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[JaseC]

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.

I had a nasty habit of pressing the dodge button a moment too early.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

Get dancing folks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLebVGLFVxk

Hopefully they get Poets back on board for a few tracks, added so much to the games.

I think it is guaranteed they will be back, no doubt about it. Favorite game with my favorite band in one package, so good.

 

[derFeef]

"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.

http://www.oxmonline.com/files/u49382/ss5_1.jpg
http://cdn.gamerant.com/wp-content/uploads/alan-wakes-american-nightmare-spiders.jpg

I think the spiders were a letdown really, I expected them to be more creepy and menace. Easy to defeat too.

 

[SlasherJPC]

With all this hype on a possible Alan Wake 2 though. Would you guys want the sequel in multiple locations? Or back in a forest, like Bright Falls? I think a mix would be nice, and even a return to Bright Falls interesting if done right.

 

[derFeef]

With all this hype on a possible Alan Wake 2 though. Would you guys want the sequel in multiple locations? Or back in a forest, like Bright Falls? I think a mix would be nice, and even a return to Bright Falls interesting if done right.

Bright Falls, New York which is obvious for story reasons, and new locations too. I LOVE the forest, but the desert in AWAN worked really well to - I enjoyed the color shift.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

"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.

Argh, motherfuckers.

I need to do a AW marathon. AW2 is the only game that will get me to purchase the 720. It'll be worth it. Fucking love AW.

I wonder what tone this one will take. Esoteric horror story like AW? Pulp horror like AN? Or some new twisted take on horror and thrillers?

And will it be in the Midwest? A Town Called Ordinary?

Bright Falls, New York which is obvious for story reasons, and new locations too. I LOVE the forest, but the desert in AWAN worked really well to - I enjoyed the color shift.

YES! The desert in AN looked fantastic. I actually hope AW2 might revisit that a little cause it looked so lovely. And if we go back to the Pacific Northwest, some rain please! I wanna see a rainstorm.

 

[Messofanego]

I think the spiders were a letdown really, I expected them to be more creepy and menace. Easy to defeat too.

I'm no arachnophobe, but seeing a bunch of them skitter around gave me the willies. I LOVED dodging their jumps, so cinematic and they get right up in your face, Facehugger style.

It's been a great year for animal creepers, like Komodo Dragons and crocodiles in Far Cry 3. GOOD LORD.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

With all this hype on a possible Alan Wake 2 though. Would you guys want the sequel in multiple locations? Or back in a forest, like Bright Falls? I think a mix would be nice, and even a return to Bright Falls interesting if done right.

Anywhere is fine as long as they continue the epic scenery and atmosphere. Also hoping (and pretty sure it will happen) that they focus more on story like AW1 where as American Nightmare was more action focused. Hoping for AN's updated gameplay and action with the story focus from AW1.

 

[op_ivy]

i'd love to see a greater variety of environments - not just stick to one setting or another. but, i definitely want the woods and a return to the twin peaks like pacific northwest. also, i want to trudge through hip deep snow impeding movement during a full moon. also, blizzards affecting visibility. and avalanches.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Anywhere is fine as long as they continue the epic scenery and atmosphere. Also hoping (and pretty sure it will happen) that they focus more on story like AW1 where as American Nightmare was more action focused. Hoping for AN's updated gameplay and action with the story focus from AW1.

Well for American Nightmare I think they were going for a title that, if people missed out on it, wouldn't need to play in order to understand part 2. Granted... I think AN also hints at ways the game could actually take place in a few locations. Though... not sure how much atmosphere they could put into multiple locations seeing as it probably takes quite some time to get it right. Granted this is Remedy were talking about. They are a master of their craft imo.

 

[derFeef]

i'd love to see a greater variety of environments - not just stick to one setting or another. but, i definitely want the woods and a return to the twin peaks like pacific northwest. also, i want to trudge through hip deep snow impeding movement during a full moon. also, blizzards affecting visibility. and avalanches.

I think I posted once what would be my dream reveal trailer.
In short a scene under water with Tom in the diver suit, as he walks on the ground he finds Alan an get's him to the surface - in the midst of the forest. As Alan wakes up hearing Alice's voice, the scene fades to Alice fighting the darkness in New York, screaming for Alan.

Faint.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

i'd love to see a greater variety of environments - not just stick to one setting or another. but, i definitely want the woods and a return to the twin peaks like pacific northwest. also, i want to trudge through hip deep snow impeding movement during a full moon. also, blizzards affecting visibility. and avalanches.

