[AnttiApina]

Unfortunately, that is what happens if you annouce your games early. Only few have met expectations: Half Life 2 and Max Payne in my books.

[Galactus]

KonsoliFIN:

http://www.konsolifin.net/xbox/arvostelut/499/

4/5

[yogibbear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DvsDevise

'"If you don't mind periodically revisiting game design from 1999" - Gamespot

Err...

1999:

Planescape: Torment
Baldur's Gate: TotSC
System Shock 2
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Medal of Honor
Quake 3: Arena
GTA 2
Silent Hill
Descent 3
Outcast
C&C:TS
Unreal Tournament
Counterstrike

Pretty sure that's a compliment Especially compared to like now... with crud like MoW13 and Halo 29

They had better netcode and server browsers back then too.... scary stuff!

[Dreb]

Finnish Iltalehti gave Alan a 9,5: (probably not quite worth noting, but nonetheless)

http://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/2010050911632068_du.shtml

Interesting cons there; too much wandering in the forests and too much action at points... Come on, really?

[Jarkko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnttiApina

And that is why Remedy needs to make the series appeal to wider audiences: GameTrailers gave 8.0 for the story of the game and on the other hand IGN said it was "unrivalled". U2 managed to please everyone and I hope the same happens with the sequel of Wake.

No, don't ever do that Remedy, please. Do your own thing just how you like it, whether people like it or not.

[One Eyed Jack]

I really can't believe the gamecritics guy:

"the end result in its current state is more like a one-trick pony birthed from a tryst between Twin Peaks and Alone in the Dark, only without the things that made each of those productions great. Rating: 6.5 out of 10."

I mean, what the hell? Alone In The Dark? Seriously?

[DvsDevise]

Quote:

Originally Posted by One Eyed Jack

I really can't believe the gamecritics guy:

"the end result in its current state is more like a one-trick pony birthed from a tryst between Twin Peaks and Alone in the Dark, only without the things that made each of those productions great. Rating: 6.5 out of 10."

I mean, what the hell? Alone In The Dark? Seriously?

They gave Alone in the Dark: Inferno a 95/100, it's highest score.
http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...0the%20Dark%22

They also bitterly defended the game against IGN's 68 review.

[ancient]

So, because YouTube is the best gaming platform for certain neglected customers , I watched the entire Alan Wake walkthrough here hoping to be impressed, expressed and wowed.

Yet...

I genuinely believed Alan Wake will beat Bioshock 2 in terms of Metacritic score and style (earning around 91-93 based on what I saw prior the release), having 6 years of development in its bag, unrestricted creativity and the privilege of living in Finland - a perfect place to get inspired about foggy adventures in Washington state.

But... it proves that graphics alone and the financial backing of the Aesir Corporation, that "might become a bigger monopoly than Micro---- ever was", is not enough.

Alan Wake can be definitely proud of its graphics - light effects in particular - and its ambient music... but Bioshock 1 and 2 (my gaming standard de facto that I worship so consistently ) has the soul and the emotion and the thematic intelligence and the believability.

I went through same route for Bioshock 1. Initially I was only mildly interested in that game so I watched the entire Bioshock 1 walkthrough on YouTube and, even though it spoilt the story completely, what I saw actually convinced me to buy the game and to become "the official fan of Bioshock"™ and to join the cult of Rapture

The game was so good that when I eventually played it, I enjoyed it massively despite knowing all the plot twists beforehand, etc. Bioshock simply hit the right spots for the thinking player, crushed me with its style and atmosphere and believability of the themes (one particular rescue moment in particular).

Here: Alan Wake is definitely interesting to watch it through and to play it through but... it does not have the "wow!" 10/10, etc. factor. It's rather passive than active... delivering story points mostly through the cutscenes whereas it's always more impactful to experience story points through the gameplay and in-game world itself. I think both Bioshocks nailed it down very well.

So I understand why the reviews talk mostly positively about Alan Wake and in the end still give 8s or 9s only. Alan Wake, while difficult to pick any particular flaw, is just.... a little bit shallow, sometimes downright silly from the story perspective and yes - really not much incentive to return.

