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Raise your hand if you’ve heard this one before. A writer suffering from writer’s block heads over to idyllic yet creepy town with beautiful wife to refill his creative juices. His wife suddenly disappears while his writings come to life. Writer scratches head and questions his sanity. While this isn’t the sort of stuff you’d come across in an Ekta Kapoor show, there have been countless Hollywood flicks dealing with similar phenomena. Still, it doesn’t make Remedy’s latest outing, Alan Wake, any less compelling in this roller coaster ride that blends ‘psychological terror’ with action almost perfectly. Tons of people fear the dark, but in the town of Bright Falls, people fear it for a reason, and that’s because a dark force residing in the darkness has the ability to kill and possess innocent civilians, transforming them into mindless zombies, called the Taken, who’re forced to carry out its bidding. This darkness can initially only hijack humans, but as you progress through the game, its powers grow stronger, allowing it to manipulate vehicles and objects. Humans under the influence of the darkness cannot be harmed directly. You have to peel away their dark protective armor with your flashlight after which you’re free to put a slug through their heads. This mechanic pretty much forms the crux of combat throughout the game. You’ll come across brighter flashlights, more powerful enemies, and different weapons, but the method of dispatching them remains the same. For a survival horror title, the game is pretty generous with its ammo supply. Sure you’ll lose pretty much everything you’ve collected at the start of every chapter, but in a matter of minutes, you’ll be stocking up on pistols, shotguns, hunting rifles, etc. once again. This not being a conventional action game doesn’t have a plethora of weapons to begin with, but the ones available sure do pack a punch. Even when you’re armed to the teeth, you may find yourself overpowered by Taken during which the best course of action is sprinting to the nearest street light. Street lights spread all over Bright Falls allow you to regenerate health (and battery life) and serve as checkpoints. Also, while you’re under a street light, the Taken cannot touch you, allowing you to catch your breath momentarily. |
Tags: Alan Wake , Remedy , Max Payne
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