Alan Wake

[diskoboy]

I thought there was already a thread for Alan Wake, but the search came up dry. So I figured I'd get this thread going, because I know there are probably some people out there that picked up a copy before the street date, tomorrow.

I'm picking up my copy in the around lunch.

[maxlords]

Yeah, I got mine on Friday :) Haven't even opened it yet...

[chrissylas]

I'm going to grab mine at lunch time tomorrow. Can't wait! I've been looking forward to it since its announcement. To be honest, after the amount of time between its announcement and release I always sort of figured it'd be quietly canceled. To see it actually be released is a treat :)

[Slate]

I haven't bought a copy, I'm not sure if I will rent it either. I'm kinda tired of this sort of game, I'm sure its not a bad game but I'd rather be playing something online with friends. I will however say the graphics look really good.

Austin

[The 1 2 P]

I was going to make a thread for this tonight so I'm glad to see one finally started. I'm picking up my limited edition copy tomorrow morning and will be playing it as soon as I get home.

[diskoboy]

Twin Peaks fans will definitely like this game. The narration reminds me of American Psycho.

But the lip synching really needs a patch.

[maxlords]

The LE has some of the coolest packaging I've ever seen, gotta say. No time to play it today though :( I was shocked to see that the book was friggin HARDBACK! Very nice!

[Smoke]

I heard that you need to buy the DLC to see the ending... is this true?

[diskoboy]

Roy Orbison = awesome as all hell.

[G-Boobie]

The LE has some of the coolest packaging I've ever seen, gotta say. No time to play it today though :( I was shocked to see that the book was friggin HARDBACK! Very nice!

Indeed! Well bound hardback, no less. VERY impressive. The 'book' packaging is great too.


I heard that you need to buy the DLC to see the ending... is this true?

I haven't heard that. I haven't completed it yet, so I can't say for sure.

Things I love about the game so far:

1) NIGHT SPRINGS. They need to release a DVD with all the episodes on it. Crazy fun stuff.

2) These are the best 'scary woods at night' in any game ever.

3) The shooting is exceptionally satisfying.

4) It has "Twin Peaks" scribbled all over it. With Deadly Premonition, that's two Twin Peaks inspired games this year.

Things that cause me concern:

1) collecting coffee thermoses.....?

2) The voice actor for Alan Wake is essentially 'meh'.

3) There's a HELL of a lot of combat, more than a horror game should probably have. I was expecting more of a psychological horror game, but that's my fault for believing the PR vomit. I know that I said that the shooting was satisfying, but man... There's a lot of it, you know?

All in all, so far so good. Even with all the shooting and plentiful ammo, Alan Wake puts any Silent Hill since number three to utter and complete shame. Here's hoping it holds up til the end (and through the already announced DLC).

Oh yeah:

Thing that annoys me number four: DLC.

[diskoboy]

Twin Peaks references thus far:

-Pacific Northwest setting
-Very Lynch-esque atmosphere - As previously stated, these woods are creepy as hell. And surprisingly very long
-Diner w/old jukebox (Double R, in TP)
-Hotel by waterfall
-Ditzy police secretary
-Fish on the table (instead of in the coffee pot)
-Falling moose heads.


This game seriously could give a few AAA horror movies a run for their money. There are points in the game that actually made me jump about 10 feet in the air.

[The 1 2 P]

The LE has some of the coolest packaging I've ever seen, gotta say. I was shocked to see that the book was friggin HARDBACK! Very nice!


Indeed! Well bound hardback, no less. VERY impressive. The 'book' packaging is great too.

I was also very impressed when I opened my limited edition up yesterday. I took a pic for the finds thread of all the goodies for others to see. Everything sits in there so sturdy which makes this one of the best produced limited editions this gen. I bet that in a few years this one will go up in price.

I only got to play for an hour last night and I am just now getting home from work. I will play some more tonight. It's a shame the Halo Reach beta ends tonight because Alan Wake is going to be occupying most of my time in the near future.

[Poofta!]

i too got the LE on release day (from newegg, no tax and they shipped it before release so it got here on release day!).

i will echo everyone that wow is the LE nice!

i havent played the game yet, actually about to.

question to everyone who got the LE and played it already:
the book included, is it spoiler-rific? i want to take the book w/ me to work tomorrow and read it some, but i dont want it to spoil the game for me. so, any info on this?

edit: just finished the first episode. great game. im really into the story. this is probably the most interesting horror game i have played. going to bed now.

