Here it is. My 2010 Game of The Year is:

Mass Effect 2

I listed the original Mass Effect as one of the most significant games of the last decade, and I imagine Mass Effect 2 will find its way onto my list of the best games of this decade. Mass Effect 2 came out back in January, and never has a year in gaming kicked off in a better way.

Usually when simplification comes into the equation, the result is less than stellar, but Mass Effect 2's streamlined shooter-RPG gameplay works perfectly. The shooting mechanics are as satisfying as any AAA third-person shooter, and the RPG elements continue to be unlike anything else thanks to the intuitive dialogue wheel, and most of all, the tangible consequences of your actions, even those from the previous game.

It goes without saying that the story is incredible as well. By not focusing directly on the series' overarching conflict, but instead on the game's large cast of characters Mass Effect 2 tells a much more personal story that really fleshes out the universe BioWare has created. Shepard's dirty dozen (or more, provided you have the DLC) are a memorable bunch, and, in my opinion, they represent the first party in RPG history without one weak character.

But Mass Effect 2 is only in part a character piece; the end game (a suicide mission that Shepard and his crew must embark upon) looms over the player throughout the entire journey, and that is where Mass Effect 2 becomes a truly amazing game. Everything is structured around this final mission - if you're ill-equipped to handle it, a lot of people will die. By making this clear to the player, every action they make feels vital to making it out alive. It's undeniably rewarding to feel as if every little side quest, every upgrade, and every loyalty mission will bring you that much closer to a good outcome.

BioWare is up there with the likes of Blizzard and Valve as one of the best development teams around, and Mass Effect 2 is one of their best games yet. Any problems that the original Mass Effect had were patched up, the core game mechanics are streamlined and tweaked to perfection, and the story is truly incredible. But where Mass Effect 2 triumphs most is in its structure; pretty much every action feels significant, and every consequence feels like it has some affect on the end result of Shepard's suicide mission and it goes a long way towards selling the fact that you're supposed to be the most important person in the galaxy. 2010 has been a year defined by sequels, spin-offs, and franchise reboots, and even though Mass Effect 2 is a sequel itself, it's one that feels totally fresh and inspired. At the end of the day, it's far and away the best game of this year.

Here are my picks for the #4-2 spots on my list of the Top 10 Games of 2010. Check out the last two blog posts for my 10-8, and 7-5 picks.

4. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Like many of Blizzard's games, the original Starcraft isn't just an excellent game, it's a phenomenon, and I could easily see Starcraft II reaching that same gargantuan status (if it hasn't already). Starcraft II tweaks and upgrades everything that was great about the original, while adding tons of new units and features to boot. People were horrified when Blizzard announced that Wings of Liberty would focus solely on the Terran, but Starcraft II's story is tight, focused, and gripping the whole way through. In fact, Blizzard really pulled out all the stops when it comes to the campaign; there's a huge variety in terms of levels and objectives, and being able to explore your ship in the downtime between each mission really adds a lot. The multiplayer side of Wings of Liberty is colossal. While most players will end up getting there asses kicked by the real pros, all of them will enjoy every minute of it, and the multiplayer component is so feature-rich that it would take far too long to dive into every aspect of what makes it all so awesome. Blizzard is the best game developer out there, and while they took their sweet time with Starcraft II, it was totally worth the wait.

Bayonetta is sheer insanity. Everything in this game, from the protagonist, to the enemies, to the cutscenes, and especially the finishing moves, is absolutely ridiculous. In no other game this year can you throw a church at a boss, transform into a panther at will, or lets you summon forth a coffin full of spikes to toss your enemies at (actually, there's probably no games ever that let you do any of those things). Bayonetta, of course, does this with its tongue in its cheek, and when you add an absolutely ludicrous story that plays off the self-seriousness of games like Devil May Cry, the package is complete; Bayonetta is one hell of an action game.

2.

If the God of War series has truly ended its reign as the best action/adventure series out there, then Assassin's Creed would surely be the series to step up and take the throne. Brotherhood is the best Assassin's Creed game yet, and the formula is still remarkably fresh even considering it's only been a year since Assassin's Creed II. Every facet of the gameplay, from the effortless free-running to the brutal combat is thoroughly entertaining, and Renaissance-era Italy is an environment you can truly get lost in. Rome is the most massive environment the series has yet seen, and the game is packed with so much content that anyone could be kept glued to the screen for hours. And as if the incredibly fun story mode, and ridiculous number of side quests wasn't enough, there's a full multiplayer component which is truly unlike anything else. The Assassin's Creed series is quickly becoming one of my favorite gaming franchises, and Brotherhood helps further solidify its greatness.

