Alan Wake (360) in 250 words.

There is some magic woven in to Alan Wake’s fabric. Every other game I have played that has attempted blend horror and action has invariably ended up skewed in favour of action. By giving the player the ability and recourses to fight, the tension is removed. Yet despite Alan Wake’s focus on combat it manages to provide constant anxiety though it’s narrative and atmosphere.

Alan Wake is perhaps the first game to offer the experience of a horror movie’s final act. Tooled up, desperate, it forces me to fight for salvation. Strong enough to emerge victorious if I am wise in my approach, but knowing any slip will result in failure.

There is down time, but the threat is constant.

But, though I love it, part of me is furious at Alan Wake. It is my own fault, my own gaming proclivities, an obsessive nature to hunt every collectable scattered throughout a virtual world. But I also blame Remedy, surely they know the plight of many players to lust after every shiny trinket.

I find myself distracted from the narrative to enable my search for insignificant baubles. I am compelled to hunt, venturing far from the intended path. A glint on the horizon will see me abandoning my quest exploring for these irrelevant items, rather than savouring the fantastic atmosphere and story.

My love of Alan Wake is not stifled by this distraction, but I can’t help but curse the developers for dangling this pointless carrot in front my weak willed, obsessive nose.

An extended view of Alan Wake is available here.