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[wizword]

My King reading is very sporadic. I've read many of his books, but for some reason never got to The Stand. I'm currently 2/3 through it and loving it.

I've never read Stephen King but hate his movies. Are they a bad representation of his books. I feel like they are a little cliche and pop art. I should start though which book should be the first I read?

 

[onken]

Well I'm not really going by what "everyone" said. Epic were pretty adamant there was not going to be a PC version of Gears 2, while the PR from Remedy has been considerably more open to the possibilities of a PC version even though that's not the current climate of development. AW was a PC game for ~4 years of development.

Well I hope you're right, it just seems MS is shunning the PC market more and more these days.

 

[pr0cs]

I've never read Stephen King but hate his movies. Are they a bad representation of his books. I feel like they are a little cliche and pop art. I should start though which book should be the first I read?

Well Shawshank Redemption was a good interpretation of his work but in general most of his book->movies haven't been good.

I really liked the "Bachman books" stories. Short but pretty good. Some would have made for great movies IMO, Roadwork especially. (Bachman books has the original Running Man story as well)

 

[whatevermort]

I've never read Stephen King but hate his movies. Are they a bad representation of his books. I feel like they are a little cliche and pop art. I should start though which book should be the first I read?

They're a terrible representation. The Shining is the best film, but it's actually not much like the book at all. Do you like horror? Start with It, or The Dark Half, or The Shining, or Needful Things. Do you like Sci-fi? Start with The Stand, or Insomnia, or Tommyknockers. Fantasy? Start with The Dark Tower Book 1. Not really like genre fiction? Try Different Seasons (which has the short story that inspired Shawshank, as well as The Apt Pupil).

 

[wizword]

They're a terrible representation. The Shining is the best film, but it's actually not much like the book at all. Do you like horror? Start with It, or The Dark Half, or The Shining, or Needful Things. Do you like Sci-fi? Start with The Stand, or Insomnia, or Tommyknockers. Fantasy? Start with The Dark Tower Book 1. Not really like genre fiction? Try Different Seasons (which has the short story that inspired Shawshank, as well as The Apt Pupil).

Ok probably going to start off with the stand.

 

[Lord Error]

Am I too late to congratulate Bruce on another thread well done? Hope not I've been down on my gaming time lately, even reading GAF. Anyways, IGN's video review of AW looked really nice. I liked that they showed a bit more than what I've seen so far, but not too much. From other reviews, game's pluses and minuses are about what I've expected. Still it's nice to see so much confirmation that they didn't pull any punches on making great atmosphere.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Her argument here is that most of the best aspects of the game are not perfectly executed. This reflects her forming the conclusion that the game is enjoyable enough but not great and giving it a score that reflects that.

I mean, if someone says "boy, Alan Wake looks great but the daytime sequences look awful" and then in their conclusion says "Alan Wake is a really great looking game" or alternatively "Alan Wake is an uneven looking game", there's no secret conspiracy there. It's possible to introduce a positive, mute it with criticism, and still come out positive on the whole. It's also possible to introduce a positive, mute it with criticism, and still come out negative on the whole.

Well IMO both of those positive points, come as negative as a whole in the end.

What is clearly to me, it was a pretty awful review,if she wanted to express what she said in their conclusions, she did a pretty bad job, it never sounds like she had an "enjoyable experience" when almost the entire review is a negative, in an awfully cheecky/mock tone, dissection of every aspect of the game, with only two strong points as positive, but either came as positive or negative overally speaking both of them sound very flawed.

 

[beelzebozo]

They're a terrible representation. The Shining is the best film, but it's actually not much like the book at all. Do you like horror? Start with It, or The Dark Half, or The Shining, or Needful Things. Do you like Sci-fi? Start with The Stand, or Insomnia, or Tommyknockers. Fantasy? Start with The Dark Tower Book 1. Not really like genre fiction? Try Different Seasons (which has the short story that inspired Shawshank, as well as The Apt Pupil).

THE SHINING miniseries from 97 is a pretty good representation of the book. it's not perfect, but it's much closer than the older version.

see my post here for details.

 

[mentalfloss]

Apparantly, an editor at xboxextreme has taken issue with the Eurogamer score:

... we advise all of you to ignore the desperate-for-attention, we're-going-to-prove-our-elite-status so-called "review" from Eurogamer that has the entire Internet talking.

Like it or not, opinions exist on a sliding scale, and we're not saying everyone is going to enjoy Alan Wake, but this review is akin to saying something similar about "The Godfather II" or "Citizen Kane." We all know that Remedy's title is one of the best third person survival shooters ever made; anyone who knows this industry and has a functioning brain will admit to this. They may not like it, but they will admit to its quality. This is what good reviewers do.

