The horror genre (books, movies, games) contains a wide array of talented genius. From Stephen King to HP Lovecraft from VC Andrews to Halloween and Friday the 13th, horror has some winners and sadly, more often, some notable losers. For every Twilight Zone or Vacancy, there exists a Killer Clowns From Outer Space or Wicker Man. And, Alan Wake, a psychological horror video game, is definitely a winner. However serious the game appears to be, it does its best to poke fun at both itself and the horror genre. Tons of inside jokes, obvious parodies and a literary mise en abyme (French for: story within a story) litter the game.
From a strictly video game playing standpoint, Alan Wake is a masterpiece that falls short of its lofty expectations. Gamers have been salivating over this release from Raven for almost as long as Sci-Fi fans have been waiting on Star Craft II. With that said, the game is solid in every way. In fact, it is possibly the best in its class. It rises above (pardon the pun) the zombie-fodder games like Left for Dead or Resident Evil by consistently telling a story. It is a story that is compelling and paced like a novel.
The craft of interjecting interactive gameplay into a sophisticated and engaging story is not to be diminished. If nothing else, Alan Wake shows just how blurred the lines between the mediums of movies, art and games have become. The game marries the visual punch and allure of a great horror flick and the immersive, imaginative world of a novel with game play mechanics that are challenging and draw the gamer into the story even more.
I won't bore you with details or play the spoiler, since it IS a story. But, the basic storyline revolves around a famous horror writer (hence the mise en abyme) who takes a trip to a small town in the middle of nowhere. His wife has planned the trip as a get-away so Alan can concentrate on his writing. Evidently, he has had writer's block. And so ensues the story I can no longer describe without giving too much away.
All good horror novels and movies have likeable main characters and Alan certainly fits the bill. He is self-aware, but often in a way that is humorous and affable. And the other characters in the story are well-thought out and appropriate. Of course, many fill roles within the story that are classic to the horror genre. But for every odd-ball character with campy horror movie roots, there is a character that would fit in with reality. And by exploring the entire town, a gamer can get the best experience. The developers worked hard to merge the real with the wacky, the mundane and everyday with the creepy and supernatural. And it works.
The soundtrack is absolutely one of the best in gaming. The graphics are spot-on. The gameplay only has an occasional hiccup. The voice acting is above average. The writing is superb. Really, there isn't much that can be said negatively. But some will. As was referenced earlier, the expectations for this game were off the charts and so many of the conventions of the game seem a little behind the times. And not everyone was ready for the total experience of the game, I suppose. It really isn't a first person shooter, but it uses some of those conventions. It really isn't a mystery. But, we are asking mystery-type questions from the first chapter. It has an unlockable mode, highly sought after among gamers, but the only objectives there are to find missing pages of a manuscript that you collect.
The game might be better known for what it wasn't. And that is sad. Alan Wake may stand as one of the most highly anticipated video games in history that failed to meet expectations, but on the whole turned out to be one of the very best of its kind.
THE BOTTOM LINE
RATINGS
Gameplay 8
Sound 10
Graphics 9
Replayability 6 (Nightmare mode the only draw)
OVERALL 8.9
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