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[adriano999]

I need some help, i've preordered the AW LE from Zavvi, today they tried to ship the game but since i don't have the money on my cc the order was rejected(or is on hold idk).
They will not give the LE to someone else, right?

Yeah, I just watched all 3 episodes today (there's only 3, right?) and they are pretty impressive. Nothing really looked like a spoiler.

Episode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCisZVNZAu0

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

Wow. I'm really surprised at how many people in here are essentially calling this one of the "scariest games they've ever played." And it's not just GAF, but a lot of critics as well. I don't know if it's just pre-launch hyperbole to generate extra hype or genuine impressions, but I'm having a hard time believing it. Coming from somebody who is a complete and utter pussy, jumping and screaming at just about any horror game (Doom 3, Dead Space, Silent Hill series, Resident Evil 1-Veronica, F.E.A.R., etc), Alan Wake didn't even make me twitch. For those of you who plan on buying it with the intension of playing with the lights out that same night until you're too rattled to continue, you'll probably be disappointed.

I had a few friends over and we sat down playing the game, got about 4 episodes in and were honestly pretty bored; not a single scary moment that we can recall. Afterwards we popped in Penumbra and were practically shitting our panties. Yeah, yeah, anecdotal evidence and all that, but really Alan Wake is not a particularly scary game. Is it horror? Of course it's horror. But will it have you running to mommy? I'd say no.

It's horror in the same sense as The Darkness was horror, only with a significantly creepier atmosphere, which is often forced to take a back seat anyway due to the large number of enemies the game feels the need to throw at you throughout the course of the game. This is a shame, because the game starts off very promising with one "Taken" chasing you down, and I felt genuinely scared for my life, but then it immediately turns into Resident Evil 5 minus everything that made that game fun. And don't even get me started on the inappropriately placed bullet time moment.

Personally, I would have enjoyed this game a lot more if it eased up on the action. As it stands, both Alan Wake's action and horror elements are astoundingly average, which leaves only the story. Yeah, the story is good and executed pretty damn well, but I can't recall the last time I paid $60 just for a game's story. Oh yeah, I can: Never.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I don't know if it's just pre-launch hyperbole to generate extra hype or genuine impressions, but I'm having a hard time believing it.

I had a few friends over

hmm

 

[soco]

I need some help, i've preordered the AW LE from Zavvi, today they tried to ship the game but since i don't have the money on my cc the order was rejected(or is on hold idk).
They will not give the LE to someone else, right?

Episode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCisZVNZAu0

the youtube link is missing some minor things i pointed out earlier that are in the ones at Brightfalls.com

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

hmm

Should have kept reading to where we popped in another game, and were freaking out. Also, for what's it's worth, I did play through the rest of the game on my own in the middle of the night with my lights all out. Nothing.

 

[FateBreaker]

Should have kept reading to where we popped in another game, and were freaking out. Also, for what's it's worth, I did play through the rest of the game on my own in the middle of the night with my lights all out. Nothing.

perhaps, like you said, it was too built up. you were expecting it too much

 

[SlasherJPC]

Wow. I'm really surprised at how many people in here are essentially calling this one of the "scariest games they've ever played."

You should know just as well as everyone else that horror is different in many peoples eyes. So to others it could be damn scary, to you not so much. Again, its always good to see it from the other pespective, but I don't understand why people feel the need to express their opinion as if its the opinion everyone else should have, thus questioning you to question others.

 

[betweenthewheels]

I did play through the rest of the game on my own in the middle of the night with my lights all out. Nothing.

It's not intended to be a horror game, more of a thriller.

That being said, different things scare different people, so i'm not surprised some people are getting freaked out.

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

No, you're absolutely right, fear is a rather subjective thing. However, I think we all have a latent fear of the dark/fear of the unknown, and I just don't think this game plays upon that nearly as well as it could have. The dark just isn't all that scary/creepy when you have 20 shadow men charging at you, especially with their cheesy slow motion voices. I wouldn't mind if this were the case some of the time as a means of building tension and sending the player into a panic, but it's throughout the entire game. Since I was killing off quite literally hundreds of these "Taken" per episode, the game also became extremely predictable. I knew exactly where and when I'd be encountering another enemy ambush, taking away any suspense I may have had left.

Don't get me wrong, this game is by no means terrible, just not exactly horror game of the year either. When it comes to horror, less is more. Alan Wake could have used a lot less in my opinion.

