Alan Wake's American Nightmare

The original Alan Wake was one of the most promising titles to come out of the Xbox 360. It was the first post “Max Payne” title that Remedy worked on and it put forward interesting concepts that were made it an under-the-radar hit in 360 gaming circles. A sequel was fast-tracked and in 2012, we got the XBLA sequel, “Alan Wake’s American Nightmare”. Be warned though, American Nightmare is not the sequel that Alan Wake fans wanted, far from it in fact.

  The original Alan Wake had some room for improvement; for example, it gave you too much ammo far too often.  Batteries, which are essential to survival, were also too common. Making either of these rarer or at the very least, less overpowered would have made Alan Wake 2 a great entry in the survival horror genre. So what does American Nightmare do? It does the exact opposite. American Nightmare becomes more action-orientated and as a result becomes this bland, third-person shooter that only vaguely resembles Alan Wake.

  The ingredients for Alan Wake are all there. A quiet American town, a plot that becomes more and more convoluted the farther you dig and of course, voice-over narration provided by Mr. Wake. It takes all the elements of the last game that gave it some of its charm but it forgets to bring everything else to the party. It’s the perfect example of a sequel that tries to replicate its predecessor through imitation but fails to garner the same acclaim the first one received.

 For starters, American Nightmare’s story and dialogue is garbage. There are no truly shocking twists and the big gimmick behind the plot only serves as an excuse to lengthen the game while simultaneously keeping the budget down. It’s lazy, it’s wordy and it’s wholly uninteresting. The dialogue also lacks the punch that the original had. Alan does not bounce off of the three other characters nearly as well before. Interactions between all the characters are totally dry and lifeless Top that off with poorly voiced, intentionally cheesy lines such as “I’ll get you eventually!” and you have a plot that is impossible to take seriously. If it was trying to evoke the atmosphere of The Twilight Zone, it failed. Where Serling’s “Twilight Zone” could instill fear and doubt in its viewers, American Nightmare can only instill apathy and confusion.

            As a sequel to Alan Wake, American Nightmare fails to deliver. As a 3^rd person shooter set in the Alan Wake universe, American Nightmare occasionally works. The combat is more or less the same as it was in Alan Wake. You shine your flashlight on your enemies and then unload on them with your gun once you’ve stripped away all their protection. It was problematic in the first game and it’s still problematic here. It’s a cool concept but the novelty quickly wears thin. But the slow-down effect when you kill an enemy is still incredibly satisfying even after you’ve killed hundreds of them. Otherwise though, combat is pretty tedious especially towards the end of the game.

The game is laughably easy too. I died once or twice, if that. The biggest culprit of this is the abundance of items. Alan Wake had a ton of items too but they were at least spread out a little. American Nightmare’s levels are covered in ammo and just in case that wasn’t enough, you also have an emergency ration of ammo, batteries and flares in every single level. And these rations aren’t a one-time thing, they respawn incredibly quickly. On top of this, it’s actually difficult for an enemy to hit you because of the easy-to-master, cheap-as-hell dodge mechanic. The only time the game comes close to killing you is when it catches you off-guard. 

     The biggest problem with American Nightmare is how often it repeats itself. American Nightmare uses a Time Warp mechanic (think Groundhog Day) which means Alan Wake keeps repeating his adventure until he gets it right. That means you’ll be repeating the same scenarios (or bits and pieces of it) several times. It hurts the narrative and it’ll definitely bore the average player. If you’ve ever played a game with a similar idea, then you’ve seen what American Nightmare has to offer.

 However, there’s still a ton of stuff to listen to and collect. Manuscript pages (which serve as exposition and give some details on the back-story) are spread out everywhere and thanks to the more open approach of American Nightmare; they aren’t conveniently strewn along a narrow path. Instead you’ll actually have to look for them and they’re a fun little diversion from the main game. Radios and TVs are also still around and they help to expand the game’s universe. However, the game’s replacement for the “Twilight Zone” homage “Night Springs” isn’t nearly as engaging; no matter how hard it tries to be.

    I get the feeling that Remedy wanted to put more focus on their new “Arcade Action” mode which is a fairly interesting “survive the horde” mode. Unlike the story mode, Arcade Action can be fairly terrifying as you’re outnumbered and supplies are limited. The numerous maps ranging from an abandoned graveyard to an observatory keep things fresh and interesting. This is what I’d like to see more of. It’s a well thought-out mode with that not only ups the replay value of the game but also proves that Remedy is capable of making an action-focused game moody and genuinely scary at times. It’s easily the best part of the game, hands down.

            American Nightmare’s graphics are incredible looking, especially considering that this is an XBLA title. To put it simply, this game is on par with the original Alan Wake. The environments are just as nice looking. The desert isn’t as claustrophobic as the Northwest but it still perfectly captures the feel of the American Southwest just like the original perfectly captured the American Northwest. Roadside diners, drive-in theaters and abandoned mineshafts make up quite a bit of American Nightmare and all of them look similarly run-down and spooky. It’s an impressive feat on a technical and atmospheric level and it’s a shame these environments were wasted on such a testosterone heavy (relative to Alan Wake) game.

            The game’s soundtrack is actually pretty solid too. Well, what little of it there is. For the most part, it’s just background noises and enemy shouts but you’ll get the occasional “Poets of the Fall” song in there. Though initially jarring at first, they fit in surprisingly well considering the game’s tone. That and the situation in which the songs play are appropriate. The voice acting is also quite good. Special mention goes to Matthew Porretta for making Alan a somewhat likable guy despite the lackluster writing. Also he isn’t Nolan North…yet, so props for that.

            Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is by no means “a bad game” but it’s an unnecessary one. The switch from horror-action to action-horror didn’t work with Resident Evil and it didn’t work here either. The single-player is totally lifeless and forces you to repeat the same scenario several times over. The plot is an uninteresting mess with poorly written, dry dialogue to boot. But the new “Arcade Action” mode is wonderfully handled and a lot of fun. In addition to this, the game is stunning in action and the soundtrack compliments the game’s tone. It’s by no means the under-the-radar hit the first one was but it’s a still worth checking out if you’re an Alan Wake fan. Other people looking for a cheap game to kill time will be sorely disappointed though.

Final Score: 5.0