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Alan Wake 2: So You’re Saying There’s a Chance?

Todd Schlickbernd — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:30:47 +0000

Remedy has noted that Alan Wake’s: American Nightmare, launching on XBLA on February 22, is not a sequel to Alan Wake but there might be hopes for one still. Yes! Flashlights!

Matias Myllyrinne, CEO of Remedy, told Game Informer some pretty awesome things regarding their approach to Alan Wake as a developer and their options as well. Remedy still owns the rights to Alan Wake, so if they want to make him into a kart racing game, that’s still on the table! Alan Wake: Flashlight Karts- sounds great right? Here’s what Matias actually had to say about the matter:

“Hopefully, we’ll have one or two surprises. I don’t know, I’m loving the digital [distribution] side and we’ll see how that evolves, but just being able to give people quick access to bite-size chunks of gaming is maybe more fun than working for years and years — taking the phone offline and closing the shutters– at least, this way, you’re able to react much more quickly to people’s desires and wishes… We’ll certainly continue with Wake. Right now we’re focusing on getting the PC out next week, then getting American Nightmare out. And it’s too early to talk about what our next move is, but we’ve obviously put things into motion.”

Ghosts and flashlights and thermoses full of coffee! I’ve never played an Alan Wake game but I’ve been told that’s the formula there, and those are all good things. Hopefully Remedy will do something sequel related in the future, but from the sounds of it they’re more interested in perhaps getting a little episodic up in here.

Alan Wake Coming to PC on February 16

Sam Naylor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:28 +0000

Remedy Entertainment has announced that Alan Wake will be available on Steam on the 16th of February.

The Steam version of the game will be the first out, with other digital versions and a boxed edition coming later. On Valve‘s digital platform the game will be $29.99 for the game and DLC, and $34.99 for the Limited Collector’s Edition.

Markus Mäki, CTO at Remedy, said:

We’ve done our best to do justice to the PC version and do things the way they should be done for PC. The PC version looks absolutely beautiful. We’re bringing the game to life in a whole new way.

Remedy note the key differences with the PC version are as follows:

“Higher resolutions and higher fidelity”
Mouse and keyboard support, along with gamepad
Support for 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios
Multithreaded engine that takes advantage of quad core CPUs
Field of view adjustment and an option to hide the HUD
Works with AMD Eyefinity 3D 3-screen mode
Works with NVIDIA NVISION2 Stereoscopic 3D

Eight New Alan Wake’s American Nightmare Screenshots

Drake Hess — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:52:55 +0000

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, The Remedy Entertainment Xbox LIVE Arcade sequel to the 2010 original, releases on February 15th of this year. This time around, you’ll get to use a nail gun to kill things. A freaking nail gun! Anyway, here are eight new screenshots to hold you over a little longer.

New Alan Wake and Bioware Game to Be Announced at the VGAs

Justin Carter — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:50:37 +0000

Once again, the Spike network will be airing their yearly VGAs. Each year, the VGAs have a boatload of reveals for new games, and we’re starting to receive a hint as to what we might see. So far, Spike’s revealed that there’ll be announcements for the next Alan Wake game, a new Bioware title, and the full reveal of Metal Gear Solid: Rising.

As far as the former is concerned, this is won’t be Alan Wake 2, but it’s assumed to be the rumored Alan Wake game for the Xbox Live Arcade. Bioware’s game is the real mystery. It could be Dragon Age III, or it could be Jade Empire 2.

[Via Game Informer]

Alan Wake Joins Xbox LIVE Games On Demand Service November 23rd

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:35:15 +0000

If your idea of Thanksgiving fun involves carving turkey, forking cranberry sauce, and filling zombified would be attackers with lead, Xbox LIVE Games on Demand has a pre-turkey day treat for you. Assuming you don’t already own Remedy Entertainment’s Xbox 360 exclusive survival horror title, Alan Wake, you’ll be able to conveniently download it to your console’s hard drive for 2400 Microsoft Points starting November 23rd.

