(XBLA) Alan Wake's American Nightmare Review
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is the follow up to the critically acclaimed horror title, Alan Wake. The game has boldly released on the Xbox LIVE arcade, as opposed to the original game’s full retail release. But don’t let that fool you; American Nightmare is more than enough of a full fledged follow-up to warrant your interest. Read on to find out why. C4K8F-RWWXC
Gameplay
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare tells a different type of story than you’re used to from our hero, Alan. The game’s tale is structured as an episode of the television show found and mentioned from the original, Night Springs, a sly parody of The Twilight Zone series. Players take control of Alan as he tries to put a stop of the sadistic reign of his own dark persona, Mr. Scratch. While this allows for some nice touches like the dark narration and some outlandish story elements, it also restricts certain factors that made the first game a gem. Namely, a more thoughtful story as a whole. This can be attributed to a few things however, not just the structure.
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The gameplay environments are a little more open this time around, with objectives sometimes needing Wake to explore his surroundings. I found this actually fairly good as a complement to the combat and concept of the ratio between light and dark as not only a gameplay factor, but general story element too. Unfortunately, American Nightmare doesn’t have much in the way of a variation of scenery, forcing you to revisit each of the three environments three times each. I understood the reasons to help build up the tale, but much like the idea of the game being an episode of Night Springs, it really buts a foot to the throat of making a good story into a great one.
One final thing I found that made the general feel of the title a little less special than this time around was the over abundance of weaponry. For the follow up to a game that forced players to think wisely with their ammunition and firearms, American Nightmare throws more artillery at you than your average shooting game, even going as far as to having refuelling stations for an almost unlimited supply of batteries and ammo for every weapon. It turns strategically fighting groups of enemies into throwing flash bangs and flares and just blasting away like no tomorrow. XP89Y
Almost surprisingly though, the game has stepped up the quality of the originals combat in general. American Nightmare has a new found variation of enemies, which make a great deal of the fights much more invigorating, despite never facing a real challenge due to the copious amounts of weaponry you have at your disposal. Couple this with more polished mechanics and there was some great potential here, sadly it was wasted by making the game into a variation of an action title.
Graphics
FPMWG. One of the driving forces of the original Alan Wake was not just the quality of the visuals, but the way they worked in direct complement with the gameplay. That same concept, and the execution of it, is back again and just as strong in American Nightmare. To fight enemies, players must use various light sources to first weaken them, before finishing the job with your guns – or even more light, if you prefer.
It’s thankful that the quality of the visuals from the last game are still ever present here, which is great to see for a downloadable title. Animation is crisp and fluent, and character models are even more detailed than before. This is particularly true for the enemies, with certain opposition types looking delightfully frightening, such as the new Taken which form themselves from swarms of bats.
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The game’s three environments are well designed, too, taking rather plain areas of existence and turning them into highly interesting and detailed scenery which works wonders with the new exploration elements.
Sound
One of the most fitting characteristics of the first Alan Wake was its soundtrack and original score. The game features music from Finnish rock group Poets of the Fall, credited as fictional band The Elder Gods of Asgard. Their tunes have a very suitable sound, creating a deeper sense of emotion and utilised into the story and cutscenes perfectly. Voice work is again wonderful all-round, made better by Sam Lake’s scripting. I particularly enjoyed the work of the narrator who acts as the storyteller throughout the game. 6QWMQ
Keep It
- New characters, settings and story elements have authentic Alan Wake feel
- Great soundtrack and voice work from all parties
- Looks amazing for an XBLA title
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Ditch It
- Weak story as a whole, due to various reasons
- Combat has been toned down to a casual level
- Lacking fundamental horror and survival elements
Anything Else?
While the game doesn’t hold a torch to Remedy’s original Alan Wake title due its restricting of certain crucial factors, it is still a great game as a standalone title. With more Alan Wake promised in the future, this is certainly a game that won’t completely disappoint fans wanting the next big slab of Wake content. And for an XBLA title setting you back only 1200 Microsoft Points, it not only looks better than anything else on the platform, but plays better than most full retail titles at its core.
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Score: 7.5/10