Support NeoGAF

[TheLegendary]

Motherfucker trying to steal my shine with those pretty charts.

I decided to run a regression to determine a reviewer's score for Alan Wake. This is clearly a complex issue and the factors that go into a review score cannot easily be determined. I attempted to find explanatory variables to explain the reasoning for lower review scores.

The explanatory variables used in the regression are indicator variables. Each review score is given a "1" if it meets that variable's qualification or a 0 if it does not.

According to the results, reviewers that had an elitist, bitchy attitude, suggested that a trip to the Pacific Northwest was a shitty place for a vacation, complained about blue thermos and the lack of a jump gave Alan Wake a lower score than those that did not. After setting up a hypothesis at a 5% level of significance, these variables were determined to be statistically significant.

 

[rainking187]

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."

Well Godfather II is great, but regardless of what a "classic" it is, Citizen Kane is still one of the dullest fucking movies I've ever seen.

 

[Amir0x]

Well Godfather II is great, but regardless of what a "classic" it is, Citizen Kane is still one of the dullest fucking movies I've ever seen.

Citizen Kane is one of the greatest movies of all time, but not because to you it may or may not be "enthralling" from a story/entertainment angle.

As anyone who has ever taken even the most basic film class could tell you, or anyone who has watched enough films will tell you, Citizen Kane is basically the founder of a vast array of cinematic techniques that have hereafter been copied and imitated, the pioneer of various styles of cinematography and storytelling in film. Almost without doubt, most of the films you love employ things that were literally invented by that film.

At the time it came out, Citizen Kane was like going from an NES to fucking Xbox 720, in terms of pure fucking ability on display. It is not easy to disconnect its historical value from its quality as a film, since they are in this case one in the same.

So it may be boring for you now, but context is necessary for why so many people hold it on a pedestal.

 

[Pistolero]

@ TheLegendary

:lol

As anyone who has ever taken even the most basic film class could tell you, or anyone who has watched enough films will tell you, Citizen Kane is basically the founder of a vast array of cinematic techniques that have hereafter been copied and imitated, the pioneer of various styles of cinematography and storytelling in film. Almost without doubt, most of the films you love employ things that were literally invented by that film

Definitely! I watched it 2 years ago to see what all the fuss was about, and the editing, among other feats, left me speechless. Impressive camera movements, bold angles choices and a very dynamic direction that was revolutionary for that time, and still has aged remarkably well. It truly is a magnificent technical cinema piece…The portrayal of ascension and decadence is also quite powerful. To think that Kane was 25 years ago when he did it all...

 

[Coldsnap]

Gosh this game looks so good but why is the HUD so predominant?

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

game just threw me my first legitimate scare. now, up until now it's been sort of creepy and ominous in an engaging way, a little unsettling but i have a seak constitution for silent hill and this isn't bothering me. that is-- up until just now

i'm not sure if it was a happy coincidence or triggered event but inside a cabin i just saw through a window one of the 'taken' appear and pass by, then not pass by the other window. they just disappeared again. i actually took a minute to gain courage to leave. this game has a lot of subtle 'did i just see that?' scares that just suffocate you with its atmosphere. enemies are invisible but have form just before appearing, so you may see in the distance a bush or two brush apart as if a form is walking through them, and when things get really hairy well the moving foliage is both breathtaking and very brooding. that is all, impressions in a while

side note-- i'm loving the 'twilight zone' type tv show that you can find on televisions

 

[Pistolero]

"... 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."

That's the most WTF-ish reply I've ever read...I guess AW status as both a flagship exclusive and a highly awaited game has made it a heresy to say anything negative about it.

 

[LOZLINK]

Flashlight as a crosshair=WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING
It's not clever, it's not creative, it's plain fucking retarded. I don't wanna hear any of that "bu bu it's more immersive' bullshit either.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

game just threw me my first legitimate scare. now, up until now it's been sort of creepy and ominous in an engaging way, a little unsettling but i have a seak constitution for silent hill and this isn't bothering me. that is-- up until just now

i'm not sure if it was a happy coincidence or triggered event but inside a cabin i just saw through a window one of the 'taken' appear and pass by, then not pass by the other window. they just disappeared again. i actually took a minute to gain courage to leave. this game has a lot of subtle 'did i just see that?' scares that just suffocate you with its atmosphere. enemies are invisible but have form just before appearing, so you may see in the distance a bush or two brush apart as if a form is walking through them, and when things get really hairy well the moving foliage is both breathtaking and very brooding. that is all, impressions in a while

so
awesome

 

[Metalic Sand]

Flashlight as a crosshair=WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING
It's not clever, it's not creative, it's plain fucking retarded. I don't wanna hear any of that "bu bu it's more immersive' bullshit either.

