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 3rd
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.
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
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