Publisher: Remedy
Developer: Remedy
System requirements: Windows XP SP2/Vista/Win 7, 2 GB dual core/2.8 GB AMD or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB DirectX 10-compatible graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 8 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

One of the most powerful weapons a storyteller has in his arsenal is ambiguity. Think about the ending of Inception. The spinning totem in the final shot has inspired countless hours of discussion about its significance. Now comes the PC version of Alan Wake, a third-person action-adventure game initially released two years ago for Xbox 360. Through the narration of its protagonist, a best-selling author of horror novels, developer Remedy has fashioned a world of compelling ambiguity: How much of what we see is a memory? A dream? The product of a damaged psyche? For that matter, is the narrator even telling the truth?

One thing does become clear the moment the game begins: Alan Wake is a visual masterwork. Consider this scene from the opening chapter, set in a spooky corner of New England that could’ve been lifted from the pages of a Stephen King novel: Wake stumbles onto a remote road, his flashlight illuminating the night. In the distance, he can see a lighthouse, its beam piercing a veil of quickly moving fog to show the way to safety. To his left, a fierce whirlwind — the manifestation of a character from one of his novels — starts kicking up debris and moving toward him. Alan Wake is built on scenes like this, all of which are artistically and technically impressive. The only obvious visual blemish is the flat and stiff facial graphics and animation, which betray the game’s age.

Perhaps good storytelling and superb graphics no longer impress you. Maybe you look beneath the skin, where the meat of your experience with a game lies. I have good news for you as well. When developing Alan Wake, Remedy created a nearly perfect balance of exploration, light puzzle solving, escape sequences and combat. The latter is unique in that it consists of two layers: using your flashlight to burn darkness from your enemies, and then pumping them full of lead. This design creates interesting dilemmas when more than one enemy is attacking: Do you burn them all and then shoot them down, or take care of them one at a time? Do you use your flare gun, which does the job of both the flashlight and the gun, or save it for later? My only quibble is with the camera and the controls, which feel copied and pasted from the console version. What Remedy has included works, it just feels made for something other than a PC keyboard and mouse.

It takes awhile for Alan Wake to gain traction. Remedy frequently takes control away from the player to show a scripted sequence or a cinematic, and these interruptions can be a pain. But toward the end of the first chapter, as the combat intensified, I started to feel a pulse, and the longer I played, the stronger it became. Alan Wake not only delivers a great aesthetic experience and solid gameplay, but it also creates an atmosphere of true horror. Few games have achieved this same level of chilling immersion. What’s more, when I was done, I felt as though I had read a good novel. That I still have questions about what it all means makes the game that much more memorable.

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