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[Dusky]

In my first playthrough I KNEW I saw a figure through the window but I wasn't 100% sure...I thought it might have been the shadows cast by my flashlight playing tricks on me. I'm was pretty creeped out in that cabin afterwards.

Yes! After that moment the tension increased big time.

Haven't had the chance to play American Nightmare but I hope they fix those god awful animations, they were extremely irritating in Alan Wake.

 

[Spiegel]

Alan Wake is the best new franchise this gen. I loved both games and if AW2 is X720 exclusive it'll certainly be the best incentive I can ask for getting the console.

 

[Horseticuffs]

As much as I loved Red Dead Redemption, it's tied for game of the generation for me with AW. I'll always love anything Remedy releases.


Sam Lake is a god.

 

[DieH@rd]

I just finished "Writer" DLC. God damn that was excellent!

 

[Cyberia]

American's Nightmare pretty much underlined how shallow and repetitive the combat was from the first game.

Overall the game was a letdown, not that it was particulary bad or something, but it was really overhyped during its long development cycle. And when the gameplay between story segments often turned out to be tedious 'arrgh, more of those damn monsters, when will it end' and the ending wasn't really conclusive - I was pretty diappointed.

 

[JaseC]

Different enemies go a long way in improving combat so that's a good thing. I don't think they can do too much with Alan's movement (like adding shootdodge or sliding and the likes) without making it look too ridiculous.

What I mean is this the fundamentals haven't changed or been iterated upon -- it's still just "shine and shoot". The only enemy type in American Nightmare that alters enemy encounters beyond what you've seen in the original is the, for lack of a better term, Splitter.

 

[Sentenza]

Well, i must admit this thread is quite surprising to read for me.
I knew the game, while broadly criticized, had its good share of estimators.
But I really didn't expect to read so many people labeling it "my game of the generation".

From my experience in other forums it was usually rated at best "not that bad", and often "disappointing" or "underwhelming".

 

[Oemenia]

Reading the hate in this thread, its true, 360 exclusives get shit on for extremely stupid reasons.

 

[Glass Rebel]

What I mean is this the fundamentals haven't changed or been iterated upon -- it's still just "shine and shoot". The only enemy type in American Nightmare that alters enemy encounters beyond what you've seen in the original is the, for lack of a better term, Splitter.

Yeah, I got what you meant, I just tried to make it sound like I wasn't disappointed

Well, i must admit this thread is quite surprising to read for me.
I knew the game, while broadly criticized, had its good share of estimators.
But I really didn't expect to read so many people labeling it "my game of the generation".

From my experience in other forums it was usually rated at best "not that bad", and often "disappointing" or "underwhelming".

Well, I already mentioned it: I assume everybody with complaints didn't play it on Nightmare. It's not 100% balanced with 2-3 frustrating encounters but the game becomes so much better and really opens up as soon as you get a decent challenge. Combat at lower difficulties is a bit too simple for my tastes.

 

[plagiarize]

Well, i must admit this thread is quite surprising to read for me.
I knew the game, while broadly criticized, had its good share of estimators.
But I really didn't expect to read so many people labeling it "my game of the generation".

From my experience in other forums it was usually rated at best "not that bad", and often "disappointing" or "underwhelming".

I very much enjoyed it when it first came out, but I wouldn't have put it top of any lists... but the weird thing is, that more than any other game this generation it's the one that I keep finding myself going back to. I would say it's my game of the generation, mainly because of that.

I was just playing some of it again the other day. I went through Episode 2. I'll probably keep going as well.

 

[derFeef]

Reading the hate in this thread, its true, 360 exclusives get shit on for extremely stupid reasons.

Huh, it seems rather positive to my surprise.

 

[haikira]

Nothing smart or interesting to contribute to this thread. But i just thought i'd inform you guys anyway. I need Alan Wake 2. Not want. Need.

The original is easily one of my favorite games of the generation.

 

[dragonlife]

Oh, man, this would be great if true. Please, please, please let the PC release be simultaneous or or not too far away from the console version.

 

[OrangeOak]

Well, i must admit this thread is quite surprising to read for me.
I knew the game, while broadly criticized, had its good share of estimators.
But I really didn't expect to read so many people labeling it "my game of the generation".