Have you played the game?

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

Flashlight as a crosshair=WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING
It's not clever, it's not creative, it's plain fucking retarded. I don't wanna hear any of that "bu bu it's more immersive' bullshit either.

hey asshole, it plays perfectly well. you can even aim more specifically by holding L trigger

additionally, re:resident evil 4 ;p

 

[2 Minutes Turkish]

game just threw me my first legitimate scare. now, up until now it's been sort of creepy and ominous in an engaging way, a little unsettling but i have a seak constitution for silent hill and this isn't bothering me. that is-- up until just now

i'm not sure if it was a happy coincidence or triggered event but inside a cabin i just saw through a window one of the 'taken' appear and pass by, then not pass by the other window. they just disappeared again. i actually took a minute to gain courage to leave. this game has a lot of subtle 'did i just see that?' scares that just suffocate you with its atmosphere. enemies are invisible but have form just before appearing, so you may see in the distance a bush or two brush apart as if a form is walking through them, and when things get really hairy well the moving foliage is both breathtaking and very brooding. that is all, impressions in a while

side note-- i'm loving the 'twilight zone' type tv show that you can find on televisions

Sounds cool.

 

[DrPirate]

hey asshole, it plays perfectly well. you can even aim more specifically by holding L trigger

additionally, re:resident evil 4 ;p

I thought how responsive the flashlight cursor was made the gameplay really enjoyable. It's a really polished control system, it just works so well in this game.

 

[conman]

Citizen Kane is one of the greatest movies of all time, but not because to you it may or may not be "enthralling" from a story/entertainment angle.

As anyone who has ever taken even the most basic film class could tell you, or anyone who has watched enough films will tell you, Citizen Kane is basically the founder of a vast array of cinematic techniques that have hereafter been copied and imitated, the pioneer of various styles of cinematography and storytelling in film. Almost without doubt, most of the films you love employ things that were literally invented by that film.

At the time it came out, Citizen Kane was like going from an NES to fucking Xbox 720, in terms of pure fucking ability on display. It is not easy to disconnect its historical value from its quality as a film, since they are in this case one in the same.

So it may be boring for you now, but context is necessary for why so many people hold it on a pedestal.

Not sure if you're serious or not...

Because, no, Citizen Kane didn't "invent" much of anything cinematically. Citizen Kane just made those techniques popular. Orson Welles was the Quentin Tarantino of his day. He pulled together--and exaggerated--a bunch of different techniques from throughout the history of film production (primarily from European cinema). In its day, the film was a bit gimmicky and effusively stylish in how it brought together a bunch of pre-existing cinematic tricks and ideas (much like Tarantino's work).

 

[Salacious Crumb]

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

Wait, you do know that is a direct rip on psxextreme's response to Edge's Killzone 2 review.

Link: Edge Killzone 2 Review: A Disservice To Game Consumers

 

[Amir0x]

Wait, you do know that is a direct rip on psxextreme's response to Edge's Killzone 2 review.

Link: Edge Killzone 2 Review: A Disservice To Game Consumers

hahaha ah obscure internet references.

well, apply my comments to 2008, switch xtard to sonytard, and act as if I was saying it about psxextreme.

good for you, Xboxnationguy, for having a sense of humor

 

[wizword]

Wait, you do know that is a direct rip on psxextreme's response to Edge's Killzone 2 review.

Link: Edge Killzone 2 Review: A Disservice To Game Consumers

xboxtreme guy is awesome now. :lol.

 

[rhino4evr]

A person on my facebook is bragging about Alan wake. Pretty sure he be a pirate.

 

[Kittonwy]

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

I have an xbox360 since 2006.

 

[jedimike]

Oh noes... metacritic score rising and now has a perfect score.

Spoiler

it was given by a girl

Bottom Line: A brilliantly told story, excellent voice acting, and an atmosphere so unnerving you'll sleep with the lights on for a month. If only it came with a bottle of instant amnesia so that you could play it for the first time more than once.

Recommendation: Unless you're allergic to excellent storytelling or have an unnatural fear of pine trees, play this immediately.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/7524-Review-Alan-Wake.2

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Wait, you do know that is a direct rip on psxextreme's response to Edge's Killzone 2 review.

Link: Edge Killzone 2 Review: A Disservice To Game Consumers

:lol that is just fantastic.

 

[plagiarize]

Wait, you do know that is a direct rip on psxextreme's response to Edge's Killzone 2 review.

Link: Edge Killzone 2 Review: A Disservice To Game Consumers

that makes so much more sense now.

 

[Technosteve]

I have an xbox360 since 2006.

how? by all accounts it should of died by now!

