Alan Wake ha sido un juego con una maldición echada encima desde el principio.
Developed by Remedy, in what was long expected to be endless development, it ended up being released in May of this year. It has not been a game that has achieved a large amount of sales, this has probably been aggravated because its launch coincided with the great Red Dead Redeption of which we will talk at another time.
But is it a game worth it? For me without a doubt, from start to finish.
Alan Wake puts us in the shoes of the writer with the same name, who is preparing to enjoy a relaxing trip with his wife (Alice Wake), to the fictional town of Bright Falls, which is in preparation for its great annual deer festival. Alan, after having achieved success with his previous book series, finds himself in a creative crisis that prevents him from writing anything, with the added pressure of having his editor and friend, Barry Wheeler, behind him all day trying to get something new out of his typewriter. Everything begins to go wrong when it seems that the visit to Bright Falls is not going to have anything normal, since an evil darkness is resident in the town; From that moment on, a story begins to be told that keeps the player glued to the controller for hours.
Alan Wake is a psychological thriller that does not use many typical concepts of similar video games, but instead tries to innovate in many aspects:
- In the game we have light as our main weapon that helps us fight against the darkness, to do this we can use anything from a flashlight, which we will have to power with batteries, to a flare launcher. Although we will also have weapons in our arsenal such as: a pistol, several shotguns and a hunting rifle that will come in handy to kill our enemies. Alan’s life is represented by a bar, and the color of the screen will turn grayish when we are on the verge of death, although there are always several safe points of light such as streetlights, which will also help us heal.
- There are also several parts of the story in which we drive a vehicle, these parts have a battery system that we must use in conjunction with the car’s lights to move forward trying not to run out of energy. Vehicle handling is not a very notable part of the game, leading to quite a few unwanted crashes.
- Each of the six chapters of the game is presented to us as an episode of a television series. Starting with a summary of the most important things from the previous chapter and concluding in what is usually called a cliffhanger, leaving players with honey on their lips and wanting more.
- The majority of the game takes place at night, playing with the fear of darkness that resides in most mortals, which helps to enjoy sublime light effects, placing special emphasis on the shadows that our flashlight can form. Although in the daytime phases, the darkness gives us a break and allows us to enjoy the surroundings of the town of Bright Falls, which is also not short of incredible scenery.
The setting is therefore great and cannot help but make a big nod to the magnificent series Twin Peaks. This is complemented by the hundreds of items to collect within the game, which range from mere cups of coffee (with the sole purpose of extending the game, very much like pigeons in Grand Theft Auto 4), to very interesting details such as radio programs (which teach us a little more about life in Bright Falls); the manuscripts (which help us delve even deeper into Alan’s story) or even a science fiction and horror program called “The Night Rises” that can be seen on some televisions in the town (Remembering the mythical program “In the limits of reality”).
The game also has 2 extra downloadable chapters: The Signal and the Writer, the first of these being free with the purchase of the game, and the second costing 560 Microsoft Points (About 6 euros). Both extend the ending of the game, leaving the player wanting more and clearly leaving an open ending to the continuation of Alan Wake in a second part.
Another notable point is that for collector users, as is my case, this game has one of the best collector’s editions of Xbox 360. The box imitates a novel, which inside contains: The game itself, a DVD of extras and another with the soundtrack, and a book titled “The Alan Wake File” of 134 pages, with notes and interesting interviews, which should be read after finishing the game.
And we come to the end of this analysis with a summary, and of course also with a numerical note for the lazy:
- Presentation: The care taken in the entire game, both from the way the chapters begin and end, to the small details such as the program “La Noche Se Levanta”, makes the game worthy of an outstanding rating in this category. 9.5
- Graphics: Although the faces of the characters can be greatly improved, the lighting effects and environments compensate for this section. 8
- Duration and Engagement: The game has an average duration of 1 or 2 hours per chapter, but it keeps you glued to the television the entire time. 9
- Downloadable Content: Free downloadable content is appreciated, and the fact that the paid content has an acceptable duration is a point in its favor when seeing other content of the same price. Furthermore, it can be said that both chapters maintain the same quality as the rest of the game. 8.5
- Final Note: Alan’s control may be a few tenths away, somewhat robotic at times, the faces that look like they were made of wax, and some bugs in the game. But in my opinion it is a game that every Xbox 360 owner should at least try. 9.1