official Alan Wake (PC/X360)

[Draken]

When the wife of the best-selling writer Alan Wake disappears on their vacation, his search turns up pages from a thriller he doesn?t even remember writing. A dark presence stalks the small town of Bright Falls, pushing Wake to the brink of sanity in his fight to unravel the mystery and save his love. With the body of an action game and the mind of a psychological thriller, Alan Wake is a pulse-pounding thrill ride

Developed by: Remedy Entertainment

Published by: Microsoft Game Studios

Designed by: Petri J?rvilehto (lead designer)

Written by: Sam Lake (lead writer)

Original score by: Petri Alanko

Platform: Xbox 360

Release dates: NA May 18, 2010 / EU May 14, 2010

Box Art:

Limited Collector's Edition:

Alan Wake, a bestselling writer, has not written anything in over two years. Now his wife, Alice, brings him to the idyllic small town of Bright Falls to recover his creative flow. When she vanishes without a trace, Wake finds himself trapped in a nightmare. Word by word, his latest work?a thriller he cannot even remember writing?is coming true before his eyes.

In this long-awaited title, exclusive to Xbox 360, players assume the role of Alan Wake, a best-selling crime writer suffering from writer?s block, who escapes to a small town only to experience the mysterious disappearance of his wife. An intense psychological thriller from Remedy, the creators of Max Payne, Alan Wake looks to raise the bar for future games, creating a true cinematic experience.

Hands On:

Team Xbox:

Last week, at Microsoft?s big X10 event in San Francisco?where huge titles such as Halo: Reach and Fable III were revealed like never before?only one game aside from the aforementioned was available to play that we hadn?t had a chance to partake of before. And we were really looking forward to it. Alan Wake was made available for some true hands-on time to the gaming press, and we came away with not just a more solid idea of what this long-in-development game is really all about, but a real thirst to play more of the game.

As we?ve noted before, Alan Wake (from Remedy Entertainment) is an atmospheric and tense thriller that puts you in the guise of a famous mystery writer looking for his lost wife in one of those upstate small towns that only seem to exist in horror novels. Or at least that?s what I?d like to believe. An evil far worse than crazed hillbillies is plaguing the town, and Alan Wake will discover that the events unfolding before him are part of a book that he doesn?t remember writing. Spooky doesn?t even begin to cover it.

Survival Horror is a genre signifier we don?t use much anymore, but it probably best applies to what Alan Wake is. The developers were careful not to call it a shooter, despite there being plenty of shooting going on, but with the extra innovative twist of using light as a weapon. ?The Taken? are the bad guys of the game, though they seem to be more akin to possessed town folk or some kind of strange new zombie. They?re incredibly avoidant of light, making it the thing that protects you as well as the thing you wield to fight back their terrifying advances.

Playing the game for the first time, a couple of really interesting things became clear. For one, the camera is unlike anything I?ve seen in a third-person action game. You don?t get a static above and behind view, and it?s not an over the shoulder viewpoint, such as in Gears of War and other games. Rather, it?s more dynamic?floating almost drunkenly behind you at times, while at others it gives you dynamic clues as to from where the next horror is going to appear. In classic horror-movie style, it often looks directly at what you?re too afraid to gaze at intentionally. Alan moves somewhat more loosely and less confidently than other video-game characters. This makes sense, considering he?s a novelist and not a space marine, ninja or other professional adventurer type. Immediately, Alan Wake feels differently than most other third-person shooters you?ve played before.

IGN:

February 18, 2010 - "Alan, wake up." It's these eerie words that have opened each brief look I'd been given of the upcoming but rarely heard from action-thriller, Alan Wake. Today would be different, however. I had traveled to Finland for a visit to Remedy Entertainment's studio, the building where a small team of less than 50 had been toiling away for years in relative silence on its next big game.

Today, Alan would wake up.

Remedy considers itself a boutique studio. The group has shunned the big budget, massive and quick productions that have become the norm these days. Signs with the mantra, "When it's done," plaster the walls, a constant reminder to the team that Alan Wake would be worked on until it meets the high-quality bar demanded of themselves ? an approach that has produced past hits such as Max Payne 1 and 2.

