A little known company years ago made Max Payne. I still have the mouse pad and tshirt for pre-ordering the game. Why the excitement? The promises it made. Bullettime, a film noir look, excellent story.
All of these things have been copied time and time again, but no one hit it just right like Max Payne.
What's this got to do with Alan Wake?
It's my firm belief that Alan Wake is the best game I've played on the 360 this year. It's up there with Batman:AA and Fallout 3.
Remedy made Max Payne, Remedy made Alan Wake. Simple.
Let's get it on:
Alan Wake, a story about a writer writing about a writer writing about a writer. Think Stephen King meets Twilight Zone meets M Night Shammy-man. That's basically what you get. The story is tip top. Voice acting is superb, you'll notice every single voice if you're a true gamer.
The music?
The first episode (of 6) ends with
I sat through the entire song with a dropped jaw; I felt anger, frustration, fear and dread. While Roy sang on and the screen went blank.
It's just a really well presented game. You play through once and that's about it, but that one time.... my oh my. This is the kind of game that makes you think and feel. It's hard to explain. I was reading the Game Informer review of it and was furious at his lack of explanations as to why the game was so great. He just kept saying "it really got to me". Same feelings for me. haha.
The storyline is best left to people who play it. The game play and controls are really fun, but different. You're basically running on a somewhat linear path the entire time, being chased by all sorts of night creatures. You're armed with a flashlight and sometimes a gun. The flashlight both helps you see and takes away a sort of armor on the dark creatures. There are some pickups to grab along the way, flashbangs and the such. Light destroys the enemies, too bad you're not in light very often.
There are a few strange moments (fighting farm equipment) but when you reach those parts, and the story after, it all starts to make sense.
This is a good game, and excellent game. Wonderful production value, but at the same time, it's story based.Very very story based. If you like a good story and have a few days off coming up, rent it. You'll be glad you did. If you hate stories, you'll hate this. If you like fast action, you'll hate this. Get Red Dead Redemption instead (my next review).
Happy Gaming!
