OXM | Alan Wake Review

Ultimately, how much you enjoy Alan Wake’s rollercoaster ride depends on how invested you become in its sophisticated yarn. And it’s one hell of a story, capped off by a quiet, breathtaking denouement that makes good on the opening lines of Alan’s initial descent.

[darkmurder]

Seems like its a pretty good game!

[Jaybad54]

Reviews have been good, not stellar but ill still be picking it up on release

[thereapersson]

9/10 is an excellent score. Personally, I've been waiting for a game to take over the flashlight-based game play since Silent Hill made it popular, and it's nice to see Alan Wake take it that much further into the next-generation realm.

[Marcelles25]

in this day games that come out with AAA production value should be getting 9's or higher. and with reviewers being more generous than ever anything below 9 isnt a good score, and this is from xbox magazine and only got a 9.

thats the straight truth whether you like it or not. im sure the game will be good though.

[Montrealien]

Sorry Marcelles, you seem to be confusing truth with opinion.

/on topic

I can' t wait for this game, it looks like a very solid 3rd person shooter made by Remedy, what more can we ask? lol

[Droid Smasha]

this game looks good. after giantbomb did there QL its a must buy for me

[ThatArtGuy]

Haunted House for the 2600 was the first video game with flashlight gameplay.

[Inside_out]

That's a review...that's why Francesca Reyes is a class act...The first paragraph puts her in a league by her self...

" In a game about balance...light and dark, choice and fate, literal and figurative...for one of them to succeed, the other has to stumble "...

Great review...Reading that after just reading that idiot over on Nowgamer is comical....That kid over there is clueless talking in riddles and saying nothing....

This game has always been day one and still is....epic....all these reviewers now all of a sudden with there bad reviews trying to score some hits after the Euro review...which is over 700 hits now...LOL...

[Blackfrican]

...I can say that I did enjoy the game. I am not very much of a single player gamer, so I was not expecting myself to enjoy it. However, the story is told in such a way that I have never experienced before. Whether it be throughout a cut-scene, through a page of the manuscript, or during gameplay, Alan is constantly narrating the story. This gives you no option but to be engrossed in the events happening at all times. The writes of this game, although at times guilty of over-glamorizing the 'writer' Alan Wake, do a professional job here. I was surprisingly impressed with the overall experience of Alan Wake.

[BattleAxe]

I would guess that an xbox magazine would think that an xbox game is a good game.......lol

[FACTUAL evidence]

This is like one of my most anticipated games this year...I'm truly excited for this to come!

[FlameBaitGod]

Yeah it seems good, but there's a lot of reviews pending and most of them are 8 and below so I don't know :(. Wanted this to be a AAA after all the wait man. Right now on metacritic HeavyRain > Splinter Cell > Alan :(. OMG! after i raged to every 1 that those 2 where going to be AAA! Im so STEWPID!

You can give bubbles for being funny now :D! TADA!

[FURY__UNLEASHED]

I like the new, more specific, bubbling system.

[Corepred4]

I watched some guy play it on JTV, it was actually pretty cool and interesting game. Not the graphical marvel people were making it out to be but still good.

[Dragunov]

Hype killed the game, too much for the new benchmark in graphics and storytelling

[tatotiburon]

so a 9/10 isn't enough....i miss the open zone

[Grown Folks Talk]

9 out of 10 is terrible. I could understand 9 out of 15 or 9 out of 20, but out of 10? I mean that TD run was ok, but it was only 90 yards.

[littletad]

There's no open zone?

[lelo2play]

Seems like a great game. I'll be getting it.

[Convas]

Someone doesn't like that fact that your free to do with your money what you will.

[Taker_129]

Am I reading these comments right? When did 9 become bad?

[Morbid Bulldozer]

When Open Zone 1-bubble trolls from old N4G got their stats reset.

[BeaArthur]

haha, good one. And very True.