I got it:

An epic horror-filled journey across America's backroads as Alan travels from the West Coast to the East pursued by the Darkness. From his reemergence in the Pacific Northwest, down to the California sun-bleached coast, across the desert, through the Heartland of America, the swamps of the south, and the eerie fog of the New England country, back home to upstate New York. All the way, he's pursued relentlessly as the Darkness twists the world around him into a shadowy and twisted version of Americana.

Edit: Googled "The Heartland" and I got this image from a comic by Steve Niles:

Could totally see that as a scene from AW.

 

[Messofanego]

Alan Wake vs Jackie Estecado crossover.

Champion of Light versus The Darkness.

 

[DieH@rd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFOtsirho84

How will they top this I wonder?

 

[plagiarize]

I'd like the game to mainly focus on one location. I prefer an environment like Dead Space or Alan Wake, to a more 'road trip' sort of journey like RE5 or DS2. I love getting the feel for a place, and seeing some of the same locations under different circumstances.

So I'd like to see something like the Silent Hill games have done, where you have a mostly new map, that overlaps somewhat with the original game. Winter would work brilliantly as others have pointed out.

Let us go back to Bright Falls and explore some new buildings. Maybe even let us take a trip up to Cauldron Lake Lodge by car, out past the trailer park and Stuckys but let us also spend most of our time out to the South West, off of this map, out towards the ocean.

 

[DieH@rd]

Winter would work brilliantly as others have pointed out.

Winter, plus time travel to the time when Zane and his Muse were still alive! That way, they need only to modernize ruined locations, and not build everything from scratch.

But no matter what they do, I'm sure they will create awesome game. One thing they desperately need to incorporate, is facial tech that is used by Beyond or Halo 4. Facial tech in AW1 is... serviceable.

 

[oatmeal]

Faaack, I hope it's 360.

I am not sure I'll be on the next gen train...but I will need to for AW.

 

[Eideka]

Faaack, I hope it's 360.

No, it's next-gen. Hinted by job offers and thank God for that.

 

[DieH@rd]

No matter if its nextgen or currentgen, it will be glorious. Only thing that needs to be added is Halo4/BeyondTwoSouls facial tech.

http://www.abload.de/img/alanwake2012-02-1719-r2fgu.png
http://i.picpar.com/88310cacb026ebd2eadb223fcf8668ac8bb80b46.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff144/derFeef/Screenshots/Alan Wake/45622bbb.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff144/derFeef/Screenshots/Alan Wake/7de786e4.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff144/derFeef/Screenshots/Alan Wake/17ed1a12.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/alanwake2012-02-1900-0528n.jpg
http://i7.minus.com/ixsqNQox6tL2m.png

 

[Klendathu Club Owner]

With all this hype on a possible Alan Wake 2 though. Would you guys want the sequel in multiple locations? Or back in a forest, like Bright Falls? I think a mix would be nice, and even a return to Bright Falls interesting if done right.

I think they'll focus on one big location. Bright Falls really felt like an organic location (one of the benefits of the game being planned as open world). And American Nightmare also featured locations that were connected to each other.
Personally, I'd like to play as Alice in the real world trying to free Alan and as Alan in the Dark Place. That way the gameplay could be split up with crazy fights with Alan and exploration with Alice. As Alice there'd only be limited fighting, perhaps she could use the flash of her camera to stun the enemies.
As others have said, a winter location would be pretty interesting.

 

[Hindle]

A rundown swamp would be awesome. An abandoned navy ship?

Either way I just want more focus on survival and stratgety then action.

 

[plagiarize]

a few free cam shots.

 

[Hindle]

They've been making this since 2010, which if it releases late this year or more likely early next year, gives them close to 4 years of development. It could be a really great game.

 

[plagiarize]

They've been making this since 2010, which if it releases late this year or more likely early next year, gives them close to 4 years of development. It could be a really great game.

right. American Nightmare spun out of them testing out new enemy types and weapons. they never publically said what game they were testing them for, but it's always obviously been Alan Wake 2, even ignore the blog Sam Lake posted which was clearly in fiction for the Alan Wake universe.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming...-born-out-of-the-fight-till-dawn-arcade-mode/

“So how this came about– after Alan Wake, we were looking at what people liked and it seemed kind of universally agreed that everyone liked the story, the characters, the cinematics and the thriller-esque feeling it. But one thing that a lot of people were saying was that they would’ve liked to have seen a further escalation in the combat, perhaps some different types of weapons and enemies as well. More variation as the story progressed.”

