Review: Alan Wake – Stephen King inspired gaming
By Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 15:06
Alan Wake is deep in a mystery, a mystery straight from his own imagination. Remedy studios bring us a creep-out must-have game that reminds us to stay out of the dark.
| Alan Wake |
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Developer |
Remedy |
| Publisher |
Microsoft | |
| Rating |
M |
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| Xbox 360 |
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But no! Slipping the game disc into the Xbox 360 indeed reveals the tale of Alan Wake, thriller author, on a relaxing trip away with his wife to Twin Peaks,,, ooops! I mean Bright Falls, somewhere in the north west of the U.S.A.
The first two words of voice over dialogue in this game are ‘Stephen King’ and this aptly sets the scene for unashamedly delving into the inspiration that developer Remedy has drawn upon for this superb mature game.
On paper, the tale of a troubled author on holiday trying to shake writers-block does not make good video-game copy. But throw in the setting from Twin Peaks, the pacing of Lost, H.P.Lovecraft style horror and King style characterisations (though, without his excellent take on childhood) and the pitch suddenly improves.
It is going to be difficult to explain Alan Wake to the uninitiated, much like a game such as Heavy Rain on the PS3, Alan Wake on the Xbox 360 relies much on the twists and turns of its plot as it does for the game-play mechanics. The problem is talking about this aspect without introducing spoilers.
As Wake (voiced by Matthew Porretta) and his wife enter Bright Falls there is a foreboding feeling – granted, mostly set by the opening dream sequence/tutorial – that something is not quite right. That unshakeable Twilight Zone mood created by years of watching too much small-town-weirdness fiction. Wake collects the keys to the lake-house after getting a warning from the local loonies to ‘stay out of the dark’ and it is off to the isolated location for a bit of R&R.
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