[diskoboy]

Am I the only person who bought the LE that was pissed that Roy Orbison track was left off the soundtrack?

[The 1 2 P]

I just finished episode 2 and I'm becoming more and more intrigued with the storyline. I can't wait to see how this ends but I will enjoy the full ride in the meantime.

[megasdkirby]

Since I recently finished Deadly Premonition, I was thinking about picking up this game. Possibly the LE version, as Amazon still has a few in stock. Also, because I have a $20 credit thanks to Super Mario Galaxy 2. :D

Question: on Amazon it says that if I had preordered the game, I would get DLC for free (only on LE version). Is the DLC inside the game packaging?

[Eternal Tune]

Since I recently finished Deadly Premonition, I was thinking about picking up this game. Possibly the LE version, as Amazon still has a few in stock. Also, because I have a $20 credit thanks to Super Mario Galaxy 2. :D

Question: on Amazon it says that if I had preordered the game, I would get DLC for free (only on LE version). Is the DLC inside the game packaging?

There are more DLC that amazon will email you if you pre-ordered.

[diskoboy]

Since I recently finished Deadly Premonition, I was thinking about picking up this game. Possibly the LE version, as Amazon still has a few in stock. Also, because I have a $20 credit thanks to Super Mario Galaxy 2. :D

Question: on Amazon it says that if I had preordered the game, I would get DLC for free (only on LE version). Is the DLC inside the game packaging?

It contains a code to download it. It doesn't come out until the end of June.

And personally, I can't wait. I just beat it tonight. Awesome ending.

[maxlords]

I'm just into Ep. 2 right now...and there's a few things I REALLY REALLY hate about the game so far.

1. The "Where to Go" text. Do we SERIOUSLY need text blocking up the screen with exactly where to go or what to do for the WHOLE GAME? I mean...you already have the nav circle...hit select or something to pop up the info if you need it! Gah! And you can't turn it off! I hate games like this when they ruin your sense of immersion!

2. The camera. AW has one of the worst cameras I've seen in a long time. I LOVE the fact that you can move it as you please. I DESPISE the fact that it's got NO AI AT ALL. Camera doesn't follow you even a little...it just stays where you leave it. So when ya get massed...you're looking at a bush and turning the camera just in time to see yourself get killed. Yay. Damn thing should at least sort of auto track and leave it up to you whether to take over.

3. Is there even a lock on at all for enemies? That'd be nice....

4. The sound levels. The sound levels in this game are SO LOW that I had to turn my TV up to double it's normal volume for it to be the same volume as any other game. WTF?

Other than those things...so far I'm pretty ok with it. Story SEEMS decent...presentation is pretty good. The graphics are already a fair bit dated compared to most of the current stuff, but for the amount of time in dev....it could be worse.

[The 1 2 P]

Is the DLC inside the game packaging?

All new copies of Alan Wake(both regular and LE) have a download code for the first(of two) new episode, which will be available in either June or July. If you buy a used copy than this episode will cost you 800 Microsoft points($10).

[skaar]

Ok, finished it and loved it.

The LE I bought came with a code for free DLC. Free DLC not out until July. But they are selling two parts of a DLC on there already for 800 points each. Is that not free somehow or are we expected to buy them too? I inputted my code and it downloaded 500MB of ?!?

$89 for an LE... and $20 for more stuff on release day?

Unhappy face.

[The 1 2 P]

The LE I bought came with a code for free DLC. Free DLC not out until July. But they are selling two parts of a DLC on there already for 800 points each. Is that not free somehow or are we expected to buy them too? I inputted my code and it downloaded 500MB of ?!?

Those "two parts" of DLC for 800 points each are the two episodes I talked about in my previous post. You can't download either yet. The first one(titled "The Signal") will be free with your code(that came with new copies of the game) once it becomes available. The second dlc episode will not be free and I'm going to guess that it will also be 800 Microsoft points.

[videogameking26]

Picked up the LE also, yet to open it up yet because of a game called Split/Second that I'm currently addicted to big time:-)

[Eternal Tune]

Also, for the record the Amazon pre-order codes were for an Alan Wake t-shirt for a male avatar, a female avatar and then Bright Falls theme.

