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[Melchiah]

and yet David Lynch films have featured real world products. David Lynch has directed commercials, and David Lynch even directed THESE awesome commercials...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSNgGG7nHBc

so it's not okay to take money for product placement in your TV show, film or game, but it's totally fine to make an advert with all the cast of the TV show.

Yes. Product placement detracts the viewer/player from the experience. A separate commercial (which is made for Japanese audience) outside the show/movie/game doesn't ruin anyone's experience.

 

[Joei]

I'm really, really looking forward to this. This and SMG2 are going to make this an awesomely unbelievable month.

 

[plagiarize]

Yes. Product placement detracts the viewer/player from the experience.

that's a matter of opinion. would the 'Pabst Blue Ribbon' scene in Blue Velvet magically be shit all of a sudden if Lynch had received money from Pabst Blue Ribbon for it? of course not. the problem is when the product is featured rather than placed. James Bond has to drive a sports car... if a car company pays money to make it be their sports car and the car chases are still awesome and Bond isn't going on and on about how amazing BMWs or whatever are... what is detracted from the experience?

if EVERY electronics device is a Sony or an Apple or a HP and the camera keeps focussing on their logos, then yeah, that gets annoying.

product placement can be done well and can even make a game more believable. it can also be done horribly and detract from the experience. it isn't always one or the other. if Alan Wake spends too long looking at logos, i will complain too, as i already said.

A separate commercial (which is made for Japanese audience) outside the show/movie/game doesn't ruin anyone's experience.

the georgia coffee adverts can't ruin anything anywhere because they are awesome.

 

[eshwaaz]

It appears that the score was docked in the Game Trailers review for a lack of multiplayer.

Regardless of the actual score, this is a review trend in recent years that irritates me to no end and pretty much justifies my position that the single-player and multiplayer portions of a game should have completely separate reviews.

Any reviewer who detracts from the score of a single-player only game due to a lack of multiplayer (and vice-versa) should be fired or have his/her opinion considered to be invalid from that point on.

I could not agree more. Sometimes I feel like reviewers don't even stop to consider whether or not multiplayer would even make sense for the game they're reviewing. I didn't watch the GT review for fear of spoilers, but what kind of multiplayer would work in Alan Wake? Co-op would completely destroy the sense of isolation and dread that the game is built around. And who would be excited about Alan Wake deathmatch?

 

[onken]

Brad mentioned on the bombcast that "the game tears like a motherfucker"

EDIT: and I guess I should mention that he said he played it at home on a retail 360.

Arg, I hope this is an exaggeration, I can't stand tearing.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

I think this thread is becoming split between two groups of people those that were using the reviews as their barometer for picking the game up or not and those of us that saw the first trailer realized what Remedy was going for and just needed to know one thing. When is the release date?

 

[Omotesando]

I think this thread is becoming split between two groups of people those that were using the reviews as their barometer for picking the game up or not and those of us that saw the first trailer realized what Remedy was going for and just needed to know one thing. When is the release date?

I was of in the latter group, but now I am not picking this game up. I am not in the first group either though. Screen tearing, soft/blurry image and judging by some videos I have seen: lazy dialogue and stereotypical characters. The game is probably worth playing for the atmosphere alone though, but I'll be doing that on my neighbours Xbox.

 

[JoeBoy101]

BruceLeeRoy : Read Bag of Bones by Stephen King. Alan Wake sounds like the book at least on the surface. It's about a writer who after losing his wife, heads out to a lakehouse to try and put his life back together and finds dark secrets about the town and house he's in

Fixed.

EDIT: Oh, don't get me wrong. The Dark Half is a good book, but Bag of Bones is a much more similar, comparatively.

On the game, I think I'm going to wait and see GAF consensus. I saw some bad screen tearing on some of those videos and some of the sampled dialogue makes me cry. I'm still interested, but its firmly in the rental category until I hear from the board.