 

[conman]

Coming from somebody who is a complete and utter pussy, jumping and screaming at just about any horror game (Doom 3, Dead Space, Silent Hill series, Resident Evil 1-Veronica, F.E.A.R., etc), Alan Wake didn't even make me twitch.

As I said earlier, "jumping" and "twitching" and "screaming" aren't necessarily what constitutes "horror." Good horror is about instilling a particular feeling rather than some cheap physiological response (like jumping). IMO true horror is more in line with the Stephen King quote with which the game begins.

this is not true at all

there are way too many enemy encounters in the game, it's more like 40% vs 60%

Like I said, the ratio changes in the final two episodes, but prior to that, you spend very little of your total game time actually shooting at things.

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

It's not intended to be a horror game, more of a thriller.

That being said, different things scare different people, so i'm not surprised some people are getting freaked out.

not scary. i scare easy, it's not a scary game-- it's an atmospheric game.

wrote a review if anyone wants more down-to-earth impressions http://gaming-age.com/review/xbox360/alan_wake

written very, very late so be nice

This is a shame, because the game starts off very promising with one "Taken" chasing you down, and I felt genuinely scared for my life, but then it immediately turns into Resident Evil 5 minus everything that made that game fun. And don't even get me started on the inappropriately placed bullet time moment.

to be fair, i got a sense of desperation and hopelessness every time 6 taken spawned at once and i was in the middle of nowhere

 

[LordPhoque]

I agree, the game is not scary at all. But's not a bad thing because it wasn't meant to be. Like Remedy said, it's more a thriller, which is true.

 

[Flipyap]

Just finished Episode Two, this game is absolutely amazing.
I actually think it's pretty scary (the sounds! The shadows!), but the single scariest thing about it are facial animations of regular human characters. I have never seen such creepy puppets. Terrifying. I'll never sleep again.

 

[Windom Earle]

stuff

No, I don't expect it to be scary. I just want a fucked up (Lynch style) story.

Also no game this gen has even come close to the old Silent Hill scare factor. More fear than scare to be exact... Holy crap, the memories.

 

[Cardigan]

I don't know if people know this, but you can stream Twin Peaks for free at CBS.
http://www.cbs.com/video/?showname=classics/twin_peaks&showtype=classics

 

[LordPhoque]

No, I don't expect it to be scary. I just want a fucked up (Lynch style) story.

Also no game this gen has even come close to the old Silent Hill scare factor. More fear than scare to be exact... Holy crap, the memories.

I'm getting a huge Silent Hill from Alan Wake, which is strange because the atmosphere and plot is not that morbid and dark.

Anyway, the game is not so linear, it's very obvious that it's a former open-world game, there are still some remnants of that game design.

 

[K' Dash]

5.1 wireless headphones + 50" Screen + lights out = shit in my pants

 

[mittelos]

No, I don't expect it to be scary. I just want a fucked up (Lynch style) story.

Yes, this man gets it! I'm getting that vibe from the Bright Falls episodes, really hoping the game keeps at it.

If anyone is interested, Robert Ashley is on the latest RebelFM podcast and discusses the game at length- really great impressions from him.

 

[demonicmurry]

So those of you that have finished Alan Wake, disappointing game ending or satisfying season finale?

 

[eshwaaz]

Just finished Episode Two, this game is absolutely amazing.
I actually think it's pretty scary (the sounds! The shadows!), but the single scariest thing about it are facial animations of regular human characters. I have never seen such creepy puppets. Terrifying. I'll never sleep again.

I'm very disappointed to hear so many comments of this kind regarding the facial animation in Alan Wake. It's the kind of thing that could really take you out of the moment, especially in a game like this.

In the January '10 issue of Edge, they did an article called "Digi-Dramatists on the Cutting Edge of Motion Capture" where Imagination Studios, the company behind Alan Wake's performance capture, was featured. Here are some choice quotes:

No other area is as crucial to producing an emotional performance as the face, says John Klepper, CEO of mo-cap firm Imagination Studios: "The face is everything - we as humans look at faces from the day we are born, and we have an amazing perception of its subtleties. In order to be able to transfer those extreme subtleties to animation takes an in-depth understanding of how to rig and skin and weight a character correctly."

