Wake up!

I've mentioned in previous posts that I don't do video game reviews. I'm not back peddling on that, but I do need to gush about a game I rented yesterday. This is not a review!
I just got around to renting Alan Wake for xbox. It is amazing. The closest comparison I can make is that it is similar to survival horror, but Alan Wake is less a traditional video game than it is an interactive story where you shoot stuff. The narrative format is similar to the most recent Alone in the Dark title which took the concept of an episodic television series and tried to apply that to a video game. Each "level" is presented as an episode, starting with a "Previously on ..." and while Alone in the Dark ended each episode literally with closing credits, Alan Wake simply gives you a "End of Episode" splash screen which plays some of the haunting music from it's soundtrack. Which is incredible by the way. The first episode ends with Roy Orbison's surprisingly appropriate and haunting "In Dreams". Alan Wake's "episodes" also (as far as I've played) end with a brief cinematic which ends with a televisionically predictable cliffhanger-like plot reveal. Don't misunderstand me, please, I'm not saying the plot of Alan Wake is predictable, I'm saying that in this style of narrative you usually anticipate an "oh shit!" moment at the end of the episode and Alan Wake does not fail to deliver.
     While the only thing that was truly interesting about Alone in the Dark was this tv-like format, Alan brings a lot more to the table. I am already hooked by the story, which seems heavily influenced by Stephen King stories. Alan Wake has a fantastic narrative, both in terms of the story being told and how the story is told. The game play is tight, killing the creepy baddies is gratifying, and the atmosphere is eerie. I like it, and I'll probably rant more on it once I finish it.