NEW: Alan Wake Video's Released (Spoilers)

Alan Wake is well and truly out of his coma now.
Last Friday, Remedy Games unveiled some new videos featuring gameplay of the fourth coming XBox 360 Horror, Alan Wake, which is rumored to have a May '10 release.

There are five videos in total. All show Alan Wake in Gameplay with a few cutscenes thrown in for good measure. We know two of the characters already, Alan of course and his manager, Barry. A new character named Rusty is also introduced to us in the later three videos.

What else do these video's tell us about what to expect? Let's have a look at each one shall we?

Opening Gameplay

Part One

This video has been called Opening Gameplay but it seems like loads has happened before this scene. Are we being thrown right into action? It seems that we're introduced to the situation through recap-like cut scenes.

What it tells us:

Story:

• Alice, Alan's wife, has been kidnapped and it seems her kidnappers want the pages to Alan's newest book. Unfortunately, Alan doesn't remember writing it.
• Alan has arranged a meeting with a guy named Rusty.
• Alan leaves Barry, his agent, behind but seems to fire a flare gun attracting police to his whereabouts. Why is this?

Gameplay:

• Characters nearby to Alan seem to respond to his actions. E.g Barry's reaction to Alan turning off the light.
• Alan narrates letting the player know his thoughts about certain situations.
• Alan comes across manuscript papers which seem to predict what is about to happen. In this case, it explains part of the next video.

Part Two

This video is a continuation of the Opening Gameplay Mission. Alan comes across Rusty but he's in trouble.

What it tells us:

Story:

• Rusty seems to be the Sheriff
• When you see Rusty he's been viciously attacked as if by an animal. They turn out to be more human-like
• Rusty has some manuscript pages

Gameplay:

• The colour changes when you're in danger
• Nearby characters give hints. E.g. Rusty mentions they are afraid of light, just in case you didn't notice.
• Enemies are almost like poltergeists, throwing things at Alan

Part Three

The first part of this video is the same that was shown at this years E3 convention. Rusty has been taken away and Alan needs to find him in order to get the manuscript pages he has.

What it tells us:

Gameplay:

• You can evade attacks by dodging and it looks a lot more smoother than the dodging in Silent Hill: Homecoming
• We've already seen the Pistol but the Flare Gun and Shotgun are other weapons Alan can use
• The Flare Gun can kill groups of enemies and will keep them away from you

Escape Police Gameplay

Part One

This is a whole new mission where Alan has been asked to meet with Alice's kidnapper.

What it tells us:

Story:

• The police are after Alan for some reason
• At one point, a flare gun is shot in the distance. Who did it?
• Alan seems to have help here. When the police are near to finding him, something happens

Gameplay:

• Alan can look behind whilst moving at the same time

Part Two

A continuation of the last video, Alan is still running from the police.

What it tells us:

Story:

• It's confirmed that Rusty isn't a sheriff. The Sheriff is a female and seems to be on Alan's side
• A man named Agent Nightingale seems to be the head of the police hunt in this scene. He doesn't seem to be a friend.
• What seem to be police are climbing up the cliff. Are these the newly killed officers that were originally chasing him maybe?

Gameplay:

• The game runs on a checkpoint system rather than save points a la Silent Hill

The game looks well and truly amazing to say the least. The story is intriguing and the controls and motions seem really smooth. There seems to be a lot of spoiler material in these videos which is weird considering how quiet Remedy has been about it.
Any other videos that are released before the game is should be viewed with caution if we don't want the whole plot given away.

What do you think of Alan Wake? Will he be worth the wait and what's more, will you be buying it?

The Monsters of Silent Hill - My Top 5.

Monsters - The best thing about Silent Hill?

Nowadays Silent Hill is getting a bad rep since Team Silent split up but there are two things that have not changed in this series. Akira Yamaoka's spectacular music and the Monsters.
Silent Homecoming for example gave some of the best monsters in the whole series.

This year marks ten years since the the first Silent Hill hit the shelves and with 6 games under Konami's belt there's too many Monsters to count. Which Monsters are the best and which are easily forgotten? I have set up a survey to find out which Monsters have stuck in gamers minds and which aren't worth our time. To have your say click HERE.

