Incognito

Alan Wake

I just finished Alan Wake. Phew. Oh, man. 

The credits are rolling right now— I like Major Tom, by the way —and I’m having a hard time processing what just happened. The only thing I can think about (other than I really want a cup of tea right now) is “Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2.”. I really want to keep playing. 

If you happen to be my neighbor, that last sentence might strike you as odd seeing as you just experienced a few solid hours of extreme vulgarity coming from the apartment across the hall. I found this game really, really frustrating and I’m having a hard time pinning down exactly why. Part of me wishes I could write it off as the game being too freaking hard, but I know that’s not right. It’s a combination of my own ineptitude and complete inability to master the controls/flow of combat. I kind of just suck at it. I died a lot. 

Dying so much was extremely frustrating because I got hooked on the story. I’m somewhat of a narrative junkie. My opinion on narrative in games will be a discussion for another time, but for now just know that when I get sucked in to a book I read it like a drill-press; I plow straight through from cover to cover. So, while I was playing Alan Wake, being mercilessly bludgeoned to death repeatedly was supremely annoying. The more difficult sections of the game were like a massive roadblock that kept me from getting to the end of the story.

Two things about the story…One: was it just me who didn’t really care at all about Alice? I cared way more about how Alan was going to defeat the evil darkness than I did about saving his wife. Sorry, Alan. Number Two is linked here, because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone!

Anyway, Alan Wake was awesome and I definitely recommend playing it if you haven’t. It’s more freaky than scary. I definitely jumped a lot when things would pop out at me (or when I discovered there was a Taken directly behind me that I hadn’t noticed before), and I definitely shouted at the game for that. But, on a scale from one to Amnesia it ranks about a 4. Not mentally scarring in anyway, nor did it induce nightmares or make me actually afraid of the dark. So for those hesitant to play because they are scared of scary things like me, you’ll be okay. Just be prepared for things to jump out at you and catch you unawares. 

Sidenote: I was terrified of picking up pages of the manuscript. The whole game I was convinced that I was going to be screwed every time I picked up & read a page. Hah!

So, check the game out if you get a chance. And to Remedy Studios… Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2. Please?