May 17 - May 21
I first saw Alan Wake at an E3 booth in 2005 that was, as I recall, set up to look like a movie theater, though I may be confusing it for Destroy All Humans. Yeah, 2005 doesn't seem like it should be that damn long ago, but just as a point of reference, here are some of the other games I saw in L.A. that year:
Black and White 2
Battlefield 2
Gears of War (The first one!)
Starcraft Ghost
Vanguard
In case you guys aren't keeping track, this freaking industry moves fast. I know 5 years from announcement to release is a little long in the tooth, but holy crap. Alan Wake at some point stopped seeming like the kind of game that would ever be released, and more like the kind something about which I'd eventually ask myself, while standing in line at the dairy queen, what the hell ever happened to that thing, because -- and this is important -- it looked awesome from the start.
Looking back over our gushing on the title in '05 is like looking at a love letter to developer Remedy. "Amazing," says Certis. "Holy sh*t," says Pyroman. "A video game that truly defines the next generation of PC gaming," says Reaper, who knew not how his words would gnaw at my PC-lovin' soul all these years later.
I realize that it's unlikely to hold up to the monumental weight of half a decade's expectations, but I'm still very much looking forward to getting my hand on the game this week. Despite some healthy competition (see: Red Dead Redemption) Alan Wake is my easy Game of the Week.
PC
- Shrek Forever After
- Split/Second
PS3
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
- Red Dead Redemption
- Shrek Forever After
- Split/Second
Xbox 360
- Alan Wake
- Attack of the Movies 3-D
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
- Red Dead Redemption
- Shrek Forever After
- Split/Second
Wii
- Attack of the Movies 3-D
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
- Shrek Forever After
- Trauma Team
DS
- Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow
- Imagine: Animal Doctor Care Center
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
- Shrek Forever After
PSP
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Coming Soon -
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 : May 23
- Crackdown 2 : July 6
- Starcraft 2 : July 27
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I feel that Red Dead Redemption will prove your choice wrong good sir.
Xbox Live: Cannibal GWJ PS3: CannibalCrowley
Steam: CannibalCrowley
Twitter: CannibalCrowley
I just shed what I hope is my final, silent tear while staring at the PC section of the releases and noticing Alan Wake's glaring absence.
I hope the game is great. I also hope I can play it sooner rather than later.
Steam: Dysplastic
It's good - REALLY good. Changed a LOT since it was first announced though (VERY linear in it's final form, not open world like they had originally planned. Quite short as well, but both those points work in it's favour I think - much like it did for Max Payne).
Finished it twice now, will probably go back for a run through on Hard at some point soon as well.
Awesome soundtrack as well (mix of licenced and original score). I won't spoil what plays over the final credits but...brilliant
Small word of warning for anyone who grabs the collectors edition - you might want to avoid listening to a specific song on the soundtrack CD until you've finished the game -- 'The Poet and the Muse' by "Old Gods of Asgard" (actually Poets of the Fall, playing at being "Old Gods of Asgard").
The lyrics are a key plot point from later in the game (in fact, the whole track is).
Probably not a huge spoiler, but worth keeping in mind.
wow main: Stonesfolly, Teranus EU | Live: stonesfolly | PSN: stevenmack
My ignorance is showing: How did you finish the game twice the day before release?
Do you have a time machine? Can I borrow it?
Certis wrote:
Zigguratbuilder wrote:
PSN name: DoubtingTom396 Frie-hend meeeee uuuuup!
It's out in Europe since May 14th.
Sucks, doesn't it?
My: STEAM ; XBL/GFWL ; SC2.EU
Yep, doesn't happen very often but it came out here last Friday
Although Red Dead is out for us THIS Friday, so balance has been restored
wow main: Stonesfolly, Teranus EU | Live: stonesfolly | PSN: stevenmack
A controversial choice, to be sure, but both Alan Wake and RDR look great.
I expect RDR will have far better sales, though; and Shrek and Prince of Persia might beat them both. That's life.
Thank you for the warning!
I tried the Split Second demo on the PS3 and was pleasantly surprised. The handling of the cars were really great (just slippery enough) and being able to set off big explosions is a ton of fun.
Twitter: Fredrik_S
When did Demon's Souls come out for you guys?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
Not yet. But we're used to it now. You guys, on the other hand...
My: STEAM ; XBL/GFWL ; SC2.EU
What I want most out of Alan Wake is just damned good setting and style. Max Payne was a great game with an absolutely stellar, unique (for gaming) style. If Alan Wake can pull that off, then I don't really care what type of game it ended up as.
"Those wanting to be entertained by something unpredictable and intelligent should procreate or buy a cat." - BishopRS
Agreed.
Steam ID | XBL: MeatManGWJ
"I'm hosting the show, and Andrich has to suck it." - Cory
"Man, I ****in' hate kittens." - Elysium
Well then good news!
The setting is absolutely stunning in places (some of the most breathtaking mountain vista's in any game, EVER during the day...and a new benchmark for creepy forests at night).
I REALLY hope that it eventually comes over to PC down the line as it would look flippin' stunning at higher resolutions on a DX11 rig.
They also really pull off the "Stephen King style sleepy village that's not quite right" vibe, both in the setting and in the storytelling style, and there's some fantastic set pieces (can't wait till people get to the Andersons Farm
).
wow main: Stonesfolly, Teranus EU | Live: stonesfolly | PSN: stevenmack
I have both Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption on the way from Amazon tomorrow. The dilemma is deciding which one to play first.