The result has been a prolonged development cycle, one that led to public questions of whether the project had been canceled outright. Still, the team toiled on in relative silence, building its own engine and toolset, scripting out scenes, and squashing bugs in an attempt to meet the original vision. And after sitting down to play the game for nearly two hours, I can report back that it has been worth the wait. This is easily one of my most anticipated games of 2010.

The lead writer for Alan Wake, Sam Lake, describes it as having the "mind of a psychological thriller with the body of an action game." The game pulls inspirations from television shows like the X-Files, Lost, and Twin Peaks and that is quickly apparent in the opening scenes. But despite what many of the moody trailers and cinematic direction of Alan Wake may have conveyed, this is very much an action game with a great deal of exciting combat to tie the story elements together.

EuroGamer's Interview:

Eurogamer: First of all, why did you decide to move onto a new character for your latest game? Did you feel it was time to move on, or were there other reasons behind that?

Petri J?rvilehto: We had already decided to start working with something else during the production of Max Payne 2. Max Payne was a fantastic property to work with, but after seven years of Payne it's quite refreshing to get started on something completely new.

Eurogamer: When did you start work on Alan Wake?

Petri J?rvilehto: Alan Wake is a concept that we've been working with for over a year now. Once Max Payne 2 shipped we spent a little while recovering from the crunch, and then started working on different concepts trying to find the concept that would excite us and that we could be passionate about. And after several drafts we found something that we really liked... and that concept was Alan Wake.

Eurogamer: Has the jump to next generation development been easier or harder than you expected, and in what way?

Petri J?rvilehto: It's been pretty much what we expected. Having so much more computing power at your disposal makes a huge difference. One of the key things with the next gen is that the demands on content creation have grown so much bigger, and just building the right tools for that take a while.

Eurogamer: Have you had to make many compromises over your original design? If so why?

Petri J?rvilehto: Not really. I mean game development is always a matter of compromise. You try to find the best places to put your effort and you can never do everything that you'd really want to have in a game, but still... with this coming generation there's so much more computing power, memory and so on, that we don't really need to compromise that much.

Eurogamer: You've mentioned Alan Wake is a character "straight out of a Stephen King novel". Indeed, an author plagued by nightmares, suffering from writer's block and his wife is possibly dead sound just like "Bag of Bones" to us: coincidence? You also mentioned Twin Peaks as an influence - is it just the creepy small town setting you've borrowed, or the general atmosphere too?

Sam Lake: Yes, Stephen King is certainly one source of inspiration for us. I haven't read Bag of Bones myself, so I cannot really comment on that, but using a writer whose life turns nightmarish as a main character is something that King has successfully done in several of his books.

The most obvious Twin Peaks related things are naturally the location and the setting, the small town of Bright Falls in the state of Washington. As a TV series it really was the first to focus on a quirky and creepy small town setting. That kind of a setting has since been used in many other shows, but it's still something that hasn't really been seen in games. Atmosphere is a very important part of any thriller, and David Lynch is brilliant when it comes to that, so any lessons we can learn from him for this game will be a big bonus.

'Alan Wake' Screenshot 1

Eurogamer: Will Alan Wake be as "balls-out" combat/action heavy as Max Payne, or is it a little more cerebral this time with more emphasis on the atmosphere-building adventure/puzzling/exploration elements in there as well? Is there more of a survival horror (a la Silent Hill) feel to it?

Petri J?rvilehto: Intense cinematic action is something that we love to do, and Alan Wake features tense combat gameplay as well, but all things considered the game has a lot more emphasis on adventure and exploration that what Max Payne did.

Eurogamer: We saw quite a bit of driving around in the technology presentation for Alan Wake - is that a core part of the gameplay, or just a means of getting from A to B?

Petri J?rvilehto: Driving is an integral part of the game.

Eurogamer: How challenging was it to introduce vehicle gameplay into Alan Wake, and does Alan drive many vehicles over the course of the game? Care to reveal any?