If I could single out certain factors that are memorable in Alan Wake, these would be the light effects, "breathing of the night" ambient cue that we sometimes hear and the transition from Episode 3 into Episode 4 - the closest thing we got to Max Payne 1 dream sequences (and these were great). I also liked the ending - reminded me impressionistic paintings by Monet.

Could the game be improved? Definitely.

How? Don't throw so many clichés, references, influences into the creative canvas because the game itself becomes a single cliché living on borrowed time. You may call it the "cliché infection". Be creative, be original, tackle "primal" themes with your own worldview, don't be afraid of your own originality because "inspirations" is a twitchy double-edged sword.

It works when used sparingly, it causes "Boringdom Syndrom"™, a new kid on the Medical Pavilion block , when overusing it.

Spoiler:

show spoiler

& That old evil lady character was probably the most annoying part of the entire game; ruined the whole experience - or at least the believability of the story. It made that dramatic revelation at the end of Episode 4 unrealistic, on the edge of "funny", "oh, come on" even though it was supposed to be dramatic. Plain stereotypical characters never help with the immersion.

& Why would the sheriff help Alan so eagerly without questioning his motives? She is a law enforcer after all. Feels like an unmotivated deus ex machina plot device.

& I never really understood what's the point of collecting coffee. Collecting for the sake of collecting? Why would we need to introduce such a pointless gameplay mechanics?

Collecting manuscript pages makes sense because they reveal bits of backstory. Listening to radio shows/TV shows serve the same purpose. But coffee?

& Why did you have to strip Alice down to the underwear when she showed Alan the typewriter? Would a normal person do this? Present a non-intimacy related gift in underwear? It felt like a cheap appeal to the teenage audience.

The subsequent flashbacks with Alice in the water in underwear also felt a little bit off. A different clothing style and color choice could have fixed that.

& Episodes 5 & 6, when starting to move into the supernatural land, well... overwritten I do enjoy supernatural and smart stuff but...

& Barry is a well-written character

Episode by episode:

& Episode 1 - intro levels are usually always good for any game; developers try to stack as many goodies as possible; so it raised my interest.
& Episode 2 - I nearly fell asleep; very very very repetitive
& Episode 3 - the intro bits were promising, then it went back into the boredom land

& Episode 4 - now this is where the game started to be coherent, interesting and stylish; great work here
& Episode 5 - OK though slightly repetitive
& Episode 6 - I enjoyed the ending.

My score: B+ aka 8.5/10

[DvsDevise]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

...

So you watched the completed walk-through of Alan Wake? WOW! And you did that with Bioshock too? OMG! You have some serious problems man.

[Pauloselhombre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DvsDevise

So you watched the completed walk-through of Alan Wake? WOW! And you did that with Bioshock too? OMG! You have some serious problems man.

Lol, I watched a comilation of all the cutscenes of FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus online, but that was because I don't have a PS2 and over a year after launch the gameplay was universally considered to be rubbish. As it turns out, some elements of the story were good, others were awful perversions of the established characters and story. But yeah, to judge a game from watching a walkthrough online somewhat missed the point. If the interactivity and the effect of putting yourself into the character's position wasn't important then we wouldn't have games, we'd just watch films. Experiencing an interactive medium in a passive manner is like watching porn and then claiming that you don't like sex, you just don't have the information needed to make the decision properly because you have missed out on the most fundamentally necessary experience of the act.

[ancient]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pauloselhombre

To judge a game from watching a walkthrough online somewhat missed the point. If the interactivity and the effect of putting yourself into the character's position wasn't important then we wouldn't have games, we'd just watch films.

That's why I mentioned Bioshock here - to compare apples to apples.

& Watching Bioshock crushed me with its atmospheric greatness and convinced me to purchase that game.
& Watching Alan Wake - not or at least left me in doubt.

Sure, watching is probably only 50% of the experience but it's certainly indicative of certain qualitative factors.