The team used that feedback to create a sort of “white room sandbox,” as Häkkinen described it, filling the environment with weapons and enemies just to test out some new ideas. This in itself turned out to be fun for all; without any sort of built-in leaderboard, the devs took to keeping track of high scores on a whiteboard in the office. The more they played it, the more they realized that they were onto something.

“We put lots of wild stuff in there,” Häkkinen said. “It just seemed like the perfect fit for Xbox Live Arcade. That’s how it started off.”

 

[Confidence Man]

Open world or bust.

 

[derFeef]

They also never did DLC for AWAN, which they had planned I guess because it shows the option in the main menu. Good, put all manpower into the next big thing.

Open world or bust.

Nothanks. Not every game needs that, maybe have SOME open world parts, but please not the whole game.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

I just hope it's more like Alan Wake and the first two episodes than American Nightmare. Was hugely disappointed by that game, and never quite understood all the accolades it received. The art style isn't as good, the settings aren't as interesting, and the story actually forces repetitive gameplay and missions. So lazy. Ugh.

 

[Clay Davis]

No thanks. Not every game needs that, maybe have SOME open world parts, but please not the whole game.

I would like an extension of the day time sections from alan wake. they were a nice mood setter and allowed for some much needed respite from the constant overbearing atmosphere when you're in the darkness.

 

[derFeef]

I would like an extension of the day time sections from alan wake. they were a nice mood setter and allowed for some much needed respite from the constant overbearing atmosphere when you're in the darkness.

That would work actually, but the narrative and story should still be handled like in AW.

 

[Hindle]

They need to make The player feel vulnerable.

The first game failed as they essentially made AW an action hero with shotguns and ammo everywhere. I'd love it if they take influence from SH 2 or the early Resi Evils.

 

[S1kkZ]

They need to make The player feel vulnerable.

The first game failed as they essentially made AW an action hero with shotguns and ammo everywhere. I'd love it if they take influence from SH 2 or the early Resi Evils.

not if you played on hard or nightmare.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I would like an extension of the day time sections from alan wake. they were a nice mood setter and allowed for some much needed respite from the constant overbearing atmosphere when you're in the darkness.

I loved the daytime stuff as well. I would actually love to be able to explore the town. Almost like hub world to the various episodes. The world begs to be explored without making the game an open world game. If that makes sense.

 

[Hindle]

not if you played on hard or nightmare.

I finished the game on nightmare and still felt it was very easy.

My comments are unrealistic I know, I fully expect them to have checkpoints everywhere and plenty of ammo around every corner.

 

[JaseC]

Nothanks. Not every game needs that, maybe have SOME open world parts, but please not the whole game.

I liked the quiet "wide linear" moments of the original, such as when you're driving along the highway towards the coal mine -- there are a few off-the-beaten-track sites to explore and this offered a nice change of pace from the death-laden immediacy much of the rest of the game imposed.

 

[abadguy]

Open world or bust.

Nope. Being open world would pretty much ruin it.

 

[Karak]

With all this hype on a possible Alan Wake 2 though. Would you guys want the sequel in multiple locations? Or back in a forest, like Bright Falls? I think a mix would be nice, and even a return to Bright Falls interesting if done right.

If it releases in winter I would love one with a good blizzard like mechanic. Snow and darkness mixed together. Bright Falls would be fine but due to the story he could go anywhere.

I loved the daytime stuff as well. I would actually love to be able to explore the town. Almost like hub world to the various episodes. The world begs to be explored without making the game an open world game. If that makes sense.

Agreed. No matter what MAY have come. What we got was awesome and the feel now just would not be the same in an open world. But a hub like system with the full fledged town having locations for chapters of new stories would be excellent.

 

[derFeef]

I liked the quiet "wide linear" moments of the original, such as when you're driving along the highway towards the coal mine -- there are a few off-the-beaten-track sites to explore and this offered a nice change of pace from the death-laden immediacy much of the rest of the game imposed.

That's very true too. I just think when people mention open world it will be too much filler with losing the narrative pacing.

 

[Clay Davis]

That would work actually, but the narrative and story should still be handled like in AW.

yeah, thinking about it some more, I wouldn't want full open world but a hub world idea like the one slasher mentions below could work and would be pretty darn amazing.

