Nerds That Geek Game Review: ‘Alan Wake’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I have to admit that I am extremely picky when it comes to my video games for one simple reason, sometimes they can get a tad repetitive or too immersive into a world. Now I'm not knocking the industry, they do incredible work as a whole year in and year out, I just have my particular tastes.  

Some folks love an endless world where the only border is their imagination, others enjoy first person shooters where the action never ends. I personally, like my video games that aren't Madden or Star Trek Online to be rich in storytelling and immerse me into a tale that captivates my imagination and leaves me in awe in a true cinematic style. One such game did all those things a few years back and in my quiet time as of late, I've popped it back into the old XBox console to be terrorized by horrible things that roam the night in, Alan Wake. 

This was a game whose main character shared the namesake of the title, and we join Alan and his wife in Bright Falls, Washington at the start of an important vacation. For Alan is a best-selling writer who is dealing with a nasty bout of writer's block and it is the hope of his wife and agent that this break does him some good and brings back his ability to do amazing things with words. But there is something else that hopes Alan can find his stride once again, a dark force that has been silent for some time has reawakened and it needs Alan's creativity to give it strength and life once again so that it can possess the living and shroud the world in darkness.

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This is a game that drew me in for several reasons. My love of horror was perhaps the biggest reason since the story works like a Stephen King novel with some fresh twists. Plus, there are some genuine scares in this game that manage to catch you by surprise because there is a sense of dread that hangs over the story once the sun goes down and you're never quite sure what to expect, and it truly plays out in cinematic fashion, in fact it resembles a television show and the episodic format only helps the story.

Not to mention the fact that the stakes are incredibly high in this game, after all the whole world, not just Alan's wife, stand in the balance here as evil prepares to take over big time and that makes for one enriching story that is complimented by incredible graphics and voice acting that doesn't irritate like it can in some games. But those graphics help the most, because Bright Falls is a rich and interactive environment that quickly switches from beautiful to terrifying on a moment's notice. 

The only down side to this game, for me...is the fact that an epic sequel hasn't come to fruition yet. There was Alan Wake's American Nightmare, and while that was plenty of fun, it paled in comparison to the storytelling that the first game provided. This is a story, for me at least I hope they eventually finish because I would love to see just how Alan Wake's terrifying story ends. But until then...at least I have this gaming masterpiece to keep me busy since I always find something new when I set foot in Bright Falls once again…  

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