 

[plagiarize]

Co-op would completely destroy the sense of isolation and dread that the game is built around.

co-op horror games are awesome. the sense of dread comes from adding something massively unpredictable to the mix in another human being. Doom 3, RE5 and L4D et al... the number of times i'm left saying 'Hold up while I...' and my team don't hold up, and next thing I know death is raining down on me.

I never feel more alone than when I get left behind in L4D... but anyways I digress.

I do not want or need co-op in Alan Wake.

Spoiler

though I'd have totally played the shit out of it had it been in there

 

[Melchiah]

that's a matter of opinion. would the 'Pabst Blue Ribbon' scene in Blue Velvet magically be shit all of a sudden if Lynch had received money from Pabst Blue Ribbon for it? of course not. the problem is when the product is featured rather than placed. James Bond has to drive a sports car... if a car company pays money to make it be their sports car and the car chases are still awesome and Bond isn't going on and on about how amazing BMWs or whatever are... what is detracted from the experience?

if EVERY electronics device is a Sony or an Apple or a HP and the camera keeps focussing on their logos, then yeah, that gets annoying.

product placement can be done well and can even make a game more believable. it can also be done horribly and detract from the experience. it isn't always one or the other. if Alan Wake spends too long looking at logos, i will complain too, as i already said.

Those are prime examples of product placement killing the mood, and the illusion which the film/game tries to create.

Good examples of product placement would be those in the WipEout series, ie. the Red Bull ads at the side of the track. They fit the game's design, and don't detract from the experience.

 

[FrankT]

IGN video review;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWmLj0SN_hY&feature=youtu.be

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Fixed.

EDIT: Oh, don't get me wrong. The Dark Half is a good book, but Bag of Bones is a much more similar, comparatively.

On the game, I think I'm going to wait and see GAF consensus. I saw some bad screen tearing on some of those videos and some of the sampled dialogue makes me cry. I'm still interested, but its firmly in the rental category until I hear from the board.

These are great recommendations guys looks like I got my summer beach reading all lined up thanks

 

[nolookjones]

Dark half sounds fantastic. I'll start with that. When I was younger I loved watchers and lightning but all his recent stuff is so cliche

dark half is excellent...my personal fav is the gunslinger (dark tower series)...cant say ive read a recent stephen king book for years though...

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

dark half is excellend...my personal fav is the gunslinger series...cant say ive read a recent stephen king book for years though...

I just finished book 4 of the dark tower and wept like a damn little girl. My favorite book of the series so far

 

[jon bones]

i plan on getting it. i buy maybe two collectors editions a year. the last one i bought was RE5's... and I would have bought AvPs if it had been offered for the PC version. i didn't get the bioshock 2, halo 3, gta4 ones and i love those games.

whether i feel this one was was worth it or not will have a lot to do with the 'book' it comes in.

my feelings exactly - i've got the LE pre-ordered on amazon only because it looks like a book and comes with a book. i love books. hopefully the story is well-written and the fake-book-case looks really nice (gonna go on the bookshelf, not my video game shelf)

 

[Ben Pierce]

I really used to put a lot of weight into reviews when I was younger, but now, older and wiser than back then, I really don't care what someone has to say about a game. I want to experience it for myself and come to my own conclusion. That being said, the reviews are nothing but great for this game, and I can't wait. I've been ready for this game since '05. HOLY SHIT IT'S SOOO CLOSE

 

[sflufan]

I really used to put a lot of weight into reviews when I was younger, but now, older and wiser than back then, I really don't care what someone has to say about a game. I want to experience it for myself and come to my own conclusion. That being said, the reviews are nothing but great for this game, and I can't wait. I've been ready for this game since '05. HOLY SHIT IT'S SOOO CLOSE

Except in the age of $60 games, it's a somewhat costly approach to take to a hobby.

This is why the narrative of the review is VASTLY more important than the arbitrary (as evidenced by the Eurogamer review) score attached to the game. The narrative should be the part that informs your purchase decision.