Tomorrow you'll see what my Game of The Year is. Exciting. Sort of.

As I mentioned in the last blog, I found myself writing a bit too much about how much I really liked each of the games on my Top 10 list this year, so I've been splitting them up. I posted my #10-8 picks yesterday (so check that out if you haven't), and today I have my #7-5 picks:

7. Call of Duty: Black Ops

You'd think that by the time you reach the seventh game in a series, things would start getting old. Miraculously, that hasn't happened yet with the Call of Duty franchise. The campaign in Black Ops kicks ass, from the great story, to the awesome set-pieces and locations, it's a true return to form for the series as far as the singleplayer component goes. Then there is the multiplayer. At this point not much needs to be said about the multiplayer component. With millions of people actively playing pretty much all the time, it speaks for itself. The Call of Duty franchise may be getting on in years, and in the number of titles, but it's still delivers the same old reliable white-knuckled action that it has been for a long time.

6. God of War III

The God of War games are some of my favorite of all time, and needless to say, seeing Kratos's rampage through to the end is a satisfying experience. The battle with Poseidon that kicks the game off is telling of the quality of the whole experience: the stakes are high, and the scale is even grander than ever. It's not an all-out adrenaline rush the whole time, however. The game slows down as you draw nearer to its conclusion, but the experience is no less satisfying, because these slower moments provide a look into the series' excellent protagonist. The fact that the game plays pretty much the same as its predecessors matters little because the production values are through the roof, and the ante is upped more than ever. God of War III is an epic conclusion to one of the greatest franchises in video game history.

5. Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach is Bungie's swan song (as far as Halo games go, anyway), and it's fitting that it's the biggest Halo game yet. Halo: Reach is easily the biggest game of the year, boasting such a huge amount of features that it's hard to know where to start. The campaign is a blast, especially played cooperatively, and there are some good storytelling moments that are a real treat for true fans. The multiplayer is bigger than ever thanks to the inclusion of Firefight, and Campaign to the standard Matchmaking modes. Then there's the surprisingly addicting theater, and the huge sandbox that is ForgeWorld. There's an overwhelming amount of stuff to see and do, and I found myself spending hours and hours with each piece of this huge game. Bungie put a lot of love into Halo: Reach, and it shows.

In the past I've put my whole list of the Top 10 games of a given year on one blog post, but I've written a bit more about why I though each game was so awesome than in previous years. Anyway, I'll split my list up into four parts, 10-8, 7-5, 4-2, and #1. So here's the first part of the list of my Top 10 favorite video games of 2010:

10. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Lords of Shadow is a criminally underrated game that got scores that were much lower than what this AAA action/adventure game deserves. It's not an old-school Castlevania experience, but who cares? The game is a ton of fun thanks to awesome production values, a great story, tried-and-true gameplay, colossal boss battles, and a lengthy quest. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow isn't revolutionary, but it's one of the most refined action/adventure games of this generation, and its interesting aesthetic, and st.yle ensure it's unlike anything else you'll play this year. I think to sum up the greatness of Lords of Shadow best, I will quote the guys at Penny Arcade who deemed it as being "for pimps only." I could not agree more.

9. Alan Wake

Alan Wake, on the merits of its story, and characters alone easily gives it a place on my list. Alan Wake starts off by fooling you into thinking it has a legitimate survival horror plot, but that couldn't be more wrong. What you end up getting is a sort of horror-comedy that simultaneously satirizes Twilight Zone, or Twin Peaks-esque horror stories while delivering some real scares. Thanks to excellent writing, and characters, the game has its own quirky sense of humor, and there are some poignant storytelling moments. But, of course, I haven't even mentioned the gameplay. The mechanic of using your flashlight to weaken enemies, the finishing them off with a few bullets works very well, and creates plenty of tense situations. It's too bad the game is so underappreciated; Alan Wake is a really remarkable game because it pushes video game narrative forward in it's own quirky way.

