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My name is Alan Wake. I'm a writer. |OT|

Windom Earle

Windom Earle

Member
soco said:
i don't think there's anything for him to get over. i think anyone who has followed this thread in the slightest would be more surprised if you bought the game on launch.
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If you know my history in this thread so well, feel free to quote me. I haven't said anything negative about Alan Wake afaik.
 
S

soco

Member
schennmu said:
If you know my history in this thread so well, feel free to quote me. I haven't said anything negative about Alan Wake afaik.
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it's not about saying anything negative about AW. it just seemed obvious that it wasn't what you wanted from the start. you've went on about your desire for a Lynch-like story, and it's been clear from the start of this thread that it probably wasn't going to be that.
 
Windom Earle

Windom Earle

Member
soco said:
it's not about saying anything negative about AW. it just seemed obvious that it wasn't what you wanted from the start. you've went on about your desire for a Lynch-like story, and it's been clear from the start of this thread that it probably wasn't going to be that.
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But the Brightfalls episodes are so so great! :(
I have to look up some info on script writer/director, etc.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
i just found out that the (awesome) score was recorded in former east germany, 30 miles from where i live. i know a guy that plays for that orchestra, he never told me anything about it.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
S1kkZ said:
i am not feef but i can also give you some impressions (spoilerfree, i am at chapter 4):
-graphics are fantastic, thanks to the lighting. during daytime, the visuals take a slight hit but it still looks very good.
-facial animations dont look good. however: at the beginning of chapter 4 the facial animations are much better, like a different team was working on it.
-the low resolution is not noticable at night. in the daylight scenes, the game looks a little soft. the resolution is no problem at all, the game still looks fantastic and is on of the best looking videogames i have ever played. yes, you sometimes notice the lower resolution because of the softness. but there are plenty of 720p games out there that looked much worse on my tv (42" lcd), like the halo reach beta and bad company 1+2.
-tearing is noticable. gets very bad in chapter 4.
-atmosphere is killer! brightfalls feels real and alive, same goes for the people.
-controls are perfect. i dodge every attack and kill the taken without any problems. the controls feels great.

if you have any questions, ask.
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Dunno about Alan Wake, but Reach is one of the best looking games on consoles. Very good image quality.
 
E

EagleEyes

Member
Dax01 said:
Dunno about Alan Wake, but Reach is one of the best looking games on consoles. Very good image quality.
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I agree. I'm impressed with what Bungie has done on Halo Reach compared to Halo 3. On topic, the wait is just killing me after seeing the Bright Falls videos. Next week can't get here soon enough.
 
C

conman

Member
soco said:
there's no clear cut thing. just because something has "horror" elements doesn't throw it in that genre. this game isn't trying to scare the shit out of you, that was obvious since it was announced. i've always seen it as being more of a Silence of the Lambs / Twin Peaks kind of creepy but not really scary things. SotL being a thriller as well. Terror could easily be applied to any of those movies, and tons of thriller movies. that's why they "thrill".
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Well, no definition is ever 100%, but in terms of broad genre definitions:
supernatural scary = horror
real world scary = thriller

The sort of "terror" one gets from a piece of horror fiction is not the same as the "thrill" one gets from a piece of thriller fiction. In horror fiction, the sense of terror comes from the unknown, unimaginable, impossible, incredible "Thing" that threatens you. In thriller fiction, the sense of terror comes from a known person or thing.

Another way of putting it is that in thrillers, the greatest sense of fear comes from not knowing when something bad will happen. In horror, the greatest sense of fear comes from not knowing what is doing bad things.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
Dax01 said:
No it doesn't.
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sorry, have to agree with him there. on my 42" tv the aliasing is horrible and not much better as halo 3.

back to topic: finished chapter 4 now. man, this game is awesome.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
Of all the comparisons to Deadly Premonition and Heavy Rain I've seen, after completing it, I'd say it's more comparable to Uncharted. It's a narrative-driven action game with really well-done storytelling, likable characters and fairly tight third person shooting action. The one thing that's different is Uncharted's story is fairly telegraphed whereas Alan Wake takes some great twists and turns, but other than that the two remind me of each other in style, including how the two reference and show reverance for their source material - in the case of Uncharted this'd be the likes of Indiana Jones and James Bond, for Alan Wake Twin Peaks meets Stephen King.

It's also really good. I'd say Alan Wake is better than Uncharted 1 was, but like Uncharted it's flawed in some vital places. But god damn, if Remedy do as good a job with the second one as ND did with Uncharted 2, holy shit, what a game that'll be. There are also some very clear, plain-as-day set-ups in this game for a sequel, which I think is welcome, especially with the TV show formatting. Bring on Alan Wake season 2!

