the only people for me are the mad ones Group: The Connection
Joined: Mar 23, 2009
I'm gonna tell you a secret...
QUOTE
The writer-turned-hero is back for another round against the forces of his own mind in the downloadable American Nightmare!
So, guys, to everyone who has been following the Alan Wake Community Forums Alan Wake's return has only been a matter of time, and those who have been reading the forums would already know that the series is back with an XBLA title, but now we've got a name and a trailer! Yay!
It seems like Alan's back to kick ass, and not just any ass, his own! Or, well, something like that. American Nightmare unveils a little of the curtain of mystery Mr. Scratch from the original game's ending has been hiding behind, placing it as it's antagonist, the new leader of the darkness and the evil Takens.
If you are, like I'd suppose you are, had enough of my pathetic of a prĉamble, check out Rely On Horror's in-depth analysis of the trailer for some actually interesting and comprehensive information.
See, as you, and others around here, have witnessed, I've slated Alan Wake non-stop, but that was always down to one thing, and that was the difficulty of the game due to lack of necessities. I could never really get into the game that much, since I was too busy concentrating on whether I had any ammo remaining for the next section, or where I could find some. The other nag I had about the game was how linear it felt, in terms of moving around. The cheap way of making it feel more open-spaced was to put a massive patch of trees at the side of paths, ultimately leading to a stone wall.
It's one of those games I really did want to play through, but found myself stuck at one part of the game, and eventually sold the game. The game had saved me at a point where I was completely surrounded by the Taken, with low health and no ammo. Didn't fancy restarting the game just to get past that point.
Shame, really, as many others have praised the game.
Any reason as to why they're releasing DLC content only now? I got my hopes up when they said it would be a new title, only for it to be turned into DLC.
As for the game itself, it's looking very promising at the minute.
the only people for me are the mad ones Group: The Connection
Joined: Mar 23, 2009
It kills me when people refer to this as DLC, it's not a physical sequel but it's not a DLC either, it's a spiritual successor and an Arcade title. However, you've got a point and as far as I think Remedy's afraid of trying too much and taking a risk too big with a proper sequel, a shame really but I do understand it, their fanbase isn't that big and stable and they're a quite small company, but at least they had enough faith to keep the series alive.
I never thought that Alan Wake was too difficult, even on the hardest level and I'm always a tad disappointed to hear about people giving up with the game due to the difficult, but from your point of view - I would've given up too, honestly. But I'm really glad I never did, I do co-sign that the execution is a bit "off" but the plot and the whole idea is marvelous. You should give it another chance, or perhaps read the book.
I get you completely Cheat, especially as you were the one I debated about it with before. It wasn't so much the difficulty that was a problem, it was how they attempted to bring about this difficulty. I like the fact that lack of ammo adds to the tension of the game, perfectly rooting itself within the typical survivor-genre cliche, which is a good thing. Mix the Linear aspect to this equation, and it made it less fun, as was the case with me.
I keep meaning to pick it up again, and play through the additional games on the Marketplace. Just at the time, I wasn't prepared to play through the same part of the game again so early, and traded it in.
My reference to it being DLC was just meaning only accessible via the Marketplace. You confirmed my theory though, that the company feared the sales of another shelf title, which is a shame in some ways, but could prove to be quite a hit, as companies tend to excel when concentrating on smaller titles.
Member since '82. Group: The Precinct
Joined: Jul 7, 2002
Were you playing on the hardest difficulty? I was always found I had too much ammunition. By the end of the level I was pissed because I hadn't used all my flash bangs because I would save it for a huge battle that never came. Loved the game btw, thought it was excellent.
the only people for me are the mad ones Group: The Connection
Joined: Mar 23, 2009
QUOTE (Sauron @ Sunday, Dec 11 2011, 23:09)
Were you playing on the hardest difficulty? I was always found I had too much ammunition. By the end of the level I was pissed because I hadn't used all my flash bangs because I would save it for a huge battle that never came. Loved the game btw, thought it was excellent.
Yeah, I did, and yeah, you always ended up being too careful. Plus, you're not really supposed to use ammo on Nightmare, the best thing is to do is follow Sir Robin's lead and gallantly chicken out of every situation where it's possible.
Releasing the first game around the same week as Red Dead was a real killer imo, i don't think it's sold to well even as of now which is probably why Remedy have gone down the download route. Not to sure why they ditched the PC though.
I found the game pretty easy and even on Nightmare difficulty there were only 1-2 or tricky parts, although saying that i did do quite a bit of running away looking for the safe haven. Once you get past chapter 2 and start unlocking flashbangs and flares it really does get quite easy.
Liked the first one a lot, will definitely be picking this up when the time comes. Will be good to see a bit more variety in the enemies.
Cinemafique Group: Andolini Mafia Family
Joined: Nov 22, 2008
Alan Wake is a unique and extra ordinary game.
It's something fresh and new, and something that has never been done before, I will gladly buy this when it comes out, I was always bumnbed out by the fact that it never came to the PC .
