Alan Wake Review

Alan Wake was a fun, nail biting (if my hands weren’t on the controller) action. The story drags you in and the game play doesn’t let you out. That’s what I liked most about the game. You find yourself engrossed until the end credits begin to role. It really is the perfect mix of story development and game play.

Another cool trait about the game is it is broken down into episodes. It feels very much like a short-run summer special series you would find on one of the major tv networks, only better and you get to play it. The episode structure is nice for this style of a game. Each episode starts out during the day, giving you some back sotry and then progresses to night. Night is where the real game play lies and it definitely gets intense. Through the night you work your way through the level to the boss battle. Once you have defeated the boss it’s time for the roosters to crow and the sun to shine. This gives you a nice cool down from the intensity of the night, a nice getaway from the midnight shift!

Here are my major points for the game:

Pros:

• Great, great, great story
• Good use of the light/dark. Dark made it feel like night, but it was still light enough to be viewable and playable. It’s really as if your eyes have adjusted to the dark of the night, not the game adjusting for you
• I’m not always a fan of the flashlight style games (actually this is the first one I’ve liked since Luigi’s Mansion) but they were able to do it well here
• Game play was fun and engrossing. I sat down and beat the game in one sitting, which is pretty telling

Cons:

• Game play got a little repetitive by the end of the game (maybe because I marathoned it)
• Gun selection didn’t seem to matter, I didn’t see an advantage to using a shotgun or rifle other than to earn the achievements.
• The game was a little short. I thought that it could have and should have been much longer. (But alas, DLC coming soon)

Overall? I had a lot of fun with this game and it seems like the people watching me pay it did too. That says a lot. For my taste it is definitely a game I would want to own, especially with lots of new DLC slated for release. I would recommend getting it now, even at the $60 price tag. I’ll even make it easy for you and give you links. Buy it here or get it from Gamefly.

I’m going to give Alan Wake a 8.5/10. Which you’ll come to see I’m tough on my scores, so this really was a pretty good game.

Keep it real,

VGL_Jon