Love the way they integrated some of those licensed music tracks. So fitting. Great job on the OST.
 
S

soco

Member
conman said:
Well, no definition is ever 100%, but in terms of broad genre definitions:
supernatural scary = horror
real world scary = thriller
Click to expand...

it's not that i don't understand what you're saying. it's just that a lot people i've ever seen don't really define the things in this way, which is why we're seeing the disagreements about what genre its in. there's too many exceptions to your broad definitions to really work for me, and i think for others. in so many horror films the line beteween person and "thing" are incredibly blurred.
 
H

Hero of Canton

Member
APZonerunner said:
Of all the comparisons to Deadly Premonition and Heavy Rain I've seen, after completing it, I'd say it's more comparable to Uncharted. It's a narrative-driven action game with really well-done storytelling, likable characters and fairly tight third person shooting action. The one thing that's different is Uncharted's story is fairly telegraphed whereas Alan Wake takes some great twists and turns, but other than that the two remind me of each other in style, including how the two reference and show reverance for their source material - in the case of Uncharted this'd be the likes of Indiana Jones and James Bond, for Alan Wake Twin Peaks meets Stephen King.
Click to expand...

I don't think the writing's anywhere near as good as Uncharted. Sure, the story's pretty good (though I personally don't like the ending) but it really labours the pop-culture references. And pretty much every line the FBI guy says is a clunker.

Also, the open-world layout of Bright Falls works against the game's linear nature at times. Too much jogging between action areas, driving sections are limp, and there are too many occasions where a Taken takes a slice out of your shoulder with absolutely no way of you knowing he was there.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
Hero of Canton said:
I don't think the writing's anywhere near as good as Uncharted. Sure, the story's pretty good (though I personally don't like the ending) but it really labours the pop-culture references. And pretty much every line the FBI guy says is a clunker.

Also, the open-world layout of Bright Falls works against the game's linear nature at times. Too much jogging between action areas, driving sections are limp, and there are too many occasions where a Taken takes a slice out of your shoulder with absolutely no way of you knowing he was there.
Click to expand...

The second paragraph of points are all correct, but I think they're minor niggles in the grand scheme of things, much like Uncharted (1), which, likewise, was plagued with a ton of smaller, annoying, but not game-wrecking bits.

As for the writing, I loved it. You're right, it's cheesy and clunky at times - but so are the thriller novels and 80s/90s tv soap/thrillers that the game is trying to hard to ape. I can't help but think it's deliberate, especially with how well-sculpted the atmosphere is.
 
L

LordPhoque

Banned
APZonerunner said:
Of all the comparisons to Deadly Premonition and Heavy Rain I've seen, after completing it, I'd say it's more comparable to Uncharted. It's a narrative-driven action game with really well-done storytelling, likable characters and fairly tight third person shooting action. The one thing that's different is Uncharted's story is fairly telegraphed whereas Alan Wake takes some great twists and turns, but other than that the two remind me of each other in style, including how the two reference and show reverance for their source material - in the case of Uncharted this'd be the likes of Indiana Jones and James Bond, for Alan Wake Twin Peaks meets Stephen King.

It's also really good. I'd say Alan Wake is better than Uncharted 1 was, but like Uncharted it's flawed in some vital places. But god damn, if Remedy do as good a job with the second one as ND did with Uncharted 2, holy shit, what a game that'll be. There are also some very clear, plain-as-day set-ups in this game for a sequel, which I think is welcome, especially with the TV show formatting. Bring on Alan Wake season 2!

Love the way they integrated some of those licensed music tracks. So fitting. Great job on the OST.
Click to expand...

I'm not done with the game yet but I agree with everying you said.
 
C

conman

Member
soco said:
it's not that i don't understand what you're saying. it's just that a lot people i've ever seen don't really define the things in this way, which is why we're seeing the disagreements about what genre its in. there's too many exceptions to your broad definitions to really work for me, and i think for others. in so many horror films the line beteween person and "thing" are incredibly blurred.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's all that hazy, but YMMV. The only major exception I can think of is in the Slasher genre which blends elements of both horror and thrillers.
 
D

derFeef

Member
This is a fantastic game so far, everything I expected it to be. So here are my brief impressions. (hope you guys can stand my bad english)

Just finished episode two and I spent almost 4 hours (played on hard). Do not know if this long, but I looked aorund a lot - read every sentence, watched every TV show and listened to every radio. Bright Falls is alive, it is such a great place and it breathes atmosphere out of every dust particle. I am not going into the story as this is something everyone has to experience on their own, but great stuff so far, headscratching included. The cutscenes are great (except the faces of course). I also like the small chats Alan has with other persons. Listen to everything!

