After being in development for what seems like an age Alan Wake was finally released in the UK on 14th May 2010. Over the years Remedy had at one point billed the game as an open world survival horror where the protagonist Alan Wake is searching the fictional town of Bright Falls for his lost wife - plot sound familiar? Yes it's Silent Hill 2 basically, and much like that series it takes many pointers from David Lynch.
Somewhere along the way the open world aspect was dropped and Alan Wake became a very linear action orientated horror game in the vein of Resident Evil 4. A great game to reference and Alan Wake does it quite well i just can't help wondering how the game would've been if they'd kept the open world aspect they originally touted.
The driving sections are obviously a carry over from when it was originally planned this way and did make me wonder what it would've been like to be able to go about Wake's investigating at my own pace, nipping in cars to drive to different areas etc.
The tight linear structure however does allow Alan Wake to focus more on a structured narrative, and this is both a strength and a weakness of the game. The story is presented in a superbly cinematic way and does draw you in however it's conclusion is so confusing and unsatisfying it leaves you a bit pissed off at the game really. The story is a bit unitelligent compared to something like Silent Hill 2 and feels poorly written in places, it's a shame as this could have been something really special.
It's a similar story technically, the graphics in places can look fantastic, some of the best i've ever seen in fact. Then in other places it can look absolutely terrible.
Facial animations are poor as are the actual animations of Wake himself in places. The game also suffers from terrible screen tearing which wouldn't normally concern me but in this example is really quite excessive!
Soundtrack is fantastic and one of the areas i truly love about Alan Wake. Roy Orbison!
The combat can also be fiddly and frustrating, but on other occasions very satisfying. It's obviously trying to be Resident Evil 4 in these sections and it does have a couple of decent set pieces but overall it is a bit second rate and again inconsistent.
If i sound disappointed that's because i am, this could have been an absolute classic with a bit more care and attention. Instead it's a just a good game.
