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

Just beat it. Loved it from start to the end. I want season 2 right now. Will make another playthrough after RDR to unlock the nightmare pages.
 

Yasae

Banned
I'm not sure if has been mentioned, but the song that plays at
the end of chapter 2
is "Haunted" by Poe. It comes from the album of the same name, released in 2000. I use this record as a mixing reference because it sounds fantastic (though the tuning is a bit obvious,) plus there are some great songs throughout. It was her best work ever. I really wish she'd come back.

Poehaunted.jpg


EDIT: Beaten, but not explained well enough.
 

sinnergy

Member
Got damn this game is amazing. It looks amazing in the night time levels, some of the best graphics I have sen this gen. The fog in particular looks oustanding. It feels and sounds like a regular Forrest.

All this talk about Sub-HD:lol I pity the fools that won't play it because of this. Because I sure can't tell it's Sub-HD here.

And the sound.. the sound. Song track is also awesome, love Roy Orbison.

Just started chapter 3, I am playing it on Hard both chapter 1 and 2 took me about 2,5 hours each. So the game isn't that short. Awesome game.

Well done Remedy.
 

Hammer24

Banned
In Episode 3, and I´m still loving every moment. If it keeps going like that, it´ll be my GOTY.

HixxSAFC said:
Half a dozen enemies, 16 bullets. Can't outrun the stronger enemy and don't have any flares or stuff. Regular dudes take about 4 bullets, big one about 7. So, essentially I'm fucked cos I can't get through to the patch of light.

I was in the same situation, at exactly the same place. You CAN kill them using the safe heaven - read my description from yesterday (post #2054).

seady said:
I want to get the limited edition, but I need to know what is exactly in the book. Is that book good at all?

The book is like the BrightFalls series, it adds greatly to your understanding of whats going on. and besides, its no cheap leaflet, but very very well made.
 

eXistor

Member
I got the game yesterday. As soon as I listened to the radio and heard Nick Cave's "up jumped the devil" I knew I was gonna like the game.
 

conman

Member
Yasae said:
I'm not sure if has been mentioned, but the song that plays at
the end of chapter 2
is "Haunted" by Poe. It comes from the album of the same name, released in 2000. I use this record as a mixing reference because it sounds fantastic (though the tuning is a bit obvious,) plus there are some great songs throughout. It was her best work ever. I really wish she'd come back.

Poehaunted.jpg


EDIT: Beaten, but not explained well enough.
This was an album released as a companion to her brother's excellent novel House of Leaves. There are more than a few similarities between HoL and Alan Wake, so the inclusion of Poe's title track is certainly no accident.
 

Jinjo

Member
I am up to chapter 5 so far and this game is so fucking great that I just can't describe it. :lol

Everything is so perfectly executed. The story so far is unlike any other videogame, very original. The tension is immense, even when there's nothing happening you feel uneasy. This is a proper horror game.

I started on hard and the dodge mechanics can get a bit frustrating though. When you get hit once you often immediately get hit another 2 to 3 times. Overall the gunplay is very fun though.

Also this game shows its production values, from the graphics to soundtrack. They used some great tunes.

Definite G.O.T.Y. contender right here and you don't hear me shouting that very often.
 
finished chapter 1 and this is a sweet game so far. graphics are great and the lighting effects show some real fantastic stuff.

Ltd edition also looks real nice. Havent read the book or watched the bonus DVD yet though.. :)
 

Prine

Banned
Im only playing this during the evenings. I refuse to play it with day light, makes it that much better. Everyone is posting their Alan Wake pics, here's mine.

prine-aw-2.jpg


One of the best looking games yet. The fog is a creature on its own.

prine-aw-1.jpg


prine-aw-3.jpg


Warped, twisted trees, just look at them.

prine-aw-4.jpg
 

S1kkZ

Member
kobashi100 said:
finished chapter 1 and this is a sweet game so far. graphics are great and the lighting effects show some real fantastic stuff.

Ltd edition also looks real nice. Havent read the book or watched the bonus DVD yet though.. :)
wait with that until you finished the game. i am halfway through the book: its fantastic so far. on of the best limited/collectors edition extras ever.
 