 

[Domcorleone]

are we gunna have a spoiler thread soon enough? Im on chapter 5 and i have some questions... Im a bit confused and i dont know if its cuz im missing manuscript pages or not. oh and how do i spoiler tag?

 

[conman]

are we gunna have a spoiler thread soon enough? Im on chapter 5 and i have some questions... Im a bit confused and i dont know if its cuz im missing manuscript pages or not. oh and how do i spoiler tag?

Just write it like this:
[*spoiler]don't read this[/*spoiler], but without the asterisks.

And you may as well ask your questions in this thread (in spoiler tags, of course) since the game doesn't release to retail for a week and a half. I'd like to talk about the late-game story, too, before I forget too much.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

how? by all accounts it should of died by now!

Probably has never been used =D

Seriously, jesus... this thread... it's shameful. Between the guys having a hard time swallowing the reviews and the guys having a party with the reviews...

Blargh.

Back to OT.

 

[watership]

Citizen Kane is one of the greatest movies of all time, but not because to you it may or may not be "enthralling" from a story/entertainment angle.

As anyone who has ever taken even the most basic film class could tell you, or anyone who has watched enough films will tell you, Citizen Kane is basically the founder of a vast array of cinematic techniques that have hereafter been copied and imitated, the pioneer of various styles of cinematography and storytelling in film. Almost without doubt, most of the films you love employ things that were literally invented by that film.

At the time it came out, Citizen Kane was like going from an NES to fucking Xbox 720, in terms of pure fucking ability on display. It is not easy to disconnect its historical value from its quality as a film, since they are in this case one in the same.

So it may be boring for you now, but context is necessary for why so many people hold it on a pedestal.

Man, they shot low and showed the ceiling. I watched a 60 year old film school prof rant about that for 2 hours once.

 

[Domcorleone]

Just write it like this:
[*spoiler]don't read this[/*spoiler], but without the asterisks.

And you may as well ask your questions in this thread (in spoiler tags, of course) since the game doesn't release to retail for a week and a half. I'd like to talk about the late-game story, too, before I forget too much.

ok thanks! So my first question is who is

Spoiler

Agent Nightengale, he seems like he cam out of no where and I dont know why he is chasing wake, im 5 chapters in and I feel like I missed the part of why hes even in the game chasing wake

 

[LOZLINK]

Have you played the game?

Nah man, talking about watching my friends play it. Yes I have played the game. To the guy said about holding LT, what, til my batteries run out :lol

 

[conman]

ok thanks! So my first question is who is

Spoiler

Agent Nightengale, he seems like he cam out of no where and I dont know why he is chasing wake, im 5 chapters in and I feel like I missed the part of why hes even in the game chasing wake

Wait until you finish the game. It doesn't explain things completely, but you will have a better sense for what's going on. Then come back, and we'll talk.

 

[LOZLINK]

Have you played the game?

Nah man, talking about watching my friends play it. Yes I have played the game. To the guy said about holding LT, what, til my batteries run out :lol to each his own I guess

 

[Pooya]

IGN UK
8/10
9.0 Presentation
Episodic structure is utterly superfluous and poor voice talent takes the edge off an otherwise stunning package.
9.5 Graphics
Characters models disappoint but the stunning lighting effects, breathtaking mountain vistas and pain-staking attention to detail make Alan Wake's journey unforgettable.
8.0 Sound
Minimal soundscapes bring the world to life and music builds atmosphere, even if voice talent is largely execrable.
7.5 Gameplay
All the ingredients are there for a beautifully idiosynchratic experience. It's just a shame it takes so long to make good on its early promise.
7.0 Lasting Appeal
If it wasn't for those laborious opening hours, a second playthrough to make sense of the plot would be a must. Dull collectibles are barely worth returning for though.

 

[Truant]

If you press LT lightly you can aim without focusing the beam.

 

[Alcander]

Any reports of the street date being broken in the US?

.

 

[Rat Salad]

I got to see this game in action tonight at GameStop. I ran in there to pick up a new 360 pad and overheard the manager speak highly of the game,asked if he had it set up and was all too eager to show it off. I only saw some 5 minutes of it but wow the lighting in this game. I can't say its the best I've seen since I didn't see much of the game but its the one thing that really stands out and leaves me wanting to see how much more it throws at you. I did see screen tearing,dunno how bad it is throughout but I saw it the minute the cinematics ended and the game kicked in with Wake running down a road. The tension in the game is pretty damn good. The darkened areas,having to run through wodded areas,not knowing what the hell would be around the next area,then nearing lighted areas was creepy,and once I saw the enemy and then he ups and .....oh shit..oh shit.:lol