While recording everything at once is optimal, Klepper says that matching voices afterwards isn't always a disaster. "If it's done well, the difference between the two should be unnoticeable."

All this technology, and yet the best facial animation and lip sync in a game to date (Uncharted 2) was animated by hand. You know - by actual animators.

 

[conman]

So those of you that have finished Alan Wake, disappointing game ending or satisfying season finale?

IMO they try to do too much too quickly with the endgame story. The final episode is super short with too many twists. I think Remedy tries to get too clever for their own good in the game's final hour or two. Should have kept it simple.

But the journey there is great.

 

[conman]

Okay. Literature dork time.

In terms of the whole "is this game actually scary?" debate, it might be useful to think of the long-running distinction between "terror" and "horror" in horror fiction. Most folks who are saying Alan Wake isn't scary are referring to what Radcliffe and King call the experience of "horror" rather than what they call "terror." But both privilege "terror" over "horror" in what's called generally "horror fiction."

Ann Radcliffe on the distinction:
"Terror and Horror are so far opposite that the first expands the soul, and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes and nearly annihilates them. I apprehend, that neither Shakespeare nor Milton by their fictions, nor Mr. Burke by his reasoning, anywhere looked to positive horror as a source of the sublime, though they all agree that terror is a very high one; and where lies the great difference between horror and terror, but in uncertainty and obscurity, that accompany the first, respecting the dreaded evil?"

Stephen King on the distinction:
"[In terror] the imagination alone is stimulated, [while in horror] the viscera are also engaged." And according to King's grand schema of horror fiction, "terror [is] on top, horror below it, and lowest of all, the gag-reflex of revulsion."

So basically, "terror" is all about suspense, anticipation, and your imagination running wild. And "horror" is all about being physically startled by finally seeing the monster. IMO Alan Wake favors "terror" much more over "horror," especially in the first 2/3s of the game.

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

All this technology, and yet the best facial animation and lip sync in a game to date (Uncharted 2) was animated by hand. You know - by actual animators.

even in cutscenes too ;p

i think the lip-syncing was probably the game's greatest detraction, and now i REALLY appreciate what rockstar and naughty dog have done. really, any game at all now

 

[Einbroch]

I don't know if the "twist" at the end of (seriously minor spoiler)

Spoiler

Chapter 4

was the big "twist" in the game, because if it was...letdown, man. Let. Down.

 

[leng jai]

Zavvi shipped my CE yesterday...hype +100000

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

I don't know if the "twist" at the end of (seriously minor spoiler)

Spoiler

Chapter 4

was the big "twist" in the game, because if it was...letdown, man. Let. Down.

which one?

 

[Einbroch]

which one?

Moderate spoiler:

Spoiler

The truth about what happened that night at the lake.

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

Moderate spoiler:

Spoiler

The truth about what happened that night at the lake.

oh it's not :lol

chapter 5 gets a little more complicated than that and the ending still had me thrown for a loop

 

[Einbroch]

oh it's not :lol

chapter 5 gets a little more complicated than that and the ending still had me thrown for a loop

Good! Can't wait to finish this game up tomorrow.

 

[derFeef]

It has arrived... Tomorrow is legal holiday and it´s raining. Perfect.

 

[Hero of Canton]

I'm a little surprised at all the Twin Peaks comparisons because a few references aside, it's not really anything like Twin Peaks. Deadly Premonition has far more Lynch-style weirdness.

 

[Pachimari]

I'm at the end of Episode 2 right now I think - planning to complete the game today.

So far the facial animation and lip-synch are the worst technical elements in the game.

The atmosphere is great though, and there's always tension. There has been a single jump-out scare effect in use but the fight against Takens get repetitive, still works good though.

The music hasn't been memorable so far and the voice acting is really not good, especially Alan Wake himself can get at me at times. The use of sound effects are brilliant. I like the game so far but I can see the repetetive design already but I think it'll get mixed up a bit later on in the game.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

So far the facial animation and lip-synch are the worst technical elements in the game.

Wasn't CaptiveMotion responsible for facial animation in that game? I remember that it was said that they've completed the work on "Alan Wake" just few months before the game's release date, so everyone was convinced that all this bad facial animation we've seen in previous trailers and gameplay videos will be replaced in final product. So what has happened? Why are those still so bad?

All this technology, and yet the best facial animation and lip sync in a game to date (Uncharted 2) was animated by hand. You know - by actual animators.