To start us off, I'm going to show you what my top 5 Monsters in Silent Hill ever are and see if the fans agree with me.

5. Mannequins (Silent Hill 2)
The reason I like the Mannequins so much is because of their presence. They hide silently in the dark and when you come across one they omit a creepy atmosphere. I'm also afraid of inanimate objects coming to life thanks to the film Poltergeist and these fit the bill.

The first time you see one is when James finds a flashlight. You think you're alone until you pick this object up and a Mannequin scares the living daylight out of you when it jumps up from the floor.

When you hit them they have a very masculine scream, unusual for something that looks so feminine. Another creepy moment regarding this Monster is when you're walking besides a building and one jumps from the roof as if committing suicide.

They represent the sexual frustration that James feels after not being able to get intimate with his wife since her diagnosis.


4. Nurses (All)

The Nurses have been in all the Silent Hill games since game one (Although people know them as Patients, the Official Silent Hill 4 Guide refer to them as Nurses).
However, the Nurse that interested me the most were the Nurses from Silent Hill 3 (Left). They look almost Doll like and make one hell of a noise when you're around one. Even better is that these are the only Nurses to have a Gun.

At first they represented the Nurses that took care of Alessa but their representation is beginning to fade now that they've become such a fan favourite.

The Nurses have evolved spectacularly throughout the series and now they have become a Silent Hill Icon. They came first in the best Monster category in my Silent Hill Survey but this time I've split them up... Which one will be the most popular? Origins or Homecoming maybe?


3. Siam (Silent Hill Homecoming)

Siam was one of the first Monsters to be made public for Silent Hill Homecoming and he/she looks very intimidating indeed. I remember becoming very excited about this game as soon as I saw this picture. Just like I had done 5 years earlier with my #1 Monster.

You will only come across 5 Siams throughout the entire game and because you're too busy trying the kick the hell out of it you don't really take him in that much. I was playing Homecoming for the third time the other week and I was at the part where I had to turn the power off to get into the prison. I had done that but wanted to go back to the cemetery for the Rifle so I ran right past him when he bust out of the electric gates.
However, when I returned I figured I'd wait until he came into view and shoot him from a distance. I could hear him but couldn't see him. He grunts and she has the creepiest scream I've ever heard. The best designed and the most frightening of them all.

They represent Alex's parents. The male part represents Adam's controlling nature and the female part represents Lillian's powerlessness to do anything about it. Some think it may also be representative of James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2.


2. Schism (Silent Hill Homecoming)

Schism was another Monster that was one of the first to be revealed for this game. You come across them regularly and they're usually in groups.

No-one could forget when you first come across them at the Police Station. Never before have you been surrounded by a group of one particular Monster as large as this. The Shepherds attic is another place where the Schism's like to gather.
On several occasions you find yourself being surprised at their sudden arrival and Jesus, they're fast.
If you ever find yourself hidden enough to see how the Schism stands you'll see how he sways his head from left to right. He's actually rather creepy despite his human appearance.

He most likely represents Alex's guilt over his part in Joshua's death. The Swinging Pendulum was a medieval torture device used to force confessions out of criminals. The Schism may be trying to force Alex to come clean about Joshua's death and acts as a constant reminder of his guilt.


1. Double Head (Silent Hill 4)

My Winner, the Double Head. The reason I got into the series and Survival Horror in general. The first time I saw this... thing was in a Playstation Magazine which I got after buying my Playstation 2. I thought it was the creepiest thing I had ever seen in my life, intrigued I read about it some more. After that, every time I saw something on Silent Hill 4 I read about it and became very interested in the game.

In game play they're even creepier when you see the size of them and when you're in the Forest World for the second time, the sight of them in the darkness pointing at you stops you in your tracks.

It represents the Locane siblings Billy and Miriam who were killed by Walter Sullivan just before his arrest. Sullivan's guilt over killing the innocent children not only make them look younger than they actually were, but also manifests it into a separate entity to the rest of the victims.


So, what do you think? There's no doubt that your top 5 is different from mine just because there's so many to choose from.
Don't forget to follow the link I gave to take the survey.