[Poofta!]

so no one read the book yet?

[maxlords]

Saving the webisodes and the book for after I finish the game in case of spoilers :)

I already got one spoiler just from the goddamn titles of the DLC currently. Bah @ DLC.

[Poofta!]

i just finished the 2nd episode, i wish i had more time to play, seems i can get like 1 episode in every 2 days at this rate (alas, real life beckons).

LOVING the game so far. i cannot recommend it enough to horror fans (im not really one myself) and fans of just good mature game/film making! it really does play like a well written movie (but you actually play 99% of it, vs watching cgi).

this game doesnt seem very popular here, its a pity, as a place filled with mature gamers, i figured this would be a hit. are people just unwilling to spend the money (i dont blame you, times are tough) or still hesitant to buy?

[The 1 2 P]

I just finished the game. Besides for a "wtf" ending, this has "game of the year" written all over it, especially for it's story. And I can even give the ending a pass because I know the story will be continued thru the DLC.

Now that I finished my first play thru I can go read the book and watch the special features dvd(I also didn't want to accidentally discover any spoilers before I finished). Tomorrow I will start my nightmare play thru so that I can clean up the rest of my achievement list.

[The 1 2 P]

Since I'm on my second playthru(nightmare difficulty) I decided to enable the developers commentary while I play. This is the only console game I can ever remember having a commentary soudtrack thru out the actual game, although they pretty much pop in and out at certain points with useful information. You have to install this commentary track from the bonus disc and then enable it from the game disc. Doing so unlocks an avatar trophy(a long sleeve shirt/jacket thingie). And you can turn the commentary on and off at your leisure from the options menu.

[Oobgarm]

this game doesnt seem very popular here, its a pity, as a place filled with mature gamers, i figured this would be a hit. are people just unwilling to spend the money (i dont blame you, times are tough) or still hesitant to buy?

After hearing you can pretty much blow through this one, I can't justify $60 on it, even if it's a great experience. Yeah, there will be DLC, but I can't help but think I'll have the same feelings about it as I did with Heavy Rain and Dante's Inferno: fun, but not $60 fun.

This game has $29.99 all over it for me.

[Robocop2]

I just picked up the game tonight havent had a chance to play it yet. While I would normally wait; the LE was just too cool to risk missing out on and it seems to be relatively hard to find around here already so it was a no brainer for me at least,

[The 1 2 P]

I just beat the game on Nightmare difficulty. I'm missing 2 thermos, 2 signs, 1 chest and 1 page. And thats all by just playing thru the game twice and exploring as much as possible. I'll probably use a guide to find the remaining items. I can't wait for the first DLC to come out.

[The 1 2 P]

What a difference a day makes. I just found the remaining thermos, signs and chest I needed as well as getting the other achievments I was missing. So now I have perfected this game for a perfect 1000 out of 1000 gamerscore. It feels good to have conquered this game....until the DLC comes out and adds more achievements and gamerscore:)

[Robocop2]

Let me just say that the battle at the farm is one of the most epic things I have done in a game in a while. THAT is what the stage battles in Brutal Legend should have been like

[The 1 2 P]

Let me just say that the battle at the farm is one of the most epic things I have done in a game in a while. THAT is what the stage battles in Brutal Legend should have been like

I agree. I didn't bring it up before because I didn't want to spoil anything but you really can't spoil it. I can easily say that it was one of the best gaming moments I have experienced this year though.

[Poofta!]

yeah the stage was an awesome game segment. they should do something like that in a zombie game >=P

[portnoyd]

Started this one a few days ago. I'm enjoying it. The whole presentation made me turn off my lights, been a long time since I did that in a game (Silent Hill 2 long time). The story (and manuscript pages) are intriguing as all hell. The combat is a little bland but still fun. Almost done with Episode 2. Only gripe is:


2. The camera. AW has one of the worst cameras I've seen in a long time. I LOVE the fact that you can move it as you please. I DESPISE the fact that it's got NO AI AT ALL.

Holy hell yes. The very first Taken you run into, in the nightmare, I started backing away from on the bridge. I get to the end and I'm like 'Wtf, where do I go?' and I get hacked to bits. Next time, I manually turn the camera and keep going. Riiiight.

