The game is structured like an episodic TV series; naturally it plays in a linear fashion.
While there seems to have been some compromises on the original concept (open world) and technical issues like resolution (for the most part masked by the AA), the end result was thoroughly enjoyable experience.
I played through it in a weekend and then immediately played through it again, which rarely happens with any games I buy.
Sure, the action did have a tendency to get repetitive, but for the most part the play mechanics were interesting enough to stay engaging.
Can't agree with this being the new watermark for horror games though. AW is a thriller with supernatural elements used as a key writing mechanic to propel the plot like many Stephen King novels. No, I didn't find any particular moments of the game to rate terribly high on the fear factor (being blindsided while trying to escape and not being able to run for more than ten seconds without getting winded rated pretty high on the annoyance factor though). And yes; I insisted on only playing through at night to complement the excellent ambience and selective use of light.
Best reason to own an Xbox in 2010 so far, but not without flaws (mostly technical, due to hardware limitations).