[Pauloselhombre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

That's why I mentioned Bioshock here - to compare apples to apples.

& Watching Bioshock crushed me with its atmospheric greatness and convinced me to purchase that game.
& Watching Alan Wake - not or at least left me in doubt.

Sure, watching is probably only 50% of the experience but it's certainly indicative of certain qualitative factors.

Well, yes, but (honestly no offense meant) it's not a great comparison. The first person perspective of Bioshock forces a degree of immersion that a 3rd person perspective does not. Besides, a game that is all about (I mean literally, that's the whole purpose of the game really) creating a certain tension and fear in the player is going to be engineered to do so through the gameplay and pacing as much as through graphics and sound cues, whereas with Bioshock the atmospherics are mostly just audio visual alements kinda tacked on to a fairly generic fps framework. Sure, it's a very good generic fps, and the atmosphere that it creates is excellent, but the two things are rather disparate, ie one can be experienced almost independantly of the other. That was my experience of playing Bioshock for the first time (without having seen it all first) anyway. With Alan Wake, it appears to be more of an integrated experience, gameplay and atmosphere being irrevocably linked. For instance, fumbling around in the dark trying to find something while beset on all sides by Taken is going to be significantly more scary when you are the person doing the frantic searching, desperately trying to find said 'thing' than it is going to be when you are watching someone else wandering around, not making the decisions you would make, and generally being a bit boring in their apparent ineptitude. A splicer jumping out onto the screen seemingly out of nowhere however, is as likely to make an observer jump as it is the player.

[Nilamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

That's why I mentioned Bioshock here - to compare apples to apples.

& Watching Bioshock crushed me with its atmospheric greatness and convinced me to purchase that game.
& Watching Alan Wake - not or at least left me in doubt.

Sure, watching is probably only 50% of the experience but it's certainly indicative of certain qualitative factors.

wow that has to be the worst way to judge a game i have ever heard of. Watching the entire game from a youtube video is like slapping the dev in the face with a ****. What's even worse is that you did the same thing with bioshock, seeing the would you kindly twist on a youtube vid without playing it defeats its whole purpose.

[Ed Wrap]

Sounds like the story and atmosphere is the most important part to ambient, which would translate better through watching someone else play than say, gameplay mechanics. Horror/thriller games in general lend themselves pretty well to spectating. I still remember playing RE4 with my girlfriend back in the day, and while sure, the times I didn't have the controller may not have been as immersive perhaps, but it certainly didn't stop me from enjoying the experience. You don't necessarily need to be in control to feel fear for the character - any other media would attest to that. In fact, I'd almost say I'd rather play a game like Alan Wake with someone else than by myself, since there's also that drive to move along the story and keep the other person interested. When I play a game by myself, I'll spend hours just searching every corner, which is terrible in terms of delivering a cinematic experience . That being said, I'd never watch an entire game on youtube, since I don't have that kind of patience, but I can see where he's coming from.

[Alan_Wake89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

So, because YouTube is the best gaming platform for certain neglected customers , I watched the entire Alan Wake walkthrough here hoping to be impressed, expressed and wowed.

lol, watching a 10+ hour game as Video. That`s sad

What`s your next youtube game? World of Warcraft (just kidding^^)

[Vegan]

Edge - 7

[ancient]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nilamo

is like slapping the dev in the face.

Blame Microsoft

Alan Wake will be a day one purchase when it comes on PC.

It is a good game, although not a great game despite the initial expectations. Still, when it comes on PC, I will purchase it - to commemorate all the years I've waited for it. Be assured.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nilamo

What's even worse is that you did the same thing with bioshock

True, because I was only mildly interested in it initially and I don't like shooters in general. Seeing the decaying art deco on the screen served as free advertisement and gradually convinced me this is the thing, which resulted into a sale - for Bioshock 1 and subsequently a pre-order for Bioshock 2.

As the old adage goes, a great product speaks for itself. You don't have to advertise it with press quotes in the official launch trailer

[WakeLestat360]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

...

