The Writer Writes Himself Into A Pickle, Can He Write Himself Out?

Alan Wake doesn't take the title of scariest game I've ever played. That's still firmly held by Fatal Frame 2. It might be in the running for #2, against Silent Hill 2, among others. It's not the same sort of scary, though.

With Silent Hill 2, there was a sort of dread to the game, as everything around James rotted and decayed, and I wasn't sure I really wanted to learn the truth behind the letter from his dead wife. With Alan Wake, it's really not so much frightening as tense. The worst moments are the ones where it seems likely Alan will be overrun by a swarm of the Taken, people possessed by darkness and out to kill him. Hitchcock had that line about suspense being knowing there's a bomb, and waiting for it to go off, and surprise is a bomb going off. Silent Hill 2 worked on my knowing something was going to happen, while Alan Wake works when something actually happens.

As to the story, Alan's a writer, fairly popular, who hasn't written in 2 years. He and his wife have traveled to a little town for a getaway. They end up in the wrong cabin, his wife and the cabin disappear, Alan wakes up in his wrecked car missing a week, and being hunted every night by the Taken. Alan's sure there's a way to rescue his wife, and it involves finishing a story he doesn't even remember writing. The story reminds me of Phantom Dust a little, where one character has more control over things than even they realize. In that game, the character learning the truth (or part of it) makes things take a dark turn. In this case, Alan figuring out how he has and can shape things turns things around some.

I didn't love the game, but it had its moments. The back and forth between Alan and his friend/agent, Barry, was good. The scenery is gorgeous, I especially liked the rare opportunities to drive during the daylight hours (they kept the driving controls simple, but they work well).

I dislike that Alan is constantly losing his gun/flashlight/flares. I understand it when he gets arrested and thrown in jail. But eventually, the game looks for any excuse to take away your defenses. Tumbled down a ravine? Lost your stuff. Jumped down to a cliff? Lost your stuff. Fell out of the helicopter after it was attacked by possessed birds? You better believe you lost your stuff. Had plenty of supplies at the end of the last chapter? Guess what, you left it all behind at the start of the next one. It's ridiculous.

The game does encourage a certain amount of exploration, but if you're trying not to die any more than is absolutely necessary, it also discourages it. In each level, there is yellow spray paint that appears when you shine a flashlight on it. The paint is frequently in the shape of an arrow directing you to a hidden cache of supplies. So I follow and look, 12 revolver bullets and 2 flares! Then I turn around and there are 5 Taken barreling towards me. By the time I've dispatched them, the side trip may have netted me 2 bullets. After that I stopped intentionally exploring other paths, because it didn't seem like it was worth the aggravation. Alan's not exactly nimble or quick, so outrunning enemies is a dicey strategy, at best. The positive way to look at it is that it does make any run-in with more than about two Taken a serious encounter. You have to be on your toes, watch the flashlight battery, keep track of all the enemies, be ready to back up when your gun goes dry.

Flare guns are awesome, though. Always made my day to come across one, even knowing I'd lose it the first chance the game had.