 

[Mrbob]

Or you could go play Max Payne 1 or 2, decide if you like those games, and know what type of game Alan Wake is going to be.

I do agree with those saying people get too hung up on every game having to be AAA. Max Payne series games are not AAA experiences, but they are damn fun. Alan Wake looks to follow in the same mold. I think the console wars attempt to up the status of games higher than they should be. XBox fans are taking some heat right now because Sony first party efforts have been amazing over the past couple years and MS hasn't had the same run. So they use Alan Wake as a tentpole release in an attempt to fight back. Shame of it all is the damn console wars is the reason I can't be playing this game on PC all maxxed out. MS need exclusives to showcase the 360 over the PS3 and PC. It is terrible that MS now considers the PC a threat to the 360 business.

 

[Syriel]

The question for me is - is the tearing so bad, that it distracts from the story telling and immersion? Thx for clearing that up.

Did I notice tearing while playing?

Yes, but it was a mere handful of instances.

Did it detract from the immersion?

Not at all.

If you like the creepy, horror/thriller genre you're going to love it. If you just want to "blow some shit up," you'll want to look elsewhere.

 

[sgnhh]

Interesting Lynch tie-in here (to the first episode of Bright Falls), though I'm sure it's not purposely done. check out this PS2 commercial he directed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4tOvkvCvwQ

 

[scently]

All these argument are not useful. The game impresses much, much more than it disappoints.

I mean look at the reviews:http://forum.alanwake.com/showthread.php?t=3552

 

[ShogunX]

Except in the age of $60 games, it's a somewhat costly approach to take to a hobby.

This is why the narrative of the review is VASTLY more important than the arbitrary (as evidenced by the Eurogamer review) score attached to the game. The narrative should be the part that informs your purchase decision.

My problem is though it seems like in certain reviews Alan Wake is being criticised for not being original enough and in some parts repetitive yet time after time we see other games get a free pass for this. For a game like this people should be concentrating on what the game is instead of comparing it to other games in totally different setting and genres to describe what its not.

I watched the game being played for a short while this afternoon and lets just say anybody who enjoyed the strange unsettling atmosphere of Silent Hill 2 is going to love Alan Wake. There where seriously parts in the game that I haven't seen another console game do ever and lets just say the last game to use sound so well was Dead Space. The atmosphere is so thick you can practically touch it and I wish I could go on and describe a hell of a lot more but that might lead to an account suicide :lol .

 

[derFeef]

I love you Shogun, exactly what I like to hear. And yeah, I agree with you on your first point. Looks like Alan Wake is exactly what it wants to be and what remedy wanted it to be, and I did not expect something different either.

 

[EagleEyes]

How was the framerate and screen tearing Shogun? Was it real noticable or only an occasional thing? Thats the only thing that bugs me in a game is excessive tearing.

 

[Hammer24]

If you like the creepy, horror/thriller genre you're going to love it.

Thx, thats all I need to know. AitD was such a disappointment for me, as I constantly battled with the controls; and this in a game that was exactly up my alley.
Its so hard nowadays to find a game where the narrative is the strong suit. Especially one in the horror/thriller setting.

 

[Mrbob]

All these argument are not useful. The game impresses much, much more than it disappoints.

I mean look at the reviews:http://forum.alanwake.com/showthread.php?t=3552

I think this is just the nature of our times and again, one of the reasons why I don't put much stock into reviews anymore. The metacritic on this game looks like to be leveling out around the low 80s, and that is a disappointment? Seems like the bar has risen so high for AAA games that it needs to be a 95+ score on metacritic or its a failure.

Scrapping the PC version wasn't a good move. Every single technical deficiency in the 360 version is being magnfied now after that decision is done. Ultimately these wouldn't have been harped on as much if a PC version was still on track. Going from an open world to linear experience doesn't help either. I think a lot of the negativity towards Alan Wake is over what the game could have been versus what it is. For those of us following the game since inception it is tough to let go. Even for me, going from open world and pc to 360 and linear isn't easy to swallow. But I'll do it since I've loved Remedy games of the past.

