Zero Punctuation: Alan Wake

[Catalyst6]

My my, that book gets plugged more than southern oil leak.
I suppose for good reason though.

I would by Alan Wake, and I might even enjoy it, if suddenly Microsoft didn't decide to do the whole "platform dedication" thing. Why couldn't they whore themselves out to every passing system like they usually do...

 

[maximara]

I was wondering how Yahtzee was going to view this game. Sounds like the difficulty is dialed down for the mass-audience. Maybe I'll wait for it to drop to the 30 dollar range before buying it.

It sounds more like the difficulty kept being dialed down after the mass-audience level had been reached so that 'where's the on switch' crowd could play it.

 

[sievr]

I am surprised Yahtzee didn't mention Silent Hill once during this review. Same kind of foggy atmosphere, same kind of, "stuck in town by self" plot, same bad combat, isn't Alan Wake even made by some of the same people as Silent Hill?

I have been surprised for a long time (actually, since 2001 or whenever I first heard about this game) that no one has been comparing it to Silent Hill. Sure, Silent Hill was very much inspired by Stephen King itself, but it was the first video game to really capture that atmosphere of "town where something has gone horribly wrong but not quite sure what". And let's not forget that Harry Mason was a writer, too.

 

[WayOutThere]

Doesn't the camera panning to the bad guys when they show up only cut down on boo scares which Yahtzee doesn't even like?

 

[Hiroshi Mishima]

Captain Scarlet!

Cor,I remember that.

Well,ok,vaguely but still,it remains a fond memory.

Wow, it's good to know I'm not the only person who remembers that show. Damn, I wonder if they have it on DVD...

Anyways, this is one of those reviews that was not only entertaining, but infuriating because now I'm wondering if I should get the game just to see if it's as cheesy as Yahtzee says it is. I dunno, sometimes I like the games he makes fun of but don't realize they're even worth my time until he's beaten them into submission.

I guess it takes a REAL look at games (ie, not a biased "game was awesome get it" review like on most sites). So I guess that's why I like Yahtzee's reviews as real reviews more than anything else.

 

[cementino]

The best one in a long time. The wife joke cracked me up, but also the pun around whore and horse was nice

 

[VulakAerr]

I really enjoyed Alan Wake, and am not really feeling you on the whole scary faces thing. I thought the faces and animations were very good. That said, I do take on board the combat issues and crazy camera stuff. Either way, I enjoyed the review, despite not really agreeing with quite how scathing you were.

 

[k-ossuburb]

I liked the game, so I loved this review. There's something wrong with me where I actually enjoy the things I love being shitted on from a great height. This made me laugh, especially all the Stephen King bits, I remember them well.

Also, his wife has way too much teeth in that first scene in the car. The first shot I got was of her blindingly white grill grinning at me, which strangely enough was one of the scariest parts of the game.

 

[Kojiro ftt]

Man am I glad Yahtzee bashed this game. I'm really into the horror games and there hasn't been any intresting releases in that genre for a while except for this, but I don't have an Xbox360. I was even more dissapointed because this game was developed by the only game company in my country that actually matters, but after seeing this I don't really have to worry anymore...

Shit, I'm not even fooling myself. The game looks great to me and I've disagreed with Yahtzee before, and I think I could stand the forced SK references, too... It's not like I've got anything against the guy (I freakin' love The Shining, screw the film!).

I recommend borrowing a 360 from a friend so you can play the game. If you are into horror games, this not one to miss. Alan Wake is now one of my all time favorite games. If you remember being lost in the woods as a kid, you will appreciate the game.

 

[Suskie]

Judging from some of the comments I've read so far... when the hell did people actually start taking Yahtzee reviews seriously? I loved Alan Wake, and it's been getting extremely favorable reviews from nearly every major outlet (including a perfect score here at Escapist). That doesn't mean any of you are guaranteed to like it, but when the hell has Yahtzee's word ever been written in stone? He complains about EVERYTHING. That's why he's successful, because it's funny when he complains. If you only go by Yahtzee's recommendations, then enjoy playing two or three games a year.

 

[Jared]

That's one thing I wishbthey didn't do...the camera thing. Never had a proper chance to jump!

As always, hilarious~

 

[Redlyr]

Hmmm... I was hoping this would be better. I guess it will be a rental.

 

[sephiroth1991]

I'm surprised he didn't mention how a giant tracter can bounce off you.

Good review as always.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Nice stuff, one of his best. I was wondering if i was abel to buy Mogworld from WH Smith or other good book shops, or do i have to buy them online?

 

[RandomAcronym]

Before you plan to not get this game, know that Escapist gave it 10/10.

I use to think that he just doesn't like most games,but now I'm convinced he doesn't care if the game is good or not and always hates on any game.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

I was wondering how Yahtzee was going to view this game. Sounds like the difficulty is dialed down for the mass-audience. Maybe I'll wait for it to drop to the 30 dollar range before buying it.

I don't think these kind of games (this and Heavy Rain) that want to be movies should retail for more than $30 to begin with. You get one or two playthroughs of it and have seen everything making $60 an incredibly bad value.

 

[VMerken]

I liked the review, but was expecting hint of Silent Hill 1 which was released 10 years ago and stars a writer running around in a spooky town, searching for a loved one after he seemingly lost her in a car crash. But I guess the game literally begs to explore the Stephen King parallells, which are also plentiful. And of course, Silent Hill 1 is a SD PSX title from long ago, a small while before Remedy started patching Alan Wake together. Played and finished Alan Wake, by the way, nice atmospheric game nonetheless. Will certainly finish Nightmare to complete the Achievements, but first I'm going to take Red Dead Redemption for a spin, I think.

@dmcc85: Don't worry about punctuation, there isn't supposed to be any in this review anyway . Slightly more seriously though, in the "anglo-german" World of Spelling(r) which has been with us for quite some time now, "ü" is meant to be replaced by "u" in order to enable phrasing such as "my uber-wit" or "blimey, am I uber today or what" ?

 

[MeatSpace]

Bad combat, bad voice acting and good atmosphere?

Funny that you can describe Alan wake and Silent Hill the exact same way.

Except Yahtzee liked Silent Hill. I call bullshit.

 

[Shjade]

For some reason I laughed most at the "ibblebibblebibble" running gag. I really have no idea why it amuses me so, but it does.

Sorta surprised he didn't mention how nonthreatening the shadow-thrown-objects seemed to be. Figured that statement was going to be something along the lines of, "blahblah good mechanic until I realized that Alan can take a train car to the face and barely stumble." Then again the Stephen King remark probably caused more chuckles. Tricky thing balancing critique with humor.

 

[oktalist]

Hah, Yahtzee just described Pie in the Sky, a British crime drama in which the detective can only think when he's around pastry, so each week the crime has to conveniently take place in a bakery or within walking distance of a pie shop. Yes.