Alan Wake - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

QuickSilver · 2010-05-19, 07:24 AM

I picked this up yesterday along with Red Dead Redemption with a deal at FS. I was on the fence about Alan Wake since it was being released along side RDR but decided to get both. I am in the mood for a good single player experience so I shelved RDR for a bit and jumped into Alan Wake last night.

Only 1 episode in but I find it a great game so far. Graphics are excellent except for most of the cut scenes. To me it looks like they used older textures and such for their cut scenes. Lip sync is terribly off in most of them so far. Beyond that I find the controls are very good and that Remedy did an excellent job of keeping them tight and easy to get used to.

The story is interesting so far albeit a complete Stephen King novella (he is mentioned in the first scene actually). The action was a little slow in the 1st episode but I think that is for the gamer to get used to the process of destroying enemies. If you are looking for a decent 3rd person shooter where you can actually move as you shoot (you listening Resident Evil?) than I would recommend this title. For me so far I would rate this an 8.9/10 I will post more as I get a chance to move through the episodes.

prufrock · 2010-05-19, 08:44 PM

I am still waffling on this but want to give it a chance.

I love atmospheric games but hate -- hate! -- Resident Evil. This looks more like a Silent Hill type of story.

Does it make good use of surround sound?

QuickSilver · 2010-05-20, 07:38 AM

Yes I would liken it to Silent Hill. Resident Evil is one of my most hated games due to the non movement while shooting. Using the flashlight in conjunction with "conventional" weapons such as a shotgun, revolver etc is a nice touch. I recommend it if you are in the mood for something like a hybrid between Silent Hill and Dead Space. Yes I find the surround sound is very well engineered but I have only played it once without my headset on.

prufrock · 2010-05-28, 09:49 AM

I have done the first two episodes and love this game.

The lip syncing is utterly horrible but apparently remedy is working to fix that in the first downloadable episode in July.

Play it in the dark with the surround sound on for best effect. It's not a horror game like Silent Hill, but more of a suspense. It reminds me of that movie Secret Window.

dezzpayne · 2010-05-28, 09:52 AM

Unless it's a slow burner like Little Big Planet the folks over at Remedy must be terrified right now at the sales.

250K units sold worldwide in week 1

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13817

I think they got pushed around by the big dog this week, Red Dead Redemption.

QuickSilver · 2010-05-28, 09:57 AM

It certainly was a bad time to release it with RDR. I still have not played RDR as Alan Wake is right up my alley as I am a huge SK fan and this type of game. The folks who created RE should play this game and learn a thing or 2.

BGY11 · 2010-06-14, 11:13 PM

I've now played the first two episodes and am fairly impressed so far. Only issue is that I can't seem to install the game to my XBox hard drive (gives me the "can't read disc" error about 2 seconds after starting the install). Been playing it off the disc and so far no real issues.

Play control is great, despite a bit of reservation held towards the 3rd-person view. They definitely ease you into the gameplay mechanics quite well, and the storyline so far is quite good. As mentioned already, playing this game in the dark with a surround system is awesome!

Can't wait to fire up the XBox and play more.

dezzpayne · 2010-06-15, 09:58 AM

The sales are just dreadful. I wouldn't be surprised if Remedy goes belly up unless MS is propping them up. They may have been thrown some cash to keep in off the PC. Makes you wonder if this is more a PS3 oriented game. It's certainly more mainstream than Heavy Rain which week by week moved about twice as many copies as AW.

Dioneo · 2010-06-15, 10:05 AM

It received a decent amount of hype in the gaming media. I haven't played that much of it yet, but so far I haven't been overly impressed with it.

