Saturday, 21 November 2009

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?