Unfortunately thats all I saw,about 5 minutes of the game but visually it looked fantastic,though all I ever saw was darkened areas with some heavy lighting that was visually fantastic. I love the use of the flashlight,the way it keeps the enemy at bay like that,then having to scranmble along and find your way before he comes around,its a frantic and heavy feeling knowing that thing is out there in the dark.:lol

All the nitpicks here at Gaf are sorta funny after seeing this game in action. For being sub HD I couldn't tell,it looked HD to me. Well its upscaled so I guess thats cheating but whatever,my eyes liked what I saw,thats all I care about,not all the technical shit.:b

 

[AgentOtaku]

I'm really just waiting to see if they ever announce a PC version (yes, the subHD nonsense does bother me) . That and RDR comes out the same day so I just seems like a better value right now as money is tight...

If they don't announce a PC version, I'll just pick it up down the road...

 

[Naruto]

I'm definitely picking this up day one.

 

[derFeef]

Nah man, talking about watching my friends play it. Yes I have played the game. To the guy said about holding LT, what, til my batteries run out :lol to each his own I guess

Press the the trigger just halfway through.

 

[Truespeed]

Wolfram Alpha Analysis / Review

 

[LOZLINK]

Oh gaf :lol

 

[derFeef]

"Ugly" faces in DLC fixed?

http://www.videogamer.com/news/remedy_alan_wake_dlc_to_ditch_fugly_faces.html

While I think it'll always be possible to get "fugly" single frames out of any game we definitely learned a lot doing Alan Wake, and will try to improve the way we do things to get best possible looking facials. In fact, we're using some of the improvements in the DLC production already.

 

[Hammer24]

Where are some of you buying this early? I checked Target, who normally does break dates, and they didn't have it.

So far only a couple of Meijers seem to have broken the street date.

 

[Hammer24]

"Ugly" faces in DLC fixed?

If they are hard at work at the DLC (how many episodes will there be?), they´d have to outsource the PC development/port.

 

[Windom Earle]

Surprised to see so many people here still believing in the PC version.

 

[mescalineeyes]

Surprised to see so many people here still believing in the PC version.

Wait until you play it. You will be begging for a PC version to do the insane amount of detail in this game justice.

 

[Domcorleone]

Hey Just beat the game I wanted to give some very basic impressions

-Game looks beautiful at night, day time it looks cool but a noticable visual downgrade from night.
-voice acting leaves much to be desired ,better than say heavy rain, but I expected better, also the lip syncing is awful, its like they didn't even try
-the storyline was a bit silly to me, especially since the game seemed to try to be grounded in some sort of reality and they wanted to make Wake an "everyman" (I know this is vague but I cant share my gripes with the story in depth due to spoilers)
-speaking of story, some characters seem to be complete filler and they never truly explain their purpose of why they are there, i think a lot of characters could have been fleshed out more. Granted, i didnt collected all the manuscripts so they might be fleshed out in them (I got like 80 outta 100)
-the game proves genuine thrills and as a great atmosphere combined with good music
-Combat is fun and exciting, however enemies often attack you off camera which is really annoying and tend to cheap shot you
-I loved, loved the narration during the gameplay, that's what i loved about Max Payne, its done better here minus the writing
-the game gets very repetitive towards the final chapters as they do very little to vary the game play, and driving sections were useless. I simply got tired of going through the woods, it felt like a glorified corridor kind of like MGS3
-dodging sucks but looks cool when you do it right,
-When running Wake get tired far too quickly, and at time you are put in situations where the only viable option is to run, so combine his god awful run speed with off camera attacking and you will most certainly be annoyed at the hard parts
-Episodic aspects of the game are completely useless, they didnt have to break it up they way they did unless it was a digital download or DLC.
-Find and reading the manuscripts are fun and give you more backstory
-the game took me two days to beat and about 10-12 hrs

So those are my impressions, I loved Max Payne 1 and 2 and this is a step down to me from writing, storyline and VA. The game simply feels a bit dated, like 2 years or so just like the eurogamer review said. But it still was an enjoyable game and well worth my time playing. Keep in mind this is just my opinion on the game, just wanted to share it with you guys. Overall I'd give it a solid B. The next game has potential.

 

[Saty]

Look out for Digital Foundry's extensive analysis of the Alan Wake technology tomorrow.

Eurogamer.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Wait until you play it. You will be begging for a PC version to do the insane amount of detail in this game justice.

Sorry, but not everyone is a graphic whore....

 

[mescalineeyes]

Sorry, but not everyone is a graphic whore....

you think if I was a graphics whore, I'd be a console gamer? :lol

 

[Windom Earle]

Wait until you play it. You will be begging for a PC version to do the insane amount of detail in this game justice.

Are you doing a review on your site?