2010-05-19, 07:24 AM	#1
QuickSilver Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 3,130	Alan Wake I picked this up yesterday along with Red Dead Redemption with a deal at FS. I was on the fence about Alan Wake since it was being released along side RDR but decided to get both. I am in the mood for a good single player experience so I shelved RDR for a bit and jumped into Alan Wake last night. Only 1 episode in but I find it a great game so far. Graphics are excellent except for most of the cut scenes. To me it looks like they used older textures and such for their cut scenes. Lip sync is terribly off in most of them so far. Beyond that I find the controls are very good and that Remedy did an excellent job of keeping them tight and easy to get used to. The story is interesting so far albeit a complete Stephen King novella (he is mentioned in the first scene actually). The action was a little slow in the 1st episode but I think that is for the gamer to get used to the process of destroying enemies. If you are looking for a decent 3rd person shooter where you can actually move as you shoot (you listening Resident Evil?) than I would recommend this title. For me so far I would rate this an 8.9/10 I will post more as I get a chance to move through the episodes.

2010-05-19, 08:44 PM	#2
prufrock Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Northern BC Posts: 324	I am still waffling on this but want to give it a chance. I love atmospheric games but hate -- hate! -- Resident Evil. This looks more like a Silent Hill type of story. Does it make good use of surround sound? __________________ Panasonic TH50PX77, Choice 530, Samsung 40C650, Sharp LC3742U, Choice 505, Pioneer VSX-D409, Xbox 360, PS3 x 2

2010-05-28, 09:49 AM	#4
prufrock Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Northern BC Posts: 324	I have done the first two episodes and love this game. The lip syncing is utterly horrible but apparently remedy is working to fix that in the first downloadable episode in July. Play it in the dark with the surround sound on for best effect. It's not a horror game like Silent Hill, but more of a suspense. It reminds me of that movie Secret Window. __________________ Panasonic TH50PX77, Choice 530, Samsung 40C650, Sharp LC3742U, Choice 505, Pioneer VSX-D409, Xbox 360, PS3 x 2

2010-06-15, 10:05 AM	#9
Dioneo Veteran Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: GTA IV Posts: 1,768	It received a decent amount of hype in the gaming media. I haven't played that much of it yet, but so far I haven't been overly impressed with it. __________________ Long live the console war! Buy 'em all! Just don't give Sony any of your Personal info!

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2010-05-20, 07:38 AM	#3
QuickSilver Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 3,130	Yes I would liken it to Silent Hill. Resident Evil is one of my most hated games due to the non movement while shooting. Using the flashlight in conjunction with "conventional" weapons such as a shotgun, revolver etc is a nice touch. I recommend it if you are in the mood for something like a hybrid between Silent Hill and Dead Space. Yes I find the surround sound is very well engineered but I have only played it once without my headset on.

2010-05-28, 09:52 AM	#5
dezzpayne Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Barrie, ON Posts: 1,374	Unless it's a slow burner like Little Big Planet the folks over at Remedy must be terrified right now at the sales. 250K units sold worldwide in week 1 http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13817 I think they got pushed around by the big dog this week, Red Dead Redemption.

2010-05-28, 09:57 AM	#6
QuickSilver Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 3,130	It certainly was a bad time to release it with RDR. I still have not played RDR as Alan Wake is right up my alley as I am a huge SK fan and this type of game. The folks who created RE should play this game and learn a thing or 2.

2010-06-14, 11:13 PM	#7
BGY11 Veteran Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Calgary AB Posts: 3,167	I've now played the first two episodes and am fairly impressed so far. Only issue is that I can't seem to install the game to my XBox hard drive (gives me the "can't read disc" error about 2 seconds after starting the install). Been playing it off the disc and so far no real issues. Play control is great, despite a bit of reservation held towards the 3rd-person view. They definitely ease you into the gameplay mechanics quite well, and the storyline so far is quite good. As mentioned already, playing this game in the dark with a surround system is awesome! Can't wait to fire up the XBox and play more.

2010-06-15, 09:58 AM	#8
dezzpayne Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Barrie, ON Posts: 1,374	The sales are just dreadful. I wouldn't be surprised if Remedy goes belly up unless MS is propping them up. They may have been thrown some cash to keep in off the PC. Makes you wonder if this is more a PS3 oriented game. It's certainly more mainstream than Heavy Rain which week by week moved about twice as many copies as AW.