The Game Everyone Should Have Played and Didn't

Alan Wake, and Xbox 360 Exclusive, developed over so many years by European developer Remedy was the Psychological Thriller that gamers had been waiting for so many years. A survival horror that fed that need that Resident Evil 5 was unable to fulfill. A game that has you using light in a different kind of way.

Alan Wake tells the story of well, Alan Wake. A writer suffering from writers block who just wants to get away from it all. His job, his Agent and the stress' of city life. Escaping to the mountains with his wife for a vacation and staying in a cabin, Alan discovers it may not be the trip he'd expected. A third member of the party has decided to come along, and in his rage, Alan decides to go out walk-about and catch a breather. As it gets dark, his wife begins to panic in fear of the dark. Trying to get to her, Alan finds she's no longer there and is missing. In search to to find her, Alan must battle the darkness and something unusual lines his path. Pages from a book he'd never written, but possibly of the predicament he's now living.

When I think of Uncharted, I think of going to the movie theater as it has that cinematic feel. However, when I play Alan Wake, I feel like I'm at home watching a TV series. The presentation to me is what makes Alan Wake what it is. Its starts out as a TV series would: 'Previously on Alan Wake' and recaps you on what's happened.

My only gripes with the game are its controls. The button layout just doesn't feel right. I'm not a fan of the Xbox 360 controller, as Cliff Bleszinski isn't a fan of the Dualshock 3, but the bumpers have never felt as they should to me. Also, having been an Xbox 360 exclusive, I'd expected the graphics of the game to be much better and much cleaner. If that's the extent of the Xbox 360's power this many years in. Ouch. All-the-same. Alan Wake has an excellent story with a gripping atmosphere you just can't and shouldn't say no to. If you have an Xbox 360, you owe it to yourself to play this game. Easily one of the Xbox 360 finest and exclusive to Microsoft's platform.