Fans of Remedy’s hit game Alan Wake have reason to celebrate in 2012. Wake makes his triumphant return to the twisted world of dreams in Alan Wake’s American Nightmare — an XBLA release that spins out of the events of the original game but offers enough nuance for new gamers to jump right in without having played the original. The new XBLA title builds on the Fright Night aspect of the original game, while giving gamers an additional survival mode for long-term enjoyment. If you like watching Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) on Supernatural, you’ll enjoy the new feel.
Recently, BuzzFocus had a chance to preview the game hands-on, as well as try out the newly introduced “Fight Till Dawn” survival mode.
The original Alan Wake game focused on story first. Two-thirds of the game centered on Wake’s internal narrative and a lot of self discovery about his environment. Gamers got to use light – in the form of a flashlight – as a means of hurting enemies that crept out of the darkness, before destroying a few undead, supernatural enemies. However, the shooter gameplay was always secondary to the story. Regardless, players were engrossed by the mysterious sequence of unfolding events that made you feel like you were playing through a well written novella.
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare goes for action first and story second, embracing the shooter side of the game and the novelty of light as a weapon to battle the darkness.
The original game featured an in-game TV Show called “Night Springs” that was similar in tone to the 70s Fright Night TV series or the original Twilight Zone. American Nightmare bases the entire story mode in the Route 66 feel of “Night Springs.” Your main enemy is Mr. Scratch, an evil doppleganger version of Wake who heralds the darkness.
New villains include the Splitter, which is one enemy that splits into four enemies. There is also an enemy with Wolverine-like claws who turns into a swarm of bats when you attack. You can use the crossbow when facing this enemy since the crossbow can pierce the darkness without the use of the flashlight.
Other differences from the original game include a change in narration. Instead of Wake narrating, the “Night Springs” host handles all the narration in this game. The collected story pages have greater significance in American Nightmare. Alan is actually looking for the story pages so that he can recreate the fiction on the page and complete story puzzles. There are also more destructible environment pieces.
The Fight Till Dawn survival mode features five maps. Each game is 10-minutes long. Hordes of undead monsters will attack and players can utilize very street lamps as safe zones. The street lamps also replenish energy, but can be used only once. The action in Fight Till Dawn is relentless and the hordes of supernatural beings will make you feel like you’re in the middle of a game of Dead Rising. Using the nail gun is a lot of fun in this mode, however if you haven’t practiced your aim it is easy to run out of nails quickly. Like all games, it’s important to learn the maps so that you know where various weapons and ammo caches spawn. Gamers will earn various multipliers throughout play and the mode will recognize Undamaged Streaks.
Remedy has enlisted licensed band music for American Nightmare, including the UK band Kasabian. The game will also have a “Nightmare” mode that can be unlocked.
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare will hit XBLA in the first quarter of 2012. If you own an Xbox 360, this will be one of the top downloadable games to look out for this year. The Supernatural style and hordes of Arcade action are a definite win.
