Great story, great lighting...but very linear, minimal freedom, and I hate saying this...kinda boring...:(

User Rating: 6.5 | Alan Wake X360
By slidet22 | Review Date:
I first saw this game previewed in 2005. I didn't even own an Xbox 360 yet and couldn't wait to get my hands on this. This game has been sitting on my "tracked games" list ever since and I couldn't wait to get more info. on it. I went to their website and searched the forums for any details I could glean. In short, I've been pumped for this game for a long time, and told anyone who would listen about it. So, I grabbed it the other day and despite having just had my second boy born (5 weeks old today :), I managed to find some time the last few days to dive in.

The lighting and story are unquestionably great. It is clear they did their role here. The audio is also good - sounds in the forest sound authentic, voices are creepy, and the acting is good. However, after that, I've found myself doing the same things over and over - running through the forest in the dark, lighting and blasting enemies. This is fun for about 15 minutes. Then, when I realized this is all I would be doing, it started to get boring. They're just constantly plunking Wake in the forest and basically forcing me into a mini game of run - then light and shoot when an enemy comes. At least the story is intriguing, or this game would be awful. I was hoping to have to do some digging of my own, solving puzzles and being given the freedom to figure out the story my own way - or maybe even change the direction of the story! The way this plays, I have two choices - I can follow the path they give me, or veer off on another path just to run into more of the same in hopes of finding another manuscript page or game item. Just running in the dark - then light and shoot...c'mon - really? What else? No puzzles? No way I can drive around the beautiful landscape on my own in real-time? No way that I can figure things out on my own? Gosh it pains me to write this review - I was anticipating this game for so long!

Oh, and one more thing - I wish there were more combat options. When these creepy beasts come at me, you obviously go into fight or flight mode. I'm a fighter. I wanna snap the prick's neck who's trying to kill me, not run (which, by the way, you can only sprint for about 6 seconds before getting exhausted and having to walk). If I'm out of ammo, let me grip that sob, throw him to the ground, punch him in the face, and f*** him up with a tire iron or big stick or something. I hate having to run like a coward.

I see lots of people are enjoying this game, and that's great. For me - just not that impressed.

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