It was with great anticipation that I headed to London this week to be able to get some hands-on time with Remedy Entertainment’s highly anticipated title Alan Wake, set to release on Xbox 360 in just a few months. Originally announced back at E3 in 2005 the game has been in development for six years now, yet sometimes such a lengthy wait is necessary – especially for something that is clearly set to be as fantastic as this.
Inspired by the likes of Stephen King, Remedy are describing the game as being a “psychological action thriller”. It centres around its namesake protagonist Alan Wake, a best selling writer currently suffering from two years worth of writers block. His wife Alice, in an attempt to reignite his creative mind, books a holiday for them both at the picturesque location of Bright Falls. Having picked up the key and directions to their accommodation from a mysterious woman at the town’s local Diner, Alan and his wife head over to be greeted by a rather eerie building entitled “Bird Leg Cabin”.
Upon arrival they find the power supply is off and it is here that we learn that Alice has a deep fear of the dark. She therefore tasks Alan with turning the power back on at the generator, and having done so he returns to the house. Here, Alice surprises him with a gift of a typewriter as a loving gesture to attempt to encourage him to write again. Unfortunately Alan isn’t best pleased and an argument ensues, resulting in him storming out of the cabin and into the darkness, knowing full well that she won’t follow.
Suddenly the lights in the house go out, and Alan hears his wife screaming. Turning, he runs back inside and upstairs to find that she’s vanished. Looking to an open window, he dives out into the water believing she’d jumped and this therefore introduces the games first plot premise of searching for his lost love.
Following the disappearance of his wife Alan begins to find pages of a thriller novel that he no longer remembers writing, and even more troublesome is that the events within it are coming true. A Dark Presence looms over the otherwise peaceful town of Bright Falls, and Alan soon begins to live his own nightmares. As he searches, he must collect the pages of the novel to uncover the truth surrounding the entire mystery.
You won’t be alone in your search either as other townsfolk appear to help maintain Alan’s sanity whilst also provide a little light humour. For instance Barry, Alan’s literary agent and friend, dresses himself in Christmas lights to protect from the Dark Presence – just like Garlic and Vampires he says. Another ally comes in the form of the Sheriff of Bright Falls, Sarah, who provides much more assistance than Barry seems he ever could! This variety in character personality will surely add to the game as well as providing more dialogue – it’s nice to see it won’t be a solitary venture as such.
It must be pointed out that the narrative of the game is presented in such a style as if it were a TV Drama Series. Remedy have implemented a design in which each chapter opens with a “Previously on Alan Wake…” segment allowing you to refresh your mind as to what happened previously. Such an element soon becomes a necessity, as with the title promising cliffhangers and twists you’ll want to more fully remember every detail you encounter to ensure you are able to follow the continuing complexity of the plot – especially if you are coming back to it after a break.
Whilst a tutorial that covers the basic game play elements precedes this segment of the story, in which the games incredibly dark tone is immediately set, up until this point it is hard not to appreciate the level of care and attention that Remedy have applied. Both the stunning environments and detailed character models provide a setting that is entirely believable to the player. Although the game hasn’t gone Gold yet, I did notice the odd minor issue though that are sure to be ironed out ahead of release, with some of the lip syncing being slightly off and a surface on the landscape that was uneven before suddenly becoming levelled out. Yet this doesn’t stop Alan Wake easily set to become one of the best looking titles on Xbox 360.
One of the core gameplay elements that Remedy have implemented within Alan Wake is the important differentiation between light and dark. Here we find that light represents the sane world and safety, whereas darkness is used to show insanity and danger. The game revolves around a scripted day/ night cycle, and when darkness descends it immediately becomes more survival-horror in approach as you continue your search.
Of course it wouldn’t be fair if the player wasn’t provided with weapons and equipment for self-defence, and it is here that Alan Wake goes into new and innovative areas beyond that which I’ve seen within other titles. During your search you will come across the “Taken”, villagers that have become possessed by the Dark Presence that envelops the area at night. These creatures gain strength from darkness and shadows, and therefore you must utilise light sources to remove the shroud that surrounds them before firing a few shots from a weapon to neutralise them.
These aren’t your only threat either as the Dark Presence can possess inanimate objects and hurl them at you, which easily become some of the scariest moments of the game. Whilst running for the safety of a Lighthouse for example, you’ll have cars, wooden wheels and logs thrown at you as they smash through the bridge that is your quickest method of reaching your destination. It’s thrilling stuff that shows plenty of potential for the final version to completely scare you to no end.
It is therefore important that Remedy arm you with one continual light source, that being your trusty flashlight/ torch. Whilst maintaining a steady stream of light to aid you in your search, you have the ability to boost the light’s strength (using Left Trigger) which becomes essential when fighting the Taken. This does, however, consume batteries which means that you can’t just continually blast them in the face and hope for the best. However you are free to top up the battery power whenever you see fit, but this must obviously be done strategically – there’s no point standing still trying to clumsily insert new batteries when a Taken is clawing at your face!
Once the torch has been used to drain the Dark Presence from enemies, this will leave them open to attack and Alan must take a few quick shots to dispose of them. To do so you’ll have a range of weapons and sidearm’s at your disposal which include a Handgun, Shotgun and a Flare Gun within the opening portion of the game that I was able to play. As you progress through the game you will also find further weapons, that include stronger versions of those previously mentioned as well as more effective light-based explosives such as Flash Grenades – which easily become one of the best additions within the game, as disposing off whole groups of Taken at once becomes incredibly satisfying! Ammo is regularly scattered at sporadic intervals along your trek the environments, so you won’t have to fear running out.
The combat mechanics aren’t just limited to being offensive however, as Remedy have implemented the ability to “Dodge” when enemies take a sneaky lunge at you. This is performed by moving in a direction with the left stick and pressing the left button at just the right moment, rewarding the player with a brief slow motion section in which you see the enemy narrowly miss you as you dodge underneath their blow. Early on in the game you’ll probably find that you are only attacked by a couple at any one time, yet as you progress you’ll increasingly encounter larger groups that will rely on a more tactical approach to ensure that you don’t become swamped too quickly. It is here that Dodging becomes vital to survival, as you aim to tackle them all.
If you do take too much damage in combat however you can retreat to a well-lit area, which become safe havens for the character. This will allow your health to fully recharge, and from what I saw this seems the only way in which it can be recovered. No medi-kits or herbs here survival horror fans, but a game that is exceptionally good.
Expectations will be inevitably high since the title has been in development for such a long period of time, yet Alan Wake is set to provide an experience like no other for Xbox 360 owners. Following the success of Remedy’s previous Max Payne titles, Alan Wake is easily set to be a further benchmark IP under the developers belt. With a fantastic narrative, incredible suspense and a storyline that seems set to keep you guessing at every turn, it’s sure to be a title well worth picking up when it releases on May 18th in North America, and May 21st in Europe.
http://www.thelostgamer.com/2010/02/22/alan-wake-hands-on-preview/