They don't lie to the consumer to get some sort of underground "elite cred." I don't care what your system is for reviewing games; if you're scoring on a scale of 1 - 10, there's no way on earth Alan Wake gets a 7 in direct comparison to the other products on store shelves. I'm sorry, it just doesn't.

So, there you have it.

Spoiler

The game is awesome

 

[plagiarize]

THE SHINING miniseries from 97 is a pretty good representation of the book. it's not perfect, but it's much closer than the older version.

see my post here for details.

and it's nowhere near as good as Kubrick's version.

that xboxextreme bullshit above is incredibly offensive.

we're not saying everyone is going to enjoy Alan Wake, but this review is akin to saying something similar about "The Godfather II" or "Citizen Kane." We all know that Remedy's title is one of the best third person survival shooters ever made

huh?

 

[shinnn]

Why the fuck do you guys care so much about the eurogamer review? I mean the only way to discredit her opinion was stating she was a girl and can't review this game because she likes casual games more than action adventure games? This is crazy. I don't want this to go any further because I really started it by saying her review was great (which it is) and she was the only person and reviewer to dissect the game piece by piece instead of basically giving the same synopsis that every other reviewer wrote (which I honestly don't like because it is just bullet points). On a side note, the review doesn't matter. If you didn't like the review than fine. But all this bullshit about how she is unqualified because she is a girl is absurd.

The game is still on a pre-order and I am going to buy. Because I enjoy these types of games. Elle was critical of the game and gave me information I wanted to know about the game. This is what a review is meant to achieve.

I think that are so much stupid comments in that review. Like the complaining about Alan Wake "jump", or the sprint limit. The guy is a writer, not a hero. Remedy said that a lot of times to journalists and you don't need to be so hardcore gamer to realize that.

She start the review already downplaying the game about the story. Like how stupid is take a vacation to Bright Falls instead of Rio. Alan shoud take a hotel instead of a cabin, since Alice is afraid of darkness. How the thermo cofee's are shiny, bright, and of course BLUE.. it ruins the game atmosphere... wow

great review? you've to be kidding :lol

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Apparantly, an editor at xboxextreme has taken issue with the Eurogamer score:



So, there you have it.

Spoiler

The game is awesome

That's bullshit, if she didn't liked the game she's free to give it the score she thinks it deserves.

And comparing Alan Wake with "Citizen Kane"?...OK.

 

[JoeBoy101]

I've never read Stephen King but hate his movies. Are they a bad representation of his books. I feel like they are a little cliche and pop art. I should start though which book should be the first I read?

Very few movies based on his books have been good, whereas the books have been great. The only common problem King has with his books (and apparently his son doesn't have ) is ending his stories. Anyways, good Stephen King movies:

Shawshank Redemption (Based off Short Story)
Delores Claiborne
Stand by Me (Based off Short Story)
The Mist - Arguably Good (Based off Short Story)
The Green Mile - Arguably Good
The Lawnmower Man - I liked it haters (Based off Short Story)
The Dead Zone
Christine

Catching the theme? When he is engaging in drama or doing short stories, they translate well.

As to good books, The Stand is his best. I'd say The Shining is second (Kubrick's version is only slightly like it, despite being awesome), and Pet Semetary the third (ignore the movie on this one, it cheapens it tremendously).

 

[dragonfart28]

That's bullshit, if she didn't liked the game she's free to give it the score she thinks it deserves.

And comparing Alan Wake with "Citizen Kane"?...OK.

I know.. it's absolutely unreal.

 

[plagiarize]

Very few movies based on his books have been good, whereas the books have been great. The only common problem King has with his books (and apparently his son doesn't have ) is ending his stories. Anyways, good Stephen King movies:

Shawshank Redemption (Based off Short Story)
Delores Claiborne
Stand by Me (Based off Short Story)
The Mist - Arguably Good (Based off Short Story)
The Green Mile - Arguably Good
The Lawnmower Man - I liked it haters (Based off Short Story)
The Dead Zone
Christine

Catching the theme? When he is engaging in drama or doing short stories, they translate well.

As to good books, The Stand is his best. I'd say The Shining is second (Kubrick's version is only slightly like it, despite being awesome), and Pet Semetary the third (ignore the movie on this one, it cheapens it tremendously).

Misery?

 

[Kittonwy]

Apparantly, an editor at xboxextreme has taken issue with the Eurogamer score:



So, there you have it.

Spoiler

The game is awesome

It's not like Eurogamer gave Alan Wake a 5 when every other site is giving it a 10, lol @ the comparison to Godfather II and Citizen Kane. So what if the game isn't getting 90+ universal acclaim? Not every game can. It's still a good game, right?