Taker_129...fanboys and haters will do what they are best at...hating on something they know nothing about. Nine is a good score but I am actually going to hold off on this one for now. They told us it was going to be 18 to 20 hours a week ago and now, surprise surprise, it's only 10 hours long. They probably meant 18 to 20 including all the DLC they will probably have for it which is BS. I'll pick it up when the price drops.

[eggbert]

yessir!

[creepjack]

?Soooo, first 8's became bad, now 9's are considered flops as well? Seriously, you Sony fanboys need to get a life. This is gonna be a great game, deal with it.

[kaos_fish II]

kinda like you xbots that ragged on 'Uncharted 2' and 'MGS4' right creep? take your own advice DS and get a life

[mrv321]

It's just Sony people right? No one else has set these standards. No comments from the Uncharted 2 9/10's?

Seriously I no long consider 7/10 a flop after completing Red Faction Guerilla.

[Chubear]

People aren't saying 9s a flop. They're saying, when reading the review, doesn't sound like a 9type game but is given a 9 anyways.

Look, don't listen to naysayers about your gaming experiences. I remember Heavenly Sword was roasted by 360fans and the media as a 1st gen game because it was said to be "short" and many PS3 gamers believed this and didn't support it - so now, no bigger, better HS2

...but when it comes to Alan Wake, a 5th gen game, with the same length then it's "Meh, I'm still buying the collector edition anyway"

Look, they'll always support mediocrity and laugh at you trying to support high quality gaming. If you like these games, go out and support them so you can have better gaming experience with their sequels.

If you stayed away from games like Motorstorm1, R:fom, Lair, Uncharted1, Heavenly Sword cause of crap forum banter, then go rent them now (even buy them, they're like $10-15 brand new now) cause they stack up to many games even by todays standards and you'll be surprised how everything you heard about them are either not quite the truth or just plain outright BS.

[The real killer]

Keep talking by yourself, maybe people believe in you.

[mushroomwig]

Great score, can' wait to see this in action. :)

[Dorwrath]

Looking forward to this.

[xXRight3yeXx]

I'll buy this game. And that is all that matters. But yes, hype definitely kills the game. Anyway, why do all of us only have 3 bubbles?

[ReBurn]

3 bubbles is the new standard. Everyone's bubble count was reset with the new site since the rating system is supposed to be more balanced. Dusty said it was necessary to make it work.

On topic, this game should be good for the people who enjoy the genre. It's not something I would buy since it's not my thing. I may rent it, though,

[rpgenius420]

Yeah my box is modded and I have this game already. It is actually pretty good and once you start playing you can't stop. The graphics are great, but I have not played through the whole game yet so I am not going to compare it to other games until I see it all. I'm playing that and lost planet 2 so it's taking a bit to finish mr. Wakes adventure.

~peace

[ablecain]

Excellent graphics, but the story and gameplay are awful. It's basically the 360's Heavy Rain.

[Chubear]

It's NOTHING like HR.

If you've played the game you'll notice that the game could easily be taken as a spiritual successor to Alone in the Dark.

It's almost the exact same thing but with much smoother controls. I mean, when you get to the vehicle missions, it really is glaringly obvious. I have no clue how people are giving this game a 9.

The game's been in development for 5yrs and it comes out with:

6hr completion time
average animations
aweful script writing
cringe worthy voice acting
low weapon count
etc etc

Don't get me started on the "boss" battles. They're a joke for a "AAA" gaming experience. Nowadays, reviewer have cornered themselves into a box cause now they know if they give a game less than 9 it'll be considered "average" and won't sell as much so they see an 8type game with Alan Wake and they give it a 9.

The game isn't even survial horror anymore but more horror action adventure and all that BS about it being open world? pfft, the thing is more linear than some FPSs for crying out loud.

Giving this game a 9 is disingenuous BS and you all know it.

[maniacmayhem]

With this new N4G its like someone went to a Troll Zoo and opened up all the cages.

Now all the trolls are running wild in the streets!

Hey...that sounds like a great concept for a game...