That and the characters look a little plasticy, but I can forgive that.

[Dobie]

I picked up the LE, I agree with the above posters that it is worth the extra cost. The book is cool, however I was hoping it was going to be the manuscript from the game. I know I can read it in the game if I really want, but I thought that would have been a cool "breaking the 3rd wall" kind of thing.

They really nailed small tourist town in the Pacific Northwest. Completely. The sounds of the forest, the landscapes, the kooky locals, shops, everything. Added so much to the atmosphere, and the game is already dripping in atmosphere.

Overall, I loved the game, despite its flaws. I am really disappointed to see it is not selling well. It never cracked the top 20 played games on Live. When I picked up my preordered copy, there were only 2 or 3 copies sitting next to the PILES of Red Dead. Shame it doesn't get more sales love than it has, because it seems to get good remarks from everyone who plays it.

[portnoyd]

Not selling well? Really? That's a shame. Also: another vote for the lovely LE.

Just started Episode 4. Really digging it.

[Robocop2]

Yeah the LE rocks easily the best LE I've seen.

Its funny you mention the sales of the game. I posted about it on another forum I visit in the video game thread( that should probably tell me something right there if theres ONE thread for all gaming) and the only response I got was a silly comment about how the name of the game reminded one guy of Alan Thicke. Really? Of course most of that thread is corrupted with guitar hero/rock band song pack releases or chatter about 3D. They have been talking alot about Red Dead though so maybe its just that Red Dead is the more mainstream of the two?

[Dobie]

I suppose the sales are conjecture on my part somewhat, since I don't think the NPD data is out on it yet. But Red Dead is #2 on Live consistently since its release, and Alan Wake is nowhere to be seen, even on the week it released. Its even below the likes of Snoopy Flying Ace. I think the writing is on the wall. :-(

[Therealqtip]

"I knew i had to go to the light house, I just knew I had to"

Pretty awesome to start a game.

[The 1 2 P]

I have also heard that sales of this game(US only) haven't been very impressive so far. If that continues I doubt we will see any future releases beyond the two DLC episodes. And that sucks because this game was very well made(although there are a few things they could fix).

Edit: I just read on Joystiq that both DLC episodes will be $7 each instead of the $10 price seen on the extras menu in the game. That price was just a placeholder (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/17/alan-wake-dlc-episodes-priced-at-7-each/).

[megasdkirby]

Finally able to pick up the CE edition on Amazon! Pretty nice setup, I admit.

I hope to play this soon, once I finish Blue Dragon.

[Griking]

I was going to purchase the game but then I saw a story about the excessive amount of advertising in the game which turned me off enough to change my mind.

[portnoyd]

Who gives a shit, just play the fucking game already

[maxlords]

I was going to purchase the game but then I saw a story about the excessive amount of advertising in the game which turned me off enough to change my mind.

You're kidding, right? There are what, a couple ads for Verizon and a car that the main character drives a couple times. Big friggin deal. Is your sales resistance so low that you can't ignore those? It's not like the bad guys are wearing McDonalds T-shirts and whisking you away to Disneyland....

[Griking]

You're kidding, right? There are what, a couple ads for Verizon and a car that the main character drives a couple times. Big friggin deal. Is your sales resistance so low that you can't ignore those? It's not like the bad guys are wearing McDonalds T-shirts and whisking you away to Disneyland....

There's a difference between seeing an add in a sports or racing game where they actually add to the realism and adds in suspense games that change the atmosphere and ruin the moment. And it's not about my sales resistance, it's about my advertising tolerance.

[portnoyd]

Who gives a shit, just play the fucking game already

Who gives a shit, just play the fucking game already

[megasdkirby]

There's a difference between seeing an add in a sports or racing game where they actually add to the realism and adds in suspense games that change the atmosphere and ruin the moment. And it's not about my sales resistance, it's about my advertising tolerance.

O_O

Forget about all that. You are missing on an excellent game just because of a few adds?

I agree with this sentiment:


Who gives a shit, just play the fucking game already

[migo]

I'm glad I don't have the tendency to buy things right when they're released. It was one of the games I figured was worth getting for my Arcade, but if I need DLC, it's rather useless without the hard drive.