The entire download will require 6.3 GB of space, so if you find yourself with an older unit that’s a little lacking in the hard drive department, you may want to consider taking a look at the Xbox 360 Holiday Bundle that include the new black Xbox 360 slim with a 250 GB hard drive, a copy of Forza Motorsport 3, and a token that grants you access to download the aforementioned Alan Wake title via the XBL Games on Demand service for free, all for $299.99 USD. Not a bad deal if you’re on the market for a new 360 console.

Alan Wake’s Final DLC “The Writer” Releases October 12th

Dave Ernst — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 01:35:04 +0000

Those eagerly awaiting the conclusion to the Alan Wake story won’t need to wait much longer. GameTrailers has posted a trailer for upcoming DLC: The Writer, which will be released on October 12th.

Remedy has already gone on record saying that this will be the last of Alan Wake DLC that will be released. This downloadable chapter is also said to bring the game’s story to a close.

I can’t wait to play this and see how they conclude the storyline. Remedy has a story completely laid out for an Alan Wake 2, but poor sales may have stopped plans for production on it.

Alan Wake – The Writer will be available October 12 on Xbox Live for 560MSP.

Alan Wake DLC “The Writer” Will Be Last

Dylan Duarte — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:34:15 +0000

Alan Wake was released in May of this year, followed by its first DLC, The Signal, at the tail end of July. Now developer Remedy is wrapping up their saga (for now) with The Writer, the final bit of downloadable content, to be released at a still unspecified date.

The only detail released so far is that The Writer will feature the Depeche Mode song “The Darkest Star,” which will tie into the game fiction.

1UP

Alan Wake in Glorious 8-bit Action

Garrett Hartman — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 21:55:50 +0000

I saw Alan Wake in 8 bit…and it was glorious! Check out Alan Wake in an 8-bit demake courtesy of Ant ti Apina. Yeah I know, not the most exciting thing in the world.

It’s a slow news Sunday, I’m drinking beers and watching football – Gimme a break.

Check it out:

New Codes for Alan Wake DLC

Brandon Fenty — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:24:56 +0000

If you’re one of those unlucky folks who tried to activate your Alan Wake DLC early and lost your code, Microsoft has not forgotten you.

Xbox Support on Twitter sent out a tweet earlier today promising an email to be sent out with a new code within 24-48 hours. The moral of this story: next time just be patient.

Alan Wake “The Signal” DLC Available Today

Dylan Duarte — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:25:56 +0000

The first of two downloadable Alan Wake installments, “The Signal”, is available on Xbox Live today. It’s free for those who bought Alan Wake brand new. For those that didn’t, it’s 560 MS points, or seven bucks in real money.

Straight from the press release:

In this latest chapter to the critically acclaimed psychological action thriller exclusive to Xbox 360, our favourite writer is in greater peril than ever before as the boundaries between reality and nightmare become disturbingly distorted. Threatening to overwhelm Alan’s mind, the nightmarish mysteries feel chillingly familiar. Keep your flashlight nearby as you get ready to follow “The Signal.”

That isn’t very informative, but that also means you’ll be going into it completely spoiler-free, which makes everything better. The DLC currently has a 77 on Metacritic (out of only five reviews) and from what I’ve read should take a little more than an hour to complete.

Be sure to check out the Ripten Review of Alan Wake and let us know what you think of the game and The Signal in the comments below.

K-Mart Discounts Games, Alan Wake Included

Brandon Fenty — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:21:08 +0000

K-Mart and I are quickly becoming friends; and they are getting very good at separating me from my money. I’m always a sucker for good discounts on games, and they are offering some seriously good ones this week.

