Alan Wake

Think, ‘Misery and author hiding away in the hills’, think David Lynch, think ‘Alone in the Dark’. Alan Wake will soon be ready for review and we can’t wait. We are a little concerned that the game could end up on the wrong side of spoofy if Remedy get it wrong, but the wait is nearly over, so until then we’ll sit tight and enjoy the build up. One thing’s for sure, with Remedy on the buttons, Alan Wake himself is likely to cut a smooth and realistic dash across our screens. It was the Finns that invented Max Payne and the technology that made him move so well which will be an important success factor for Microsoft Games Studio’s Alan Wake because there is nowhere for the developers to hide against this barren backdrop.

In fact, Alan Wake will live or die by the depth of characterisation that Remedy manage to inject into the game. We love the setting and Alan Wake looks like the kind of game we hope will force us to load up the fridge with junk, turn the mobile off and send the other half packing for a couple of days while figure out what he’s about.

The pressure is on for Remedy though, who need to ensure that Alan Wake, doesn’t go the way of Alone in the Dark with its clumsy combat game play. There have been a lot of concerns raised about how the combat will play out. We’ll just have to wait and see!