8. BioShock 2

"Unnecessary", I imagine, is not the kind of word game developers want their project associated with, but it's easy to think that there's no real need for BioShock 2 - until you've played it. BioShock 2 improves upon many of the core mechanics of the original title, and by casting you as a Big Daddy, delivers much more visceral action. The story is also truly excellent; by crafting a much more personal tale, the things that the player is fighting for are more apparent, thus giving the narrative a lot of driving force, and the story is even oddly touching. The multiplayer options are also quite impressive since the more strategic gunplay isn't sacrificed in favor of run-and-gun action. The original BioShock wasn't broke, but 2K Marin fixed it anyway, and the result is a much more refined, complete sequel, and one of my top games of this year.

That's it for now. Look out for my number 7-5 picks tomorrow.

Time to ruin everyone's fun.

Not every hotly anticipated game ends up being great, and this year there was one title in particular that I, and a very small group of gamers didn't think much of, yet everyone liked.

Red Dead Redemption

My biggest problem with Red Dead is that it's actually a very good game in some respects. The general shooting mechanics are great, the Wild West setting is pulled off expertly, and John Marston is one of the best video game protagonists ever; it's a game I really want to like. But for everything that's truly great in Red Dead Redemption, there's something that's not so impressive. The shooting mechanics don't really lend themselves to fast-paced, adversarial multiplayer action, most of the characters are lame cardboard cut-out characters, the story is overlong and missions really start to feel like a grind, and the graphics engine is aging, and glitchy. With Rockstar behind the game's development, Red Dead Redemption is a great game on paper, but for every step the game takes toward greatness, it takes one step back, and ultimately never becomes anything more than another mediocre free-roaming adventure.

As usual, I'll be doing a list of my Top 10 games of the year (Red Dead Redemption will not be included), so look for that within a few days or so.

The third expansion for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm came out, and I will not be playing it. My reasons for avoiding it are not that I liken myself to a recovering addict, and one mention of a Night Elf will lead me to relapse, nor am I someone who points and laughs at the WoW-playing "nerds". It is because, between the multitude of games I'm playing through, and the huge number of musical projects I'm working on, I simply don't have the time. But there once was a time when I did have the time.

Over a hundred days of time, in fact. On the day I decided I was done with World of Warcraft, I checked the playtime on both my characters and wrote them down: on my level 60 hunter, I logged 90 days of playtime, on my level 80 paladin I logged 70 days. Granted, I bet a lot of that time was spent with my characters sitting idle while I was busy with other things, or if I left my computer on over night, but that's still a huge amount of play time. But I'm not ashamed that I poured dozens of days of my life into one online game, I loved every minute of it. My friends, my brothers, their friends, and I bought the game all around the time it first launched, and playing the game was very much a social experience. We would all get together at someone's house, and level up, PvP, or raid together, not unlike a group of friends sitting around playing D&D.

World of Warcraft is a game that, judging by my vast amount of playtime, dominated my free time for a period of about four years. And while the game certainly is awesome, it's really who I was playing with that makes me remember my adventures in Azeroth so fondly. I'm not tempted to jump back in now that Cataclysm has come out, and I doubt I'll ever go back and play WoW, because it just wouldn't be the same questing and raiding without my "crew". But unlike most former "World of Warcraft addicts" who hate to think back on how much time the put into the game, I enjoyed pretty much every second of my ridiculous amount of playtime, and World of Warcraft easily ranks among my top games of all time.

Think back to the first few Call of Duty games. This was a series that revolved around sticking with your squad to accomplish objectives that were (for the most part) rooted in actual World War II operations - and, except for a few ridiculous set-pieces, it was all mostly believable. It wasn't until Call of Duty 4 that the series took on a different tone, one that was more inspired by over-the-top action flicks than war epics. Call of Duty 4 was a game-changer, and it pulled off the series' radical shift marvelously, but disappointingly, both World at War, and Modern Warfare 2 stumbled a bit.

But luckily, with Call of Duty: Black Ops, the guys at Treyarch, formerly thought of as the Call of Duty B-team have crafted an entry to the series that rivals both the madness, and the fun of the first Modern Warfare.

Black Ops' greatest strength is easily in its campaign. We haven't seen a truly outstanding singleplayer offering from the series for a while, but it's safe to say that Black Ops campaign rightfully takes is place amongst the best of the Call of Duty campaigns.

The story kicks off as Alex Mason, an ass-kicking secret agent, wakes up to find himself covered in blood inside a creepy interrogation room, as two shadowy figures demand to know the meaning behind a sequence of numbers that Mason apparently knows something about. The missions that ensue play out as Mason's memories as he must think back to his various highly-confidential missions in order to piece things together. But the series tradition of offering different perspectives is still very much an integral part of Black Ops. Players will take control of a few other soldiers, most notably a CIA agent named Jason Hudson, who very much becomes Mason's counterpart by the game's end. With ample twists an turns, a non-linear narrative that provides a ton of cool environments and scenarios, and an interesting, if understated, parallel between the game's two main characters, Black Ops' story really shines even if it doesn't take itself entirely seriously.

