Nicole and I recorded this the night we picked up Alan Wake, but are just now getting around to putting the video up. Frankly we’ve been pretty enthralled with it so far, if only to unravel the mystery. The limited edition is pretty swanky, though we’ve scarcely spent any time appreciating all of the additional niceities an extra twenty bucks affords you. By the way, before all you eagle-eyed viewers point it out- we know we accidentally called the bonus disc the game disc! Hence, the annotation added at about the halfway mark. Anyways, if unboxing videos are your kind of thing you can get all the goodness below or hit our channel for more!
I posted the other day about how I’m looking forward to Alan Wake and while that’s true, I must admit a dash of skepticism as we near the midnight launch of Remedy’s new thriller. Actually, let’s start with that. It’s being pitched as a thriller. This is a fairly common moniker for movies starring Morgan Freeman, but not so much in video games. You’ve got survival horror, action/adventure, and rails shooters generally making up the lion’s share of what can be simplified into ‘scary’ games, but now that thriller has been thrown into the mix I’m a little apprehensive. I mean, it even says right there on the box, “Psychological Action Thriller”. Is that really necessary? You’ve got a silhouette of a guy shrouded in darkness on the cover with a flashlight right there in your logo. Believe me, we understand the tone without you treating us like idiots. It’d be like going to get some Ballpark Franks but finding the package was subtitled with ‘Leftover Animal Organs Shaped Like Sex Organs’. It’s just unnecessary, we know what we’re getting.
I assure you, the reality of hot dogs is not at all adorable.
Of course what we’re getting kind of freaks me out a bit the same way hot dogs do. It’s not like the whole troubled horror novelist thing hasn’t been done before and even before playing the game I’d wager it’s been done better. I’m not trying to undermine our medium of choice’s ability to tell a story, but the reality is that there are far more games with a terrible story than those with a truly riveting tale to tell. Just like I reamed Avatar for only nailing one aspect of a good film, I’ll spit similar venomous remarks in the same direction as any game with the gall to try and sell itself on only having good graphics or only having good controls.
Will Alan Wake prove to be the proverbial one trick pony? Despite my above hesitations I don’t think so. For one, the manner in which the narrative is unveiled appears to be original and engaging. Having Alan readily speak his mind on his own actions all in real-time seems like a fresh idea. Similarly, while I do tend to get all huffy about the lack of emphasis on survival in survival horror games today, Alan Wake doesn’t readily adopt this label and if the action is any indication it’ll be a jolly good time. Early videos have shown what appears to be solid voice acting, a plot at least more interesting than anything in recent memory, and fast-paced, twitch-worthy controls-all without missing a beat. Hopefully there’s some replay to keep us coming back though and I sincerely hope the entirety of the story’s unfolding doesn’t transpire within 6 hours. I guess we’ll find out when Nicole and I pick it up tomorrow though.
This is just a reminder that if you’re still planning to pick up Alan Wake next week you better get on the preorder! Nicole and I have been pumped about this for a while, especially given our affinity for Silent Hill. Granted this seems more action/adventure than survival horror, but just the same the atmosphere looks engrossing. It’s getting decent reviews so far as well, but we’ll be sure to put up our 2 cents after we’ve had a chance to check it out. Don’t forget there’s a sweet collector’s edition that’s also available for preorder if you’re looking to get a sweet book safe and an actual book that’s written by Alan himself! Of course, it also includes a bonus disc, soundtrack CD and other goodies, but I’m particularly looking forward to the book. So get ready for May 20th and check it out below!
For those who have been living on a remote island without internet access for the last year, the much anticipated Alan Wake finally has a concrete release date: May 18, 2010. Because I’m a good salesperson and know what I’m talking about, I’m telling you you should absolutely invest in this one. Reminiscent of Silent Hill 2, Alan Wake follows the story of Alan, a writer, who takes a much needed vacation with his wife to Bright Falls after suffering a bad case of writer’s block. Hoping the getaway would clear and invigorate his mind, the opposite happens when his wife goes missing on this vacation. As he searches for her he discovers missing pages to a book he apparently wrote but doesn’t remember writing. Even scarier is the book seems to be able to predict upcoming events, making Alan think twice about his own sanity. So, scary town + man searching for wife = “psychological action thriller” = Silent Hill 2 qualities. We’re pumped here.
There will also be a limited edition available for pre-order that sounds pretty high class, too. When you pre-order with Gamestop you’ll get codes to download an avatar t-shirt and an Xbox Live Alan Wake theme. The actual game comes inside of a hardback, linen book, complete with an in-game commentary/hints from Remedy (the developers, who also brought you Max Payne), a book written by Mr. Wake himself and a compilation of the FBI files surrounding the investigation, the Alan Wake sountrack, and an “add-on token”, which you can redeem for the first Alan Wake DLC package. The entire collector’s edition will be $79.99.