 

[Rat Salad]

I think this is just the nature of our times and again, one of the reasons why I don't put much stock into reviews anymore. The metacritic on this game looks like to be leveling out around the low 80s, and that is a disappointment? Seems like the bar has risen so high for AAA games that it needs to be a 95+ score on metacritic or its a failure.

Scrapping the PC version wasn't a good move. Every single technical deficiency in the 360 version is being magnfied now after that decision is done. Ultimately these wouldn't have been harped on as much if a PC version was still on track. Going from an open world to linear experience doesn't help either. I think a lot of the negativity towards Alan Wake is over what the game could have been versus what it is. For those of us following the game since inception it is tough to let go. Even for me, going from open world and pc to 360 and linear isn't easy to swallow. But I'll do it since I've loved Remedy games of the past.

Just because PC fans are bitter doesn't mean the game isnt great though. The bottom line is you buy the hardware to play the games,and thats why this is exclusive. Sony fans and PC fans need to stop being so anal and go play their games.

 

[plagiarize]

I think this is just the nature of our times and again, one of the reasons why I don't put much stock into reviews anymore. The metacritic on this game looks like to be leveling out around the low 80s, and that is a disappointment? Seems like the bar has risen so high for AAA games that it needs to be a 95+ score on metacritic or its a failure.

Scrapping the PC version wasn't a good move. Every single technical deficiency in the 360 version is being magnfied now after that decision is done. Ultimately these wouldn't have been harped on as much if a PC version was still on track. Going from an open world to linear experience doesn't help either. I think a lot of the negativity towards Alan Wake is over what the game could have been versus what it is. For those of us following the game since inception it is tough to let go. Even for me, going from open world and pc to 360 and linear isn't easy to swallow. But I'll do it since I've loved Remedy games of the past.

i'm not sure how you'd make an open world horror game that doesn't lock you into linear levels for the scary bits. i'd love to see someone try, but it's going to be incredibly hard to do.

horror games tend to be more linear than most i think in no small part due to how difficult it is to build tension unless you have very fine control over the game environment and the pacing.

 

[Hammer24]

...going from open world ...to ...linear isn't easy to swallow..

I fully understand where you are coming from.
But how do you tell a tight, compelling story in an open world game? I think that change was for the better.
And yes, I´m crossing my fingers for the master race. If the game is as good as I hope, it should get in as many hands as possible.
<3 Remedy

 

[Mrbob]

Let me flip this on you though Rat Salad. Lets say Bungie announced today Halo Reach is going to be a pc exclusive. After all this time and build up on 360 (with previous Halo games on 360) you don't think there will be some built up outrage which would take a long time to dissipate? This is an extreme example but one which is a similar situation to what happened with Alan Wake. And I really don't think PS3 fans have much say in this matter. Dunno if they even care about the title. :lol

Come to think of it, starting July 27 PC gamers may not care anymore either.

 

[adamsapple]

All these argument are not useful. The game impresses much, much more than it disappoints.

I mean look at the reviews:http://forum.alanwake.com/showthread.php?t=3552

Nice

playing dead rising extensively has rendered me immune to tearing anyway, so I guess that won't be an issue

 

[scently]

I think this is just the nature of our times and again, one of the reasons why I don't put much stock into reviews anymore. The metacritic on this game looks like to be leveling out around the low 80s, and that is a disappointment? Seems like the bar has risen so high for AAA games that it needs to be a 95+ score on metacritic or its a failure.

Scrapping the PC version wasn't a good move. Every single technical deficiency in the 360 version is being magnfied now after that decision is done. Ultimately these wouldn't have been harped on as much if a PC version was still on track. Going from an open world to linear experience doesn't help either. I think a lot of the negativity towards Alan Wake is over what the game could have been versus what it is. For those of us following the game since inception it is tough to let go. Even for me, going from open world and pc to 360 and linear isn't easy to swallow. But I'll do it since I've loved Remedy games of the past.