Really, i want so much be just like you... review a game without playing, only watching someone play the game. I's... gorgeous what you done...

Keep like this...

[JTX]

Giving a game a review score only going off of watching it on YouTube is beyond lame.

[yogibbear]

Bioshock 2 sucked. I'm sorry. Bioshock 1 = 10/10, Bioshock 2 = fail. Don't know how they ruined it but they did. It was probably somewhere between repeating all the same blunders in DRM, widescreen implementations, mouse accelleration etc. etc. that they did with Bioshock 1 and then forgot that they patched out and somehow gave us the Bioshock 1 vanilla engine all over again with all the same problems and then hushed it all up and proclaimed that was the way the game was designed and how we told Liz to fix it.... worst forums ever. Not buying a 2k product ever ever again after those fiascos. Mafia 2 better have absolutely zero DRM, zero GFWL implementation else i am going to send some nice hate mail towards 2k Oz.

Anyway, I think it is unfortunate that you have probably ruined the experience of playing Alan Wake for the first time by yourself not knowing what's going on. I, obviously, haven't played any of it ever before and am only sticking around here through sheer stupidity... (should have scampered off ages ago to hide from spoilers) but this game is all about the story/atmosphere/gameplay and i don't think that quite translates when you just watch someone else play.

[blake]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

So, because YouTube is the best gaming platform for certain neglected customers , I watched the entire Alan Wake walkthrough here hoping to be impressed, expressed and wowed.

WTF!?

[cold fusion 33]

Xbox 360 World Magazine (UK) - July 2010 Issue:
86/100 (Silver Award)

Pro's:
Gaming's Greatest Lighting
Unsurpassed Narrative

Con's
Rigid Combat

End comment, "The beginning of what will surely be one of the 360's finest series. A must have."

[the_bUg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancient

That's why I mentioned Bioshock here - to compare apples to apples.

& Watching Bioshock crushed me with its atmospheric greatness and convinced me to purchase that game.
& Watching Alan Wake - not or at least left me in doubt.

Sure, watching is probably only 50% of the experience but it's certainly indicative of certain qualitative factors.

Please turn in your "Gamer" card at the door. It is being officially revoked.

You cannot pass judgment on what is inescapably an INTERACTIVE form of entertainment while not having interacted with it. You did not have any of the experiences involved in resource management, you did not experience the thrill of trying to escape while badly injured... you have not EXPERIENCED THE GAME.

To sit there and pass judgment on the game while not having played it, simply "watched" the walkthroughs... Really, I'm without words. You are obviously articulate and well reasoned, so how is it you cannot see the flaw in your approach? Moreover, how do you know that pieces of the "shallow" story were not missed or skipped in the walkthrough you WATCHED.

Of course you think the story is passive... you experienced it in a passive manner rather than engaging in the gameplay and having the resulting emotional experiences tied w/ ACTUALLY PLAYING THE GAME....

Goddamn... go watch a movie.

EDIT: and quite frankly, I find your "review" and your pancakes to be rather shallow and pedantic. Shallow and pedantic.

EDIT EDIT: in hindsight it occurs to be that you MUST be trolling... Wish it had occurred to me earlier. I became so absorbed in my righteous nerd rage I was blinded to the fact that no one could be so stupid as to expect their opinion to be valued when they have not actively engaged in the activity they are passing judgment on.... and don't bring up some analogy to judging heroin use or the like to refute this.

[blake]

6.5 on GameCritics?

[AnttiApina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blake

6.5 on GameCritics?

I really don't think that they belong to MetaCritic's site: giving a 9.5 to the newest AiTD and 7.0 to Uncharted 2 is really off from the usual reviews.

[SUDDENJONATAN]

Machinima 8.5/10
And they said the ending was a cliffhanger. Damn. Ive heard that ALOT.
Bu the score is ok

[blake]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnttiApina

I really don't think that they belong to MetaCritic's site: giving a 9.5 to the newest AiTD and 7.0 to Uncharted 2 is really off from the usual reviews.

