I don't think so, for example their review for Resonance of Fate came out much later than everybody else (like 3 weeks) and it scored much higher (rightfully) than everywhere else, they have fair scores IMO, not ridiculously overrated (Jade Empire) or underrated scores (God Hand) like IGN for sure.derFeef said:You just figured out how gamespot works. And you will not be disappointed
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My name is Alan Wake. I'm a writer. |OT|
- Thread starter BruceLeeRoy
- Start date
They're just foresight as far as I know.
I could try a bit of chapter 4 in a friend's house (curse you GAME for only shipping online orders!) and the atmosphere is really fantastic, with fog, lightning, the TV shows and the dark pressence. The tearing is definitely noticeable during the daytime but not so much during the night where the game truly shines. The combat is no more repetitive than any other big game, it's true that there's not a lot of enemy variety, but it's usually well mixed-up by having them pop-up in unexpected places, letting you enter a cabin, a maze, a car or just dodging the dark pressence without enemies. The Spanish dub is awesome, MS hired most of the cast from Lost and people that usually dub movies and it shows, plus the sound itself is very good.
The dodging controls are a bit wonky sometimes (The duck and run animation doesn't really put you out of reach most of the time so you have to be careful) but nothing too terrible. Really looking forward to playing the full game
derFeef said:
As Peff said, they are mainly foresight, but on occasion they just tell you how some things happened when you were not there or the thoughts of the other characters. And sometimes it's just some cool text. I don't want to spoil this but everyone should play the game again on Nightmare difficulty because there is this one page you find in the middle of the game that does an awesome/hilarious mise en abyme. I had a big smile on my face when I read it.
I didn't really notice the dynamic difficulty, if Remedy hadn't talk about it I don't think a lot of people could tell if it's in the game or not.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
BeeDog said:
Yeah not so much.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Man, everyone should listen to the new Weekend Confirmed. They talk AW right at the beginning.
Spoiler-free but sooooooooo hype inducing.
Spoiler-free but sooooooooo hype inducing.
chandoog said:
Man, it would be impossible to write reviews if I had to follow that crazy mentality. Games don't start at 10 and go down with problems. I had very few issues with Alan Wake (obviously) but it also didn't reach that special place reserved for 9s. Still great, one of my favorites of the year so far, but it did feel safe and predictable.
Mr. Spinnington
Banned
the tearing at the beginning of chapter 4 is unbelievably bad. and it's like this for at least 10 minutes
god damn they did not program well for daytime scenarios ;p
god damn they did not program well for daytime scenarios ;p
Dead Prince
Banned
i call that a feature. no reviewers talked about it? tsk tsk.Mr. Spinnington said:
Brianemone
Member
I agree with the comment about how the chapters could handle being a bit shorter (say 45min-1hr) I wouldn't want any content cut to make that happen though.
Really enjoyed the overall experience. Loved one particular part, bit of a spoiler so I'll refrain.
Most of the negatives I found were pretty inconsequential.
Really enjoyed the overall experience. Loved one particular part, bit of a spoiler so I'll refrain.
Most of the negatives I found were pretty inconsequential.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Does anyone know what Microsoft/Remedy's predicted sales are for Alan Wake? I'm just curious.
FateBreaker
Member
NotTheGuyYouKill said:
If this does not sell well, I am going to be pissed. PISSED! >:O
Mr. Spinnington
Banned
yes, unfortunately you have to just accept the fact that it just tears, sometimes in a level that causes it to for almost 20 minutes ;pburgerdog said:
as amazing as this game can look, it's a mixed bag at times with some seactinos where the tearing is inexplicably bad, or textures are muddy, and even showing off some two-year-old pop-in. but for all that, and every ugly part of the game that reminds you it is a game, there are about three times as many 'wow' moments or set pieces that make you forget about its shortcomings
if only those stumbles didn't have to keep rearing their ugly head after every time the spectacle brings you back to loving the game. this is going to be a divisive title, between people who can't take some of the visual dips, be it cutscene lotteries [whether or not they fit with the game world's toning and then seem to be an entirely different setting, or just come out too pixelated at times] or simply things like tearing or textures-- lip-syncing, and then people who just don't like design choices like breaking sections up as 'episodes'.
then there will be people like me who love it despite everything because the set pieces are one after another and the game has a great pace at least through the first half which is where i've gotten to so far. i recognize everything wrong with ti and will keep that in mind when i write a review, but as a game it's definitely got me hooked as far as running through the mountains and warding off the supernatural has to go. there have been some pretty epic moments and chases, so i can definitely see where inspiration from films has leaked into alan wake. it's a very good thing to have leak in
oh and the driving sections are worthless, but they do at least keep from some loooooong backtracking. they will be complained about, like a few other gameplay elements, but keep in mind the game is not perfect-- it's just really, really fun most of the time
GillianSeed79
Member
Mr. Spinnington said:
Can someone explain screen tearing? I hear people bitch about it all the time. Is this when there's a line break in the level geometry or something? I guess it's because i've been gaming since the 2600, because i never seem to notice or be bothered by this screen tearing stuff.
PumpkinPie
Banned
I'm not buying it due to the screen tearing, this gen has been ridiculous for that.
demonicmurry
Neo Member
None of you understand, Bright Falls is so messed up that screen tears just illustrate how pervasive the darkness in the town is spreading! Psychological thriller genius!