Plasma

Banned
Completed it last night and I have to say Remedy have done a fantastic job with the game, the atmosphere is just amazing.

Only thing I didn't like were the manuscript pages, I stopped reading them partway through chapter one because they kept telling me everything that came next which was ruining any of the surprises the game had.

I do have one question though, at the end of each episode it brings up the end of episode text and starts playing a song. Does anything happen after the songs finished? Every time it popped up I just ended up skipping it.
 

derFeef

Member
Plasma said:
I do have one question though, at the end of each episode it brings up the end of episode text and starts playing a song. Does anything happen after the songs finished? Every time it popped up I just ended up skipping it.
When the song is finished the next episode starts. Would be nice to have an option for "return to menu" and "continue next epsiode" or something like that though.
 

Natural

Member
Got up to Episode 3 the other night and been playing on Hard. Enjoying it a-lot, glad I am only playing it at night-time as the game is very atmospheric. Visuals are fantastic.
 

Dabanton

Member
My only complaint is some of the game to cutscene transitions could be a bit smoother, but the game is fantastic. My GF really got into Bright Falls so has been watching me play this as well.

And again that Fog. My god. :D
 

painey

Member
I think overall the game was ok, but pretty disappointing considering how long it took and the quality of the Max Payne titles.
 
Just finished 5 & 6 of Bright Falls, definetely the best live-action anything to come out of a video game, man it was great.
Huge "oh-snap" grin at the ending too.

Girlfriend and I loving AW so far, just finished Episode 3.
Sooo good.
 
painey said:
I think overall the game was ok, but pretty disappointing considering how long it took and the quality of the Max Payne titles.
While I love the Max Payne games, they aren't all that awesome as far as gameplay goes. They are repetitive and some parts are just stupid. The level design isn't always great either.
 

modeps

Neo Member
tomedo said:
I love it how after 20 seconds I knew I was playing a Remedy game. They definitely have their own style.
Yeah, it totally reminded me of Death Rally. All that racing and blowing up cars. (this was a sarcastic comment, and was intended to be a joke)

AndyMoogle said:
While I love the Max Payne games, they aren't all that awesome as far as gameplay goes. They are repetitive and some parts are just stupid. The level design isn't always great either.
Alan Wake is no different. The combat in the game barely changes from the beginning to the end. It works well, but just like Max Payne, about half way though I wish they changed it up instead of just giving me
some bigger flashlights and possessed barrels
.
 

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
The funny thing is , that while I started the game I initially thought that there wouldnt be any "jumpscares" per se. However, its enough that one of the taken hides behind a tree and sneaks up behind me for me to crap my pants and adrenaline to shoot through my veins :D:D:D
 
modeps said:
Alan Wake is no different. The combat in the game barely changes from the beginning to the end. It works well, but just like Max Payne, about half way though I wish they changed it up instead of just giving me
some bigger flashlights and possessed barrels
.
Exactly. Remedy aren't super awesome when it comes to gameplay. It's graphics, creating a great atmosphere and, most of all, telling an awesome story that they excel at.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Man in Max Payne, I could forever play a game where I shoot things in bullet time and then watch the bullet replay. Gameplay owned.
 
Amir0x said:
Man in Max Payne, I could forever play a game where I shoot things in bullet time and then watch the bullet replay. Gameplay owned.
Really? I got bored it pretty fast, or at least stopped caring about bullet time after a few levels. It was the story that kept me going in both games.
 

Amir0x

Banned
The story lol

But yeah, really. I fucking loved Max Payne gameplay. Jumping forward in slow motion to cap three enemies at once was immensely satisfying.

I do not expect poor gameplay from Alan Wake, since Max Payne had good gameplay.
 

Wazzim

Banned
miladesn said:
http://miladesn.webs.com/-%20New%20Folder/2132414901_full.jpg[IMG]
[URL="http://www.andriasang.com/e/galleries/2010/05/15/xbox360_spring_festival/"]spring Xbox 360 Festival Gallery @ andriasnag[URL]
look at these :lol :lol :lol

[IMG]http://miladesn.webs.com/-%20New%20Folder/2132414866_full.jpg[MG]

[IMG]http://miladesn.webs.com/-%20New%20Folder/2132414873_full.jpg[IMG]

[IMG]http://miladesn.webs.com/2132414872_full.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
New complaint against the 360 from the Japanese people, the games are too scary!
 