Discounts include great titles like Alan Wake and Singularity. See below for a full list of discounts:

Alan Wake (Xbox 360) — $34.99
Singularity (Xbox 360, PS3) — $34.99
Call of Duty: War Collection (Xbox 360) — $34.99
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP) — $19.99
PSP-3000 — $149.99
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies — Purchase at full price, get $10 gift card and half-off select DS titles

Until next time, remember to keep your games close and your wallet closer.

Win an Alan Wake Shirt From Cafepress and Ripten!

Ripten Staff — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:22 +0000

I know we’re only about halfway into the year right now, but one of the better games released this year is definitely Alan Wake. The mysterious thriller, while not perfect, has moments in it that really excite you and do well to convince you that after seven years of no releases, Remedy can still crank out a hit. Shirt maker CafePress seems to think so too, as they’ve recently put out an official store full of Alan Wake gear. But if you don’t want to drop your own buckaroos on a shirt, then you’re in luck! Because we’re giving two away!

A flashlight plays pretty heavily into the gameplay of Alan Wake, so grab your closest flashlight and make a shadow puppet with it! From today until next week, on July 4th at 11:59PM PST, if you leave a comment below with a link to a photo of you performing your best shadow puppet (you don’t have to use your hands, but if you don’t, get creative!), you’ll become elligible to win your choice of Alan Wake shirt from the Cafepress store.

On July 5th, we’ll select two and announce them right here in this post, so stay tuned to Ripten! And when you enter, make sure to use your real email, or else we can’t contact you. Now, grab your flashlight and go!

You can find Alan Wake t-shirts at CafePress!

New Alan Wake “The Signal” DLC Teaser Trailer and Screens

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:40:47 +0000

Updates on the upcoming Alan Wake DLC The Signal have been trickling out pretty slowly, but you won’t have to wait much longer to play the first downloadable extension to the 360 exclusive third person suspense title from Remedy Entertainment considering it will be available on July 27th. The Signal picks up right where the game itself leaves off, and those of us who have already “beaten” it, know that some additional information will be a very welcome sight.

Gamers who bought the release brand new will gain access to this first DLC segment for free via the code found inside the box, while used game purchasers will have to pay seven bucks (560 MS Points) unless of course their used copy came with an unused code. Further DLC installments will cost 560 MS Points regardless of what state you bought the game in.

And on that note, here’s the trailer and screens.

Remedy on Alan Wake 2: “We Definitely Want a Sequel”

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:00:51 +0000

Oskari Hakkinen, head of franchise development at Remedy Entertainment, has expressed interest in continuing to work with Microsoft and developing a sequel to the critcally acclaimed Alan Wake.

In a recent interview with IGN, Oskari discussed a possibly Alan Wake sequel, DLC, and the developer’s partnership with Microsoft. He says that Microsoft is toying with the idea of more DLC episodes, but they’re waiting to see how the first two episodes go. He also notes that Remedy is a small studio. They can obviously only do so much.

Addressing the idea of a sequel (which would be set up with DLC), Oskari said the following:

“We’re happy with the partnership and they’re happy with the game. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t continue with Microsoft and why we wouldn’t renew the IP … we definitely want a sequel of course.”

The only thing I can see standing in the way of a sequel is the relatively low sales numbers, but if Microsoft is as happy with it as Oskari says, it seems like a sequel is a good bet.

(IGN via Destructoid)

Facebook Exclusive Alan Wake Screen Gives “The Signal” For New DLC

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:30:45 +0000

Alan Wake’s first of two announced DLC installment, titled “The Signal”, will be released on Xbox LIVE Marketplace July 27th, but you can get a small taste of it in the form of a screenshot below.

The screen was posted exclusively on the official Alan Wake Facebook page, and the message thread below featured a few comments by a Remedy rep operating under the Alan Wake alias:

“ … This is extra content that we started developing after Alan Wake was shipped. They are to bridge the gap between Alan Wake 1 and Alan Wake 2 (if made).