They're on metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/about/scor...ml#publication

[York]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnttiApina

I really don't think that they belong to MetaCritic's site: giving a 9.5 to the newest AiTD and 7.0 to Uncharted 2 is really off from the usual reviews.

After reading some of their other reviews, especially checking out the score, I concluded that GameCritics are morons.
Then again, everyone has their own opinions.

[Ed Wrap]

Maybe I'm just blind, but where the heck is the score on the review page?

http://www.gamecritics.com/brad-gall...an-wake-review

Definitely reads like a 6.5 though - similar criticisms to the Eurogamer piece but without the humor to dull the harshness.

[blake]

The score is in white, hidden, before "Disclosures".

Just to remember, they gave 4 to Heavy Rain. Maybe they don't like serious games.

edit* Yep, confirmed that they don't like serious games. 5 to The Witcher.

[AnttiApina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blake

Maybe they don't like serious games.

Instead they like games that drop f-bombs all the time

[Austin316]

****ing Edge :x

7?? ..this will hurt Meta score :|

[AnttiApina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin316

****ing Edge :x

7?? ..this will hurt Meta score :|

And makes your experience worse?

[Stark Viking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin316

****ing Edge :x

7?? ..this will hurt Meta score :|

Why does that matter? Sure, 100% would be nice, but if some reviewers don't see it as more than 7/10, the only one that will be "cheated" is Remedy, and then they wouldn't know what to improve in the sequel

[MikkiRMD]

Yeah, we don't really look at the Metascore all that much. It'd be nice if it was really high, of course, but considering how much praise we've gotten this far, we feel pretty good about the whole thing.

Clearly, it's been a critical success; the fact that some people feel differently about it doesn't change the fact that of the scores listed in the first post of this thread, there are eight perfect scores, and over 40 give us a 9 or a better. Only 7 reviews have given us a score of less than 8. That tells us in no uncertain terms that there's a lot of love for Alan Wake out there, and we'd have to be complete goddamn idiots to not be satisfied with that. I mean, sure, the next time, we definitely hope to top that, it's nice to have something to aim for, but we're pretty damn far from disappointed.

[skinki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikkiRMD

Yeah, we don't really look at the Metascore all that much. It'd be nice if it was really high, of course, but considering how much praise we've gotten this far, we feel pretty good about the whole thing.

Clearly, it's been a critical success; the fact that some people feel differently about it doesn't change the fact that of the scores listed in the first post of this thread, there are eight perfect scores, and over 40 give us a 9 or a better. Only 7 reviews have given us a score of less than 8. That tells us in no uncertain terms that there's a lot of love for Alan Wake out there, and we'd have to be complete goddamn idiots to not be satisfied with that. I mean, sure, the next time, we definitely hope to top that, it's nice to have something to aim for, but we're pretty damn far from disappointed.

alan wake 2?

[MikkiRMD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinki

alan wake 2?

Well, it's certainly no secret that we'd love to make a second one if the first one does well. But since the game isn't even out yet, it's really up in the air.

[GameScares]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikkiRMD

Well, it's certainly no secret that we'd love to make a second one if the first one does well. But since the game isn't even out yet, it's really up in the air.

This highlights something I've wondered about for years, now this game is done I take it you'll be back at work tomorrow like the rest of us, but just exactly what are you doing?!

Are you there doing nothing waiting to see how the game sells, maybe working on DLC or maybe even starting to get to work on Alan Wake 2?

Of course you can't say too much but it's something I've never seen asked let alone answered before, just what do developers do after a game that has taken them over 5 years to create do once it's finished?

[Stark Viking]

Sauna and Vodka perhaps?

[skinki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikkiRMD

Well, it's certainly no secret that we'd love to make a second one if the first one does well. But since the game isn't even out yet, it's really up in the air.

when the game will ship you could open a thread on feedback and advice from those who have played the game in order to have an even better result. what say? would like to be part of the remedy ... I'll be there, I love alan wake, i love you and your talent!