An Xbox 360 exclusive this year and one of the most anticipated games,
Alan Wake is finally released in May this year after five long years of
development and waiting. A little over two months after the release of
the excellent Alan Wake, as promised, Remedy offers us of the first DLC,
‘The Signal’. And we’re not going to be asked to back into the darkness
of Bright Falls. The victim of writer’s block syndrome returns July 27
in the form of DLC. This downloadable content called The Signal.
Direct result of the game Alan Wake (for those who have not completed
the game it will be difficult to deal with this additional content and
for others it is better to read directly the conclusion not to discover
some details of the DLC ), The Signal is actually episode 7 of the
adventure in which we find our author under the influence of demons that
are his, until he was trapped in his own dreams or nightmares … The
black shadow is everywhere and plans Alan Wake in a dream where he finds
himself in Bright Falls, a place he knows well but like all dreams,
nothing is real or normal. The elements of sets are more logically
related and can be found in a forest after having opened a door for
example.
Needless to say it is strongly advised to have completed the game before
trying to DLC, less for obvious spoilers for the near-zero interest to
take the story in progress. The signal therefore takes the full game
where we had left. It does not say more but obviously this new
downloadable content, in line with previous episodes, we still lost in
the maze of the imagination of Alan Wake. Developers are again well with
the different levels reading and deepen reflection on the act of
creation, in the words of Rudolph. Demiurge of a world that no longer
masters (Black Shadow is more present than ever), Alan Wake is a
creative sick, trapped by his own work. Unless everything is finally a
dream? If The Signal offers no revelation, it offers some interesting
ideas on a possible interpretation, though, wisely, always leaves Remedy
for doubt.
Completely lost, however, Alan gets a great help to get out of this
nightmare that none other than Thomas Zane, a writer who died. This
character or voice that will guide our hero to the signal that will
bring it to the output during this episode totally unrealistic. In fact,
sudden changes in the environment are very confusing for Alan, even
following this signal and in its path elements or the same people that
are familiar.
As for the gameplay include a still evolving. While the torch was the
primary weapon system in the original game, it could be harmful in this
DLC. Alan is so mesmerized by his imagination as words appear on the
screen and eventually become the backbone of the gameplay. For example,
"tool", "gun", "bang", "Smoke", "enemy" on the screen and it will
suffice to enlighten them take shape in reality. The words will
therefore important to recover the ammunition or weapons, but they can
also turn against you.
Less successful in terms of gameplay, Alan Wake still reserving some
action scenes of great intensity. In just under 2 hours of play, DLC
accumulates. Relentlessly assails Black Shadow writer and moments of
respite are scarce or nonexistent. After a first sequence echoing the
first chapter of the game, it goes straight into the heart of the matter
(the difficulty is logically quite high). The signal takes on the
player by the throat and never relax its grip. And among the many
bravura passages, one example is the passage in which Alan must navigate
a multitude of illuminated words, which symbolize many enemies ready to
spring up under the light of his flashlight (nice irony since his only
weapon turns then cons him).
Beyond the power of this sequence, its symbolism also shows how the
scenario has been thought. It was also criticized for its repetitiveness
Alan Wake when some woodland walks. There is none of that in this new
episode. Developers have actually built an amazing journey (constantly
changing) where Alan Wake revert some of the most prominent of Bright
Falls.
A very striking passage of this episode fully exploits the power of
words and the light in the forest, several words like "enemy" or "boom"
are before you as you have some zombies on your tail, you have to cross
by illuminating the fewest possible words may find yourself with extra
enemies or blow you up and reduce your life gauge. This passage pretty
much sums up the action of The Signal on a steady pace from beginning to
end, and the problem appears even higher in the game. With the hectic
pace and sustained action, this new episode up as a little more light on
the history and fun for us to lose more. Undoubtedly, it is far from
done with the Remedy novelist.
Conclusion:
True to its construction based on that of a TV series, The Signal refers
us with happiness in the tortured mind of Alan. The Signal is a success
at work, Remedy has had the good idea to vary the gameplay compared to
the main game, and keeps us in suspense from beginning to end. A purpose
that is unfortunately a bit too quickly, because you need a little less
than 2 hours to complete the extension, the new success you will still
maybe play it again and to iron a little longer. At the narrative level,
we will not learn much more about the plot but like any good series, we
want to see the following will happen with The Writer.
