So the game is finally out, a wait that was... what 5 years? And there isn't a THREAD about it! Come on guys! I might have gone a little trigger happy with the pictures, but the game is just amazing. Graphics are fantastic, easily rivals Uncharted 2. In fact, I think I like them better than Uncharted 2 because of the lighting, and I generally like darker games more. The animations, running, enemy attacks, trees falling down into the distance, the SMOKE MONSTER (lol lost) of in the forests, the game just looks perfect.

The sound and voice acting for the most part has been pretty good, as has the story. It kind of reminds me of ABC's Happy Town a little. I'm on Episode 3 (of 6) right now, and am surprised at how long the game is. I heard it was short, but I've been playing some 7 hours so far and still have over half the game left. I think a 15-18 hour game is perfect length of this genre. Plus, they're adding additional 2 hour long DLC's this month (a few weeks away actually), that continues the game from where it left off, at $7 a pop. Pretty good deal I'd say.

The battle system. The combat. The gameplay. Oh god, it is PERFECT. I've never had this much fun shooting down enemies before. It's terrifying, and exciting all at the same time. The usage of the different sources of light to break away the shadowy barrier all your opponents have is such a clever element. Use flare guns, flares, flashlight, lamps, construction lights, flashbang grenades, car headlights, flood lights, whatever you get your hands on to take out that shadow barrier, and then pummel them with your pistol or shotgun - and the sound effects are amazing, you really feel the THRUST of your bullets as you pick off your enemies, it's great.

The difficulty is great too. Very challenging, but not over the top. It's actually kind of easy if I weren't such an item hoarder. If I wanted to use up all my flare guns (which I always end up having spares for at the end of an episode), I guess it would be easier - but I'm treating the game as a survival horror, and appropriately so, so I have a stock of great items I haven't used. Nightmare difficulty will really test me though.

This is a phenomenal, almost perfect game so far. If you have an XBOX, BUY IT!!!!!!!

Alan Wake is "pretty good" at best. It starts out fucking terrible, gets really strong, and starts to get really good before about three quarters through it just suddenly drags. The graphics are pretty great, like you said, but more in its dynamic lighting than anything else. The reason Uncharted 2 looked so fucking sweet is because of its variety of colours and locations, blahblahblah (ok yes the models were also astounding), but Alan Wake is a little same-y. It invokes a nice sorta YOU'RE IN THE DARK, YOU'RE GONNA DIE atmosphere for the first few levels, but honestly by Episode 5 it starts to get a little old hat. Voice acting is pretty top notch most of the way through though.

I dunno. I guess I feel like the game starts out really weak with that whole introduction sequence that feels TACKED ON more than anything else, and as you get to the core of the game it gets really good, but what's there just isn't strong enough to carry a game this long and it starts to show.

All I know is fuck the adverts for this game everywhere all the time. And it looks like resident evil.

it's terrible how the game's concept like obviously got reduced and reduced until it's shitty commercial silent hill copy and they tried to reason it (so i suppose they got critique about it). i sort of VINCED because the biggest gaming magazine here in Finland that is usually pretty reasonable always promoted this game thorough it's progress out of FINNPRIDE and welp it's the only big game out of finland i suppose.

Well, I think the game is extraordinarily awesome, along with nemesis.  I didn't feel like the game started terribly, and I'm a sucker for games with a mystery/thriller theme to it (the Condemned games are still some of my favorite games [the ][/the]).  I think the main aspect of the game that does it for me is the atmosphere.  I've been playing the game at night alone in my room, and the feeling has me tense and nervous at times.  I'm really enjoying the story (just at episode 4 at the moment), and my brother and dad who have both finished it by now say that the game is amazing.  Really, for all the gamers out there, it is a very enjoyable game, and I would recommend buying it.  I feel for the most part, people nowadays critique games too much and don't enjoy them enough; they go into the game trying to find the flaws instead of enjoying the good aspects.  But that is all mindless dribble....

sorry but I'm strictly a duracell supporter

Well, I think the game is extraordinarily awesome, along with nemesis.  I didn't feel like the game started terribly, and I'm a sucker for games with a mystery/thriller theme to it (the Condemned games are still some of my favorite games [the 2nd one kind of went overboard at the end, but was still great]).  I think the main aspect of the game that does it for me is the atmosphere.  I've been playing the game at night alone in my room, and the feeling has me tense and nervous at times.  I'm really enjoying the story (just at episode 4 at the moment), and my brother and dad who have both finished it by now say that the game is amazing.  Really, for all the gamers out there, it is a very enjoyable game, and I would recommend buying it.  I feel for the most part, people nowadays critique games too much and don't enjoy them enough; they go into the game trying to find the flaws instead of enjoying the good aspects.  But that is all mindless dribble....

