Alan Wake: The Writer review

Today saw the release of the Alan Wake "Special Feature 2" also known as "The Writer".  Alan Wake is a whirlwind adventure travelling deep within the mind of the gamer, and reaching to the edges of reason.

First off I bought Alan Wake on day one with all the bells and whistles, not previously knowing much I thought I would give it a shot. I was immediately encapsulated by the way this game gripped me, suffering from the recent ending of the TV program LOST, Alan Wake seemed to fit perfectly into my thought provoking needs. After completing the game I was left wanting more which was answered with the first DLC "The Signal." The release of "The Writer" plunged me back into the world of Alan Wake and the plot twists which I have come to love. "The Writer" sets off where "The Signal" ends, with Alan following the signal sent to him from the mysterious character "Zane". Alan is still stuck within the dark place yet is not as deep as he was within the first DLC. The ultimate objective is to reach the cabin where it all started and "clear your mind." On the way Alan returns to familiar places such as the vault, the writer retreat etc. Yet all these places are twisted, and Remedy has used great use of the engine by manipulating gravity to such a degree that the player must think non-laterally. First Alan must reach the lighthouse which you visit in the opening tutorial in the main game, through here you can reach the cabin. One of the nice things about the combat system for this DLC is that you are not required to fire a bullet, this is not because there is no Taken, there are LOADS of Taken, yet the power of words in the form of exploding barrels, and light itself - which radiates from the lighthouse, can decimate those hoards quite easily. As stated above, Remedy has been using gravity along with platforming to solve that tricky route around the whirlwind. A part I personally enjoyed was when Alan was running on a large hamster wheel where he see locations within the main game and characters that go within them. Although The Writer is a full "episode" it did seem shorter than a full episode within the main game, yet this could just be me. I clocked the completion of this on normal at around an hour, which for a DLC pack costing 560 MSP is not bad. There is also great re-playability within the DLC as there are collectibles to grab in the form of 10 Night Springs video games. Overall I would most certainly recommend The Writer to any Alan Wake fan. If you are a gamer who enjoys a game that make you think, then this is for you.

Rating: 8/10

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