC chapters yesterday and I gotta say I really enjoyed the second one. It's one of the rare cases where ending made me appreciate what came before better. I'll do "American Nightmare" soon and after that I might actually replay AW on Nightmare difficulty. I did think this was a mediocre game at first, but my opinion of it improved since.

 

[Metro]

I don't deny the aesthetic of the game just the actual game play itself.

 

[The Vault Dweller]

So apparently Alan Wake had access to the internet and just re-wrote everyone's opinion, because suddenly multiple people went from barely tolerating the game to moderately enjoying it.

,
The Vault Dweller

 

[LizardKing]

I played this shitty game for 5 hours and got bored.
Too much pointless hiking, plot is not particularly interesting and worst of all, combat is dull and there's lots of it.
I watched an LP just to see if the story gets better, but there was no improvement.
The setting is nice, but apart from that, I couldn't enjoy the game.

I would recommend Deadly Premonition over Alan Wake any day.

 

[Tycn]

I thought the writing was bad. It was like a really bad copycat of Stephen King.

The interesting part is that Alan, who narrates the story, is a mediocre writer and there is nothing ambiiguous about it, but it seems to go over the head of most people, both fans and detractors of the game. It's actually quite clever because it appears on the surface as a copycat of Stephen King, a real-life mediocre writer, but the whole thing is self-aware and ends up playing like something Rod Serling would have written.

Being trapped in the story created by a shit writer, as much as it justifies the writing being shit does not make said writing any less shit.

 

[Gragt]

Yes, it doesn't. Thankfully Alan Wake doesn't have that problem.

 

[Davaris]

I liked this game for its visual effects, the forest changing when an attack is imminent and the attackers enshrouded in darkness, were very atmospheric. IMO they should not have allowed the enemies to become visible using the flashlight, because for me horror is about what you can't see.

As for the combat, it was tedious and I ended up cheating to get through it, as fast as possible. The story could have been better, if they had ended the game sooner. Why they have to make games so long, is beyond me. If you run out of things to say, you should finish the game right there.

 

[sea]

I liked this game for its visual effects, the forest changing when an attack is imminent and the attackers enshrouded in darkness, were very atmospheric. IMO they should not have allowed the enemies to become visible using the flashlight, because for me horror is about what you can't see.

I agree, the game was atmospheric as hell and very, very tense for the first few hours until you realize there is only one enemy type in the whole game and they are easy to deal with once you know how (only time I ever died was in cheap sequences where they ganked me out of nowhere). It's really obvious Remedy had to rush the game out after they dropped the open world elements, because it's very obvious a lot of parts weren't play-tested. From what I have heard the DLCs mostly fix the combat issues and are much better paced so it sounds like at least Remedy learned from the experience.

I still regret spending $30 on the game when it came out, but I have to admire the devs at least for trying a game with this kind of unique premise and setting.

 

[Darklife]

I found the plot a bit pretentious to be honest. All of the extolling of the writer's godlike abilities got tiring real quick. The entire concept of a writer writing about a writer writing a book is just nauseating.

 

[Brayko]

Sale going at GoG. Once I finish Gothic II: Night of the Raven (which is very good btw) I'd like to dive into something different. Looks good for what it is. Is it?

 

[Deleted member 7219]

It's really good. One of the best action-adventure games I've played. The story, soundtrack and visuals set up the atmosphere. People moan about 'the combat', but what would you expect from a third person shooter? The light mechanic actually makes it quite different.

 

[DemonKing]

The game is ok but you need a high tolerence level for endless treking through foggy nightscapes and repetitive combat. I swear if those bits had each been about 2/3rds as long the game would have been much better for it. As it is, I was inevitably wishing for those sections to end so I could progress the story.

 

[Haba]

I finally got myself playing Alan Wake, main game + the DLC parts finished.

Damn, it is a beautiful game. Everything seems extremely polished, no bugs and no glitches.

The combat... gimmick is a good one, but gets old. I liked the way the enemies shy away from the light and actively seek shadows. But then killing the same ones over and over again ruined the experience. And besides, killing shadows isn't much fun.

What is this, open world sections? Where are my tunnels? What, I can actually manage to get lost once in a while?

Story is O.K., though a bit predictable for someone who has read a lot of horror. The antagonist is a poor one, the last chapters where everything is revealed are the worst parts of the game. Why didn't you practice what you preached in the beginning of the game? They should have gone even crazier towards the end of the game.

All in all, it is just as I heard through the grapevine. Microsoft raped this game. Not only did they try to kill originally PC-built game, but they also are the reason why there is so much repetitive action in the game. The original direction of Alan Wake would've worked better in the end, with more traditional horror instead of the gunplay.

 

[Infinitron]

Apology from Sam Lake of Remedy to Alan Wake fans:



https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly