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Alan Wake's American Nightmare
In the world of Alan Wake, there is an Urban Legend about a man who took his wife out into the woods and murdered her. This man is Mr. Scratch, Alan Wake's dark doppelgänger who emerged from the Dark Place, a reality that was featured in the first Alan Wake game.We previously detailed the first half hour of American Nightmare, but at this year's CES we got hands on time with another level of the game. This is our journey through Alan Wake's dark twisted fantasy.
The first Alan Wake was a survival suspense title that drew inspiration from shows like Twin Peaks and writers like Stephen King. American Nightmare, on the other hand, has a more urban sci-fi vibe, and has drawn from sources like Route 66 and Quentin Tarantino's From Dusk Till Dawn.
The game takes place in a fictional Arizona town called Night Springs. The whole place seems eerily reminiscent of a television show, also called Night Springs, which Wake worked on early in his career.
When the game starts, Alan Wake receives a message from Mr. Scratch telling him that Scratch has kidnapped his wife and is holding her hostage. Alan then sets off to rescue her, but in order to do that he needs to get more information from three women who knows some of Mr. Scratch's secrets.
Like the first game, Wake will need to hit his enemies with light before they become vulnerable. Unlike the first game, he now has access to some more powerful weapons, such as this semi-automatic SMG.
As we headed up the hill towards an observatory, we were attacked by a large brute.These guys go down just like the rest, but if you let them get too close, they'll take you out with their giant circular saw.
Another enemy, called the Grenadier, attacks from a distance with grenades, while a foe called the bird man turns into a flock of birds when we shoot at him and then flies behind us, catching us by surprise.
After fighting off a large wave of enemies with a few flares, we come to the observatory. Remedy tells us that at this point in the game Alan receives a cryptic message from the stars that will influences the direction of the game's story, but before we get to see this cryptic message for ourselves, the demo comes to a close.
Our time with Alan Wake was short, but we're looking forward to exploring more the this eccentric writers macabre world when this downloadable title hits Xbox Live during Microsoft's upcoming House Party rollout in February and March.
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