I was hoping for AW to really push the PS3 graphics kings to challenge PS3 developers to go one better. If these early quoted reviews are a reflection of how graphics will be described it doesn't look like my hopes will come true.

I don't think it's enough for the graphics competition to be within the PS3 exclusive developer community. Cross platform competition is the best motivator for continued improvement, not just for graphics but for overall game quality too.

Remedy have done amazing things with their lighting, if there was a lighting effects GOTY award AW would be the front runner for sure. And from the perspective of what the game needed graphics wise to create the right atmosphere, look and feel Remedy seem to have exceeded what they needed to achieve, by making sure the night lighting was outstandingly done.

I wonder if Remedy even consciously thought about trying to be overall graphics king (which would have been the wrong motivation IMO) or whether they remained focussed on delivering the visuals that were needed for the game to work as intended (i.e. perfect the lighting dynamic). I don't recall Remedy making expansive claims about being the Uncharted 2 graphics killer, so has it been a manufactured expectation on the part of overzealous fans?

But what if it really does turn out that 360 will never be able to touch PS3 exclusives for graphics, even with the Crytex engine? It will of course drive 360 exclusive developers to focus on other aspects of game quality, which at the end of the day would probably serve 360 gamers better. With 360 delivering innovative high quality gaming experiences. This would then flow through to Sony developers who would be forced to make sure overall game quality was continually improved, not just graphics.

alan wake hasnt got best grafix, its not even uncharted 1 level.

imo they should have spanned the game on 2 dvd`s to up the visuals.

but still a good game never the less. worth getting.

I don't believe Remedy ever saw this as being about graphics in those terms, as you imply.  I think it's a shame that the game is being dragged into some sort of battle for graphics king on consoles.  It looks good but I think the focus has been on evolving gameplay - from open world to more narrative driven - with very good graphics vs aiming as high as saw GoW3 or Uncharted 2.  I think it should also be remembered that Remedy are small and that, until fairly recently, this was actually a multi-platform title for 360/PC rather than being wholely tuned for 360.

Unfortunately, at least on this site, Selnor seems determined to push every 360 exclusive of note into an arena with big PS3 graphical exclusives, which takes the focus off what I think is the focus of the game.

@ binary solo

I don't share your concerns, IMO first parties will continue to investigate how to best push the PS3's capabilities. We see this with regard to massive online experiences (like MAG), Play & Create (like LittleBigPlanet), story telling (like Heavy Rain), visuals (like Uncharted 2), audio (like Killzone 2), epic boss battles (like God of War 3), etc, etc. Such trends will continue regardless of the XBox 360.

Actually for improving the quality and feature set of multi-platform games, it will probably be better for the PS3 if Microsoft launched a new XBox with more storage capacity, default harddrive and more processing cores.

Ironically various multi-plaform 360 games or games based on cross platform gaming engines look so far better than the games based on 360-only gaming engines.

I feel really bad for selnor right now, his prediction failed again. Now noone will ever take his best gfx thread seriously ever again... I just hope that he won't hurt himself over this, since he was so dead set on having the truth on his side for once.

All in line with my prediction, that Alan Wake while great looking game, won't take the "graphics" king title from the long line of PS3 exclusives (MGS4, KZ2, UC2, GoW3).

I hope you're not suggesting I think Remedy were dead set on being best graphics ever on console with Alan Wake. I said I don't recall Remedy saying any such thing. So what I was implying was that certain 360 fans were convinced this game would be the best graphics on console ever, and so they manufactured an expectation that neither developer nor publisher intended to claim.

Of course unless a game really does deliver on hyperbolic fan expectations all such claims end up doing is adding more fuel to the fanatic's fire. It gives one more bit of ammo for the fanatics on one console to shoot at the fanatics on the other console. The stupid thing is most of the fanatic ammo is self made and almost none of it really exists outside of their own little red vs. blue vs. green hyped up battlefield.

Next time someone makes an "OMG! best [insert game element that fanatics fight over here] ever!!1!1!!" they better have some strong non-fanatic evidence to back it up, or the game fanatics arms race will just continue to roll on. Though I must admit it is entertaining sometimes.

Oh it's started. Editing OP as needed.

IGN AU

8.5 Graphics
The world looks great, but other areas show their age, such as lackluster facial animations and the differences between cut scenes and in-game graphics.

1Up

If anything, Alan Wake reminds me of the first Uncharted. It is a great, but flawed work (hello ugly daylight, quirky animations, and a script that mocks the viewer even more than Lost or Twin Peaks) that lays the foundation for what could be an absolutely amazing follow-up. I just hope it doesn't take another five or six years.

Eurogamer

By comparison, Alan Wake is tired and derivative. Everything about it feels dated, from the linear level design to the red-green switch nonsense to the visual stylings (surely not even J Allard has attempted the hoodie-with-jacket combo since 2005). There are plenty of fancy cut-scenes, dramatic voiceovers and cinematic camera angles, but even when Alan Wake does a good job of pretending to be a film you just feel like you're watching a really bad film. That's particularly true when it comes to the ending - without spoiling anything, let's just say you're left thinking, "You mean I kick-started all those generators for that?"

All the same, there's a weekend's worth of fun here for action-adventure fans who aren't too bothered about innovative concepts and varied gameplay, and don't mind a lot of repetition. Alan Wake is an accessible, undemanding game with a neat combat mechanic and decent visuals. It's just not a very original game, it's certainly not an exceptional one, and it's a shame it wasn't ready a few years ago.

THE MICROSOFT MAGIC!!!!!!

*Very tenuous. The reviewer is saying an argument can be made, not definitive best graphics. This review does not claim best graphics, but best lighting. I can understand why you would want to use it but for me the current number of reviews still stand at 0.

@ Selnor

I see you updated the OP:

"there'd be an argument for this being one of the most visually striking games" equals "best graphics" claims?