Once again not a lot of content but 93 is good. I hope that's the final meta but that's expectiing a lot. It's the 18th for release this side of the pond I think. I see some of you saying 14th but that's the UK contingent? Should have no trouble getting a full tourney for this one Seece. Only fair we get the handicap for a change. Sixteen hours sounds pretty good as well.

AusGamers was recently invited out to Microsoft HQ in Sydney, where we went hands-on with Alan Wake, and also had time with Remedy's Matias Myllyrinne to talk about the art of crafting a thriller in videogame form. Matias is managing director of Remedy.

".......the game environment is quite rich with many interactive elements and character interactions that serve to build up the lore and intrigue early on. Stumble upon a television and turn it on and you'll find a tasty little homage to The Twilight Zone featuring an entire episode of this fictional show. The game is linear, but at no time really feels forced. It needs direction as the story unfolds strategically, and generates genuine interest in the exploits of Mr Wake.

This feels as it is described, a thriller. A wonderful presentation in the form of a television series, with an opening, an ending, and as Matias describes in the following interview a "coming next episode..." style sequence. It's a presentation unseen in a game and works. When we say TV series, don't think of Lost, or Heroes, it deliberately retains the episodic style of early 90s television, whilst pertaining a timeless essence..."

BTW its not a review but worth reading to gauge what we can expect from reviewers

http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/2889669

Fantastic score!

This game looks fantastic and has me interested.

I own a 360 but won't be buying this game unless it was on PS3. I have become a trophy junkie. I will however be renting it.

Let me tell you, I am 100% jealous that this is 360 only. I hope all you 360 fans enjoy the shit out of this game.

Great news! I just traded in some games on Amazon so I will be getting this with release date delivery.

very very nice. can't be a day 1 for me 'cause i'm going to be in china for a few weeks but i definitely intend to pick this up later.

Wow, it HAS to be awesome.  Goes-to-11 gave it a 10/10!  AWESOME!

http://goes-to-11.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-alan-wake.html

It will break all sales records of post-prerelease sales before the title is released!

Sounds nice as expected... I still have a thin sliver of hope that it will eventually make its way to PC, so I'm going to avoid reading too many details.

BTW, a user on N4G forums translated part of the review scans, you might want to include the scoring details:

-Some NPC seem to be hiding something and some are really creepy. We need to explore the whole town and forest to find all the book pieces , and collectible objects.

-Story is spread in episodes and each one will give a twist to the main theme like "Lost" wich leave us glued to the game.

- At the begining of each episode we will see a brief of the previous chapters , the game has a movie feeling from the sound, dialogues, the characters, the story to the terrifying atmosphere.

-There scenaries are full of detail and are really big , even on indoors ,and stores there is a lot of detail , the forests have trees and plants that moves with the wind, the lights are also stunning from the sun on the day to the flashlight on the night or dark places.
We can for example illuminate the inside of a house from the outside.

-The character models are pretty detailed but they need a bit more of detail on the expressions.

-Is an exellent survival horror game , it mixes the best of Silent Hill with a really fun combat and detailed characters.

-The best:
The story: awesome ambient and script.
The Combat: great use of light and lots of variety.

-The Worst
Lenght:is pretty short we would like the game to last longer.The game is about 10 hours.
Facial Expression: the facial expression is not at the same level as the game intensity.

-Graphics (92):Ambience, light and weather effects are awesome
-Sound (94): very good soundtrack but the sound effects are really excellent.
-Lenght (82): with no doubt this is the Achilles Heel of the game (10 hours) with low replayability.
-Fun (93): the story pace , the combat and the dialog will keep you glued from start to finish.

-Score: 93

Why are they posting the review at least a week and a bit before the embargo?

Also, I was about to say (but forgot), we dont atually know anything about them to be frank. Its kinda fishy they have posted their review lieterally 10-12 days before the embargo, and the fact that gamerankings/metacritic.com dont include them in their rankings is something to note. Wait till eurogamer/gametrailers/ign/gamespot etc give out their reviews before celebrating at 93

u call this review??

anyway im waiting for more trusted reviews