E3 09: Alan Wake
The name Alan Wake is legendary amongst gamers. The psychological action thriller has been under development for quite a while and we finally got to take a first look at it this year at E3 and it was a fantastic look indeed.
Alan Wake tells the story of the titular character, Alan Wake (no surprise there), a author with writer's block. He takes off to the Pacific North West to sort things out only to find that his finance Alice has disappeared. Upon waking one day, he discovers a manuscript that he doesn't remember writing and yet the words of the story seem to come eerily true as he reads them. And from there things go from bad to worse.
The tale of Alan Wake is told in chapters much like a book and includes some interesting gameplay elements. Light plays a big part in the battles in the game, providing Alan with safety from the many enemies that plague him. Ghostly hunters, flying weapons and even vehicles can all be repelled by the use of light. Alan of course, is armed with a flashlight which provides some protection, but he can boost that by lighting areas with generators and finding higher powered lights. A blast of light incapacitates the enemies which he can then finish off with a few rounds from his trusty gun.
The environments and character models looked beautiful and the North West setting reminded me a lot of Twin Peaks. The general feeling of the game was very eerie, just the sort of thing you want from a game of this ilk. This is a horror game that looks like it will be able to deliver on its promises. The demo I saw gave me chills and it was all I could do not to rip the controller out of the guy's hand and just play it myself.
Alan Wake is set for a Spring 2010 release on the Xbox 360.
