I got Alan Wake and Alan Wake: American Nightmare from g2a.com and decided to give them a try. I have heard a lot of good things about the game and I enjoy thrillers. Also, it gave me a good game to start my streaming endeavor with.
Storyline. The story for Alan Wake was very captivating. I would describe it as like Stephen King / Shutter Island type story. The game blends in the line between dreams and reality. It starts off as you and your girlfriend, Alice, are going on a little vacation. You get to the cabin when all of a sudden Alice gets taken and you jump into the water to save her and then pass out. The story focuses on the main question of, What happened to Alice? I won’t spoil the story but it was very well written and left a lot of questions to be answered at the end. Many twists and turns came up and Alan is even forced to determine if he is just crazy and imagining the entire thing.
Gameplay. The gameplay was unique. It had the standard light vs. dark but brought some new ideas also. You use flashlights to sort of “purge” the darkness from the enemies before you can actually shoot them. You are given a wide range of weapons to deal with the enemies, from a simple pistol to rifles and flash bang grenades. Also, when you dodged and incoming projectile or took out a bunch of enemies quickly the game would give you this cinematic type view where it would temporarily slow down (think matrix like). This gave the gameplay a unique flavor.
Looks. Alan Wake is a few years old now but it looks great. I was able to max out the game and get 60fps throughout. The game takes place in the same general area but in many different parts of the area. The scenes in the wilderness were spectacular and the attention to detail in the buildings in the city was great.
Overall I would give Alan Wake a 8/10. It was a great experience but it felt like it lacked something. The ending was good, yet I wanted a little more closure. I expect more to be revealed in American Nightmare. I really enjoyed the game and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story and a unique gameplay experience.
Stay Safe,
Jahrew
Tales From the Dire Jungle 