Alan Wake Postponed...Again...

It's beginning to look more and more like Alan Wake may not make it to an XBox near you.

You may remember my post last year about the game, originally planned for release on XBox 360, Playstation and PC until they signed an exclusive contract with Microsoft. It was announced as the next biggest survival horror game, but it was the billing as a "psychological thriller" that interested me.

But after being first unveiled in early 2005, its release date is continually being pushed off. For a long time the developers said to expect it in 2008, but yet again they've postponed it until 2009. You can read more about it here.

As Remedy Entertainment has said, they'll release it "when it's done". That's fine, but is it really worth spending an extra year to get those trees to look just right when the game itself may take two weeks to play?

My insatiable curiosity for suspense and clever plots that cheerfully drag you on a daytrip through Hell is slowly being replaced by irritation and overwhelming boredom. As other fans have already suggested, by the time this game comes out it may already fall woefully behind the games other developers have created to keep up with changing technology. Come on, Remedy: it may be the "best game ever to exist in the history of computerized entertainment"...but it's still just a game.

In the meantime, it's been suggested to me that I turn my sights to a suitable replacement for Alan Wake. It's called Overclocked: A History of Violence, released for the PC by Lighthouse Interactive a couple of months ago. According to those who have played it, what it lacks in updated sound and visuals it more than makes up for in actual plot and gameplay. You play Army psychiatrist David McNamara, called into the Staten Island Forensic Hospital on a case involving five individuals who were found wandering the streets of New York naked, screaming and each holding a gun. They don't remember anything, and it's up to David to figure out what happened. A warning in advance to those of you who don't like getting in over your head: as one game reviewer put it, "It's advisable not to go anywhere near Overclocked if you're looking for a game to cheer you up."

Will I play it? Honestly, I have no idea yet. There's too much going on in my life right now to decide that. But Overclocked does seem to fit my requirements: it's dark, suspenseful, a psychological thriller...and most importantly, available.

Trailer:

Alan Wake

For a couple of years now, Remedy Games has been working on what they call a "psychological action thriller" titled Alan Wake (you can view the trailer here). It's been featured at the last three E3 Expos, each time giving fans a glimpse of what the game will look like when it actually comes out; there's no set date as to when it will be released, Remedy claiming only that it will be out "when it's done".

There are a number of things I find fascinating about this game. I'm always a sucker for a game with a well developed plot, and Alan Wake promises to deliver an intriguing story (after over three years in development, I would certainly hope it has one.) Remedy claims the game will be far more character-driven than their other well-known titles--namely, Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto. Considering my interest in those titles is set firmly below 0%, my expectations are high.

Light is supposed to play an integral part in the game, which is fairly unique. Remedy has already said one of the greatest weapons in Alan's arsenal will be a flashlight. This brings a special meaning to the traditional "light vs. dark" war.

Supposedly everything in the game has meaning. Even Alan's name ties in with the game's theme: the tagline is "I Am Awake", from which the developers came up with "A. Wake" (or Alan Wake.)

The funny part is, depending on how violent the game turns out, I may not actually even play it. I'm more of an adventure and puzzle-solving fan, and have always preferred the experience of progressing through a storyline over the gameplay itself. I'm not even really a fan of the survivor-horror genre, I'm just intrigued by the stories behind a few of the games. As a result, I'll sometimes trawl YouTube to look for cutscenes and endings of games I deem too graphic or violent to actually play; that way I can satisfy my curiosity of the plotline while avoiding the resulting nightmares. (Hey, it worked for me with Silent Hill.)

Then again, this may all be a moot point if they keep putting off the release date. Right now it's set for Spring 2008, but as they've already told us: it'll be ready "when it's done".