We first spotted Alan Wake during X06 in Barcelona which seems like ages ago for a video game which was first announced during the infancy of the Xbox 360. Remedy have been beavering away even though not much media has been released until recently at E3 2009 and GamesCom'09. Sadly we did not get to play the game ourselves but were given a first hand look at how Alan Wake plays.
For those of you unaware, Alan Wake the game attempts to provide a psychological action thriller that offers some open ended gameplay, lots of scares and enough action to keep you glued to your seats and controllers. In game you assume the role of estranged writer Alan Wake who is suffering from writers block and seeks solace in the small town of Bright Falls for some inspiration . However his arrival in the small town leads to the unusual disappearance of his fianc?e, leading to an unfolding of mystery and intrigue as players learn to uncover the mysteries of a book Alan does not remember writing, the darkness and tribulations of a town with a dark resident horror.What's more, the pages of the book are scattered around and once read seem to come to life, almost as if Alan is narrating life itself, blurring reality from fiction. The game's story telling style is definitely geared towards the approaches seen in TV series' and should make for some entertaining moments.
There should be lots of lateral puzzle solving, shooting and a deep spirited interaction with other characters. At its heart, the game is a mission based third person action game with some driving thrown in for good measure. Having now seen Alan Wake in the flesh so to speak, we can vouch that the game is looking rather good and seems to have captured the essence of what makes a thriller so engaging.
We were shown the demo which is featured in the Sam Lake interview video and must say that the game is just as impressive up close and personal. The interaction with Alan's agent Barry Wheeler was interesting to watch especially as we were shown how the player can choose to interact with the NPC (non playable character). In this case turning off the lights and making Barry scared was an optional thing to do but one that showcased how Barry offered some realism to the game.
Finding the pages of the book which Alan doesn't recall writing seems to offer its own interactive element and whilst the main part of the story will no doubt be extremely obvious, to the point of being unmissable, we were informed that there would be plenty of other pages scattered around that would provide more detail to the overall story. Something which points to a deeper level of exploration for those players who are looking to go that bit further into the Alan Wake world.No doubt there will be an associated achievement to go with it as well for completionists.
Other than the rather controlled atmosphere, the day and night being controlled by the game's own pace rather than on a cycle, there's not much more that can be said with regards to the cinematic direction of the game that you've not already seen in the trailers. The darkness is very much the enemy and plays a big part in how successful the player is at tackling the game's human enemies. The trusty flashlight is certainly a handy tool for weakening the turned townsfolk, but there are other sources of light which can be utilized for maximum advantage, even creating safe havens when generators are activated.The combat seems to be fluid and engaging and we were impressed at how enemies made their presence known to Alan - especially how the camera would pan to show an approaching enemy who would have been off screen. We also wondered how much chase there will be, surely infinite batteries for a flashlight might kill the atmosphere, although that said, being surrounded by more enemies than is healthy seems like great odds for simply trying to escape rather than stand ground and shoot. The clever use of light is obviously going to play a major part in this, but will players be able to embark in some wild shoot outs or is the game going to firmly place itself into the survival horror field? Questions that will no doubt get answered as we near the release next year.
Going back to the enemies for a moment, it was also interesting to note that inanimate objects can also come to life in a poltergeist way and start to attack Alan. We were shown a raging battle with a JCB which required some nimble action and use of light to stop in its tracks. This additional layer of fear is intriguing, seeing as the locales are littered with objects which could suddenly pose a threat in the blink of an eye, or when the darkness sets in.
We were shown some of the driving elements as well and although it wasn't clear how deep this would be, as a mechanic for covering large areas seemed natural and immersive. Think about how many games that feature obvious usable objects yet you can't use them. Our only reservation is how well the driving works and whether it will allow for more than just point to point movement. Possessed vehicles anyone?
In closing, the Alan Wake demo was well worth seeing despite the familiarity. The game seems to be taking for ever to develop, but this is probably a good thing as it means Remedy can create a game that lives up to expectation and provides the best experience possible for fans and non fans of the action genre. The game is coming out next year if that is some consolation, but until then we'll just have to make do with trailers, previews like this one and a drip feed of content from the development team. Alan Wake has been a long time coming and from what we've seen, the wait is going to be well and truly worthwhile.
