Alan Wake is a solid 3rd-person action game, but it's let down by a lack of variety across the board. There are scarcely half a dozen different types of enemies, and five weapons (two of which are shotguns), of which only two can be held simultaneously.
The gameplay revolves around the concept of having to burn away the 'darkness' around an enemy with a flashlight before you can harm them with physical weaponry. This is an excellent concept in itself, but by the end of the game it feels extremely worn. With every enemy you encounter, you'll follow the same routine: get far enough away to burn them with light, then put them down with a handful of bullets. There isn't a single exception to this from start to finish, 'boss' fights included.
Alan Wake's saving grace is the plot and the atmosphere it generates. I expected nothing less from the studio which created Max Payne, and Remedy really knocked it out of the park here. I was genuinely gripped by the story, which is split into six 'episodes' in the style of a TV show. The daytime segments, where you are given more free reign to explore the environment, are particularly excellent.
If you enjoy being sucked into a game's world, Alan Wake will not disappoint, provided you can slog through the gameplay to reach the next bit of story. The only real let-down here is the lip-syncing on the character models, which is laughably poor for its time.
As a game, Alan Wake is mediocre at best. But would I otherwise recommend it? Absolutely. For me, it all comes down to the plot, and how easily I can become absorbed in a game's environment and characters; Remedy did a great job on that.
The real problem with Alan Wake is that it really feels like Remedy wanted to make a TV show, and accidentally made a game. Given that their upcoming game, Quantum Break, is reported to have an accompanying TV show, I can only hope they get the balance right the next time around.