Petri J?rvilehto: It's been fun. We never got around to introducing driving mechanics to Max Payne, so getting finally to work with vehicles is very cool, and the game will feature a variety of different vehicles that the player can use. Havok has been really good to work with in this regard as well, and we got the vehicles up and running very rapidly.

Eurogamer: You made a big deal out of the dynamic weather and lighting in the game - we saw that lighting has a big impact on the gameplay, but didn't really see whether the weather effects would be more than cosmetic. Can you shed some light on how the changing weather will impact upon the gameplay?

Petri J?rvilehto: The changes in the weather affect everything on global scale. Visibility changes, audio cues will behave differently, driving dynamics change and so on. Pretty much what you'd expect to happen in the real world as well.

The dynamic nature of the environment is something that we use to create drama as well... for example, when you start a mission branch, it's a nice peaceful morning, and as you keep completing missions a storm begins to rise and that continues and gets worse and worse when you progress through the sub-mission tree.

With a world this dynamic, even the same location can feel radically different depending on the time of day and the weather.

Eurogamer: Voiceover and script work was a key component of the Max Payne experience. Is there just as heavy an emphasis on these areas this time, and have you hired any big names to assist you this time around?

Petri J?rvilehto: Definitely. High quality voice-overs make a huge difference in the players' experience. We won't name any names yet though.

Sam Lake: Story and dialogue are important parts of Alan Wake, just as much, if not even more than they were in Max Payne.

'Alan Wake' Screenshot 2

Eurogamer: From what we know about the game it will be quite non-linear. Does it have a sandbox structure that people will be familiar with, or are you going for a different approach?

Sam Lake: We're going for a combination of player freedom and story progression. Since we're focused on integrating a good story into the game, it will require a new approach to the game's structure as well. It will be challenging, but it is a challenge we gladly welcome.

Eurogamer: Describe a typical mission in Alan Wake. From what we saw at E3 it was still hard to tell exactly what kind of game it is.

Petri J?rvilehto: We won't spill all the beans just yet. Part of it is that we want to hold things back so people will have new things to discover on the game, part of it is that we're still iterating things and finding the best solutions for some of the problems.

Eurogamer: Will the combat be purely about gunplay, or are there hand-to-hand elements in there too?

Petri J?rvilehto: The combat is not purely about gunplay. The use of light plays an important role in the combat, and different light sources provide new gameplay angles there.

Eurogamer: Tell us more about these hooded men that stalk Alan? Who are they, and how does Alan fight them off?

Sam Lake: These figures first appear in Wake's dreams, and then they start slipping to the real world as well, or so it seems to Wake at least. They are connected to him and his past in many ways. I'm tempted to say a lot more, but I think that this is an area we'll save for later.

Eurogamer: Do you just play as Alan, or do you have any allies you can call upon for assistance and play as? Who are the key characters in Bright Falls?

Sam Lake: This too is something we still want to keep under wraps. We want everyone to get familiar with Alan Wake himself before we start introducing the supporting cast. Our small town setting and the fact that we are using TV-series as our story template might give you some hints of things to come though.

Eurogamer: So far you've admitted the game will be PC and Next Gen consoles. Can you be more specific? Are you likely to be on more than one next gen machine, or could the game eventually be exclusive to one console?

Petri J?rvilehto: We're looking at Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC SKU's.

'Alan Wake' Screenshot 3

Eurogamer: Any clues as to when it will ship? When are you hoping it will come out?

Petri J?rvilehto: We haven't announced anything yet [smiles].

Eurogamer: What sort of recommended system specs are you targeting for PC?

Petri J?rvilehto: The final hardware specs are not locked down, but suffice to say that the PC version will require a high-end PC.

Eurogamer: Is the Alan Wake tech an all-new engine or an evolution of previous tech?

Petri J?rvilehto: It's a completely new engine. When Max Payne 2 was completed, we re-evaluated all of our existing technology, as well as other engines out there. After long consideration, we thought that the only way to create something special and to build a game where the tech is completely supporting the gameplay would be to write our own new engine and tools.

Eurogamer: What new tricks is the engine capable of that prompts you to talk of it as "truly next gen"?

