Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft’

It has been a long week, in no way helped by the fact that we had to record this show twice thanks to technical problems. Fortunately the dry run meant that even with my general exhaustion we were able to keep the show mostly on track, and when we didn’t it was at least funny.

We kick off as always with ‘Heaven and Hell’ (featuring the World Cup) before the ever-present ‘What Have You Been Playing?’ For a change this show Darren has been indulging in games that could technically be called current, though while Portal ‘Mac’ has technically just been released it might be pushing it to call it new. I on the other hand have been playing the very current Alan Wake, which I have been gushing about online for some time, so I take this opportunity to redress some of the balance.

After this it is on to news. E3 kicked off the day we recorded with the Microsoft Kinect event (yes, I call it the Kinetic during the show, but I am sure that was their plan) so we do touch on the show a little bit in news, as well as some other headlines that caught my eye.

Finally we rap up with a feature on in game collectables. A topic inspired by Alan Wake, a game that manages to undermine its own narrative by poor implementation of in game pick ups.

I hope you enjoy the show, leave any comments or feedback below or drop us a mail.

 The DoFuss Show – 29 out of 100. [69:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.