 

[chubigans]

Apparantly, an editor at xboxextreme has taken issue with the Eurogamer score:



So, there you have it.

Spoiler

The game is awesome

Linkage?

 

[Widge]

When she openly states she doesn't care for cinematic games. Then goes on mock games like Gears and Resident Evil.

She actually namechecks Bioshock, Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rain as examples of cinematic story led gaming done right. FEEL FREE TO BYPASS THAT INFO THOUGH.

Nice comment from TomEG on his twitter:

tombramwell

Playing Alan Wake. So far the need to have testicles that I keep reading about has been understated.

 

[IzzyF3]

This game should've been called Alone in the Dark.

 

[Lord Error]

I always like to get Chicks opinion on shooters, since it generally takes a ton to impress him.

Isn't that the guy who absolutely loved first Uncharted, to the point of raving about it, and then didn't like the second one? He's a strange case that one.

 

[ACE 1991]

Hmm, I was originally super stoked about this game given that it's writing/narrative turns out to be as strong as Remedy is touting it to be... A lot of reviews are calling the story corny, self-aware, and silly. I'm not sure I'll be buying this now. I was really hoping for a serious and mature psychological thriller.

 

[whatevermort]

The Mist - Arguably Good (Based off Short Story)

Loved this film. Thought it was really well done, very tense, and beautifully made. (It used the same crew as The Shield TV show, and it really shows; the fact that Darabont is using the crew again for the Walking Dead tv show makes me quiver a bit, seriously.)

 

[theRizzle]

Shawshank Redemption (Based off Short Story)
Delores Claiborne
Stand by Me (Based off Short Story)
The Mist - Arguably Good (Based off Short Story)
The Green Mile - Arguably Good
The Lawnmower Man - I liked it haters (Based off Short Story)
The Dead Zone
Christine

There are some I'd argue belong on that list, but I understand not everyone would put them there, like:

The Running Man
Salem's Lot (TV Miniseries)
Children Of The Corn
Hearts In Atlantis (although it's fairly different from the story)

The Long Walk is my absolute favorite work of his, and being that it's a short story, doesn't require a large commitment to finish. I have also really enjoyed many of his newer books like From A Buick 8, Duma Key, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and Cell.

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

Loved this film. Thought it was really well done, very tense, and beautifully made. (It used the same crew as The Shield TV show, and it really shows; the fact that Darabont is using the crew again for the Walking Dead tv show makes me quiver a bit, seriously.)

Darabont also gets credit for the revised ending which King himself wishes he had thought of when writing the novella.

 

[wizword]

Eh, totally forgot about shawshank redemption. Such a fantastic film. Perfect film imo.

 

[Strummerjones]

We all know that Remedy's title is one of the best third person survival shooters ever made; anyone who knows this industry and has a functioning brain will admit to this. They may not like it, but they will admit to its quality. This is what good reviewers do.

They don't lie to the consumer to get some sort of underground "elite cred." I don't care what your system is for reviewing games; if you're scoring on a scale of 1 - 10, there's no way on earth Alan Wake gets a 7 in direct comparison to the other products on store shelves. I'm sorry, it just doesn't.

This guy gets it. You don't even need to play a game to know it's good, the fact huge amounts of money have been spent to promote it makes this self-evident. If someone disagrees, you shouldn't ignore it, you should crush them like a fucking bug. These fucks are disrupting the gravy train!

Don't you want to be part of the industry Ellie Gibson? Selling the uncritical kids their idiot-films? Every time you say what you really think you fuck it up for everyone! Little Johnny here is fucking crying, because you said that his scary film-game with its oscar winning dialogue and plot that he hasn't even played yet was pretty good! Opinions exist on a sliding scale Ellie. In future I suggest you choose the correct one, or you're finished in this town!

 

[whatevermort]

The Long Walk is my absolute favorite work of his, and being that it's a short story, doesn't require a large commitment to finish.

The Long Walk is easily his best work, yeah. It's just one of the most perfect narratives ever written. I teach Creative Writing at a University, and it's one of the key texts I tell students to read as an example of how to write an incredible narrative that uses nothing more than a handful of great characters and a really, really basic scenario. It isn't the biggest or showiest of his works, but it's perfectly written.

 

[beelzebozo]

and it's nowhere near as good as Kubrick's version.

you're right

Spoiler

it's far better

The Long Walk is easily his best work, yeah. It's just one of the most perfect narratives ever written. I teach Creative Writing at a University, and it's one of the key texts I tell students to read as an example of how to write an incredible narrative that uses nothing more than a handful of great characters and a really, really basic scenario. It isn't the biggest or showiest of his works, but it's perfectly written.

definitely agree. disturbing shit. i read it over ten years ago in the seventh grade, but i still remember the skinny kid who eats nothing but pb&j.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Misery?