Well Alan Wake clicked with me more so than Max Payne ever did. I didn't even finish the first Max Payne tbh. Got bored of it way before that. MP2 was definitely a better game, and I think that Alan Wake is even better.

Without the cool noir stories in the MP games I would consider them to be mediocre at best.
 
Amir0x said:
The story lol

But yeah, really. I fucking loved Max Payne gameplay. Jumping forward in slow motion to cap three enemies at once was immensely satisfying.

I do not expect poor gameplay from Alan Wake, since Max Payne had good gameplay.

Alan Wake's gamepay is just the same as Max Payne. It's very basic but fun. It lacks a bit of variety maybe (more ennemies, weapons) but you always want to go forward because of the story so it's no big deal.
 

itsinmyveins

Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
Amir0x said:
The story lol

But yeah, really. I fucking loved Max Payne gameplay. Jumping forward in slow motion to cap three enemies at once was immensely satisfying.

I do not expect poor gameplay from Alan Wake, since Max Payne had good gameplay.

Dude, the story in Max Payne is as awesome as it is silly. A whole lot of the atmosphere in those games stem from the over the top noir and clichés.

As far as Alan Wake goes I'm just about to begin on Episode 4. I'm liking it a lot although it'd be good to see something else than just trees all the time.
 
Just finished it. Ending was... interesting. Lovely song choice.

Episode 5 was by far the best. Great variety, biggest tension and best action sequences.

By the end I was very bored of the fighting mechanics. If I could run past guys I would and used a lot of my flares just to avoid combat. It was satisfying for the majority of the game but I felt it like variety and as a result it got too repetitve. I was in it for the atmosphere and story far more than shooting guys.

A great experience overall. Will be in my top 10 when it comes to GOTY list, I'm sure.

Oh, and Barry was the best thing about the game easily. What a wondefully written character.
 

Barrett2

Member
How long is the game? Since Red Dead Redemption will be lengthy, I'm wondering if this is short enough to play first and power through over a day or two...
 
Each episode is an hour to an hour and a half, I'd say. I did four of them yesterday, and the final two today.

I wasn't rushing it, so if I can finish it in 24 hours you surely can :)
 

painey

Member
lawblob said:
How long is the game? Since Red Dead Redemption will be lengthy, I'm wondering if this is short enough to play first and power through over a day or two...

it depends how you play.. the game is very linear but you can spend time just looking for the hidden collectables in odd places.. but you can easily beat it in 2 days.
 

itsinmyveins

Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
lawblob said:
How long is the game? Since Red Dead Redemption will be lengthy, I'm wondering if this is short enough to play first and power through over a day or two...

I haven't finished it yet but I'm gonna go ahead and assume that Alan Wake is far easier to just power through, simply because it's a very linear story while Red Dead Redemption will have a large open world to mess about in.
 

S1kkZ

Member
lawblob said:
How long is the game? Since Red Dead Redemption will be lengthy, I'm wondering if this is short enough to play first and power through over a day or two...
took me 11 hours on normal with some exploring (manuscript pages).
 

sam27368

Banned
tomedo said:
I love it how after 20 seconds I knew I was playing a Remedy game. They definitely have their own style.


This x10, from the font to the daylight sequences you know it's a Remedy game, they fully deserve the reputation of making awesome games. And Alan Wake looks amazing considering the hardware it's on (no dig at Xbox 360, just the fact that the innards are getting on a bit now) which shows they're still the masters of the technical side. I know this will get announced for PC, so can't wait to see what it looks like on a beefed up machine.
 

Reckoner

Member
painey said:
I think overall the game was ok, but pretty disappointing considering how long it took and the quality of the Max Payne titles.
Go play Max Payne after you complete Alan Wake and come here and say that again. Come on, I can't even compare both games, they are just too different and great games.
 