The campaign missions themselves are great. Because the action jumps around so much, you're never in one environment, or situation for too long. Over a span of about ten years, you'll jump from Cuba, to Vietnam, to Russia, and the result is a campaign that is always varied, fresh, and exciting. Each level feels different from the next thanks to awe-inspiring environments, and awesome set-pieces ranging from a river-boat chase, to directing allies from the cockpit of an SR-71 Blackbird. While there are tons of notable moments that serve to shake things up, there's never an overwhelming onslaught of them that takes you away from the core run-and-gun action for too long; the game even has moments, such as a few lengthy stealth sequences, that serve to tone things down a bit.

The singleplayer campaign is lengthy considering what has been grown to be expected from the franchise, clocking in at 8-10 hours instead of 5-6. And while that's still pretty brisk, the campaign is so good that it truly does warrant multiple play-throughs. With awesome missions, locations, set-pieces, and a great story to boot, Black Ops' campaign is one big step forward for the series.

The frenetic, white-knuckled multiplayer action that is based just as much around gunning down opponents, and working with your team as it is gaining XP, and acquiring Killstreaks returns. The system that Call of Duty 4 made famous is just as fun here. The three main hooks that serve to differentiate the Call of Duty multiplayer experience from other first-person shooters are Killstreaks, Perks, and the ever-so-addicting XP system, only this time, everything has been tweaked to provide a more enjoyable, balanced experience.

There's a ton of room for customization in Black Ops. You can tweak everything from the guns, and perks in your loadout to the crosshairs you want on your scope, the images you want on your insignia, and even the camouflage face paint you want to wear. There's a huge amount of stuff to unlock, and outfit your character with, the only problem is that all tied to COD Points, which are easily the worst part of the multiplayer experience. COD Points are currency you earn as you do battle. As you earn these Points you can buy various unlocks made available to you by leveling up. Sound unnecessary and confusing? It is. COD Points are not only wholly unnecessary in conjunction with the XP system, but they limit progression in favor of customizability; players will probably end up only buying exactly what they want instead of choosing to try out all the different goodies they've acquired.

There is one cool thing the COD Points does allow for, however: Wager Matches. If you're feeling lucky, you can lay some points down on the table, and duke it out in one of four Wager Match game types. The modes themselves are really cool and unique because they usually force players to take some abnormal approaches to any given confrontation. Because options are limited, and precious points are on the line, Wager Matches are quite a successful addition to the standard multiplayer experience.

With tons of modes, tons of maps, and tons of customization options, plus the ever-so-addicting XP system, Black Ops is sure to suck up a ton of time. And when the action is as polished, and balanced as it is, you'll enjoy every minute of it.

Easily the weakest part of Black Ops is the zombie mode. While it's impressive that Treyarch managed to squeeze a co-op mode into an already robust package, it ends up being much to insignificant, and detached from the rest of the game to warrant a whole lot of attention.

There are only two maps but since one takes place in Germany during World War II, and the other in the Pentagon in the 60's, they each their own sets of weapons, characters, and of course, zombies. While it's great to see that kind of attention to detail, and some great quips from the two sets of characters (let's face it, JFK, Robert McNamara, Fidel Castro, and Richard Nixon make for an awesome team), the gameplay itself is a little shallow. Players simply must defend against hordes of the undead, earning points for each kill which they can use to purchase new weaponry, or advance forward. There's really not much more to it than that.

In a market saturated with co-op shooters, Black Ops' zombie mode just doesn't cut it. It feels like Treyarch made the mode just so they could check off the obligatory co-op box on there list of things to put in the game. But honestly, it's not a huge deal since the game's other modes are so compelling.

Every Call of Duty game has been an absolute beast in terms of production values, and Black Ops is no different. The game runs at a smooth 60 frames-per-second the whole way through, and the graphics are amazing on a technical level. There's also some great art design when it comes to the environments, from the James Bond-esque secret bases, to the hellish battlefields of Vietnam. Things are similarly superb on the audio side: sound design is excellent, as is the exciting score, and a host of stars lend their voices to the game's cast.