Petri J?rvilehto: You did see the game running, right? [smiles] By far the biggest element in my opinion is how everything is so dynamic. Lighting is no longer static, objects in the world are dynamic and react to changes in the simulation. Effectively, we are building a massive world simulation with unprecedented depth.

Having said that, the visuals do make a huge difference as well. There is simply no way that something like this could run on a 32MB PlayStation 2. It would be just as impossible to reach this level of versatile environments and visual fidelity with a 64MB Xbox 1.

There's a huge amount of extreme visual technology constantly taking place on-screen... atmospheric scattering, fully volumetric shadows, high dynamic rendering, ambient occlusion, bloom, depth of field, normal mapping and loads of different pixel-shader effects that all work in harmony to create the dynamic and versatile visuals.

Eurogamer: Has Remedy considered adopting a Steam-style digital distribution model to pipe the Alan Wake game direct to the gamer on PC, or are you going for the normal boxed model? Do you think digital distribution is the way forward for independent developers such as Remedy to maintain creative control?

Petri J?rvilehto: That's something we're looking into. However, as of now, I don't think that digital distribution-only would be an option yet. We do want to offer a good boxed copy with manuals and all that as well.

'Alan Wake' Screenshot 4

Eurogamer: Controversy has raged recently over whether the Killzone 2 and MotorStorm PS3 videos shown off at E3 were real time gameplay videos or just over-ambitious renders. What's your opinion on the PS3 tech demos and gameplay videos? Are PS3 games really going to look that good?

Petri J?rvilehto: I think both consoles will have great looking games. Xbox 360 is initially easier to approach and harness all of the power of the system whereas and PS3 has more theoretical power that won't be as easily utilized by the developers.

Eurogamer: Are you working on a Xbox 360 version? How are you finding working on the new Xbox platform? Have you even been given a PS3 dev kit as yet?

Petri J?rvilehto: We're targeting both next gen consoles, and we do have a good relationship with both hardware manufacturers. However, due to NDAs I can't comment in any further detail.

Eurogamer: Will this once again be a single-player experience? Any reason for not adding online elements?

Petri J?rvilehto: Yes, we believe that by focusing completely on the single-player experience we can deliver a better game. We'd much rather give the players a great single-player game, than a mediocre single and multiplayer game.

Eurogamer: We noticed that 3D Realms isn't involved this time. Just how much input did they have last time out, and will they be missed in any way?

Petri J?rvilehto: Working with 3D Realms was a great experience and we learned a lot from them, especially during the first Max Payne game, but it's time for us to stand on our own now.

Eurogamer: How much publisher interest have you had so far, and when do you expect to announce a publishing partner?

Petri J?rvilehto: After the huge success of the Max Payne games, we've had a lot of publisher interest. We've been talking with the key players, but we'll lock down the right partner once the time is right for that. Since we're in a strong financial position we do not have to rush madly into a deal or anything like that.

Eurogamer: What kind of publisher are you looking for? Do you want total creative control? Is this a reaction to being compromised in the past?

Petri J?rvilehto: First of all, working with Rockstar on our previous games has been fantastic and we have a lot of respect for them and their production team. With Max Payne games, I think they gave us almost complete creative control.

As for now, we're looking for the best possible match that will help us to create a strong new franchise.

Team Xbox

IGN

Eurogamer

Trailer

Alan Wake: Building the Thriller :

Featuring songs composed by:

Kimmo Kajasto, Petri Alanko, Poets of the Fall

"War" by Poets of the Fall:

Official Site

Youtube Channel

Achievements:

First ten:

• Back! Back, I Say! - Use your handflare to push away enemies at the last possible second
  
• Bright Falls Afficionado - This Achievement requires thoroughly exploring the area of Bright Falls
  
• Collateral Carnage - Unlock this Achievement by killing a set number of enemies using the environment instead of weapons
  
• Collector's Edition - Ah, the old collect-a-thon Achievement; in Alan Wake, you'll be able to pick up pages from the protagonist's manuscript. Collect them all, and this Achievement is your reward
  