From my experience in other forums it was usually rated at best "not that bad", and often "disappointing" or "underwhelming".

Gaf is better than that.

 

[Oemenia]

Huh, it seems rather positive to my surprise.

The game has been shat on from the day they announced it was 360 exclusive. 360 is apparently responsible for destroying the 'scope' of the game but not for how the game in the actually came together in the end after 5 long years.

 

[Sentenza]

Do you think this is wise to allow a big game to release on another platform at the same time ?

MS is not that stupid, they won't allow that.

As anyone I expect the game to be announced only for the next Xbox and perhaps...two years later a PC port down the line.

Proprietary closed platforms really can't die fast enough.

 

[Eideka]

Proprietary closed platforms really can't die fast enough.

That's a bad thing for consumers I agree but from MS's perspective it makes sense to keep AW2 on the 720.

Who knows a PC release might happen 1/2 years after.

 

[Sentenza]

That's a bad thing for consumers I agree but from MS's perspective it makes sense

But I don't care. I'm not really into cheerleading brand loyalty, so what's convenient for Microsoft isn't in my interest.

 

[Eideka]

But I don't care. I'm not really into cheerleading brand loyalty, so what's convenient for Microsoft isn't in my interest.

I'm not defending them, because as many people I would be delighted if AW2 comes to PC but I can see why they are doing this.

Sadly this is best choice for MS.

 

[abadguy]

The game has been shat on from the day they announced it was 360 exclusive. 360 is apparently responsible for destroying the 'scope' of the game but not for how the game in the actually came together in the end after 5 long years.

Alan Wake being "open world" wouldn't have worked at all. I don't know why people think every game needs to be "open world" to be good. Also funny watching people deride the 360 for not having enough exclusives, but get mad when MS locks down an exclusive.

 

[plagiarize]

Alan Wake being "open world" wouldn't have worked at all. I don't know why people think every game needs to be "open world" to be good. Also funny watching people deride the 360 for not having enough exclusives, but get mad when MS locks down an exclusive.

the hilarious thing is that the engine is still completely capable of doing open world. blaming the 360 for it not being open world is factually wrong and we know it these days. the PC version throws in a free cam, and while buildings generally won't load into a chapter that aren't supposed to be in it, you can literally go anywhere in the world at any time with that free cam, and there are occasions when things are loaded which absolutely do not need to be.

the 360 is running the whole environment (by environment I mean the trees, mountains and roads) of Bright Falls at any time you are there... so no, it wasn't the technical limitations of the 360 that changed the game design. the technical limitations hurt the image quality, no doubt about that, but the engine is still running that large scale environment. when you see Dr Harmons lodge in the distance from Birds Leg Cabin early on, that's actually the fully detailed lodge model, rather than some low poly placeholder, complete with the hedge maze, props inside the rooms, you name it. when you get far away from a building it unloads, which you can see if you turn up the camera speed and fly to and from more detailed areas at speeds far beyond what you can manage even driving a vehicle in the game.

 

[Sentenza]

Also funny watching people deride the 360 for not having enough exclusives, but get mad when MS locks down an exclusive.

That's mostly because having internal teams that develop exclusive games for your platform and locking down third party products with moneyhatting aren't exactly the same thing.

Beside, exclusives are never really popular or appreciated among those who don't own that single platform.
People were mad at 8or at least disappointed about) Platinum locking down Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive and this isn't really any different.

 

[plagiarize]

That's mostly because having internal teams that develop exclusive games for your platform and locking down third party products with moneyhatting aren't exactly the same thing.

Beside, exclusives are never really popular or appreciated among those who don't own that single platform.
People were mad at 8or at least disappointed about) Platinum locking down Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive and this isn't really any different.

you're right. just as there probably wouldn't be a Bayonetta 2 without Nintendo, there probably wouldn't be an Alan Wake 2 without Microsoft.

 

[Guri]

Alan Wake being "open world" wouldn't have worked at all. I don't know why people think every game needs to be "open world" to be good. Also funny watching people deride the 360 for not having enough exclusives, but get mad when MS locks down an exclusive.