My post has nothing to do with the game being an exclusive.

But rather if you look at the reviews on that page, there are a LOT more positives i.e. 10s,9s, than there are 8s or below.

Bottom line is, the game is really good, just because somebody doesn't like it does not mean his or her opinion is supreme.

And also, most of the reviews state that the game is really good looking with some of the best, if not THE best lighting on consoles, and the videos proves their point.

 

[Mrbob]

I guess we are in agreement then friend since my comments were meant to suppliment your post!

 

[DeadGzuz]

http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1427422&postcount=634

nightshade's (B3D) impressions:

Excellent Game ! I know I said I won't be playing it while I wait for my LE to arrive, but seriously the game so good & gripping that I couldn't resist...and I played 2 episodes straight away (took me 2.5 hours). The writing is really great in this game & so is the sound design/music, really gives me the creeps. While the voice acting may not be as good as other games but its convincing enough. The best part of the game are the environments they are sooooooo well done that you're just going to get sucked into the game & loose track of time just because you always want to see more & more....kudos to Remedy for getting this part spot on !

The Gameplay is good but the combat is kind of clunky imo, I started on Hard & I found some places very difficult. The game hints you in loading screens that you should just run away if you are way outnumbered but the problem is my character couldn't run for more than 10 meters & these enemies can teleport & seem to have unlimited supplies of axes to throw. Ammo supply is "just right" so any wastage means you will fall short of ammo & special items like flare gun & flares are pretty scarce for now, but atleast the game makes sure to give you plenty of batteries for your flashlight. The driving sequence is, well....laughable.


Now on to the visuals....first off, the game is a nice looker overall & the subHD resolution doesn't seem to effect it "that" much ; aliasing is surprisingly quite minimal here, shader aliasing & some aliasing on edges covered with fog/mist were probably the only cases where its obviously noticeable. Lightning,Fog & mist are great and lastly interactive foliage ! finally a console game where interactive foliage is done right. The animations for movements & facial expressions are okay at best. I must stress that the game looks extremely nice in the night sequences, switch to day sequences & the cover's blown....daytime sequences are easily the area that gets affected the most due to the low resolution.

That said the textures are really low res & specularity on metals is quite off...almost makes them look plastic.Light volumes have noisy edges, shadowing while not jagged are still poor with dithering & lots of noise/flickering and they also seem to have their LOD switch occur as soon as the player move just 3 meters from them. One thing that I'd like to mention about the lighting here is that the light volumetric are really odd in this game, most of them don't seem to create any kind of shafts if you try to block it partially with objects in environments or your playing character, till now I've seen just 1 light source in total that created shafts when I tried to partially block it.


All in all an awesome game the blurry visuals will bother you for 10 minutes or so but after that you'll be so much into the game that you'll totally forget about it.
I just can't wait for my Limited Edition to arrive ! Thanks Remedy, I am a happy customer


P.S.[About the tearing, the game seems to tear even in places where there's nothing going on...I've seen it tear madly when I drop a flare or if I have a "healing" light source in front of me]

 

[pr0cs]

Scrapping the PC version wasn't a good move. Every single technical deficiency in the 360 version is being magnfied now after that decision is done. .

None of the negative comments I've read thus far (the ones that seem to be influencing the review scores) have had anything to do with the game being moved to 360 exclusivity.
Most of the complaints have been centered around some of the goofy story/character elements which would have been identical if it was on PC.

 

[Mrbob]

Well that might be partially my fault for absorbing this entire thread in one shot today. :lol I went through a couple pages of technical merit battles back on like pages 7 through 10.

 

[Always-honest]

what's the deal with lightNing and lighting?... it's like ask and aks......