[maxlords]

There's a difference between seeing an add in a sports or racing game where they actually add to the realism and adds in suspense games that change the atmosphere and ruin the moment. And it's not about my sales resistance, it's about my advertising tolerance.


Bah. IMO him driving a real car that really exists adds to the realism. The Verizon stuff....none of it was during particularly meaningful scenes either. It's way better than most of the blatant product placement in virtually every movie we see these days... Do you watch movies? Or drive on the freeway? Or go outside your house? Product placement is simply a fact of life these days...it's only a matter of time before it's in most games.

[exit]

I got the game as a birthday present Saturday, got to the end of it yesterday and beat the last episode today. I was kind of iffy about the game when I first started it, but I slowly got into it and eventually just couldn't put it down. I started giving up on trying to find all the manuscript pages towards the end, since things got rather hectic, but I liked how they explained what happened to other characters when they were left behind/separated from you.

Atari should take a lesson from this game and see how a real Alone in the Dark game should have been, instead of giving us the shitstorm that was Inferno.


I was going to purchase the game but then I saw a story about the excessive amount of advertising in the game which turned me off enough to change my mind.

I'm not sure what story you read, but I saw maybe 3 ads in the game. I saw two commercials when I turned on a TV and a Verizon billboard when I was driving down a road, that's it. It was nothing blatant, none of the characters said "Hey, I should order some Pizza Hut on my Verizon phone and jump in my H2 Hummer to go pick it up!", none of it took anything away from the game.

And I don't see how seeing ads for Burger King as you're playing Madden 10 is acceptable, but driving past a BK drive-thru in anything else crosses a line.

[portnoyd]

Just finished it. The last boss I had to use the Pizza Hut Breadstick Cannon because the boss was able to spawn the Can You Hear Me Now Guy and flares don't hurt him. Made it a little harder, but then again the fucking useless camera made an unnecessary black spot on an otherwise excellent game.

[The 1 2 P]

I just played thru the first DLC--The Signal. It was a nice, although brief, journey that further expanded upon the narrative. It also pretty much fortells what the last piece of DLC will be about. The boss battle was.....wacky but it was a nice hour or so time waster.

[megasdkirby]

I just played thru the first DLC--The Signal. It was a nice, although brief, journey that further expanded upon the narrative. It also pretty much fortells what the last piece of DLC will be about. The boss battle was.....wacky but it was a nice hour or so time waster.

Definitely.

I wished the DLC would have last a few more hours, but at least it was fun. It seemed a bit "forced" for some reason, though I can't pinpoint why.

I need to replay the episode, mostly to find the missing alarm clock and get the other missing achievements, including finishing the last "boss" in less than a minute and a half.

Still missing some achievements from the main game as well, mainly two manuscripts missing.

[The 1 2 P]

I just finished playing thru the second(and last) episode of downloadable content--The Writer. This episode was a bit longer than the first and the ending tied up the first game pretty well while also leaving the door wide open for a sequel(all horror games/movies have to do this).

Unfortunately we may never get a sequel because of how poorly Alan Wake has sold. And that sucks because it's still one of my candidates for game of the year and most certainly has one of the best stories of the year. But if this is the last game in the series, atleast Remedy went out strong. I can also take comfort in knowing that it will become a classic some day.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

Let me just say that the battle at the farm is one of the most epic things I have done in a game in a while. THAT is what the stage battles in Brutal Legend should have been like

holy shit...that is word for word exactly what i said in my mind when i played that part lol

[The 1 2 P]

I'm still hoping this game gets a sequel. At the very least it became Time Magazine's video game of the year last year.

[The 1 2 P]

I'm still hoping this game gets a sequel.

Well atleast it's getting something (http://www.industrygamers.com/news/new-alan-wake-coming-not-sequel-or-dlc/), although what that is may be a little difficult to decipher at the moment:


"Fans of the franchise will be excited to learn that yes, more Wake is coming! But to be absolutely certain to avoid confusion, this next Wake installment will not be Alan Wake 2. And neither will it be DLC," said Oskari Hakkinen, Remedy’s head of franchise development.

So it's not a sequel and it's not DLC but it's directly related to Alan Wake. The only thing I can think of is a spin off. Hopefuly we get more details at E3 next month.

[maxlords]

I hope they fix the combat! I LOVED the story...even if the last bit was somewhat confusing...