The gameplay is tight and everything works as expected. No sign of repetition yet as I enjoy fighting the darkness. Some encounters gave me a good workout and I died a couple of times - there was some adrenaline flowing for sure. I did not like the cheapshooting enemys in my back though - not cool! The dodging can be really satisfying, especially if you are about do die "Oh god I need to make it into the light beam!"

Graphics. Oh jeeze they are good. Yes, it is a bit blurry if you look closer, but the quality of the lighting and the overall image is great. Remedy obviously knew what they were doing. Jaggies are almost invisible during the night time. There are some moments where you just have to stop and watch because it is oh so gorgeous. Even more so in motion and when all hell brakes loose. The environmets, which were created with such a great love of detail are also fantastic, but we already knew that :) I noticed some tearing in the beginning of the first episode, but it vanished then.

Is it scary? Hm, first of all I am a bit of a pansy when it comes to scary games. I could not finish Condemned because it just freaked me out, but I found Doom 3 boring, even in the beginning (just for comparison). Alan Wake is more about chills and stressful moments so far. When the forest begins to rage, you just want to leave it. Or if a big man with an axe is coming after you and you are out of ammo, flashlight power or breath, (or altogether) you begin to panic. There were two moments where I was really scared though, and I needed to catch a breath before I could continue. But I am not going to tell what or where it was of course.

So what does this mean? I am in love with this game and I can not wait to continue tomorrow, as it is a bit late now where I live.
 
K

K' Dash

Member
I'm watching the ending again, I was promised a satisfying ending... didn't happen, I have soooo many questions.

I fucking love this game and after a couple of days of not touching it I'm going to start my nightmare run, let's see what more can we learn.
 
metareferential

metareferential

Member
Played the first two episodes and half of the third one; really enjoying the game so far.

Let's get this out of the way: graphics. The low resolution is indeed noticeable, though at night the game becomes just beautiful. Day-time sequences are a bit blurred and some of the textures are ugly.

Video compression during the cutscenes could also be annoying.

That said, the game is fantastic. The pacing, the story, the setting, everything works together to keep the gamer hooked like in good tv series.

And the OST, oh dear (pun intended xD): simply incredible.

The gameplay itself is repetitive indeed, though it never gets boring, as shooting is always tight and satisfying.

Tv and radio shows, the little details and hints Remedy put here and there are pure genius.

Well done.
 
F

Feindflug

Member
Dax01 said:
Dunno about Alan Wake, but Reach is one of the best looking games on consoles. Very good image quality.
Click to expand...

I don't know what magic HDTV sets some people have but after playing almost 2 chapters of AW in a 40" LCD @ 1080p I have to say that the IQ is the worst I've seen on the 360, the low resolution blurs everything good the game has to offer visual-wise - also the tearing is definitely there, there are a lot of jaggies especially in daytime and the low-res textures and really bad looking shadows don't help either.

Comparing it to Reach or BC2 is a joke - both games destroy AW in terms of clarity/crispness, performance and texture resolution.

After playing AW I'll have to say that there is no way that Remedy after all these years came up with that flawed and unpolished technology especially when they supposedly worked exclusively on 360 the last 2 years or so - expect the PC version to be announced soon...the 360 version looks like it's just a dumbed down/bad port of the PC version.

Really disappointed with the game thus far technical-wise and from what I've played the game does look kinda repetitive though I'm still pretty early in the game.
 
P

Pachimari

Member
I'm at the last episode now, intense - though I understand the decision to make it action packed toward the end. My absolute favorite spot in this game were when I turned on the radio, and the music by Poets of the Fall came out of my speakers while I were fighting the Takens. Awesome. Great use of licensed music.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
metareferential said:
Played the first two episodes and half of the third one; really enjoying the game so far.

Let's get this out of the way: graphics. The low resolution is indeed noticeable, though at night the game becomes just beautiful. Day-time sequences are a bit blurred and some of the textures are ugly.

Video compression during the cutscenes could also be annoying.
Click to expand...
See, I find this disappointing as the game is apparently under 3gb in size. Clearly there was more than enough space for higher bitrate movies on the DVD. I'm not sure why they felt the need to keep the size of the game so small when the movies are poorly compressed. It's not like FFXIII where size was an issue.

I'm most disappointed by the fact that there are pre-rendered cutscenes to begin with. I was expecting mostly realtime.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
dark10x said:
See, I find this disappointing as the game is apparently under 3gb in size. Clearly there was more than enough space for higher bitrate movies on the DVD. I'm not sure why they felt the need to keep the size of the game so small when the movies are poorly compressed. It's not like FFXIII where size was an issue.