It's hard to pick and choose the best titles in a series that's comprised entirely of great games (provided you've completely erased Call of Duty 3 from your memory), but if I had to pick, Black Ops would certainly be among the best in the series. Even though it's a shame about the Zombies mode, Black Ops offers a robust online component that has been fine-tuned to being quite close to perfection, and amazing production values. More importantly, however, Treyarch has ended the streak of mediocre singleplayer modes that we've been getting since World at War, and delivered a campaign that is intense, and memorable enough to be worthy of the Call of Duty name.

Well I wrote this one a lot quicker than I thought I would. Here it is: my review for Fable III.

Simplified combat, streamlined RPG elements, and structured progression may incline your average gamer to peg Fable III as being "dumbed down". But such is not the case. The gameplay ultimately serves to compliment the rich, immersive world. Charming, thought-provoking, and joyous, Fable III is wholly unique, something that can't be said of many games these days.

Within the game's first half-hour, players will find themselves on the Road to Rule, a manifestation of their progress toward being crowned king or queen of Albion that exists on a mystical plane. Getting that crown is the focus of the first two-thirds or so of the game. The King of Albion (son of the Hero from Fable II) hasn't been the greatest monarch. In fact, he's a downright tyrant. Players will step into the shoes of either the prince or princess, and after putting up with yet more of King Logan's treachery, it is decided that they will lead a rebellion against their brother. What unfolds is a charming story that is filled to the brim with great characters and dialogue. Even more impressive is the game's shift toward a much more serious tone once the player ascends to the throne, and must deal with the responsibilities of being a ruler. There are also a ton of great sidequests that feature a lot of genuinely funny tongue-in-cheek writing. The first two Fable games were much more personal in terms of story, focusing on personal vendettas rather than epic quests, but Fable III's decision to finally focus the series on bigger picture situations adds a lot more the experience.

The quest to usurp the throne is a lot of fun. The prince or princess will need to amass followers, and gain the support of key allies in order to take down big brother. All this unfolds through your typical RPG quest structure, albeit with a bit more handholding than the average title. You'll be guided from one quest to the next in a rather linear fashion with your objectives clearly spelled out, and a magical trail guiding you exactly where to go for good measure. The main story quests usually simply involve a lot of combat and dialogue with brief interludes where some exploration, or puzzle solving is required to continue further.

Even though things can get to be pretty formulaic, Lionhead has taken the exact right steps to ensure that your adventures won't become repetitive. Combat is extremely simple, players have equipped a melee weapon, a gun and spells, and each attack is assigned to a face button. There are blocking and dodging mechanics, but they don't need to be used very regularly. Fable III is an easy game, I expect most players would be able to get through it without "dying" more than once or twice, and even if one does manage to fall in battle, the only real penalty is a moment of waiting for one's character to get back on their feet.

The RPG elements have also been toned back. Everything is taken down to the bare essentials, and for the most part, it works. Instead of progressively leveling your skills as in most roleplaying games, Fable III introduces the Road to Rule. As you come closer to attaining the royal crown, you'll be able to upgrade your abilities in very general ways, making it easier to craft a well-rounded character. Interaction with NPC's has also been limited. You have the choice of doing a nice, or nasty expression instead of the usual wheel filled with emotes that the previous Fable titles used.

Despite how simple, easy, and streamlined Fable III is, the experience is still a ton of fun. Playing the game feels effortless, and thus it's easy to lose yourself in the expansive world of Albion. The hilarious script, multitude of environments, wonderful ambience and tons of quests truly immerse you in the world, and the streamlined gameplay ensures that no extraneous gameplay elements impede on that immersion.

It's easy to label Fable III as "casual", but the game is easily enjoyable to pretty much any audience. Fable III isn't a huge, complex RPG, but it doesn't try to be. Lionhead has created an excellent world that is begging to be explored, and expertly crafted its gameplay around it.

But that's all said without mentioning the game's last few hours which take place during your character's reign as the ruler of Albion. Once the player takes the throne, they get thrust into a pretty bad situation, and some tough decisions ensue. While the core gameplay remains just as easy as ever, the moral decisions (which are largely absent in the first part of the game) can really weigh down on you, as they all have tangible consequences. This last portion of the game is handled brilliantly, and adds some real weight to a campaign that was previously very light on making moral decisions, a key part of the Fable franchise.