• *** Good Cup of Coffee - Remedy revealed only that this Achievement involves careful exploration...but I dig the title, which I believe is a reference to Twin Peaks
  
• Gunless Wonder - Unlocked by completing a section of the game using only your flashlight and no guns
  
• It's Not Just a Typewriter Brand - No specifics on how to unlock this one, but it will involve using the shotgun a lot (which the Achievement title references)
  
• Meet the Deadline - Complete a section of the game under a strict time limit
  
• Park Ranger - One of a number of Achievements that will be rewarded for completing an episode
  
• Two for the Price of One - Awarded for killing two enemies with a single shotgun blast
  

Well the game just went gold :woot: nothing else to say

[LingeringSoul]

Well the game just went gold :woot: nothing else to say

That's some crazy stuff right there. Talk about an announcement coming out of nowhere. Six years in development... for a moment there I thought it was going to become the next Duke Nukem Forever.

Very excited for this one. I haven't watched too many videos videos, but I've got faith in Remedy.

[.Markus]

Very excited over this game aswell, however we already have another thread discussing Alan Wake;

https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/890382-new-alan-wake-trailer-in-hd/

Still, will hopefully be as good as the trailers make it out be!

[Hedon]

Here is a start Max:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wake

Basically, this game was announced about 5 years ago or so. They showcased night/day changes, weather (tornados, wind, rain, etc), showcasing a new achievement in physics. This was being wrapped around a story about a writer named Alan Wake who starts to experience a book he wrote (that he doesn't remember writing) played out in real life. Psychological Thriller, with cinematics, use of light against enemies, long draw distances, lush environments, a somewhat open world to explore. It was designed to push the PC (since canceled) and Xbox 360 to new boundaries.

Many Xbox 360 fans are excited about this title because it's from the developer, Remedy, who also made Max Payne titles. Some are comparing it to Silent Hill for example.

Remedy has said this it the biggest game they have ever made.

[AbandonedTrolley]

Looks good will wait to see the reviews before considering 'jumping in' to the 360 again though :)

[Max_Payne_UK]

Here is a start Max:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wake

Basically, this game was announced about 5 years ago or so. They showcased night/day changes, weather (tornados, wind, rain, etc), showcasing a new achievement in physics. This was being wrapped around a story about a writer named Alan Wake who starts to experience a book he wrote (that he doesn't remember writing) played out in real life. Psychological Thriller, with cinematics, use of light against enemies, long draw distances, lush environments, a somewhat open world to explore. It was designed to push the PC (since canceled) and Xbox 360 to new boundaries.

Many Xbox 360 fans are excited about this title because it's from the developer, Remedy, who also made Max Payne titles. Some are comparing it to Silent Hill for example.

Remedy has said this it the biggest game they have ever made.

Thank you. Max Payne you say, now you knows I like a bit of May Payne :D

Actually looks okay, lets hope it delivers. I need something to play on my Xbox - bored of Forza already :(

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Remedy Presents...

A Psychological Thriller.

Game Info:

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Designers: Petri J?rvilehto (lead designer)

Writers: Sam Lake

Composer: Petri Alanko

Engine: in-house engine, havok physics

Platform: Xbox 360

Game modes: Single player

Release dates:

North America: May 18th

Europe: May 14th

Achievements:

I'll add them once they are available.

Box Art:

Collector's Edition: (US might be different?)

Hardbound in quality linen, the Alan Wake Limited Collector's Edition is designed to resemble a hardcover book and will include:

Game Disc in box with unique art

Exclusive In-Game Audio Commentary and hints by Remedy.

The Alan Wake Files- a 144 page book that includes a short story written by Alan Wake and compiles the FBI dossiers investigating the events in Bright Falls.