XBL: The Counselar PSN: TheCounselor Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/TheCounselor
"You realise that you're questioning the internal logic of a game in which a fat plumber rides a dinosaur in space?" Jonman
I would say Alan Wake. It's not going to take you too long to play through (I finished it *twice* in a weekend, the second time scouring every nook and cranny for collectables).
wow main: Stonesfolly, Teranus EU | Live: stonesfolly | PSN: stevenmack
Consoles get Alan Wake and RDR. PCs get... Shrek Forever After.
Certis wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
<+katisu> Q-Stone is an internet genius
Now that Alan Wake is out, what's the next title with a geological era for development time? TF2 is out, DNF is presumed dead. Who will take up this torch?
Nobody should be excluded from games just because they can't afford a cummerbund, top-hat and pince-nez!
If GameFly doesn't send Alan Wake I may just purchase it. I am a whore for narrative games, and Alan Wake sounds like it would be up my alley, but I haven't kept up with it at all really. So it would be a spontaneous investment.
Rockstar can kiss my ass for the most part, especially since they caused a guy to be fired for not bowing down before the "amazing" design and talent (laughable) of the studio.
www.gamertagged.net
http://gamekrib.com/criticalhit
If you're talking about the Aussie journalist that was sacked, that turned out to be false.
Turns out the journalist was fired for posting a private in-house company email on his facebook page.
MS specifically stated that it's a 360 exclusive, so I wouldn't hold your breath. This means I am unlikely to ever play it; although I own an XBox 360, I absolutely loathe the gamepad, so I refuse to play games on the thing unless they are truly spectacular.
Perhaps Alan Wake is such a game, but as yet I am unconvinced.
I wouldn't count it out just yet. There's along history of Xbox "exclusives" eventually working their way over to the PC if the sales go well (Halo, Gears of War, Mass Effect, KOTOR, Fable 1...it even looks like Fable 3 might be heading the way of the beige box).
So, yeah - I'm not yet convinced it WONT turn up on the PC at some point.
wow main: Stonesfolly, Teranus EU | Live: stonesfolly | PSN: stevenmack
Make sure he leaves a tip
FSeven wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
I feel like I've already read so much reaction to Alan Wake (from review excitement to the already toned down and sober, "Awe... well, it's good but not great" post review discussion from sites and reviewers) that I was pretty sure this game had come out last week or even the week before.
To me, it feels like the game has already cycled out.
Looking forward to RDR and Split/Second. I'll be holding off on S/S until the priced drops.
Gamertag: Mister Magnus
PSN: mister_Magnus
Wii: 1541 2865 0801 9696
[quote=stevenmack][quote=gore]
I wouldn't count it out [i]just[/i] yet. There's a[i]long[/i] history of Xbox "exclusives" eventually working their way over to the PC if the sales go well (Halo, Gears of War, Mass Effect, KOTOR, Fable 1...it even looks like Fable 3 [i]might[/i] be heading the way of the beige box).
So, yeah - I'm not yet convinced it WONT turn up on the PC at some point.
[/quote]
Interesting that you mention some of those games. Fable 1 was on pc but not Fable 2 Gears of war1 was on pc but not Gears 2 and again with Halo 2 and 3. I don't know what Microsoft has planned for PC but I get really pissed thinking about it. They don't want you playing those games on pc they would rather you spend money on an Xbox, regardless of how well the sales go. Maybe they're rethinking their pc gaming strategy, maybe it's just wishful thinking.
Moooo... Said the Cow
Alan Wake is an anagram of Weak Anal.
“While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.” - Justice John Paul Stevens
Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is turning into it for me.
Yeah, really. Three years and we haven't heard a thing about the game, unless Portal 2 is Episode 3.
XBL: The Counselar PSN: TheCounselor Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/TheCounselor
"You realise that you're questioning the internal logic of a game in which a fat plumber rides a dinosaur in space?" Jonman
Request:
It would be really nice to start seeing Mac OS X releases on this page. I haven't advocated for this in the past, but I think the release of Steam and the Source engine on the Mac system serves as a milestone for introduction of the Mac as a PC-like gaming platform.
The interest in a TF2 league made me want to warm up my Bootcamp partition again, but Windows is just so painful to update and use I gave up on it - I'll wait until TF2 Mac is released, hopefully this week.
---N
Don't be mean to the Euro people. They get the shaft on release dates so often, let's let them have this one gracefully.
Gamefly just sent me my rental of Alan Wake, so soon I shall be able to join in the convo. It was a tough call between that and RDR, but Rockstar games tend to be hit and miss for me (hate everything GTA, love Bully).
I'm trying not to come across as a PC gamer d*ck, but can't the Mac do this on it's own merits already? My point being, there's nothing preventing the site highlighting Mac games, it's just that they're thin on the ground so there's not a lot to highlight. I'm not going to check if GWJ has listed every game with mac availability, but I don't see why for example when Starcraft2 comes out it needs to be held high and mighty as "Also available on OSX" like a cargo cult rather than just "Mac/PC". And steam is hardly the first digital distribution site to support macs.
Nobody should be excluded from games just because they can't afford a cummerbund, top-hat and pince-nez!