No I definitely agree. I think the game started pretty strong as soon as you got out of the tutorial. The game does an excellent job at building atmosphere and tbh Barry is one of the more enjoyable characters I've come across in recent history. The fact that it plays out like a TV show at first kind of iffed me, but it actually works in this format.

My MAIN problem with the game is that it simply doesn't have enough going on for it; it pulls all its punches in the first three chapters, and there's nothing left to surprise you in the latter half of the game. The light 'em up and shoot 'em mechanic is pretty solid, but it all becomes a little old hat eventually. I really liked Alan Wake, definitely one of the better games I've played in the last year BUT I feel like it could've been strengthened if either a) it was shorter or b) they added a bit, well, more. IMO, it just doesn't have quite enough to carry the full 15 hours. The fact that they're supposedly adding a whole second season via DLC gives me a little hope, but I  remain skeptical...

I know nothing about this game except that it struck me how BELIEVABLE the setting was for whatever reason. Like it is like shitty not shitty but totally medicore TV show like Criminal Minds sort of look at least in the non-monster parts. Regardless of whether this game is good I hope it starts a trend of like, almost realistic settings that are grounded in stuff people actually think/fantasize about. Like this game seems like 'I live in this remote American town where there is nothing to do hey let me check out that creepy old abandoned condom factory unnatural curiosity like you have in a dream OH SHIT MONSTERS'   I dunno

Oh, yeah, I need to borrow this from my roommate. Watched him play it for a little bit and it looked pretty great except for the water. The water stands out a lot, because it looks really, really, really exceptionally terrible.

lol how much processing power goes into GOOD WATER in videogames anyway? I mean I kind of would live with it if there could be like 20 more guys onscreen that I have to kill or whatever or just devote more graphics algorithms to things that are also good graphics but a different focus like we render NOSES really well. Or no seriously like realistic skin for once that doesn't look like plastic. I guess the skin looks a little better than other games I dont know?

I mostly disagree Drule, in fact I had the opposite experience of you, sort of. I found Alan Wake was probably the tightest and best controlling survival horror EVER by a mile, but I was more or less disappointed with how unambitious the game ended up feeling. It's clear it was restructured mid development to have broader consumer appeal. I appreciate their effort to tell a story, it's a shame I was somewhat disappointed with the end.

Overall I had a fun time with it though

I'm playing this game.

It is pretty bad. I mean, the gameplay is fine and everything. I don't mind the running around and shooting stuff, I've played plenty of games with less to them than this that I liked alot. It's pretty boring since all you do is run around the woods and shoot farmers, and every environment looks the same, but it all flows pretty well and it's can be exciting trying to stay on top of the larger attacks.

But everything else so far is really shitty. There isn't an original element in the game, every component of it has come directly from something else. I don't think calling it an homage is an excuse, really, that only really holds up for throwing in a bit part or some distraction into something. Alan Wake just grabs a bunch of crap from stuff the creators like and that's it. The first line of dialogue is a stephen king reference. There have been a few of those. One of the characters has this dumb habit of referring to alan wake by the nickname of any other writer he can think of. maybe he doesn't know his name. maybe if he just goes through every writer he knows he'll get it right? they threw in dreams by roy orbinson in there near the beginning of the game, twice. The town is twin peaks, which is fine, but where deadly premonition stole twin peaks and repopulated it with it's own weird stuff and went from there, this game takes twin peaks and repopulates it with generic knock offs who aren't interesting and doesn't do anything else with it. The characters are boring. I don't know how much sympathy I am supposed to have for Alan but he is really irritating and I kind of want to just punch him and screw his tweed jacket/hoodie/face stubble combo. generally the story is boring and uninspired.

i'll finish it probably.

it would be cool if no-one in the game had heard of alan wake, or made comments that indicate he is a pretty shitty writer, but everyone knows all about him and loves his Work. there's also a doctor in the game who specialises in the treatment of troubled artists. come on!