Alan Wake

Self-styled ‘psychological action thriller’ Alan Wake has finally appeared on the XBox after several years in development hell. The mystery adventure format recently received a boost when Heavy Rain was released, but it needs more successes to continue the current shift towards more varied gameplay.

Fortunately, Alan Wake goes a long way towards delivering a compelling narrative through a third person perspective that gives the game the basic ‘look and feel’ of many other videogame RPGs.

Alan is a successful author who finds himself caught up in an all too real version of his own fiction. He and his wife start out taking a ferry to the remote town of Bright Falls, where there’s plenty to explore before players are seized by the plot and thrown into the main game.

Our hero suddenly finds himself at the scene of a car crash in a forest. He has no recollection of what’s happened and seems to have, rather carelessly, lost his wife along the way. Armed only with a revolver and a torch, Alan sets off to find his way back to town. At this point he comes across pages from a novel that match the real events that he’s become caught up in. The manuscript is, apparently, Alan’s own work but he has no memory of ever writing it.

A dark entity, much like one described in the plot of Alan’s novel, is taking over Bright Falls and it soon becomes clear that Alan is battling against ‘Darkness’ itself. Consequently, his torch is his most effective weapon as he struggles through the forest with shadowy enemies in constant pursuit. Torches and guns are upgraded as Alan makes progress.

The game’s strengths lie in the quality of the plot, the excellent graphics, the familiar perspective, exploration and the ‘light’ metaphor/ mechanic. There’s also a fair amount of plot seeding, as clues to later events crop up along the way. Some players may feel Alan could be more of an all-action hero, but his isolation and relative vulnerability actually add to the sense of a character caught out of his depth and understanding.

At the same time, it’s plain to see that the plot is completely linear. In addition, the combat mechanics become a bit predictable and there are times when the developers seem to have been trying a little too hard on the ‘Twin Peaks’ front. It might also have been better to let Alan hold on to a few items between episodes – just how tired are we of games with checkpoints.

All of which adds up to a strong recommendation for a very worthwhile action game. Alan Wake is plot-driven, immersive and, for much of its 12 hours, very exciting. The linear plot is a disappointment after Heavy Rain and there are a few frustrations, but this is less of a problem when the plot is worth following. It’s also good to see a 15 certificate on a title which offers plenty of action without splashing out on the gore.

Alan Wake