Cantankerous Chauffeur Group: The Precinct
Joined: May 23, 2004
Though I bought it, I never did get round to The Writer. Always meant to go back and finish off the achievements as well. Guess this could be my reason to finally do both.
the only people for me are the mad ones Group: The Connection
Joined: Mar 23, 2009
You should, The Writer was nice. It wasn't phenomenal, but if you like the game itself, you're always ready to get some extra stuff to play and The Writer gives you that.
@Seddo ditto, they should've pushed it back, no doubt RDR took away a notable amount of sales, and with better sales Remedy would be self-confident enough to do a full sequel. None the less, still glad to see this.
The fact is that sales for Alan Wake weren't as good as they expected. this title will be decent publicity and will help fund development of AW2.
Remedy are a great developer so this is certain to be an excellent game, and a good build up to AW2. It's all good. They've made it clear that they want to do a AW2. This game tells me that Remedy and MS still have faith in the series.
QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Monday, Dec 12 2011, 09:52)
and a good build up to AW2. It's all good. They've made it clear that they want to do a AW2. This game tells me that Remedy and MS still have faith in the series.
If you read certain articles online regarding The Nightmare, you'll see that this is actually Alan Wake 2. As discussed above, the theory behind this is they feared another poor sale, so decided to opt for a Marketplace release. As I keep mentioning, it's a shame. AW was one of those games I was genuinely interested in pre-release, and loved certain aspects of the game after release, such as the attention to detail in certain places, and not just in terms of the graphics. Level design was my let-down, but doesn't mean it was a bad game, just, as mentioned, they released it at such a stupid time.
QUOTE (Butters 2011 @ Wednesday, Dec 14 2011, 02:01)
QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Monday, Dec 12 2011, 09:52)
and a good build up to AW2. It's all good. They've made it clear that they want to do a AW2. This game tells me that Remedy and MS still have faith in the series.
If you read certain articles online regarding The Nightmare, you'll see that this is actually Alan Wake 2. As discussed above, the theory behind this is they feared another poor sale, so decided to opt for a Marketplace release. As I keep mentioning, it's a shame. AW was one of those games I was genuinely interested in pre-release, and loved certain aspects of the game after release, such as the attention to detail in certain places, and not just in terms of the graphics. Level design was my let-down, but doesn't mean it was a bad game, just, as mentioned, they released it at such a stupid time.
Remedy have made it clear that this is most definately not Alan Wake 2. I suspect that's why they didn't call it Alan Wake 2.
QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Wednesday, Dec 14 2011, 11:01)
QUOTE (Butters 2011 @ Wednesday, Dec 14 2011, 02:01)
QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Monday, Dec 12 2011, 09:52)
and a good build up to AW2. It's all good. They've made it clear that they want to do a AW2. This game tells me that Remedy and MS still have faith in the series.
If you read certain articles online regarding The Nightmare, you'll see that this is actually Alan Wake 2. As discussed above, the theory behind this is they feared another poor sale, so decided to opt for a Marketplace release. As I keep mentioning, it's a shame. AW was one of those games I was genuinely interested in pre-release, and loved certain aspects of the game after release, such as the attention to detail in certain places, and not just in terms of the graphics. Level design was my let-down, but doesn't mean it was a bad game, just, as mentioned, they released it at such a stupid time.
Remedy have made it clear that this is most definately not Alan Wake 2. I suspect that's why they didn't call it Alan Wake 2.
That news has made my day regarding the AW series. The article you linked to was actually in response to what I mentioned, when Geoff stated that this was likely to be AW2. It's good to hear that this won't be AW2, and seems likely that they're doing this Arcade Title to see what interest this series has left.
QUOTE (Butters 2011 @ Wednesday, Dec 14 2011, 15:05)
QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Wednesday, Dec 14 2011, 11:01)
QUOTE (Butters 2011 @ Wednesday, Dec 14 2011, 02:01)
QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Monday, Dec 12 2011, 09:52)
and a good build up to AW2. It's all good. They've made it clear that they want to do a AW2. This game tells me that Remedy and MS still have faith in the series.
If you read certain articles online regarding The Nightmare, you'll see that this is actually Alan Wake 2. As discussed above, the theory behind this is they feared another poor sale, so decided to opt for a Marketplace release. As I keep mentioning, it's a shame. AW was one of those games I was genuinely interested in pre-release, and loved certain aspects of the game after release, such as the attention to detail in certain places, and not just in terms of the graphics. Level design was my let-down, but doesn't mean it was a bad game, just, as mentioned, they released it at such a stupid time.
Remedy have made it clear that this is most definately not Alan Wake 2. I suspect that's why they didn't call it Alan Wake 2.
That news has made my day regarding the AW series. The article you linked to was actually in response to what I mentioned, when Geoff stated that this was likely to be AW2. It's good to hear that this won't be AW2, and seems likely that they're doing this Arcade Title to see what interest this series has left.
Yeah it's good news. I wonder if Alan Wake 2 will be next gen or not. Either way this game should be great. I love the series and I can't wait to see how Wake's battle with Mr Scratch plays out in American Nightmare.
Gaming Chat
........ Alan Wake 2 in 2013 or Next Gen. Console 