I loved the daytime stuff as well. I would actually love to be able to explore the town. Almost like hub world to the various episodes. The world begs to be explored without making the game an open world game. If that makes sense.

totally agree. it doesn't need to be a open world, just make the town a small sandbox hub like those in human revolution for example but bigger obviously.

check out a few stores and just walk around and take in the sites, people going about their daily business and so on but as soon as the narrative demands it, move to the game into a cut-scene that triggers the next section and moves the narrative on.

 

[Proelite]

I loved the original and the expansions to death. Quite possilby the most atmospheric game that I have played.

 

[JaseC]

That's very true too. I just think when people mention open world it will be too much filler with losing the narrative pacing.

Yeah, for the more open moments to work well within the game there need to be lulls in the story that enable them.

 

[plagiarize]

Yeah, for the more open moments to work well within the game there needs to lulls in the story that enable them.

right. the whole time Alan believes that his wife is being held hostage, you can't really have him just goofing off around town killing time. maybe the second story will be paced differently, but in a 'I need to rescue my wife' narrative, you can't really lose focus on that goal.

 

[SlasherJPC]

right. the whole time Alan believes that his wife is being held hostage, you can't really have him just goofing off around town killing time. maybe the second story will be paced differently, but in a 'I need to rescue my wife' narrative, you can't really lose focus on that goal.

Well see perhaps they could force you in the hub sections to get to the next area but upon a second playthrough enable you to explore at least? Hell ditch the hub, just do the missions like in AW 1 but after you beat it open the world for full exploration

 

[Router]

Alan Wake didn't really grab me that much. I hear good things about Nightmare though. If AW2 is next gen I hope they can go back to the original open world design.

 

[plagiarize]

Well see perhaps they could force you in the hub sections to get to the next area but upon a second playthrough enable you to explore at least? Hell ditch the hub, just do the missions like in AW 1 but after you beat it open the world for full exploration

Well, I have no idea what the story for the next one is, but I presume it's not going to be Alan saving his wife again, so maybe it'll lend itself perfectly to a Deus Ex HR paced story. An unlockable version of the world without barriers would be nice. Free cam is good in the PC version, but something I could just drive around and sight see would be even better.

 

[Karak]

Well see perhaps they could force you in the hub sections to get to the next area but upon a second playthrough enable you to explore at least? Hell ditch the hub, just do the missions like in AW 1 but after you beat it open the world for full exploration

Well it would be easy enough to find something to fill in parts that allow you to explore or even parts of the story. The first story fit what we got VERY well. The second may be slightly different. However I feel that if they actually had parts where the people disappear and you are locked into a different area would be VERY cool in the story.

Walking around in the hub and people run into homes and lock doors and you have to find out why and are stuck outside in a more linear area.

People start disappearing as you watch. Just blinking out of existence and you have to investigate it and all this happens with the people in the town not remembering this horrific events.

Things within the game could really add a HUGE amount of mystery and tension if they set the hub part against the other parts as an actual mechanic. To me the more busy the world is the scarier it would be if you find yourself suddenly alone or at odds with others. Unlike Resident Evil games were there are like 4 normal NPC's in the entire world.

 

[derFeef]

Alan Wake didn't really grab me that much. I hear good things about Nightmare though. If AW2 is next gen I hope they can go back to the original open world design.

I should make an Alan Wake news-loop picture.

Alan wake news -> people want "original" open world -> get explained what it was all about -> oh -> Alan wake news

 

[Karak]

I should make an Alan Wake news-loop picture.

Alan wake news -> people want "original" open world -> get explained what it was all about -> oh -> Alan wake news

Don't. It is sort of fun. It is a constant like death and taxes.

 

[Ricky_R]

I should make an Alan Wake news-loop picture.

Alan wake news -> people want "original" open world -> get explained what it was all about -> oh -> Alan wake news

Many people want open world because that's what the game was going to be before it got stripped down to what it is today. Not that I mind since I prefer linear story driven games.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I don't want open world at all. The "wide linear" approach as mentioned would be perfect.

Plus, I love the "road trip" idea, but I can see why some wouldn't. I just think it's an idea that might actually be perfectly tailored for Alan Wake. His metaphorical journey back to the real world (if AN is not that and is just a dream, temporary thing) could literally be an epic odyssey back home to his great love.

 

[DieH@rd]

I don't want open world at all. The "wide linear" approach as mentioned would be perfect.

Agreed.