XBLA Review: "Alan Wake's American Nightmare"

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios (360)

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Release Date: February 22, 2012 (USA) (360)

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:

The world space hasn't been improved beyond the original Alan Wake, though to be fair the original was quite amazing in its own right. The lighting effects are incredibly eerie and the character animations are still very nicely done. The textures of buildings, vehicles and character models are also top-notch. My favorite graphical effect in the game is the use of Flares or the Flare Gun. When those light up the red hue beams through the blackness to create an awe-inspiring beauty of contrasting lights that makes it look as if it's real life.

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.