You can still achieve great facial animation using technology; just look at Resident Evil 5.

 

[silenthill1979]

Man, this waiting is killing me. Why does Amazon.uk ship the game tomorrow when everybody breaks the street date? God damn it!

 

[derFeef]

Oh my, the LE is complete nuts. The Alan Wake files book is probably the best thing I have ever seen in any collectors edition to date.

 

[BluWacky]

Man, this waiting is killing me. Why does Amazon.uk ship the game tomorrow when everybody breaks the street date? God damn it!

My Amazon order (placed only a couple of days ago) is preparing to dispatch today (hopefully), so yours may do so as well.

I'm essentially buying this purely for the story. I've made it through a million repetitive linear experiences before - hell, I liked FFXIII - and I'm terrible at most action games so if it's just doing the same thing repeatedly I might be able to cope!

 

[Aspiring]

Oh man i hope Playasia get them soon! I just want my copy, this game looks so freaking amazing!

 

[S1kkZ]

Oh my, the LE is complete nuts. The Alan Wake files book is probably the best thing I have ever seen in any collectors edition to date.

yeah, one of the best collectors editions i have ever seen. the fake "book" case even has a magnet to hold it together. you can really display it like a book.

 

[XrazZ]

Ghah, a Media Markt shop in the Netherlands had the game for sale today already. Picked up the LE

They were however considering pulling the game back till friday!

 

[DodgerSan]

As I said earlier, "jumping" and "twitching" and "screaming" aren't necessarily what constitutes "horror." Good horror is about instilling a particular feeling rather than some cheap physiological response (like jumping). IMO true horror is more in line with the Stephen King quote with which the game begins.

Like I said, the ratio changes in the final two episodes, but prior to that, you spend very little of your total game time actually shooting at things.

I agree. For me one of the most horrifying Stephen King stories is the short story "The Jaunt". Not so much for what is described on the page, but the idea of what has happened. If you think about it for more than a minute, it really is pretty grim.


Edit: story title fixed.

 

[adamsapple]

How's the DVD Commentary ? and who's the commentators ? Sam lake and crew and the voice cast ?

 

[S1kkZ]

How's the DVD Commentary ? and who's the commentators ? Sam lake and crew and the voice cast ?

after i am done with episode 2, i will play ep 1 again with the commentary. impressions later.
game is awesome btw.

 

[Hammer24]

Shitty phone pics are shitty, but....

Y HELLO THAR, BEAUTY!

Bestest LE ever, or bestestest? You decide...

 

[S1kkZ]

the bonus dvd is pretty awesome. great menus, 4 or 5 making ofs (havent watched them, fear of spoilers), art galleries, every single trailer ever released (+ one unreleased trailer), 2 premium themes, cutscene theater, gamer pics...
the le is pretty awesome.

 

[derFeef]

the bonus dvd is pretty awesome. great menus, 4 or 5 making ofs (havent watched them, fear of spoilers), art galleries, every single trailer ever released (+ one unreleased trailer), 2 premium themes, cutscene theater, gamer pics...
the le is pretty awesome.

Oh my, I want to go home now. NOW!

 

[S1kkZ]

about the commentary:

in the left lower corner a small video field is displayed. a bunch of remedy guys (level designer, gameplay designer and so on) talk about the game while you are playing it. i only watched it for a minute, since they warn you to not listen to the commentary until you finished the game. pretty nice feature. the commentaries are location sensitive.

 

[PolishQ]

Are the Bright Falls episodes included in the LE?

 

[AndyMoogle]

Are the Bright Falls episodes included in the LE?

No. They weren't finished back then.

 

[Pachimari]

I'm at the start of Episode 5 now - how many episodes are there in all, 6?

 

[K' Dash]

Wasn't CaptiveMotion responsible for facial animation in that game? I remember that it was said that they've completed the work on "Alan Wake" just few months before the game's release date, so everyone was convinced that all this bad facial animation we've seen in previous trailers and gameplay videos will be replaced in final product. So what has happened? Why are those still so bad?


You can still achieve great facial animation using technology; just look at Resident Evil 5.

Just to go a little further, I LOVE Eternal Darkness facial animations, so, there should be no excuse with AW.

I'm still in love with the game tho....

I'm at the start of Episode 5 now - how many episodes are there in all, 6?

yes.