If I had to appraise the game solely on its story I would give it solid 5 stars without hesitation. Once again Remedy have created yet another compelling script for us to follow in the familiar format of interactive movie. Storywise everything gets high marks - atmosphere, characters, plot, the small references here and there and all the collectable reading materials. And when we're talking about atmosphere there is no way that I can skip mentioning the incredible level design backed by the gorgeous game engine. That being said, the only place the game falls short is game mechanics. I guess with the intent of creating different strategies for playthrough, Remedy have come up with a skill/weapon system that seems bloated and mostly redundant. I've completed the game with a very limited variety of weapon/personal mods. I really didn't feel any benefit from most of the weapons and special powers. In fact some of those were downright harmful almost every time I used them. So replaying the game for a different combat experience isn't something I would be doing. I'm deducting a full star for this wasted effort. P.S. I also feel that the AWE DLC was a missed opportunity to have shadow soldiers from Alan Wake using the same combat mechanics with light from the titular game.
