Alan Wake

by Microsoft

Product Features

• From Remedy, the masters of cinematic action, comes a 3rd person action game filled with overwhelming odds
• Alan Wake is like a tightly paced thriller TV series, offering endless twists and cliffhangers, and building up to an epic conclusion.
• Light is your greatest weapon and only protection as dark¬ness takes over everything and everyone, and turns them against you.
• Episodic narrative
• Suspenseful and gripping storyline

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0010AYJXI
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 7.5 x 0.1 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: May 18, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (235 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #540 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #43 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Action

Product Description

Edition: Standard

Amazon.com

Alan Wake, developed by Remedy Entertainment for the Xbox 360, is psychological action thriller that incorporates the elements of a TV show with the interactivity of a video game for a uniquely immersive experience. A suspenseful story told in successive episodes, this release will treat players to top-notch graphics that give the game a stunning cinematic look.

Search for clues to figure out the mystery. View larger.

Alan Wake slowly realizes that his nightmares are coming true. View larger.

You'll be able to freely roam the town of Bright Falls. View larger.

High definition graphics and lighting effects make for a spectacular looking game. View larger.

A Nightmare Turns to Life
Alan Wake is a bestselling horror novelist who moved to the small town of Bright Falls, Washington after suffering from insomnia and depression. Wake is able to sleep again, but after he meets a mysterious woman, he begins to have terrible nightmares. As he puts these nightmares on paper for a new book, he soon notices that all the things that happen in his book are coming true right before his eyes.

Using cinematic effects and technology such as real-time lighting, shadows and reflections, you'll be treated to a game that is oozing with atmosphere and able to invoke an emotional response from the player. The realistic environment features real-time weather and light changes that effect the game play for a remarkably immersive experience.

Explore an Entire Town
The town of Bright Falls is 100 square kilometers, and players will be able to roam through this incredibly detailed area any way they like, roaming the town or wandering out to the lakes, forest, satellite towns, and more. The game gives the player goals, but how he chooses to go about completing them is up to him. Clues are scattered throughout the town, and solving mysteries will require players to pay close attention to the little details.

Intense Combat
In addition to solving puzzles and exploration, the game also pushes players into serious action and combat; when night comes, creatures will take their best shots at Alan, and you'll have to be quick with strategy as well as weapons to beat them back.

Alan Wake presents an unusual and new gaming experience that features a riveting, multi-layered story while giving the player the ability to freely roam a giant environment. It supports Dolby Digital sound.

Product Description

When the wife of the best-selling writer Alan Wake disappears on their vacation, his search turns up pages from a thriller he doesn’t even remember writing. A dark presence stalks the small town of Bright Falls, Washington pushing Wake to the brink of sanity in his fight to unravel the mystery and save the woman he loves. With the body of an action game and the mind of a psychological thriller, Alan Wake is a pulse-pounding thrill ride.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great game for the older folks, December 26, 2010

By 

Adam Petrone "Adam" (New York) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Alan Wake (Video Game)

The game is more brain usage than shoot them up. I enjoyed playing this game and I'm 59. I don't enjoy the blow up everything games. This game tells a story and is alot more then just running around shooting everything. As far as I'm concerned it's one of the best video games I ever played.

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Horror Fan is Satisfied., July 16, 2010

By 

Scott M. Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alan Wake (Video Game)

When approaching Alan Wake I wasn't really sure what to expect. I've always been a huge survival horror fan. I've been fighting off hordes of the undead since the first Resident Evil on PS1 (actually since "Zombies ate my Neighbors" on SNES). I didn't know too much about Alan Wake but I decided to give it a shot anyways. Boy was I suprised! This game turned out to be a jewel. Alan Wake has so much atmosphere you could bottle it up and sell it out of a soda machine. Some games don't get the pacing right, with too much of this or too much of that. Alan Wake seems to have pacing perfected (action, exploration, puzzles). If you're a horror game fan you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. This game has renewed my love for the XBOX 360. I just hope they don't take too long to make a full sequel.

110 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Game Review - Alan Wake, May 18, 2010

By 

Rich Newman "Rich Newman" (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Alan Wake (Video Game)

It seems that David Lynch missed the boat somewhere. With the current rush of thriller style horror games hitting the market, he could have produced a game of epic proportions. In his absence, however, Remedy Entertainment has stepped up to the plate. If Deadly Premonition managed to capture the quirky characters and almost farcical style of Twin Peaks, Alan Wake has nailed the foreboding, fear-filled side of the series.