Exclusive Xbox 360 bonus disc with special content:

Exclusive Xbox Theme and Avatar

A token for the first downloadable content available for Alan Wake through Xbox LIVE

Video Documentaries/Behind The Scenes

The Theme of Alan Wake

The World of Bright Falls

The People of Bight Falls

Alan's Missions

Exclusive Audio Disc with Soundtrack and Score

Hands on:

Remedy's Sam Lake wants us to understand that Alan Wake isn't a horror game. Alan Wake is "a psychological action thriller that contains elements of horror". I don't want to split hairs, but it takes a little time to get comfortable with Lake's definition, because initially at least the "elements of horror" are pretty dominant: an axe-wielding madman, a satanically creepy landlord, and a wife who disappears with a blood-curdling scream all feature during a white-knuckled hour at the controls.And all of this is before you start firing your gun at shadowy figures who burn up when you shine a torch on them. But in fairness to Lake, the supernatural elements are aimed more at building tension than horrifying or shocking the player. There's the feeling, as Wake tries to deal with monsters calling out to him from the murky woodlands of Bright Falls, that a lot of his problems may be products of his imagination.

Even before novelist player-character Wake and his other half have picked up the keys to their holiday cabin by Cauldron Lake, the player has been terrorised in a pre-credit dream sequence by one of his literary creations. Wake then arrives in Bright Falls with a chronic case of writer's block; he's on the run from his publicist and wracked with doubt over whether his talent has dried up. He argues with his wife after she unveils her plan to help him by bringing a typewriter on their vacation, and he storms off into the woods.

Later, he finds himself regaining consciousness in car-wreck. He stumbles through the darkness, coming across pages of a manuscript for a thriller he doesn't remember writing. The next thing he knows he's set upon by figures wielding hatchets and knives. Their bodies are encased in shadows that have the consistency of ink dripped through water.

If you were to tick off the influences, Stephen King and David Lynch would be near the top of the list. But Remedy keeps the game fresh with compelling level design and presentation. The way the developer toys with the player's emotions is impressively frightening; as Wake picks up the keys to his cabin from a diner, the entire mood of the scene spins on a dime from friendly and folksy to chilling.

It's also a testament to the storytelling that Alan Wake himself is a man of substance. He's a bruised, conflicted individual; intelligent but also prone to violent outbursts. What makes him compelling, however, is less that he's flawed, but more that he knows he is and that he's trying to resist the weaker side of his personality. He's already facing a fractured marriage and writer's block, but the game suggests his problems run a lot deeper. Wake's fallibility also enhances the gameplay, which puts a premium on light as a weapon.

Remedy's sense of economy and level design craft also permeates the run-and-gun action. At one stage, the player has to navigate from a car crash through a darkened lumber yard to a well-lit petrol station in the distance. The structure is loose but linear, even though the gorgeous environment suggests the player isn't restricted at all. Between the car wreck and the petrol station Wake comes across a couple of useful items like a flare gun and a spotlight (read: gun turret). He also discovers batteries, flares and ammunition, which players will want to ration.

Aiming and firing is your standard left and right trigger setup, but unlike most everymen in videogames who turn into a crack shot the moment they pick up a weapon, Wake's not a natural gunman, and the gameplay has been tweaked to this effect. Switching from running to taking aim feels a little slow, and while a quick reload is available, a mistimed tap of the button can slow this down as well. Not every shot is on target, aiming skill only increases with familiarity, and sometimes the best option is to cut your losses and leg it.

Continues..

Screenshots:

Gamersyde gallery

IGN gallery

Gamespot gallery

Eurogamer gallery

Videos:

E3 2K6 Trailer

E3 2K9 Trailer

X10 Trailer

GDC 2K9 interview

E3 2K9 interview

TGS 2K9 interview

Bulding a thriller (feature video)

GDC 2K9 Dev diary with Sam Lake

Gameplay videos..

Opening gameplay pt1

Opening gameplay pt2

Opening gameplay pt3

Opening gameplay pt4

Police escape gameplay pt1

Police escape gameplay pt2

E3 2K9 gameplay

E3 2K9 gameplay demo

Misc:

Best preorder price in UK: Coolshop for ?37.49

Best preorder price in US: (need some help on that one)

Links:

Official site

Xbox.com

- Avatar items

- Themes

Web 2.0:

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

[Jan Veteran]

This game is going to be amazing!!