Yeah, I still have to see a story-driven game with open-world mechanics work well on both sides. I'm playing Far Cry 3 now and I see how many great options are there for open-world enthusiasts, but I'm focusing on the story now. Alan Wake is the type of game that needs the mood all the time and when you go out to drive or do anything else, that feeling would be gone. American Nightmare tried the hub approach and it didn't work so well for me.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

But I don't care. I'm not really into cheerleading brand loyalty, so what's convenient for Microsoft isn't in my interest.

That's fine, but likewise, I don't care that you don't care. I'll happily play it on whatever it comes out on, and as long as proprietary closed platforms provide me with a better approximation of a hassle-free experience, I'll want those to stick around, too.

That's mostly because having internal teams that develop exclusive games for your platform and locking down third party products with moneyhatting aren't exactly the same thing.

What are you talking about? Do you know how many Sony and Nintendo games this gen have been developed by external independent developers? Microsoft is not much different, yet you don't often see the same complaints leveled at the other two.

 

[lefantome]

I hope they have abandoned the gameplay of the first alan wake which was crap and their self proclaimed great storytelling.

I want AW2 as the first one was meant to be or Alan risk be the third bomba in a row for remedy

 

[rosaceadude2112]

Gaf is better than that.

Gaf is better than having opinions? Huh?

 

[SlasherJPC]

I hope they have abandoned the gameplay of the first alan wake which was crap and their self proclaimed great storytelling.

I want AW2 as the first one was meant to be or Alan risk be the third bomba in a row for remedy

Not sure if serious!

Anyways... Alan Wake has been my most repeated game this generation. 6 times now! Not including DLC or American Nightmare. It just resonated with me so well. The presentation, story, setting. Top notch and not a cookie cutter space, war, or fantasy setting.

 

[KageMaru]

Loved Alan Wake, so if they make AW 2, I'll get it for whatever platform it launches on.

 

[Sentenza]

That's fine, but likewise, I don't care that you don't care. I'll happily play it on whatever it comes out on

I don't care about that, either.

Do you know how many Sony and Nintendo games this gen have been developed by external independent developers? Microsoft is not much different, yet you don't often see the same complaints leveled at the other two.

Not sure what you are talking about. As far as I'm concerned, every time a title will be a locked down exclusive, no matter on what platform, I will be quite disappointed about it.
As I said this is not really about cheerleading for a brand rather than another.

Beside, neither Sony or Nintendo had Windows and an empire built over open platforms in their background, so yeah, there IS a somewhat rational reason to be more hostile toward Microsoft in that sense.

 

[plagiarize]

I hope they have abandoned the gameplay of the first alan wake which was crap and their self proclaimed great storytelling.

I want AW2 as the first one was meant to be or Alan risk be the third bomba in a row for remedy

in your head, how was the first 'meant to be'? just out of interest. are you talking about the earlier plot where Alan's wife was dead and he finds her doppelganger in Bright Falls? I'm glad they didn't go with something overtly ripping off SH2 personally.

Not sure if serious!

Anyways... Alan Wake has been my most repeated game this generation. 6 times now! Not including DLC or American Nightmare. It just resonated with me so well. The presentation, story, setting. Top notch and not a cookie cutter space, war, or fantasy setting.

Yep. I love going back to Alan Wake's universe.

 

[infinityBCRT]

Definitely hoping this is next gen. MS needs to get away from having Fable-Halo-Gears-Forza as their only big first party titles.

 

[JaseC]

Well, I already mentioned it: I assume everybody with complaints didn't play it on Nightmare. It's not 100% balanced with 2-3 frustrating encounters but the game becomes so much better and really opens up as soon as you get a decent challenge. Combat at lower difficulties is a bit too simple for my tastes.

It took me forever to get the dodge timing down pat, so I hit something of a brick wall whenever I had to run through the woods during my first playthrough (Normal).

 

[Corky]

MS needs to get away from having Fable-Halo-Gears-Forza as their only big first party titles.

