So, I've been trying to catch SVGL up on things that I've written but not really talked much about, and I was just going to let the Alan Wake discussion go, figuring it's too old and stuff. But I saw that Mitch Krpata talked about it kind of recently, which makes it okay by me.
His issue with Alan Wake reminds me a lot of my problem with Shadow Complex (your urgent salvation can wait while I search around for some more collectibles, dear!). But when I wrote about Alan Wake, I had a different kinda-issue with what was otherwise a pretty good game.
It may not be the 'greatest writing' of my career, but I think this article, on the attrition of Japanese survival horror in the face of Western design best practices, is maybe one of the more 'useful' things I've ever written. I'm still not especially convinced we can ever get the survival horror genre's heyday back -- if for no other reason than I've hopelessly idealized my teen gaming experiences, perma-preserved the glory of old franchises under the gloss of nostalgia, and jacked my expectations for future games beyond all meeting.
Actually, I thought Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was really good. And I think Alan Wake is pretty good. I wouldn't say I loved it; some parts of it impressed me greatly, and I didn't find it forgettable.
I did write this article recently about why it wasn't that scary, though. Read that for my whole thoughts on the game.
Okay, I was scared sometimes. But there were enough holes in it that kept it from really grabbing me. What'd you guys think?
[Today's Good Song: 'You Cried Me', Jookabox (check Rafa Toro's sweet and cute-scary vid for it, too.)]
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