 

[derFeef]

what's the deal with lightNing and lighting?... it's like ask and aks......

english and non-english posters? I mixed them too some time ago until someone struck me with lightning that it should be called lighting.

 

[wizword]

english and non-english posters? I mixed them too some time ago until someone struck me with lightning that it should be called lighting.

It has more to do with how your brain reads. It basically fills in the letters and you really read only a couple letters. The main reason why people have problem with their and there, etc.

“Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.”

 

[Always-honest]

english and non-english posters? I mixed them too some time ago until someone struck me with lightning that it should be called lighting.

fair enough. but i stumble upon it so many times lately that i was beginning to doubt myself
(english isn't my native language either.)

 

[Inanna]

On the game, I think I'm going to wait and see GAF consensus. I saw some bad screen tearing on some of those videos and some of the sampled dialogue makes me cry. I'm still interested, but its firmly in the rental category until I hear from the board.

We've still got a long way until game's can have professional writing in it. Heavy Rain had the same problem with some of the dialogues, didn't stop people from playing and enjoying the game, though. But with Alan Wake, you should play it just for the gameplay only! Who cares about occasional bad dialogues? It's a game not a movie. You don't even know if it's that bad!!

 

[Macarello]

Is there any truth to the whole coming out in Europe tomorrow thing? Because I would very much like that to be true. Having Alan Wake this week would be OMGYESSSS.

 

[Pistolero]

I just finished book 4 of the dark tower and wept like a damn little girl. My favorite book of the series so far

The one where Roland's heart gets broken...My favorite as well. When the Pistolero finishes telling his story, your perception of him changes completely (and so does Eddie's!).

 

[eznark]

I do agree with those saying people get too hung up on every game having to be AAA.

As long as consoles have pseudo-fixed pricing, every 360/ps3 game I buy new will have to be excellent or something specific to my likes. Darkest of Days 2 day one baby!

 

[theRizzle]

I just finished book 4 of the dark tower and wept like a damn little girl. My favorite book of the series so far

Crazy. That book was the only book that I have ever read that affected me so strongly. I also wept like a little girl when I first read it.

If you haven't finished the series yet, one of the last three books is excellent, one is pretty good and the other is easily the worst of the 7. But I won't say which.

Also, check out the audiobooks if you get the chance. The guy who reads books 1 - 4 is unnervingly good.

 

[AgentOtaku]

I was of in the latter group, but now I am not picking this game up. I am not in the first group either though. Screen tearing, soft/blurry image and judging by some videos I have seen: lazy dialogue and stereotypical characters. The game is probably worth playing for the atmosphere alone though, but I'll be doing that on my neighbours Xbox.

Honestly, after reading the Eurogamer review ...well, lets just say I think it echoed what I was really honestly feeling inside, but just didn't admit to myself and preordered anyway.

...I dunno, I'll see if I can get excited again in the coming weeks but shit, Red Dead IS coming out the same day =/

 

[whatevermort]

If you haven't finished the series yet, one of the last three books is excellent, one is pretty good and the other is easily the worst of the 7. But I won't say which.

No! Say which! Because I felt the same, but I've been told by people that I am insane - I don't think it's a universal thing. (I disliked

Spoiler

6

most.)

 

[theRizzle]

No! Say which! Because I felt the same, but I've been told by people that I am insane - I don't think it's a universal thing. (I disliked

Spoiler

6

most.)

Completely agree. Ask me anything about that book. I literally could not tell you any of the details except the title. I just totally glossed over it when I read it. I've read every other book at least 5 times but I've only read that one twice, and I didn't like it any more the second time through.

 

[Dries]

All these argument are not useful. The game impresses much, much more than it disappoints.

I mean look at the reviews:http://forum.alanwake.com/showthread.php?t=3552

Motherfucking this.

Seriously, people are cancelling pre-orders because of these scores? Oh dear :lol

 

[bloodforge]

I see a 6.8 in there. That is an unacceptable!

Pre-order cancelled.