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Threads Merged & Thread Cleaned

DL

[+Mystic MVC]

Just got done watching the latest trailer. I can't believe this game has crept up on me like this. Not too often am I that excited about a game and forget its coming out the next month. I'm really looking forward to a game that gives a crap about the storyline.

[Razorwing]

Looks awesome.. can't wait to pick it up.

[qdave]

I am so dissapointed! Console people are lucky.

[Billus]

An insult to PC gamers, that's all it is. I guess all those DX10 videos/technology were all for nothing then. They probably realized that they couldn't really make a good game for the PC and decided to push it onto a console as an excuse why they couldn't achieve what they set out to do.

I don't really see why Microsoft doesn't put Xbox 360 "exclusives" onto the PC as well. Both are Microsoft platforms and they should be proud to have a dominant market in the PC world.

[:: Lyon ::]

I hate consoles :(

PC gaming is about to go dead in a few years time

[Spookie]

PC gaming is about to go dead in a few years time

We've been hearing that for years. Truth be told the 360 needs some decent exclusives. AW looks good but I'm still a bit apprehensive about it.

[Draken]

<Snipped>

I can see a high level of detail on the last trailer, but THAT awesome to call it best graphics ever :s , well ... will see ...

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

<Snipped>

I can see a high level of detail on the last trailer, but THAT awesome to call it best graphics ever :s , well ... will see ...

The cinematics are actually pre-rendered video (higher resolution models), not in-game with additional touches - http://forum.alanwak...6276&postcount=

However it still looks great (Y)

I hope this will replace Silent Hill, very eager to play, that series went down the pan faster than diarrhoea with Silent Hill 5.

Oh and Twin Peaks is awesome (Y)

[George P Global Moderator]

Silent Hill needed to stop at 3, which ended the story started in 1, and call it a day. It's a classic look at a series where the devs just don't know when to call it quits and do a new IP.

I love Sam Lake's writing and the way he tells the story (you only have to play the Max Payne games to understand). I have no doubts that I'll enjoy this game as well.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Silent Hill needed to stop at 3, which ended the story started in 1, and call it a day. It's a classic look at a series where the devs just don't know when to call it quits and do a new IP.

I love Sam Lake's writing and the way he tells the story (you only have to play the Max Payne games to understand). I have no doubts that I'll enjoy this game as well.

I still quite enjoyed 4, but I'd of been totally happy with it stopping at 3.

Well essentially it didn't need to stop, they just had to not churn out garbage. 4 was decent, still made by the Japanese developers, but when they handed 5 off to American devs, you just knew it would be terrible.

However the series is dead to me now, especially with the laughable remake/reinvention/whatever on the Wii of Silent Hill. Yes the gameplay mechanics work quite well on their own, but it should of been called something else, a new horror game, not tacked onto the SH series.

I'm really rooting for this not to just be an action game with a sprinkling of horror/psychological themes, but rather more of the later.

Horror/psychological terror seemed to die with SH2, it really needs to come back :(

[.KICK]

I want this game, wasn't really following it before! :D

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

The cinematics are actually pre-rendered video (higher resolution models), not in-game with additional touches - http://forum.alanwak...6276&postcount=

However it still looks great (Y)

I hope this will replace Silent Hill, very eager to play, that series went down the pan faster than diarrhoea with Silent Hill 5.

Oh and Twin Peaks is awesome (Y)

Welcome back

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Welcome back

Thanks man (Y) I noticed it's a day early, but you can't complain!

Also did anyone else notice/already post this game is coming out a week earlier now in Europe? Europe love <3

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Yup Remedy moved it a week earlier in Europe.

[.KICK]

Thanks man (Y) I noticed it's a day early, but you can't complain!

Also did anyone else notice/already post this game is coming out a week earlier now in Europe? Europe love <3

Yup, May 14th, doesn't help me though, I have exams until May 19th, I preferred the old date! :cry: :pinch:

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Yup, May 14th, doesn't help me though, I have exams until May 19th, I preferred the old date! :cry: :pinch:

I'm on holiday from May the 13th till May the 29th :rofl:

Worst part of it is I'm going to America so will be there for launch lmao.