Double Minireview: Alan Wake/Alpha Protocol

On Vigigames, sometimes due to time constraints, real-life getting in the way, a game-breaking issue or a game just sucking so much that one just can't continue without causing undue psychological trauma, we'll do a Minireview of said game. Be forewarned – these views may be somewhat ill-informed if the game all of a sudden changes drastically about halfway through, but seriously, how often does that happen?

While I'm sure that both of the games that I'll be talking about today change throughout the course of their respective running lengths, I wasn't compelled enough to purchase these games, so my reviews are based on rental time. Underneath each review, I'll list the amount of time I spent playing each game so that if you're somebody who has played either of these games to completion, you won't get too terribly mad at me.

Alan Wake

Alan Wake released the same week as two other extremely high-profile releases (Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2), and while both of those games have been hailed as being the pinnacle of their respective genre, well… it's tough to decide what genre to put Alan Wake in. In some ways, it's a combination of the third-person shooting mechanics of games like Max Payne, minus the flashiness (which makes sense, as Remedy, the developer of this game, also made the Max Payne games) and the moody exploration of the Silent Hill games.

But what Alan Wake wants to remind you of more than gaming's history is film's history, and namely, film's tenuous history with the pulp paperback novel. From what I can tell, the game appears to be a full-length Stephen King blowjob.

Don't get me wrong – Stephen King is an entertaining enough writer, occasionally approaching greatness (see his last novel, Under the Dome, for proof of that fact), and his novels occasionally make for some really good or entertaining movies. The thing is, the man is so hit-or-miss. Think of the movie version of It. Scary enough, until Pennywise turns into that fucking spider. If Alan Wake were a game-length examination of Stephen King's writing for Entertainment Weekly, that would rule, but unfortunately, it's so dedicated to aping the tone and pacing of King's novels/films that it never develops its own identity outside of that milieu, and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to care about games that seem to loathe the fact that they are, indeed, games.

The game starts with a quote from Stephen King (of course; he's God to these guys, apparently) and you're instantly thrust into the shoes of one Alan Wake. He's having some sort of bizarre nightmare that doesn't seem to be all that different from real-life, just with a lot more shooting and stumbling zombie-type creatures who seem to have an awful lot to say to him. This section doubles as the game's tutorial and also implants this notion in the gamer's head (or at least in mine): there's literally nothing to be afraid of. A forest is a great location to instill a sense of isolationary fear in the player, and draping that location in mist gives this section an air of mystery.

The problems, therefore, are twofold – first, while I won't deny that there's been a lot of care and artistry put into creating the environments of the game, they feel just a little too manicured, a little too diorama-esque. It produces somewhat of an uncanny valley effect, but on the environment – it's so close to being real, yet so far away, and that particular style doesn't mesh very well with what should be nightmarish (this is unfortunately not as true of the faces, which in close-up are just downright ghastly). Secondly, the game is not at all afraid to hold your hand, almost oppressively. Getting lost is literally one of the most terrifying things I can think of, but somehow Alan, and therefore, you, always know where to go. It's not a crime to use the environment to funnel the player towards an objective (as long as it isn't stupidly overt), but objective indicators? Especially in a game like this, they have to go.

Here's the basic plot of the game. Alan's been having a tough couple of years. He's a famous writer (so famous that people recognize his face; clearly, a fantasy game, then) who hasn't put ink to paper in the last two years. His wife has decided to take him out to the Washington state countryside to help him collect his thoughts, relax, maybe… write a little bit. That idea doesn't appeal to Alan at all. Especially because he keeps having visions of the townsfolk covered in darkness, and of him burning off said darkness with a flashlight and a pistol.

What this means is that you're going to be doing A LOT of cutscene watching, way more than one theoretically should in what amounts to a survival horror/third-person shooter. The game is fully committed to telling you this story, whether it's particularly interesting or not. While the plot could make for some interesting material (probably in a MOVIE or a BOOK), the game is unfortunately not very interested in developing good characters. Alan is a bit of an asshole, and unless you're a famous novelist asshole, it's going to be uncomfortable to play as him, effectively removing you from emotional investment from the get-go. And while I don't think that a game that has you playing as an asshole would necessarily be a bad thing, the game is gung-ho about getting you to identify with him – there's countless voice-overs and supposedly "deep" examinations of his psyche that just fall flat.

The supporting characters, too, don't do much to help out. They're supposed to be kooky caricatures in the David Lynch Twin Peaks vein, but aren't written nearly strongly enough to justify this treatment. In a lot of ways, the game so far has reminded me of Deadly Premonition, minus all of the inspired insanity and therefore just… kind of boring. In that way, it's a bit like the latest Silent Hill game, but this one's even less successful than that. This type of story and game demands a bit more of an unhinged approach, and trying to do a "serious" take on it just ends up being incredibly mediocre in the story department.