“They will give you a bit more insight into the story but they are entirely optional and if you don’t play them you still will understand the story if we continue it on for Alan Wake 2. Think of them like Christmas specials in a TV series”

” … there is no third DLC. As for the pricing, they are each 800mp but if you purchase the game new you get a coupon allowing you to download the first DLC (The Signal) for free.”

Finally, in a response to when we could expect to see more screens, the rep stated:

“Soon! Very very soon :)”

Imagine that. E3 around the corner and companies actually have new content to tease us with. What is this world coming to…

Poets of the Fall “WAR” Music Video Reunites Alan Wake With Alice

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:30:21 +0000

I grew up as a proud member of the MTV generation (back when it actually played music videos), so it wasn’t anything new to see a music video for a blockbuster film — but a video game? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that … until now.

Remember that Alan Wake live action trailer we assumed was a DLC teaser? Yeah, about that. The sneaky bastards at Remedy had us fooled good. Turns out it was actually for a pretty kick ass music video performed by Poets of the Fall titled “WAR.” It tells the story of Alan Wake (played by Ilkka Villi), and his one man rescue mission to find his main squeeze Alice. Those who played the game will recognize Poets of the Fall as the in-game band “Old Gods of Asgard.”

The only unfortunate part in the video is that real world flash lights don’t have the same effect as Alan Wake video game flash lights, and the lack of post-production special effects on the shadow people only amplifies the weakness of the beam. The flare still looks pretty cool though. Check it out below.

Remedy Releases Live Action Alan Wake Trailer, Teasing DLC Ahead?

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:06:39 +0000

Examining the new Alan Wake trailer released earlier today, after having already played the game to completion, leads me to believe it has everything to do with an upcoming DLC.

Those of you who beat the game, or spent any amount of time reading about its plot online, will know that the tiny device in Alan’s hand at both the beginning and end of the short 15 second clip, is none other than the infamous “clicker” he gained access to towards the end of the game.

In addition to the clicker, Alan seems to be embracing a blonde haired woman in one arm while his other holds up a flare, keeping several enemies at bay. Lastly, we get a brief glimpse of a manuscript page, that clearly mentions Alice and her fear of the dark, before Alan wakes up face down in the woods, clicker firmly in hand.

Ripten Review: Alan Wake

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 31 May 2010 04:03:04 +0000

Let me start this review by first stating that to the best of my knoweldge, I am fully awake right now, and not under the influence of any supernatural forces. Though if I were possessed, chances are that I’d have no clue, and therefore, neither would any of you.

Anyway, this review is written by someone who has never played a full game of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or any survival horror based game for that matter. So if that’s a turn off for you, I suggest you start hauling ass in the other direction. The truth is, the idea of pacing around in the dark while waiting for something to pop out and attack/scare you over and over again, never really appealed to me as a gamer — at least not enough to buy or rent any of those titles at the time of their release. Now, that’s not to say they were bad, I simply occupied my time with other games, and never really felt like I was missing out by not playing them.

In comes Alan Wake, after a five year long wait surrounded by more hype than an NFL Favre Watch initiated by Justin Bieber while on set the set of a new Twilight film. You might say that my willingness to purchase Alan Wake has to do with a change in my gaming taste over the years, or that I gave in to the hype surrounding it. Regardless, Alan and I were about to embark on a very personal journey together. “Be gentle,” I said as I looked into his eyes. “It’s my first time.” He of course shined a flashlight in my face and said “Stop acting like a little bitch. Let’s get going.”

[click here to pick up and read a missing manuscript page]

Alan Wake asks you to play the role of an extremely well known writer (named Alan Wake) who is suffering from a severe case of writers block. The game starts with you and your wife making your way to a small town in the mountains for what you initially believe to be a couples getaway. Secretly though, your wife had arranged the trip with hopes that escaping the city for a brief stint in a more peaceful setting would help you get your creative juices flowing again. In other words (sing it with me):

“When the typewriter “chings” we can buy more things. So unblock your brain before our pockets drain.”