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
screen-tearing over frame-rate drops any day of the week
or
if I have to take it, I'd like to take it riiiiiight here~
edit: oh wow, this is the alan wake thread. game looks kind of cool. the more I hear about it on podcasts and the like the more I become interested. I haven't bought a 360 game since... er, Bayonetta, I guess. But before that it was a pretty long ass time. I think I'll get this after a price-drop.
or
if I have to take it, I'd like to take it riiiiiight here~
edit: oh wow, this is the alan wake thread. game looks kind of cool. the more I hear about it on podcasts and the like the more I become interested. I haven't bought a 360 game since... er, Bayonetta, I guess. But before that it was a pretty long ass time. I think I'll get this after a price-drop.
TheVampire
Banned
Upto episode 3 now and the game is fantastic.
Combat is really rock solid, I love pulling off a slowmo dodge.
And also!
Remember in uncharted 2 how there was that bit with a blue flare or light thing?
Well the flares in Alan Wake are great, I love the graphical effect. Its really pretty and what really impressed me was shooting a flare gun into the sky and seeing it slowly fall down with the red/pinkish light, lighting up all the trees around it.
Combat is really rock solid, I love pulling off a slowmo dodge.
And also!
Remember in uncharted 2 how there was that bit with a blue flare or light thing?
Well the flares in Alan Wake are great, I love the graphical effect. Its really pretty and what really impressed me was shooting a flare gun into the sky and seeing it slowly fall down with the red/pinkish light, lighting up all the trees around it.
mescalineeyes
Banned
TheVampire said:
I mean I love the game, but no... not really.
REMEMBER CITADEL
Banned
Rez said:
Definitely, although it would be great if there was no tearing and no frame drops. Besides, according to Remedy, tearing in Alan Wake happens only when the frame rate dips below 30 fps.
Warning:video on page 3 contains spoilers!
Digital Foundry: Alan Wake Tech Analysis
Digital Foundry: Alan Wake Tech Analysis
Windom Earle
Member
REMEMBER CITADEL said:
Why else should it happen?!
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Constant HUD that can't be removed or fades out is a WAY bigger problem than tearing in a 10 minute segment guys -_-
REMEMBER CITADEL
Banned
schennmu said:
Tearing happens when GPU's frame rate is not synchronized with the display's vertical refresh rate. As such, it can occur at any frame rate not synchronized with the refresh rate.
chandoog said:
When have people become so sensitive to HUDs? I know some games do away with them, but I've been playing video games with HUDs for more than 20 years so they don't really bother me. More screen space is always welcome, but it's not like I will forget I'm playing a video game if the HUD is not there.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Sorry if this was mentioned but Eurogamer did their routine Tech Analysis with the final build of the game, and it's mostly positive whilst acknowledging some of the technical hiccups we already know of.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-alanwake-tech-analysis?page=1
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-alanwake-tech-analysis?page=1
mescalineeyes
Banned
derFeef said:
it's like your bullet's don't do shit. maybe because I started my first playthrough on hard, because I wanted it to scare me. so far, no luck. upping the difficulty just made me dread the combat because, I mean, there's really no better way of saying it than "I'm not feeling it."
that being said, the game is super enjoyable.
also: the HUD is driving me insane, too.
eso76
Member
yay for shops breaking street dates
game can give you goosebumps
i loved the twilight zone-like tv shows (is there a way to watch them again from the menu, like you do with radio shows, though ? doesn't look like it)
End of episode 1 left me awestruck, with a smile on my face. Incredibly well done with the
playing which caused a very...artistic dissonance with the atmospheres of the game. Loved the "previously on alan wake" bit, and thought it would be cool if the game didn't allow you to play next episode before a week on x360 internal clock (which, however, is just not possible).
After that you start seeing the problems with the game, my main gripe at the time would be this very rigid structure which does little to hide the fact the game alternates short daytime sequences (with little to no gameplay) and action/night sequences which are suddenly triggered.
Daytime sequences could have been fleshed out a lot more; i'm not saying they should have kept the sandbox structure, but i would have preferred something like Shenmue, with a little more adventure/exploration between action sequences, and a proper day/night cycle. But it's still early in the game and there's a lot of other good things about Alan Wake anyway.
game can give you goosebumps
i loved the twilight zone-like tv shows (is there a way to watch them again from the menu, like you do with radio shows, though ? doesn't look like it)
End of episode 1 left me awestruck, with a smile on my face. Incredibly well done with the
roy orbison song
After that you start seeing the problems with the game, my main gripe at the time would be this very rigid structure which does little to hide the fact the game alternates short daytime sequences (with little to no gameplay) and action/night sequences which are suddenly triggered.
Daytime sequences could have been fleshed out a lot more; i'm not saying they should have kept the sandbox structure, but i would have preferred something like Shenmue, with a little more adventure/exploration between action sequences, and a proper day/night cycle. But it's still early in the game and there's a lot of other good things about Alan Wake anyway.
Opus Angelorum
Member
@ mescalineeyes
Certainly a unique opinion it seems, I haven't read any other pre/review highlighting the combat as being a negative. Quite the contrary.
Certainly a unique opinion it seems, I haven't read any other pre/review highlighting the combat as being a negative. Quite the contrary.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
@mescalineeyes separate from your bullet argument, does the whole "shine light until dark stuff vanishes" mechanic get tiring or is it fast enough to be not an issue ?
Windom Earle
Member
REMEMBER CITADEL said:
Your point being? We know that Alan Wake is a 30fps game.
Doesn't LB make Alan Wake sprint?daxter01 said:thanks to my friend i got to play it up to episode 5