Stephen King : The Videogame.

You are creeping through the woods, flashlight in hand frantically scanning the trees for the evil you know is lurking in the dark places beyond the shaft of safe light.

Your attention is caught by a sudden movement off to the side and your heartbeat races but as you turn it's plain to see that it was only a bird spooked as you pass by. As you reach the clearing you recognise the nearby bridge from the page of a manuscript you read only that morning. A manuscript you wrote but don't remember, but now you know what awaits you on the other side. And your blood goes cold.

But you must keep going to save the life of your wife.

This is the world of Alan Wake.

Alan Wake is a Xbox 360 game that has been in development for a number of years. It centers around the fictional thriller novelist as he takes a holiday to recharge his batteries in a small midwestern American town. However once his wife goes missing he'#s plunged into a living nightmare.

More an action adventure game than survival horror the game is an atmospheric little treat as you nervously stalk around in the woods. The key gimmick is the conflict between light and dark. The local townsfolk have been infected by a dark presence and to fend them off you must first burn off the darkness with the light of you torch before being able to finally shoot them down.

It's a simple mechanic that keeps the action of the game fun throughout it's playtime. But what really keeps you playing is the combination of sky high production values and an intriguing story that twists and turns right upto it's Twilight Zone style ending (it's no mistake the in game TVs all show episodes of a Twilight Zone knock off)

With set pieces ranging from a haunted asylum going all Poltergeist to fighting off advancing hordes from a rockband stage the game also has a sly sense of humour about itself. It's not the giant leap forward or masterpiece that the lengthy development time might have suggested but it's solid game and well worth a few hours of your time.



Recommended.