Unfortunately, when your wife suddenly takes a dive into the lake from the second floor cabin window, you jump in to save her with less than stellar results. The next thing you know, you are waking up at the wheel of a broken down car in the middle of the woods. You realize that several days have passed, but you have no recollection of what you did during them, or how you ended up in your current location. The rest of the game is spent running around in the woods and talking to various town folk with the hopes of piecing together what happened.

Your time spent traversing through the wilderness (or anywhere after sundown for that matter) requires you to almost always have a source of light near by, because Alan Wake features a whole host of shadowy things that go bump in the night, and none of them take kindly to light. However, in most cases, the light alone won’t kill your source of bodily harm, and for that reason, I’ve broken the game’s arsenal down into three categories; “flash” (weakens them),”thrash” (finishes them), and “mash” (saves time by doing both at once). The “flash” grouping consists of various types of light sources like flash lights, flares, flood lights, and even vehicle headlights. The “thrash” ensemble is a little less diverse, but offers up a shotgun, hunting rifle, and revolver to help even the odds when things get out of hand. Last but not least, we have “mash” — both the flare gun and flash grenade combine light and firepower for a powerful result that often finishes off whatever ails you.

Alan Wake’s controls, gameplay mechanics, and enemy AI are solid. The third person shooting dynamic is smooth with a mild auto assist feature that works the way you’d hope in most cases. There are times when you find yourself trying to target a canister of explosive gas only to have it select the nearby villain instead, but it otherwise does the job well, allowing you to focus more on running for your life and less on targeting baddies.

And while we’re conveniently on the topic of running, Alan Wake has got to be the most out-of-shape healthy looking guy you’ll ever see. The man can’t run for more than what seems to be ten yards at a time. The logic behind this mechanic is understandable, in that you don’t want the game’s main character to be able to sprint away from every scenario — especially when you factor in the slowing effect flares have on your enemies. However, there are times where you are simply trying to get from point A to point B with no adversarial pursuit, and it’s at these moments when Alan’s lack of stamina really kicks your ass.

The overall game play and platforming (if you want to call it that) in Alan Wake is fairly linear when you get down to it, though I found that the designers did an outstanding job of minimizing the obviousness of it all. In fact, the game feels far more open and explorable than the most recent Final Fantasy XIII release. Part of that could be attributed to the overall darkness of the game, but the other aspect I believe helps make things feel more open is the lack of an on-screen mini map. The yellow dot does clue you in on the general direction you want to be heading, however when compared to the mini map used in FFXIII it is far less detailed and segmented.

In terms of classic style “end level boss fights”, Alan Wake does it’s best to accommodate. Though as you’ll hear me say a few times in this review, the designers are limited by the constraints of the story. Varied locations are used to their fullest when presenting new enemy types and scenarios, and you’ll walk away from the game feeling like the makers really did try to throw as much at you as possible, while staying true to their initial vision. But in the end, you might ask yourself (as I did) what the game might have looked like with a slightly broader vision and approach to the shadow entities.

[click here to pick up and read a missing manuscript page]

Fans of in-game extras and collectible nicknacks won’t be disappointed, as Alan Wake has got a few things to keep you busy along the way. Notable extras include entertaining radio segments, television shows, thermos collecting, and pyramid can shooting, but the most important things you can pick up along the way are missing manuscript pages. These not only act as achievement fodder, but also reveal key plot elements that you would otherwise be oblivious to. Now, this could have been seen as potentially bothersome for someone who wanted to know everything without having to chase them down, but the story does a decent job of explaining their existence, so you’ll just have to suck it up and seek them out in the name of sticking to the script.

The environments in Wake are rich in detail and diverse while still remaining true to the blue collar reality of the small town setting you find yourself in. The game at times makes you feel like John Rambo running for your life through a maze of trees, as blue and red police lights pierce the forest. Other moments make you feel as if you are trapped in a Friday the 13th sequel that Jason Voorhees boycotted. In other words, the game benefits from a a well executed backdrop, but lacks the extra layer of suspense you’d get from the addition of an iconic “franchise quality” villain.

