PC Review: "Alan Wake's American Nightmare"

Publisher: Remedy Entertainment (PC)

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Release Date: May22, 2012 (USA) (PC)

Premise:

Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a Spin-Off type title based around the Alan Wake Franchise. The player once again controls the titular character as he becomes entrapped inside an episode of Night Springs. Alan Wake is lauded as the "Champion of Light" who is chasing after his evil doppelganger Mr. Scratch who is the "Herald of Darkness."

Gameplay: 

Gameplay is identical to that of the first Alan Wake game. You control Alan in a Third-Person perspective, fighting The Darkness as you search for clues to the whereabouts of Mr. Scratch and to rewrite reality as he has been transported to Night Springs after rewriting reality following the Cauldron Lake Incident.

Gameplay revolves heavily on "rewriting reality," in that you will visit Three (3) locations in the game and after your first playthrough in the level, you will return later with new information that allows you to unlock your powers to recreate the scenes that happened but with a better outcome. The finding and reading of Manuscript Pages makes a return, as you will need to scrounge around the environments to find all of the Manuscript Pages so you can use them to unlock weapon and item chests spread throughout the game.

Apart from the addition of several new weapons, such as the Uzi and other Machine Guns, the overall core Gameplay hasn't changed from the first game. But, even though it's the same, it's still very fun.

Graphics:

Perhaps the only difference between the two versions of American Nightmare is the Graphical abilities of the PC version. Compared to the Console version, the PC version of American Nightmare allows you to add on Anti-Aliasing, High-End Resolutions, Depth of Field, FoV, etc. All of these aspects make the game look quite a bit crisper compared to the Console release. With this version you are truly able to play Alan Wake's American Nightmare with amazing models and effects and textures that further immerse you in the game through its brilliant and vibrant world.

Sound:

The overall Musical Score for the same is generally the same, though the tone has changed dramatically to focus more on the supernatural aspects of the game. Between the crazy videos you see on the TV screens and the ominous sounds from the environment as well as the horrifying noises The Taken make when they appear all blend together to create a wonderful atmosphere.-

Length:

Alan Wake's American Nightmare was never meant to be a full-length adventure like the first one, and therefore the length of the game is drastically shorter. An average playthrough will see you spending about 4-6 hours, though you might be able to extend it by another 30 minutes or even an hour if you focus on collecting all of the items and Manuscripts in the game.

There is also a new Arcade mode that lets you play through the game with the intent of having a challenge to earn points to be at the top of the leader-board for highest overall score, which can increase the replay-ability for those who enjoy those game modes.

Value:

I have always applauded Remedy Entertainment for their games, which include the original Max Payne games. I was a bit skeptical before the game came out because I heard about the addition of the Arcade Mode and I was getting worried that the game would be stripped down into an Action-Shoot-Em-Up game. Thankfully I was wrong and the game has a great Single-Player Story Mode to enjoy.

Even though the game only lasts for about 6 hours roughly, I feel it is worth the $15 price-tag to both support Remedy as a company and because the game offers a good fix for all Alan Wake lovers out there, including myself.

If you're debating on whether to get the PC version or the 360 version, it will really come down to whether you have a Powerful PC to handle Alan Wake at Highest Graphics, which is the only reason to spring for the PC one over the Console one (unless of course you don't have a 360, than the choice becomes easy.)