Author Alan Wake is trapped in a story that he doesn't remember writing and his wife's life is at stake. Armed with his trusty flashlight and an assortment of weapons, he must stave off the forces of darkness lurking throughout the town of Bright Falls while uncovering the clues to his own memory loss, his mysterious, new novel Departure and the location of his abducted spouse. And it all plays out as cinematically as any game has ever managed to do.

The Story

Penned by the deft hand of Sam Lake, there are definite echoes of Max Payne within this game--primarily the ongoing introspection and voice-over that narrates the story as it unfolds before the gamer. Otherwise, Alan Wake is a completely unique experience. Twists and turns in the plot manage to keep the story within grasp while introducing new and interesting tidbits throughout the game.

Game levels are scripted as 'episodes'--much as they were in Deadly Premonition--beginning with flashbacks of what has happened previously in the story/game. It gives the game a television-like vibe that brings to mind series like Lost and the X-Files--and is spoofed by the game itself with glimpses of a popular program (called Night Springs) that resembles the Twilight Zone on in-game televisions. In addition to the 'what happened before' flashbacks, gamers are also treated to a unique song between each of the episodes (such as the eerily appropriate In Dreams by Roy Orbison that also made an appearance in David Lynch's Blue Velvet).

Admittedly, the game is a little long on cut-scenes/cinematics--but they are absolutely forgivable within Alan Wake as they enhance the game experience and almost give the gamer the feeling they are 'playing within a movie.' Don't ignore the cut-scenes in this game; they are as beautiful as they are relevant.

Sights and Sounds

If Alan Wake is not the most gorgeous game ever released on the Xbox 360, then I don't know what is! Daytime in Bright Falls reveals a rustic Pacific Northwestern town that has been exquisitely detailed and constructed--but when night falls, the game is drenched in some of the best uses of light and shadow ever included within a game. Seriously, just watch how the flashlight bursts through the mists rising from the woodland trail in front of you, and take a peak at the white-capped mountains in the distance rimmed with moonlight and dare to disagree with me.

The sound design of the game is equally evocative; choosing to feature ambient music and sound effects for the background pays off with a steady build of fear and dread throughout the game. Enjoy the 'between the episodes' music for what it is: A break from the tension!

One last thing I want to mention in this section is the fine detail of facial expressions and character mannerisms throughout the game. They give a uniqueness to every person you encounter and make interactions throughout Alan Wake a pleasure.

The Game Play

Alan Wake's game play is structured much like other Third Person Shooters, so if you have fears of the tough-to-handle style of movement associated with other horror games (think Silent Hill and Alone in the Dark), you can rest easy. The mechanics involved with using the dual weapon system (flashlight/gun, etc.) are extremely user-friendly as well: Point the light at the enemy and that's where your bullets will hit.

In addition to the main storyline of the game, there are other, ongoing mini-missions as well--though they are mostly of the 'collectibles' variety. So be sure to pay attention to your surroundings and don't be afraid of leaving the well-trodden path to search for hidden caches of ammo, manuscript pages or the occasional thermos of coffee.

While the vast majority of this game is a pleasure to play, there are a few short comings that I would be remiss in not mentioning. The driving element of this game is mediocre at best; the drivable vehicles (not every car/truck is available to Wake) are a bit sluggish and handle a bit clumsily--though this, admittedly, does add to the tension of the game when bad guys are swarming you. But this is a minor thing since Wake is rarely forced to use a vehicle.

The continuous navigation of woodland paths (with the occasional handful of enemies jumping out) can also get a bit repetitive--though the game does manage to stay (for the most part) fun. And it would have been nice to have had a bit more of a map, rather than a simple GPS dot to follow--especially when you are trying to navigate through some of the more open areas of the game.

Summation

Though no game is perfect, I have to admit that in a lot of ways, Alan Wake is damn close! I give it 4.5 stars out of 5 (due to the minor shortcomings already mentioned). Alan Wake is the perfect mix of story and game play--and a fine example of how applying cinematic film techniques to a game can give it a depth that other titles can only dream of achieving. Do yourself a favor: Buy Alan Wake, fire it up and turn down the lights. Just don't forget to catch your breath during the musical interludes...

You can check out more of my game reviews on my Amazon Author's Page (http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JRWEAC).

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