Remedy Games
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Rating:
5 Stars
There’s a lot riding on the success of Alan Wake’s American Nightmare. It has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry as we know it. As the follow up to the original Alan Wake, 2010’s survival horror hit, it has high expectations to meet in order to please the fans. With those two goals in mind, the big question everyone wants to know is whether or not Remedy successfully accomplished either.
The Fun Stuff:
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is definitely a nice dose of Mr. Wake. There’s plenty of 50’s and 60’s Americana, flashlight & gun dual-wielding action, and some psychological sci-fi storytelling to go with it. The story isn’t incredibly original but if feels right at home in Night Springs – the town/TV Show where the game takes place. It’s simple but well told. The narration is also a nice touch that really makes you feel like you’re starring in the Twilight Zone parody.
To make things more immersive, the game has upgraded to live-action cut scenes and videos. Seeing as you’re staring in an episode of Night Springs, the mini-episodes are absent from the game. Without giving any of the story away, it will suffice to say that random TVs found in-game do still have a function and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that what you find on them is also live-action like the cut scenes. Manuscript pages found around the map have also received a minor upgrade - should you decide to ‘read’ them - with a rendered cut scene that verbalizes everything for you as opposed to static text that you scroll through as was found in the original game.
In addition to the live-action cut scenes, some new weapons and a new game mode have made their way into the game too. The most creative weapon is the nail gun, which the developers have proudly exhibited on the Arcade Box Art for the game. It’s not much different from the SMG in the game but you do get the satisfaction of seeing the nails stick out of your enemies. The additional game mode cashes in on the ‘horde mode’ craze that has swept so many games lately. It was probably unnecessary but it’s hard to deny the addiction of taking down wave after wave of bad guys. Altogether, these upgrades breathe some fresh air into the game.
The Frustrating Stuff:
The biggest surprise with Alan Wake’s American Nightmare comes from the core gameplay. Alan Wake was a supernatural-psychological-horror-survival-third-person-shooter. That’s quite the mouthful, and maybe it didn’t quite taste right because American Nightmare has a subtle difference. It still retains the supernatural, psychological, and horror elements but swaps out the survival aspect in favor of a more fast-paced action style.
One of the most telltale signs of a survival game is the necessity to conserve ammo. Although you don’t exactly have a bottomless clip in American Nightmare, you’re still most likely safe unloading that lead to your heart’s content. Found frequently throughout the game are ammo boxes that regenerate in a matter of minutes. For fans, this is rather disconcerting because the survival elements were a nice challenge and just felt right in the game.
This overabundance of ammo makes the game so much easier and why Remedy would make the change is puzzling. Perhaps they felt it was necessary if American Nightmare was going to have a legitimate chance against the current powerhouse Call of Duty whose campaigns are often characterized as having fast paced action strung between numerous large, thrilling set pieces. Although it may not be the gameplay Alan Wake fans know and love, there’s no doubting it’s still a lot of fun and will probably entice more gamers to try it out.
Bottom Line:
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is a fantastic follow up with just the right amount of tweaks to keep things fresh and exciting. Although some diehard fans might be disappointed with the faster-paced, less strategic gameplay, many new fans will be drawn in by its streamlined appeal. This also isn’t a true sequel to the game and Remedy has already acknowledged they do have an Alan Wake 2, or whatever it will be called, in the works. Whether the sequel will stick to the original gameplay or adapt to the newer style is unknown but there’s no doubt it will be a quality game. Until it’s out though, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is the perfect appetizer to keep any fan’s cravings on standby and a must buy for anyone interested.
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare was developed by Remedy Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released in North America on Feb. 22, 2012 with a T rating from the ESRB and an MSRP of $15.00. This review was based on a copy of the game purchased on the release date.
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