That wouldn't leave that many other alternatives no ? I'm hoping for new IPs in general but big name franchises are here to stay. Heck nowadays they'll release brand new games made by other devs but still brandish the same brand just due to the notion of how brand/series- centric we've become in this industry.

edit : I used the word "brand" one too many times didn't I?....

 

[plagiarize]

It took me forever to get the dodge timing down pat, so I hit something of a brick wall whenever I had to run through the woods during my first playthrough (Normal).

I hit a sort of foolishly self imposed wall. I was so paranoid about running out of batteries, that I almost never boosted my torch beam outside of possessed objects scenarios. I rarely dipped below 18 or 19 batteries.

Once you learn to actually use your resources instead of hording them, Normal becomes way too easy though. Hard feels about perfect for the original game. Hard was noticeably harder in the first DLC though. I think I dropped down to normal because I couldn't even get out of the Oh Dear diner.

 

[JaseC]

I hit a sort of foolishly self imposed wall. I was so paranoid about running out of batteries, that I almost never boosted my torch beam outside of possessed objects scenarios. I rarely dipped below 18 or 19 batteries.

Once you learn to actually use your resources instead of hording them, Normal becomes way too easy though. Hard feels about perfect for the original game. Hard was noticeably harder in the first DLC though. I think I dropped down to normal because I couldn't even get out of the Oh Dear diner.

Yeah, I played through the game (including the DLC) on Hard when the PC port hit and enjoyed it. I was stingy with ammo and items until I remembered that your inventory is reset at the end of every chapter, haha.

Edit: Derp, I emboldened the wrong sentence. Fixed.

 

[S1kkZ]

That wouldn't leave that many other alternatives no ?

crackdown (i would kill for a real sequel), ryse (if they really changed it to a controller only game), alan wake, project gotham racing, some rare stuff.

they have great ip's, lets hope they use them. and there will be brand new ip's when the new system launches.

 

[Hindle]

Finding those dam manuscripts was a massive pain in the arse, even worse the coffee thermos gah it took me an hour to find the last one.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Definitely hoping this is next gen. MS needs to get away from having Fable-Halo-Gears-Forza as their only big first party titles.

I'm sure Microsoft would love if people made more of their titles big, but unfortunately for them, the market doesn't always behave the way publishers would want it to.

That said, Kinect Sports and Minecraft XBLA have been quite successful for them recently, and the original Crackdown didn't do that poorly either, so I'm positive we'll see the franchise return at some point in the future, the disappointing sequel notwithstanding.

 

[infinityBCRT]

That wouldn't leave that many other alternatives no ? I'm hoping for new IPs in general but big name franchises are here to stay. Heck nowadays they'll release brand new games made by other devs but still brandish the same brand just due to the notion of how brand/series- centric we've become in this industry.

They can still keep releasing those but they also need their Heavy Rain, Shadow of the Colossus, etc. One off first party puiblished games that are creative and awesome. And they also need new franchises or at least new spins on existing franchises. Nintendo still has a larger stable of franchises to depend on and even when they go back to the well they at least have a different twist on some of them, like Metroid Prime or Super Mario Galaxy

 

[Zoibie]

The DLC for Alan Wake was so good, the second one specifically. You could tell they understood the criticism levelled at the first game with regards to the lack of diversity and took that to heart. If they include more of those really cool sequences that play on the themes and mechanics of the game and keep the fantastic storytelling, I'll be all over it... hell, I'll probably be all over it anyway.

 

[abadguy]

crackdown (i would kill for a real sequel), ryse (if they really changed it to a controller only game), alan wake, project gotham racing, some rare stuff.

they have great ip's, lets hope they use them. and there will be brand new ip's when the new system launches.

Still hoping we eventually see sequels to Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon as well. Also would be nice to see Joanna Dark make a return next gen.

 

[angular graphics]

Please not Microsoft published

It's a certainty. http://electronictheatre.co.uk/articles/articles-articles/17473/remedy-alan-wake-past-present-pc

OS: Alan Wake as a franchise will never come to PS3. Hopefully that’s not your headline but for everyone that’s pretty obvious. If you would ask if Uncharted is ever going to…

OS: Yeah but there’s definitely a certain amount of respect as well for the publisher there. It’s something we would never consider for the Alan Wake franchise.