In terms of production values Fable III is decent enough. The highlight is the sound department. The music is wonderful, and perfectly captures the tone of the game. Fable III also features a huge roster of impressive voice actors from Sir Ben Kingsley to John Cleese (who has a ton of dialogue). In terms of graphics, the art direction is great, but the graphics engine is starting to show its age. You'll experience the occasional graphical glitch, but generally the world of Albion is as well-realized as it can be considering the limitations of the engine. There are also some minor sound glitches, most notably the overlapping dialogue of about a dozen villagers as your stroll through town. Fable III doesn't have the best production values, but the good ultimately outweighs the bad.

The amount of playtime you can get out of Fable III entirely depends on how invested you want to get. Simply blasting through the story quests will take about 10-12 hours, but that is of course ignoring all the multitude of sidequests that range from fantastic, tongue-in-cheek adventures to simple fetch quests. There's also tons of weapons, treasures, and items to be collected. There's a lot to see and do in Fable III, and although the main adventure is relatively short compared to most RPG's, it would be a shame to only experience that one part of a pretty massive game.

Fable III might be easy, and simple, but it's meant to be. There are some problems with the game; it might be too simple for some, and the game's production values aren't exactly top-notch. It might be odd for a hardcore gamer to play an RPG as simple as Fable III, but the risks Lionhead took in order to ensure that the game is as streamlined as possible ultimately make the game unlike any other you'll play this year.

Hint: I liked the game.

I clicked back on this blog today after a while of neglecting it, and saw the sorry sight of an Alan Wake DLC review with the date September 2nd stamped on it. Truth be told, I've had a lot of stuff to do, namely music related stuff including my school's jazz ensemble, the band my friends and I have going, being forced to play in the school musical, and the performances required from each of those groups. Not to mention I have school on top of all that. Though you might not care. Anyway, the point of this blog is to give some updates. Though you might not care.

My game-playing has largely been split between two games, Fable III and Halo: Reach. They're both pretty excellent games. Fable III is one of the few games I've played that's been extremely streamlined, and is all the better for it. Halo: Reach seems to be just the opposite. It's huge, and robust, with tons of features and the game's all the better for that. I started to write not one, but two gargantuan reviews for Halo: Reach, but both times they've been deleted by my brother who is apparently very OCD about windows being left open on the computer, so I'm not really inclined to start on another, but I'd like to write up a Fable III review if I get the chance.

This isn't a very amusing blog on it's own, but the takeaway message is that I'm going to try and blog more.

If you think about it, Alan Wake's story structure is perfectly suited to DLC. Since the game is split up into multiple 90-minute chunks of gameplay, and narrative dubbed "Episodes", post-release content fits into the equation pretty naturally. And the fact that the core game ended with one hell of a cliffhanger helps, too. The first downloadable Episode for Alan Wake, The Signal, is one of the best small-sized pieces of DLC out there because it succeeds in advancing not only the core game's plot, but its gameplay as well.

The Signal picks up right where Alan Wake left off (with a nice little recap video included). Alan Wake has entered "The Dark Place", a twisted part of his psyche that he finds himself trapped inside of by the Dark Presence. Alan spends his time trying to find out what the Dark Place really is, and, of course, how to escape. Though the plot becomes yet more purposefully convoluted with this new adventure, there's also some great character development to be found, namely in moments where Alan Wake must confront himself through images of his friends conjured up by his psyche. While Wake's predicament isn't exactly resolved by the end of the Episode, it provides yet more brilliantly self-aware thrills, and camp.

In terms of gameplay, The Signal adds a surprising amount of new ideas, and game mechanics considering it's a rather small piece of DLC. One of the most interesting new gameplay elements is being able to shine your flashlight on giant, floating words, thereby turning those trippy words into something physical. For example, if you shine your flashlight on the word "Supplies", a bunch of ammo, and batteries will appear out of nowhere. It's an interesting mechanic which is executed so well that it'll make you wish it was used throughout the core game as well.

Beyond that, there are a couple great new moments, including a demolition derby face-off against a few poltergeist cars, and a sequence in which the town of Bright Falls itself tries to kill you. With new gameplay mechanics, and quite a few thrilling sequences packed into one DLC, The Signal is more action-packed, and tightly wound than any chapter in the game proper.

With yet more campy story, some twisted new environments, and a whole ton of great gameplay, The Signal is not only an exceptional piece of DLC, it may just be the best chapter in Alan Wake. While the DLC is on the short side, and the story may confuse those who take it seriously, The Signal is, in the end, what DLC should be all about: Both adding to, and expanding the core experience.