Ehhh, okay, I'll grant that one as well. But the book is substantially better than the movie. The movie is good, just not as good.

 

[marathonfool]

So is this game confirmed to be 90% shooting? Just wondering how much puzzle solving and exploration is part of the game.

 

[soco]

So is this game confirmed to be 90% shooting? Just wondering how much puzzle solving and exploration is part of the game.

supposedly there's enough exploration and optional stuff to take up 5-6 hours of additional time.

i don't think there's much in the way of puzzles, though.

 

[plagiarize]

Ehhh, okay, I'll grant that one as well. But the book is substantially better than the movie. The movie is good, just not as good.

i prefer the events in the film... though overall i think the book is a better book than the film is a film. just that if the film had been truer to the book it wouldn't have been as good, cause a lot of what makes the book good is stuff you can't depict so easily on film.

if that makes sense.

Spoiler

the lawnmower death would be tonally ridiculous in a film, and the hobbling is way more visually scary than a dismemberment would have been. plus i like the ending of the film better too with him killing Misery rather than her randomly dying from an accidental injury sustained during the fight.

if you think the Shining mini series is better than Kubrick's film, that's an opinion i really struggle to understand. you might prefer the story in the mini series i suppose, but there's really no question that the performances and craft of Kubrick's film are far far better.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

So is this game confirmed to be 90% shooting? Just wondering how much puzzle solving and exploration is part of the game.

Few reviews mention that majority (if not all) of puzzles are all about switching levers, so the red light turns green.

 

[JoeBoy101]

if you think the Shining mini series is better than Kubrick's film, that's an opinion i really struggle to understand. you might prefer the story in the mini series i suppose, but there's really no question that the performance and craft of Kubrick's film are far far better.

Oh, no no no. I love Kubrick's movie, but appreciate outside of King's book which is also fantastic. They aren't fundamentally different, but are divergent in many areas, and at times, radically.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Shawshank Redemption (Based off Short Story)
Delores Claiborne
Stand by Me (Based off Short Story)
The Mist - Arguably Good (Based off Short Story)
The Green Mile - Arguably Good
The Lawnmower Man - I liked it haters (Based off Short Story)
The Dead Zone
Christine

I thought 1408 was done extremely well based of his short story also.

 

[theRizzle]

For those who already have the game, is there an opening cinematic before the title screen, or does it dump you straight to a menu when you boot the game?

 

[FoolsRun]

and it's nowhere near as good as Kubrick's version.

Interesting. I didn't like Kubrick's interpretation at all. Wendy came across as a useless putz, Halloran served no meaningful purpose, and Danny was so annoying I kept wishing he would just die.

I agree the made-for-TV version had issues, and I thought they got a little preachy with the alcoholism angle, but I enjoyed it much better than the original.

In any case, the book far surpasses both movies.

 

[Rat Salad]

It's not like Eurogamer gave Alan Wake a 5 when every other site is giving it a 10, lol @ the comparison to Godfather II and Citizen Kane. So what if the game isn't getting 90+ universal acclaim? Not every game can. It's still a good game, right?

Why don't you go buy an XBox 360 and find out?

 

[beast786]

Why don't you go buy an XBox 360 and find out?

I am sure you can help him. Since you finsihed the game already.

 

[Castle Doctrine]

I don't think Ellie Gibson was the right choice of reviewers for this game, not because she's a girl (back off White Knights), but because this is a big title and Ellie I think is snarkier than the other snarkies at Eurogamer and the review had too much snarky. I enjoy Eurogamer's sense of humor but maybe this wasn't good time.

 

[Xpliskin]

Don't know what everyone is talking about.
Got tired of reading the unfounded criticism.
I've almost completed this game.


The tech behind this game is jaw-dropping. What did you guys smoke ?
No other game in the market has this kind of atmosphere. The fog, the moving trees, the lighting,.... you have to see it.

The tearing happens 0.00001% of the time, I don't even remember it happening except maybe in the first level. It never happens. The framerate never drops, even with A LOT happening on the screen..

For the remedy and max payne 2 fans out there, it's got the same vibe and touch story and level design wise. Coming from someone who's completed max payne 2 more than once.
If you've loved Lords and Ladies, Dick Justice, all the nice little touches in max payne 2 you'll love this. It's immersive.

This game is something new. A new type of horror game. The devs merit kudos and praise for trying to create a new experience.

