Beyond Darkness, there is always a Light.

REVIEW- Alan Wake Xbox360

The time is here. The time for an epic saga of tragedy, comedy and love has shined upon us. With all three of these you think you would be in for a ride of Star Wars. But I fear not, this is a ride of Alan Wake. When Alan Wake was first announced, back in 2003, people every where were roaring for this thriller on the Xbox 360, now the time has come to enjoy Remedy and Microsoft creation that took seven years to make.

Alan Wake is a new age for thriller games. It leads on a journey as you control, well, Alan Wake. A writer that is influenced by Stephen King, it is said both in the game as well as by the developers.There are also influences from some of the greater television stories of our times, such as Lost and the X-Files. When Alan hits a writer’s block, he heads to a small town in the Pacific Northwest called Bright Falls. This town resembles a quiet mountain town in Washington. While in the town, your wife is taken by darkness, FBI is chasing Alan down, and Alan is no longer able to tell the difference between his mind and reality.  With all this going on, Alan must battle the darkness engulfing the town, with the light on his side. The story is told in a unique way. It is shown as if the game was a prime-time television show. Which was also done by Alone in the Dark, yet Alan Wake story is far more interesting with a world that is far more beautiful.

The scenery in this game is some of the best you can see on a 360 game right now. From the trees in the mountains to the character them selves, you can tell a lot of detail went into this game. Even though most of the time you control Alan in the darkness, the game gives you an eerie feel while walking alone in the forest. Or even just the diner with the lights off. You will be sure to be looking over your shoulder to see if anyone is sneaking up on you. When the sun does rise in game, the world feels completely different. From the life you see in town, it makes you feel like you are really in a small town. While looking at difference from dark and light, the music and sound make you feel apart of the town. From the random talk of the diner folk about Alan’s arrival, to the lifeless night in the woods. The atmosphere to this game is the more immense moments you can have on your couch or floor. One of the only problems I had with the sound and detail into the world was one thing; For a game in seven years of development, you would think they could have gotten the lip-syncing right on. They did so well with the surroundings and how the characters look but the lip-syncing was some of the worst I have seen in today’s games.

Now the world looks great. The story has you hooked. What about the game play? Yes, here is some of the core game play features. The controller is laid out like any other shooter game. Left stick to move, Right stick camera, D-pad switch weapons and LT to aim RT to shoot. But instead of aiming with cross-hairs you are forced to aim with a flash light. Here you will shine your miracle flashlight on the people engulfed by darkness. Once the darkness has stopped protecting them, this is when you open fire on the target and they disintegrate like vampires in daylight. Early on in the game the controls feel really smooth. Dodging is also an easy to learn move with a tap of LB at just the right time. This can help you avoid flying axes to flying bulldozers. Yes, that right, a bulldozer does fly at you but never fear, LB is here to dodge Alan out of harms way. With just not people you fight the darkness controls objects in the world and with some light they can be freed of all darkness and disappear into the world. There are other weapons in the world that can be found in street light spots. Here your game reaches a check point and usually you can find different weapons. The one that was the most fun was this game’s rocket launcher, The Flare Gun. Yes, the flare gun is the most powerful weapon in the game. One shot can take out 4 guy’s with ease. You also obtain a shot gun which is fun but a flare gun is one of the best weapons you can have.  Flares are also found around the world, which act out more of a stay back weapon, keeping you enemies blinded. This gives you a chance to either run away or take some people out.

Now this game has no multiplayer. If it did that would be to epic of a deal. What this game has for replay value are the collectibles in which you get a back story to the game. Throughout the world you will coffee thermoses, and manuscript pages. Now the coffee ones don’t really do much. They are just there to unlock an achievement to add the subtle Alan needs to stay awake joke. The manuscript pages add a story to while your playing the story. You understand more of what is going on in the world Alan Wake by reading these pages. Also to add game play is since this game plays like a T.V. series. The summer will be releasing tons of DLC for the game.

Over all Alan Wake is one of the more enjoyable games I have played on my 360. From the very beginning I felt I was led on a wild journey through one mans mind. As the story unfolded I found out that there is still so much of this story and am very excited about the second season to this game.

9 out of  10 – One of the many reasons to go buy a Xbox 360.

Pros:

+ Environment

+ The people

+ The Story

Cons

– The lips

– The Future Cost of its DLC (800 points per 2 – 3 hour long episode)