So Alan Wake has a lot of problems. Does that make it a bad game? Not at all. On the contrary, there’s a lot of fun gameplay stored within. In addition, the story is one of the better available on game systems this generation. It’s no Shakespeare or Poe, but you won’t have any clue what is going on for at least half of the game. Which, in a story like this, is a good thing.

You play as Alan Wake (who knew?), an author that hasn’t written a book in over two years and is suffering from writer’s block. In an effort to get the juices flowing Alan and his wife head off to a town called Bright Falls in Washington state (or Central Pennsylvania, the two really are interchangeable). However, a few things go wrong (as always) and our boy Alan suddenly wakes up to see mysterious things happening and finding manuscript pages discussing events that have happened, are happening and will happen.

From there on the story remains a complete mystery as to what is happening and why, only delivering more and more questions with little answers until the revelation is finally delivered. Even then the game leaves the player wondering how it is all supposed to come together and wrap up (that is, aside from “final boss fight”). Just as a second viewing of Fight Club can provide a fresh new perspective to the story’s events, a second play of Alan Wake can give the player a greater understanding of what went on and how it affected events on the whole.

The manuscript pages themselves are a very interesting touch. They give the player the chance to see what is happening simultaneously, or sometimes even hint as to what is coming, without giving away too much information. It is a collectible that certainly enhances the experience, though if you miss a couple pages you don’t really miss out on the story. It merely adds to the plot and gives purpose for the collectible item.

Perhaps most excellently done of all is the use of Alan’s first-person narration. While I mentioned in the Negatives that it can be annoying when he describes an event or object the player just witnessed, most of the internal dialogue discusses what Alan is thinking and feeling. It gives you a sense of how he reacts to the world and what his deeper priorities are. David Houghton over at GamesRadar explains in detail the significance, as most games provide you no character development until the next cut-scene. All of a sudden there’s a flood of data and emotion before jumping right back into gameplay. It leaves characters feeling flat and poorly defined. Here, however, we are given a chance to know our protagonist, and in the end he feels like a real flesh and blood person rather than a character someone sketched into their Chemistry notebook in middle school.

The previously mentioned manuscript pages also assist in developing side characters, getting inside their own heads a bit more outside of Alan’s direct interaction with them. While some characters may seem more annoying to some than to others, there is certainly a development witnessed between them and Alan himself. These aren’t static characters. They are thinking and feeling like real people, and the events transpiring around them challenges their perceptions of the world that they thought they knew. This is not only proper story-telling, it is basic story-telling. What Alan Wake does is take the ideas and implements them into an interactive, non-linear and non-passive medium. Something that other game developers need to learn how to do.

So it is safe to say that the story for Alan Wake is good. It’s no Pulitzer Prize winner, but it is certainly one of the better in the industry and should entertain most gamers well enough. The execution is excellent and goes right alongside of Bioshock, Half-Life and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in “how to properly tell a story in a video game”. However, being a thriller the atmosphere is just as important as the plot and dialog. The game needs to feel appropriate with what is going on around the player.

This is going to vary on the difficulty level. On the default setting veteran players will always find themselves well stocked with ammunition, reducing the suspense a bit when you know you’ve got a shotgun, pistol, flashlight, flares and enough batteries to survive the zombie apocalypse let alone some creepy goings-on in the land of Deliverance. Just as with Dead Space, bumping the difficulty up a notch should be enough for experienced players to feel the thrill of having one last shot and two more foes hanging around.

However, as mentioned in the negatives, the tension can still be broken up by game world logic. Just as Silent Hill: Shattered Memories wasn’t too frightening for segmenting the risk to a certain time of day, so too has Alan Wake. Whenever you are wandering in the day time you are comforted in knowing that everything is safe. Most of the time you’ll be spending this time accomplishing very specific tasks, but on occasion it’ll feel as if you are just wandering a widespread area with nothing to do but eventually hit the next objective. The fog and music also hint in as to when enemies will appear, which isn’t so frightening when you have a tell to help you know when you’ll be attacked. The only tension is wondering where they will come from, but getting chopped from behind goes from being scary to just plain annoying.

Yet that isn’t to say the game is without its moments. True terror comes in the unexpected and unknown. Spending time in a safe, well-lit cabin only to turn around just in time to see a shadow passing by the window is creepy. Note that I don’t mean you turn around, and then the shadow walks by. As you turn the shadow is already on the move. Is it an enemy really walking around outside? Was it a plant by the developers? There was no musical hint to go along with it and make me jump, nor music to identify the presence of enemies, but there is never music when you’re safe in light…

While these moments are few and rarely executed so well, the developers really knew how to mess with a player’s head at times. It is a common trope to trigger a sudden shadow or enemy wandering by when the player reaches a certain point, but to make it occur as if you almost missed it happening begins to make you wonder what’s really happening. It could have been a plant, it could have been an actual enemy dynamically wandering the environment. There is no way of knowing for certain. Such is how Lovecraft would design a game, to be sure.