[Grown Folks Talk]

but Remedy themselves already talked about the change from an open world game. Anybody paying attention already knew it wasn't OW any longer. At least gather SOME facts before you attempt to try & dissuade people from spending their own money on something.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

"Giving this game a 9 is disingenuous BS and you all know it. "

WTF? The game isn't even out yet Chubear. How did you play it?

Review copy? Steal it?

They say it's a 9 and they played it.

[Arnon]

A little surprised by the scores, but I think it's silly to expect some massive mid 90's average for a narrative heavy game such as this.

Still going to be extremely fun.

[bobdog626]

May pick this one up

[webeblazing]

cant wait to play this and thats when i will judge it

[Hallmark Moment]

Not perfect but still a worthy experience. Hit and miss.

[stuntman_mike]

have most of you guys become lobotomised or something, thats a excellent score this games gonna be awesome.

its seems new change to this site has brought with a whole bunch of new crazy people.

[asdf12]

Good score for a good game, i guess. The graphics aren't what the fanboys said, but still good for 360 eh?

I won't be getting this due to RDR and my lack of money, but maybe if it sells and gets platinum i'll buy it.

[clarkjudo]

"6hr completion time."

Rush through it. It is 6 hrs or more. And if you add the fact that you can look for achievements and other hidden items while playing (Play on NIGHTMARE to gain the remaining). 8-10 hours. And then there is the 2 DLC's following, might want to add more hours.

"The game isn't even survial horror anymore but more horror action adventure and all that BS about it being open world?"

If you have read or watched the developer forums and videos. It is an Action Thriller. Horror relies on gore and cheap scares. In earlier development it was an open world but it was not going into the right direction. So, the game format was changed.

[GenghisKhan]

but it gets repetitive and there are a lot of filler where you are just run around.. i'd say resident evil 5 easily tops this.

[Justin_bristoe]

...higher on meta than this hahaha

[mindz]

this new layout rocks

[-MD-]

Yeah I'm really liking it.

Another great score too for Alan Wake.

[keysy420]

but my money is going to modnation racers and red dead maybe mario and street fighter today

[GenghisKhan]

there are a lot of reviews saying that it top mario kart in terms of gameplay mechanics but it does not get a perfect score mainly because it's a ps3 exclusive. the only downside is the long loading time.. maybe that can be patched..

[air1]

i cant wait for this game! its been getting great scores...

whats up with ppl like chubear? i have to question if you like "games" or "sony games"

"the game has been in dev. for 5 years" and has this and that wrong with it..

stf up get the hell off that high horse you are n and introduce your self back to reality, no game is perfect.. but that doesnt mean it cant be a great game.

[Stevor]

Seems as if the new site, though looking new and improved, carries a lot of the old fanboy baggage. Too Bad! Can't people just get over the comparisons and just enjoy what they have without constantly disparaging each others systems? Juvenile crap and baiting has no real place really. Too bad some can't move on. Probably won't be back here soon as all this is so childish! BTW AW looks interesting to say the least and I'd say that if it was a PS3 exclusive.

[creeping judas]

Can't wait!!!

[renegade]

Xbox 360 owners shouldnt be dissapoit. Why now people think 8's are bad?

[AutoCad]

Seems like a great game...
Only problem i dont have a 360 at the moment.

[bviperz]

And then draw my own conclusion.

[littletad]

For those of you who pre-judge a game by it's reviews, remember that some of our most loved game series started out as non-triple-A titles.

[EVILDEAD360]

Heavy Rain didn't get Uncharted 2 scores either but it was WELL worth the experience..

Not that I'm even comparing the two..but as a huge survival horror han and only gettnig slim pickens this gen..Alan Wake is easily one of the games at the top of my must buy list..and this only came about with the recent trailers

I'll take an OXM '9' ANY day..5 years in the making or not..

Evil

[mittwaffen]

Lowest score was the area the Developers had addressed; stating the first DLC to be free to new buyers thus upping the score for me personally.

day 1 purchase.