OS: When I talk about Alan Wake as a franchise I definitely see Microsoft as a partner.

 

[Glass Rebel]

It took me forever to get the dodge timing down pat, so I hit something of a brick wall whenever I had to run through the woods during my first playthrough (Normal).

Really? It felt rather intuitive to me, I always thought enemies telegraphed their attacks extremely well. Of course, dodging alone doesn't help and putting some distance between you and the enemies with flares and the flashlight becomes crucial with larger groups of enemies. I only had some difficulty when there were two of those fast Taken or if the area was extremely cramped.

 

[Messofanego]

"The Writer" is some of the best DLC ever, it's absolutely essential. The spinning levels are AMAZING, I'd love to see the behind-the-scenes on how they did that.

And please, bears. This was hinted from the very start, where are my Taken Bears?!

Good lord are the spiders in American Nightmare some of the creepiest in games.

 

[DieH@rd]

"The Writer" is some of the best DLC ever, it's absolutely essential. The spinning levels are AMAZING, I'd love to see the behind-the-scenes on how they did that.

I just finished it, and run toward the lighthouse was amazing.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Not sure what you are talking about. As far as I'm concerned, every time a title will be a locked down exclusive, no matter on what platform, I will be quite disappointed about it.
As I said this is not really about cheerleading for a brand rather than another.

abadguy wasn't talking about you specifically, but "people". You replied with what read as a defense of those people, and I commented on that, not your personal stance on the matter, which I wasn't even familiar with until now (that said, I never saw you complaining about a Sony or a Nintendo game not being on PC as well, whereas you often complain about Microsoft, but it doesn't really matter, and maybe I just missed it).

Beside, neither Sony or Nintendo had Windows and an empire built over open platforms in their background, so yeah, there IS a somewhat rational reason to be more hostile toward Microsoft in that sense.

And they are still the most open to letting their games appear on PC (and other platforms), by far. When it comes to gaming, Xbox is still their flagship product, the one that built Microsoft Studios into a publishing force that it is today (despite their decent pre-Xbox game publishing efforts), and the one that's most beneficial to them since they control it in its entirety. It's nice to wish things, but expecting them to undermine all that by not keeping certain key games exclusive to the platform, at least temporarily, would be incredibly naive.

 

[Oemenia]

Alan Wake being "open world" wouldn't have worked at all. I don't know why people think every game needs to be "open world" to be good. Also funny watching people deride the 360 for not having enough exclusives, but get mad when MS locks down an exclusive.

Yeah that too, I remember when the internt was bashing MS for doing so but its perfectly fine when Sony did the same with Heavy Rain which happened to be a similar style of game.

The DLC for Alan Wake was so good, the second one specifically. You could tell they understood the criticism levelled at the first game with regards to the lack of diversity and took that to heart. If they include more of those really cool sequences that play on the themes and mechanics of the game and keep the fantastic storytelling, I'll be all over it... hell, I'll probably be all over it anyway.

Yeah the DLC had excellent gameplay but they didnt have the same level of cinematic scope as the main game episodes. They even took into heart the complaints people made regarding the facial animation.

Edit: Thanks to plagiarize for the informative post. Its far too easy to make MS the bad guy, but they really couldve done much more when it came to marketing it.

 

[Lakitu]

I'm going to replay the first one, I loved it. I've bought and downloaded American Nightmare, but I still haven't played it yet.

 

[plagiarize]

Yeah that too, I remember when the internt was bashing MS for doing so but its perfectly fine when Sony did the same with Heavy Rain which happened to be a similar style of game.
Yeah the DLC had excellent gameplay but they didnt have the same level of cinematic scope as the main game episodes. They even took into heart the complaints people made regarding the facial animation.

Edit: Thanks to plagiarize for the informative post. Its far too easy to make MS the bad guy, but they really couldve done much more when it came to marketing it.

I agree about marketing, although some of the advertising they did in Canada looked brilliant from what I saw posted on here. There were some really clever billboards. http://www.superpunch.net/2010/06/clever-alan-wake-advertising.html

Also, Bright Falls was an amazing little live action tie in.