Alan Wake’s musical score, sound effects, and voice acting were top notch from beginning to end. The character assortment was colorful and believable enough, with dialog that helps revive your interest in the game after repeated exposure to shadowy villain laden trails all but diminish it at times. The game is purposely void of almost all musical accompaniment during actual game play segments to help build suspense. However, when the game does make use of music during episodic intros, segues, and cinematic sequences, you’ll find it a fitting compliment.

Despite desperately wanting to feel for Alan Wake, the more I learned about him, the less I liked him as a person — fictional or not. This made it hard to relate to him, let alone sympathize for him and the loss of his wife. Alan, through the use of flash backs and other reveals, eventually came across to me as a rich city snob who lacked appreciation for his wife until she vanished. And in many ways, his relentless search to find her seemed driven more by guilt than anything else.

The climax of Alan Wake was confusing at worst and unsatisfying at best. In fact, the episodic delivery of the game left me feeling much like a dedicated fan of a television series might feel if their favorite show’s series finale ended with more questions than answers. The kind of ending that requires you to buy the series box set for additional information that wasn’t in the finale — or in this case the DLC soon to follow.

I’m sure there will be a slew of gamers out there who have already begun to formulate theories surrounding it, and for that reason, I will simply leave things at this:

Alan Wake is graphically superb survival horror game with excellent controls. While it shines in many areas (both literally and figuratively), it suffers from a somewhat unavoidable drab selection of baddies and a plot twist that is very much hit or miss. If you believe that you can live with the game’s aforementioned downfalls, Alan Wake is certainly worth an addition to your video game library. If not, go ahead and give it a rental first. Either way, the game is definitely worth playing.

[click here to pick up and read the final missing manuscript page]

Alan Wake was developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and PC. The game released in the United States on May 18th with a retail price of $59.00 USD. The copy used in this review was for the Xbox 360 and purchased by Ripten. The game was played to completion on normal difficulty mode for the purpose of this review.

New Game Releases: 5/16 – 5/22

Rangebar Merani — Mon, 17 May 2010 04:47:41 +0000

The summer video game blockbusters are officially on the way with huge titles like Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake and Split/Second coming out this week. The summer only gets better next week when Super Mario Galaxy 2 hits the Wii. Looks like summer 2010 is already turning out to be a great one for gaming! Hit the jump for the full list of new game releases this week and my pick of the week.

Pick of the Week: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP)

Xbox 360:

Alan Wake
Alan Wake Limited Collector’s Edition
AQUA – Naval Warfare (Xbox Live Arcade Download)
Attack of the Movies 3-D
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Red Dead Redemption
Shrek Forever After
Split/Second

PS3:

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Red Dead Redemption
Rocket Knight (PlayStation Store Download)
Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Episode Two – The Tomb of Sammun-Mak (PlayStation Store Download)
Shrek Forever After
Split/Second

Wii:

Attack of the Movies 3-D
BIT.TRIP RUNNER (WiiWare Download)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Shrek Forever After
Trauma Team

PC:

Legio
Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Episode Two – The Tomb of Sammun-Mak
Shrek Forever After
Split/Second

Nintendo DS:

Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow
Frogger Returns (DSiWare Download)
Imagine: Animal Doctor Care Center, Looksleyâs Line Up (DSiWare Download)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Shrek Forever After

PSP:

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Alan Wake Goes Gold, Check Your Flashlight For Batteries

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:42:42 +0000

Remedy’s long awaited story driven action game, Alan Wake, has just gone gold. The suspenseful title revolves around a town consumed by an evil force and your battle to remain in one piece. The dark versus light combat system paired with what appears to be an endless array things that can attack you at any given moment means you may want to empty your bladder thoroughly before sitting down to enjoy this one. New “Building the Thriller” video available below. Make sure to check it out.