RyanDG

Member
conman said:
This was an album released as a companion to her brother's excellent novel House of Leaves. There are more than a few similarities between HoL and Alan Wake, so the inclusion of Poe's title track is certainly no accident.


What similarities are you seeing between House of Leaves and Alan Wake? I'm a huge fan of House of Leaves - which is absolutely brilliant - but outside of a few standard (and universal) comparisons that can be made to any work of eerie fiction - I see nothing that really can be used to directly connect the two works (the book and the game) as you are suggesting. I've seen other people throw this comment out there, but I'm just not seeing anything specifically that would warrant this claim.
 

Mad_Ban

Member
I'm really divided on this game so far (up to Episode 4), but I am mostly positive towards it.

What I like:
- I absolute LOVE games that have sequences not relating to action and instead focus on story and character development. The opening daylight sequence
on the ferry with Alice on the way towards Bright Falls and then going into the diner and speaking to (or helping turn the jukebox on for the bikers)
is exactly what I'm talking about. I loved the parts like this in Uncharted 2 and I love them in this. They give the game a sense of immersion that many modern games are missing.
- Scale. The big vistas in this game really are a sight to behold and it's all the more awesome given that you focus on places you WILL be going to, despite them being 3/4km away in the distance. I can forgive some graphical niggles when they have vistas as beautiful as they do in this game.
- The use of light. It really is a "WOW!" moment when you first use a flare or flashbang and I'm not sure why. It's likely down to the fact the lighting engine seems spot on and everything casts its own light (shining your torch on a chain and then seeing the shadow cast on the bench behind is an awesome sight to behold).
- Simplicity. You don't have to mess around with swapping weapons to suit the enemies every other battle. You have 3 main weapons to choose from and they each offer a different approach to a battle.
- Story. I didn't think this would be my cup of tea but it's the story which has kept me hooked into the game. I love how the manuscript pages offer a different perspective on the game and a sense of what may have been. I'm not sure about the jarring
live-action sequences with Alan on the TV
because of the seperation it has from the game world. A rendered scene would have worked better imo.
- Car controls! Despite there not being many sequences with them, I love how some of them react. One of my personal highlights of the game so far was sliding a Mustang into the
Coal Yard
. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for any game with semi-decent driving models. :D

What I dislike:
- Overall graphics. After all the hubbub Remedy had strirred up regarding the graphics ("4xAA, 720p, no tearing!"), it's disappointing that the game is a mixed bag graphically. There are many low-res textures and the game can tear often (most often in daylight I found) which I honestly didn't expect given how long the game had been in development. The 540p res only really rears its head in the daylight sequences and it frankly makes the game look like ass compared to other games out there today. I can appreciate the game had a relatively small team, but it's also had 5 years in development and it's all the more bizzare given the game WAS running at 720p on the 360 not too long ago. If the games lighting wasn't as good as it was, I honestly would not rank it in the top 10 of best looking games this gen.
- Repetition. The gunplay in Alan Wake can be frankly boring sometimes. Shining the light on an enemy for 4/8 seconds (depending on enemy class) then unloading a clip into them is monotonous and I wish there were more ways to approach this than simply throwing a flashbang at them or running towards a light haven.
- Alan's fitness. I appreciate he's an average-Joe, despite having a few $m's in the bank, but this guy needs to get on the treadmill more often. It's annoying when I have to run away from a storm or some enemies he suddenly develops a stitch and has to rest for a few moments before getting up another breath of steam.
 

Bru

Member
Yasae said:
I'm not sure if has been mentioned, but the song that plays at
the end of chapter 2
is "Haunted" by Poe. It comes from the album of the same name, released in 2000. I use this record as a mixing reference because it sounds fantastic (though the tuning is a bit obvious,) plus there are some great songs throughout. It was her best work ever. I really wish she'd come back.

Poehaunted.jpg


EDIT: Beaten, but not explained well enough.

What an incredible game............ I'm blown away.
Just started chapter 3 and can honestly say that I've never had so many full on attacks of 'goosebumps' my whole life.

As for Poe?

At the end of chapter 2 when Rose was on the phone, then Haunted kicked in. I sat speechless - just the perfect way to top off some pure gaming magic.

Stunning.
Simply stunning.
 
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