In the end, though, Alan Wake plays similar to games like Dead Space and the previous two Resident Evil titles. The focus on action is greater than the focus on genuine horror and suspense. I’d like to say this is where Alan Wake shines, particularly since it would make an excellent pun, but the potential is never truly realized.

The general idea is you are fighting against foes cloaked in darkness. In order to deal damage you must shine light upon them to break down the barrier, making them vulnerable to the devastating power of bullets. The flashlight runs out of batteries quickly so the player will need to be careful in how they choose to use it. Aiming is simple enough as wherever the flashlight is shining is where the bullet lands, give or take a bit of auto-aim to help strike true (not aim assist, which is annoying, but the game moving the bullet a bit to the left or right if your aim is just slightly off). The nice touch is using a sort of lens flare effect to let the player know just how much shield is remaining. Once it has shrunk to nothing the foe is open to attack. Simultaneously, light can still be used to give them pause and delay a forthcoming attack, often being more effective than the dodge mechanic itself.

Yet the flashlight is the most boring use of light in the game. The flares are the real tools in dealing with crowds, both defensively and offensively. When held high a flare can be carried, forcing enemies to back away right where you want them to go. This includes loose power cables and other environmental hazards that can make quick work of any attacking monster. The cloaks of darkness on any immediate surrounding enemies also weaken, having a wider range of effect than the flashlight. Simultaneously, if the player needs to buy some time or merely keep enemies away, the flare can be lit and dropped on the ground creating a temporary safe zone. The flares don’t last very long, but they are typically plentiful and last just long enough to reduce enemy numbers quickly, or even buy the necessary time to prime a generator and create a safe light-bathed haven.

The only tool more useful than the flares would be the flash bang grenades, which instantly eliminate smaller monsters in its area of effect while dealing heavy damage to larger foes. Otherwise the assortment is a variety of guns that deal different types of damage, as well as providing a couple more powerful weapon upgrades over time. Ammunition is not something to be worried about, as it is not only plentiful but all weapons get taken away between episodes (and at times in the middle of an on-going mission). As a result it is often wise to be a bit liberal in the use of all available weapons in combat, allowing most encounters to provide interesting tactical opportunities.

Don’t get me wrong. The fact that you mostly fight nothing but bipedal humanoids with varying health levels is frustrating, with the remaining enemies being poltergeist options that can only be destroyed by light sources (meaning flashbangs or the flashlight) or flocks of crows. That most of these brawls occur in the middle of the woods someplace with two enemies in front and one or two from behind is equally tiresome and repetitive. Yet there are also plenty of moments where the player is left to use some real clever thinking, particularly when having to hold their ground for a certain amount of time. There’s a particular moment later in the game where the player has to fight from a concert stage, and suddenly the Dark Carnival finale from Left 4 Dead 2 seems incredibly lame in comparison. That moment is, in fact, a highlight of the entire Alan Wake experience.

The real joy in the combat is making the best use of light and the environment when the opportunities arise. Unfortunately, there are times where the game is pretty simple and you merely point at an enemy while pulling the triggers. Yet when it pays off, it pays off big.

Which is pretty much the best way to summarize Alan Wake on the whole. Yes, the game can be frustrating, and yes there are a lot of problems. Yet in the moments where the game does pay off, it does so in a big way. The environments are absolutely gorgeous, and while the game is linear the levels are expansive enough as to give the illusion of exploration and choice. The combat may have a dearth of worthwhile foes, but the options available to fend them off are varied and powerful when used appropriately. The levels may be dragged out, but when you hit that next major story point you’ll be wanting to keep right on plugging through to the next story.

That is, if all of what the game does right are enough to keep you entertained. Which is the problem. Some people will enjoy the game on a single play through and be done. Some will love it enough to go through a number of times. Others won’t even beat it. In the end it really comes down to what sorts of flaws are a mere irritation and which ones may as well be sins against The Almighty.

For what it is worth, I at least recommend a rental of the game. Not just because the story is decent, but because using light to fend off enemies feels surprisingly unique and different compared to all the other shooters being released this year. Even in the realm of horror it feels creative (let us all forget about Alone in the Dark for a moment, shall we?). However, there are very few that I can claim this to be a definitive purchase. It is fun, but it is certainly no masterpiece.

Go back to read the Negative impressions

Comment on this game in the forums