Even if you may not like the story, the sheer amount of detail and the gorgeous tech alone should secure a buy.


This game is awesome.

I hope they release a demo. It'll drastically boost sales. You have to play it.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Don't know what everyone is talking about.
Got tired of reading the unfounded criticism.
I've almost completed this game.


The tech behind this game is jaw-dropping. What did you guys smoke ?
No other game in the market has this kind of atmosphere. The fog, the moving trees, the lighting,.... you have to see it.

The tearing happens 0.00001% of the time, I don't even remember it happening except maybe in the first level. It never happens. The framerate never drops, even with A LOT happening on the screen..

For the remedy and max payne 2 fans out there, it's got the same vibe and touch story and level design wise. Coming from someone who's completed max payne 2 more than once.
If you've loved Lords and Ladies, Dick Justice, all the nice little touches in max payne 2 you'll love this. It's immersive.

This game is something new. A new type of horror game. The devs merit kudos and praise for trying to create a new experience.

Even if you may not like the story, the sheer amount of detail and the gorgeous tech alone should secure a buy.


This game is awesome.

I hope they release a demo. It'll drastically boost sales. You have to play it.

Great impressions. Thanks man.

 

[ColR100]

Any chance you can keep the OP updated with review scores at all, Grandmaster of Official Threads?

Or at least pick pick a few choice ones that cover the range of review scores like in most first posts covering big titles.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Any chance you can keep the OP updated with review scores at all, Grandmaster of Official Threads?

I typically just link to Metacritic but if you guys want I can add them. Has anyone totaled them up?

 

[ColR100]

I typically just link to Metacritic but if you guys want I can add them. Has anyone totaled them up?

Sorry, I didn't mean to be all pedantic about it.

Just I was reading the thread on my phone last night and previously had never taken in any info on the game at all. Great OP still, I tip my hat.

Suppose just leave it unless anyone else asks.

 

[EagleEyes]

Don't know what everyone is talking about.
Got tired of reading the unfounded criticism.
I've almost completed this game.


The tech behind this game is jaw-dropping. What did you guys smoke ?
No other game in the market has this kind of atmosphere. The fog, the moving trees, the lighting,.... you have to see it.

The tearing happens 0.00001% of the time, I don't even remember it happening except maybe in the first level. It never happens. The framerate never drops, even with A LOT happening on the screen..

For the remedy and max payne 2 fans out there, it's got the same vibe and touch story and level design wise. Coming from someone who's completed max payne 2 more than once.
If you've loved Lords and Ladies, Dick Justice, all the nice little touches in max payne 2 you'll love this. It's immersive.

This game is something new. A new type of horror game. The devs merit kudos and praise for trying to create a new experience.

Even if you may not like the story, the sheer amount of detail and the gorgeous tech alone should secure a buy.


This game is awesome.

I hope they release a demo. It'll drastically boost sales. You have to play it.

Sounds like you really enjoyed it. I can't wait till the 18th. Are you a person that normally sees screen tearing in other games? Thats one of the few things that really bothers me in games.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Sorry, I didn't mean to be all pedantic about it.

Just I was reading the thread on my phone last night and previously had never taken in any info on the game at all. Great OP still, I tip my hat.

Suppose just leave it unless anyone else asks.

I didn't think you were being pedantic at all. If it will help people out I have no problem posting them.

 

[Remf]

one other Steven King book turned movie people are forgetting about.

The Princess Bride

he wrote it for his daughter because she hated all of his other books....She hated that one too ;P


......As you wish.....

 

[FrankT]

Don't know what everyone is talking about.
Got tired of reading the unfounded criticism.
I've almost completed this game.


The tech behind this game is jaw-dropping. What did you guys smoke ?
No other game in the market has this kind of atmosphere. The fog, the moving trees, the lighting,.... you have to see it.

The tearing happens 0.00001% of the time, I don't even remember it happening except maybe in the first level. It never happens. The framerate never drops, even with A LOT happening on the screen..

For the remedy and max payne 2 fans out there, it's got the same vibe and touch story and level design wise. Coming from someone who's completed max payne 2 more than once.
If you've loved Lords and Ladies, Dick Justice, all the nice little touches in max payne 2 you'll love this. It's immersive.

This game is something new. A new type of horror game. The devs merit kudos and praise for trying to create a new experience.

Even if you may not like the story, the sheer amount of detail and the gorgeous tech alone should secure a buy.


This game is awesome.

I hope they release a demo. It'll drastically boost sales. You have to play it.

Nice impressions and still can't wait.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

I typically just link to Metacritic but if you guys want I can add them. Has anyone totaled them up?

The official forums seem to have a rather thorough list, maybe linking to it would be enough?