Horror in cottage country

by ERIK LEIJON

There’s a case of mistaken identity in Alan Wake (X360/Microsoft, Remedy), and it has nothing to do with the titular character’s popular crime novels. His latest work-in-progress is coming to life in supernatural fashion during a sojourn in cottage country, but the shocking twist the reader (or in this case gamer) will never see coming is the game itself, a white-knuckle action shooter cloaked in interactive mystery.

Alan Wake, allegedly in development for over six years, seemed poised to be more than simply an entertaining shooter, but just because it isn’t an enveloping, atmospheric story-driven mystery doesn’t mean it’s not a gripping page-turner.

Wake and his wife are on vacation in scenic Bright Falls, home of a famous psychologist who deals with damaged artists. Wake is going through a bout of writer’s block, but after his wife disappears, he discovers a manuscript he doesn’t remember having written is coming true. The forest is now crawling with axe-wielding ghouls and poltergeists are commonplace, so Wake must run, shoot and juke his way across town, saved only by streetlights that scare off the deadly spectres.

All the elements that should have made Alan Wake a classic are in place. The small town is perfectly creepy, and the forest features some of the most incredible shadow effects ever seen in a game. The fighting, which has Wake switching between dodging, shooting and exposing creatures of the night with his flashlight, is frightening in a fumbling-for-the-keys-as-the-killer-approaches kind of way. Wake usually only has a vague idea of where he needs to go next, guided only by distant lights between large gaps of demon-infested darkness. Many of the battles are too much for Wake to handle, so manically running from light to light makes for some tense, near-death moments.

So how does this almost-masterpiece go from Stephen King to Dean Koontz? The forest shootouts are fun, but at some point during the fourth chapter (there are six in total) the game becomes too enamoured with the action sequences, the creepy atmosphere all but cast aside for hordes of enemies to shoot at. Even the supposed light/dark metaphor plays second fiddle, and Wake goes from brooding writer to faceless hero almost instantly. Played from a third-person perspective, Wake moves in a jerky, unreliable manner. It leads to quick deaths because Wake can’t turn around fast enough to handle attacks from behind. Wake’s exaggerated animations also cut into his functionality—he can’t use his weapon in mid-dodge or while he’s being attacked, for instance. You’ll die a lot in Alan Wake, usually in an unavoidable manner, and it can kill the mood. Imagine Friday the 13th if the camp counsellors got a mulligan every couple of minutes.

Have you heard from Johannesburg?

It’s no hardcore sim, but 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (Wii/EA Sports, EA Canada) should suffice as intermission distraction provided you and your friends have nothing better to do in between World Cup matches.

As far as the Wii pitch goes, it doesn’t completely try to reinvent soccer gaming but the minor inclusions of Wii remote controls make it slightly more enjoyable than Canada-vs.-some-other-terrible-soccer-nation. Shooting, headers, slide tackles and anything timing-based can be done by shaking the remote, or the option exists to play with a more standard control scheme.

The penalty kicks are especially fun, as both kicker and goalie need to shake the Wii remote at precisely the right moment. Unfortunately there’s no way to jump into a penalty-kick-only contest.