Alan Wake

To my mind, one of the best narrative games ever made. Alan Wake is a brilliant mash up, inspired by Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, David Lynch and many other genius minds, like Sam Lake himself. Remedy did a great job, creating a plausible world, with thick, gloomy atmosphere, interesting characters and an innovative storyline. The Game feels like a good book, you can't stop reading, like an gripping thriller, but its more than that, because there are so many other dimensions. The Soundtrack, and besides, the included Songs, are particularly suitable, and underline the journey through the darkness very well. The graphics are still impressive on its own special way, the dark tonality fit to the dim story. I have to admit, some people will have their little problems with the controls, but will not overcast your experience. Enough words from a fan, I hope, I could convince you a little, thank you for reading! The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it’s what we’ll remember in the end

This game might not be the pure horror title that everyone was expecting but its story is very good and the gameplay is not as bad. Yes, its a 3º person shooter but, what did you expected from the people that made Max Payne?

Overall, I had a good time with it. But there's a significant amount of problems I had with Alan Wake. Firstly, the controls: I'm not the only one to point this out, but unlike others I did in fact learn to compensate - but making terrible controls as a "feature" is not a smart design decision. It's uncomfortable and jarring stuff like that that makes people give up on a product and never give it a chance to show them the good parts. Secondly, the camera: Yep. It's terrible. Just like many other reviewers have stated, the camera is an active impediment to enjoying the game. I get that you're not supposed to feel comfortable in a survival horror game - but Alan Wake ISN'T survival horror. It's an action game with gimmicks and a creepy atmosphere. Thirdly, the repetitive combat: Yes, I agree with many of the reviewers here - the Taken are more annoying than frightening. I'm betting that the game was better when it first came out as episodic content, rather than having to slog through it all at once. Fourthly, the checkpoint save system: I really, truly despise checkpoint save systems. They're lazy, and they're not fun at all. There were several points in the game where I would have loved to have a quick save slot so I didn't have to redo two or three minutes every time I messed up (the moving vehicle boss monster sections come to mind). Another point was when I was on stage, I'd beaten the Taken, and had quit out so I could get some things around the house done - but when I booted Alan Wake back up, I'd discovered it hadn't save immediately after the victory, so I was forced to do part of that fight again. Fifthly, Alan himself is... not interesting. I liked Barry and Pat Maine a great deal more, and the Thomas Zane story sounded almost more interesting than Alan's. The manuscript pages were sometimes horrible to read, real hackneyed, cliche stuff. The game earns an extra star for introducing me to Poets of the Fall (which I somehow missed when I played Max Payne 2).

This game is fantastic, the narrative is captivating and the story is pretty good, even if by the end you don't get all the answers, but it feels just right. The graphics are gorgeous sound desing is pretty good Mouse + keybnboard controls are responsive and esay to grasp Finished it after 17 hours with no bugs or glitches, died at least 30 times, but had a lot of fun My only complaint is that the "collectables" are just there for show, it would be so cool if you gained a little bit of extra stamina or health with each collected thermos, or, unlock another ending if you got all the manuscript pages, adding to the replayability of the game

If you want just relax and enjoy the story then play on EASY. That being said - The game is a masterpiece.