This is true of the gameplay as well. It's competent and presented well, but I never felt compelled by it. It's just kind of… there. There to remind you that you are, indeed, playing a videogame and not just watching a really overlong movie. The reason why the gameplay is so mediocre is basically, well, all you do is run, shine your flashlight on enemies, shoot, do some rudimentary exploration, and turn on generators. Tons and tons of generators.

If that's all that Alan Wake was, it'd be OK – just another mediocre game. But I resent the fact that the game presents itself as an exploration of pulp mass market fiction crossed with Twin Peaks and expects that that's enough to blow people's minds (and judging by the reception the game has received, it has blown some people's minds, as if they'd never watched a Stephen King movie before). But why support a game that's so self-loathing about its status as a game? Because this is what we want from our games? If that's the way we're headed, I'll be the first to say: "no thanks."

(Oh, and all of those "Alan! Wake up!" puns really got on my nerves.)

Time played: two and a half hours.

Alpha Protocol

From one extreme to another – Alan Wake is a game that has been nearly universally praised, and I couldn't give a shit about it, and Alpha Protocol is a game that's been reviled, and completely unfairly so. Especially considering that the game is a Western RPG (which isn't really one of my absolute favourite genres), it's one of the most fun games I've played on my 360 this year.

There's no denying that the plot in Alpha Protocol sucks, but it sucks in exactly the right way. Namely, it's indebted to spy culture, movies and thriller novels, yet uses those places as a starting point for a really fun game. There's a lot of mumbo-jumbo about terrorists, secret weapons, missile launches and such, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that you're a super spy and you're going to kick some ass and the game does a surprisingly good job exploring the life of a spy.

You play as Michael Thornton, who is, unfortunately, a pretty bland guy. Not a "blank slate," per se – there are character traits about him that come into play, but none of them are particularly interesting. He's just kind of… there (and it's unfortunate that the game forces you to play as a white dude, especially given that the game is built on the Mass Effect engine). He's just woken up in a hospital and doesn't remember anything that's happened (*cough* Bourne Identity *cough*) and decides to break out. That only goes so far, though – he gets scooped up by an operative for Alpha Protocol, an underground CIA-type agency.

The game is serious, but in a really fun way. It knows it's ridiculous but plays it with a pretty straight face, so it doesn't fall into winking irony or post-ironic spy culture deconstructions. And as a fan of nearly every bit of spy media I've ever come across, this is perfect. It allows the player to fully embrace the ridiculous situations the game throws your way.

I think part of the problem with the negative reception to this game is that they fully expected it to be a spy version of Mass Effect. And in many ways, it is – it utilizes the same engine and feels almost exactly like that game in terms of controls and presentation. Yet, one must keep in mind that the budget for this game was way, way lower, and Obsidian almost certainly made the game out of a love of spy culture. So little quirks like the fact that Thornton is a bit of a tank in the movement department (it seriously takes forever for him to slow down after walking or running) or that the accuracy of your shots is more determined by math than by your own accuracy, are easily forgiven, at least by me.

The reasons why I'm really positive about this game are for both ephemeral and really direct, gameplay related-reasons. First, the game just feels right. It nails that freewheeling, "we're sending you to Saudi Arabia just because" kind of flavour, making the game unbelievably appealing. As well, the game is the first one since 007: Everything or Nothing to capture the essence of being a superspy, and goes much further than that game ever did. Beyond just being a badass (which you are for most of the game, and let's be honest, that kind of thing isn't really new or exciting in gaming), the game allows you downtime as a spy – it lets you see the whole picture, and that was pretty refreshing to me. The RPG elements really work in this environment.

The other reason? Well, when you're on a mission, the game fucking rules. It is so, so much fun. I don't know what it is, but it seems to have married the stealthy action of Metal Gear Solid with the aforementioned Everything or Nothing, with a little bit of Mass Effect thrown in for good measure. The game doesn't really do anything amazing in this department, but I still couldn't put down the controller, which is quite the accomplishment for this type of game.

I'm fully willing to admit that the game is, from a more objective stance, just kind of OK. The dialog trees are horrendous (often just spelling out what kind of orientation your character is going to take) and the game lacks polish all around. But subjectively, I enjoyed the hell out of it. So as they say in the business, your mileage may vary. It's not great art, and it's not even really a great game, but it's a fun game, and excels at that. Sometimes, that's all you can ask for.

Time played: an hour and a half.