I'm most disappointed by the fact that there are pre-rendered cutscenes to begin with. I was expecting mostly realtime.
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the game is 6.2 gb. the actual game data is under 3 gb, the rest is for the cutscenes.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Finding it really difficult to avoid media and stuff for this game. I found myself watching a developer walkthrough a few minutes ago and had to close it before I spoiled anything. :\ I'm not even sure if I'll be able to play it, since I'm a wimp with all kinds of scary games, but hopefully I'll be all right. I did make it through Dead Space, after all. *flex* ... :(
 
P

Peff

Member
dark10x said:
See, I find this disappointing as the game is apparently under 3gb in size. Clearly there was more than enough space for higher bitrate movies on the DVD. I'm not sure why they felt the need to keep the size of the game so small when the movies are poorly compressed. It's not like FFXIII where size was an issue.

I'm most disappointed by the fact that there are pre-rendered cutscenes to begin with. I was expecting mostly realtime.
Click to expand...

Seven languages in one disc takes a toll :(

EDIT: Aeana, I think you'll be safe. The game is more similar to, say, Resident Evil 3 with the constant threat of Nemesis coming from anywhere than it is to Silent Hill and the like.
 
S

supermackem

Banned
Really loving it so far, combat is very nice feeling to it and the story is great and fantastic voice work (is it the dude who also did max payne?). One downside ive noticed with the gfx side is the shadow dithering, its pretty bad in spots which i wont call out just yet as people might not be that far along. Shapeing up to be a good game cant wait to see how the story unfolds. Is it impossible to get all the bits of the book on hard as i looked everywhere in episode one and im missing three.:lol
 
D

derFeef

Member
Finished Episode 3, need a brake now. Feindflug, I agree that it lacks crispness, but the complete image is still great. In terms of combat and story - I have nothing heavy to complain about so far. Well, one minor thing maybe. I find that the epsiodes are a little too long.
 
P

Prine

Banned
Woo i got mine this morning from Amazon! Im not going to be home until late though, i got to hit the gym as soon as i get out of work.

Looking forward to playing this in the dark on my setup. Comfy couch and all :D
 
D

DodgerSan

Member
BruceLeeRoy said:
I've only watched the first two episodes so I definitely haven't given it a fair shake. I trust you guys so I'll stick with it
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I remember watching it and being utterly mystified when it was originally aired (89/90, thereabouts?) but that wasn't helped by missing about the first 3-4 episodes.

Currently rewatching it with the wife and it's a strange experience. I love it, but whenever the weirder stuff happens I kind of glance over to gauge her reaction. She's still with me so far :D

My copy of AW arrived today, so haven't tried it yet. A lot has been made of the Dark Half/Twin Peaks influence, but the vibe I really got from the trailers was "In The Mouth Of Madness" (a movie I love, even though it's a tad silly). Is this borne out in the game at all?
 
K

K' Dash

Member
Feindflug said:
I don't know what magic HDTV sets some people have but after playing almost 2 chapters of AW in a 40" LCD @ 1080p I have to say that the IQ is the worst I've seen on the 360, the low resolution blurs everything good the game has to offer visual-wise - also the tearing is definitely there, there are a lot of jaggies especially in daytime and the low-res textures and really bad looking shadows don't help either.

Comparing it to Reach or BC2 is a joke - both games destroy AW in terms of clarity/crispness, performance and texture resolution.

After playing AW I'll have to say that there is no way that Remedy after all these years came up with that flawed and unpolished technology especially when they supposedly worked exclusively on 360 the last 2 years or so - expect the PC version to be announced soon...the 360 version looks like it's just a dumbed down/bad port of the PC version.

Really disappointed with the game thus far technical-wise and from what I've played the game does look kinda repetitive though I'm still pretty early in the game.
Click to expand...

Man I'm just glad that I just watch this game and think it's beautiful.
 
S

supermackem

Banned
Plasma said:
Anyone from the UK received their limited edition copy from GAME.co.uk yet?
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Yes mate, dont worry if the postman hasnt dropped it in mine came in the van its pretty heavy and i dont think it will fit in the letterbox.
 
S

Sordid

Member
My Game order didn't arrive today but my preorder bonus did :lol

Is the preorder bonus theme the same as the one that's included in the limited edition?
 
F

Foliorum Viridum

Banned
I must've pre-ordered this ages ago and forgot to cancel because I came from college today with the limited edition sat on my desk. :lol

I was going to wait, but fuck it, I'll play it this weekend now. :)

It's a very nice special edition. Especially for £3 more than the normal one.
 
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