Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption

I'm really, really far behind in adding anything to this blog. I completely forgot about it for a while. Should the ambition arise I will go back and talk about other games I've played since that last post. It's been a lot.

Let's start off with Alan Wake. I've played the first two episodes. It's, in a word, great. The pacing is remarkable. The story has definitely pulled me in and has me genuinely interested. That's something that doesn't often happen for me with games other than RPGs. I don't want to spoil much so here's a basic rundown. Alan Wake is a fiction writer who heads to Bright Falls for some apparently much needed R&R. He's accompanied by his wife Alice. Strange things begin to happen both before the couple arrives and afterward.

There is some product placement in the game. My experience has only been Energizer batteries and a little exposure to Verizon Wireless via the phone Alan uses in the game. I've heard the product placement is pretty heavy, but so far I haven't found it distracting.

Light is the major weapon against your shadowy adversaries. I don't want to explain what they are here, that's better left for someone playing the game and discovering on their own. This, in combination with firearms, are the way you dispatch enemies in the game. Darkness is constantly around and standing in light is the only time in the game you are perfectly safe from harm. This is usually provided in the way of lamp posts. This is also where the game automatically saves each time.

Something else I found very interesting is the fact the game recaps the previous episode each time you load your saved game. It's presented like a TV show where there's a continuing storyline going on. The game will load up and the voice actor for Alan will say "Previously on Alan Wake" followed by a short recap of everything you did in the previous chapter. It's a thing all games could learn a little from, I think. I've often played deeply into a game and set it aside for whatever reason, only to come back and have no idea where I am or what's taking place in the plot.

It's a good game so far. Anyone with a 360 ought to check it out.