Alan Wake's American Nightmare
A downloadable spin-off following Alan Wake's battle with his evil doppelgänger.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare, a third-person shooter from Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios, hit the Xbox 360 worldwide on February 22, 2012. A Windows version arrived later: May 22 in North America, June 29 in Europe, and November 15 in Australia. It's a downloadable spin-off and follow-up to the 2010 game *Alan Wake*.
The combat sticks close to the original: you've got to shine a flashlight on enemies before you can hurt them with guns. But this time around, the action is heavier. You'll find more ammo and a bigger arsenal, including a machine gun, nail gun, crossbow, and combat shotguns. Some weapons are locked inside cases scattered across the maps, and you need a certain number of collectible manuscript pages to open them. (Those pages were in the first game too, but there they only added to the story.) There's also an arcade mode where Alan faces tougher and tougher waves of enemies. Beating a wave unlocks new arcade maps, and the weapons you get depend on how many pages you've found in the story mode.
The story centers on Alan Wake, a former bestselling crime novelist. On vacation in Bright Falls, Washington, he ran into the Dark Presence, a supernatural force that forced him to write a horror novel—making the story real. That worked through the Dark Place, a weird alternate dimension under Cauldron Lake. Alan beat the Dark Presence by rewriting the manuscript's ending, freeing Bright Falls but trapping himself in the Dark Place.
This game focuses on Mr. Scratch, a doppelgänger of Alan created by Cauldron Lake's power. After Alan vanished, false rumors spread, and the Dark Place turned that misinformation into a real, purely evil version of Alan. Mr. Scratch works for some unknown entity from the Dark Place and wants to plunge Earth into darkness. Alan has to stop him to protect humanity—especially his wife, Alice. Like the Dark Presence, Mr. Scratch can possess people, turning them into "Taken" monsters that only die when light hits them.
The action takes place in Night Springs, a fictional town Alan wrote into existence. There he meets a few locals who help: auto mechanic Emma Sloan, astronomer Dr. Rachel Meadows, and art curator Serena Valdivia.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Alan Wake's American Nightmare
- Developer
- Remedy EntertainmentRemedy co-developed the Microsoft Windows port with Nitro Games.
- Publisher
- Microsoft Studios · Remedy Entertainment (PC)
- Director
- Sam Lake · Kai Auvinen
- Writer
- Mikko Rautalahti · Sam Lake
- Composer
- Petri Alanko
- Platforms
- Xbox 360 · Windows
- Released
- Xbox 360WW · 22 February 2012WindowsNA · 22 May 2012 · EU · 29 June 2012 · AU · 15 November 2012
- Genre
- Third-person shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Alan Wake's American Nightmare revolves around the titular Alan Wake, a former bestselling author of crime fiction. During a vacation to Bright Falls, Washington, Alan encountered a supernatural entity known as the Dark Presence, which forced him to write a manuscript that turned events into reality through the power of the Dark Place. Alan defeated the Dark Presence but was trapped within the Dark Place. The game focuses on Mr. Scratch, a doppelgänger of Alan created by the power of Cauldron Lake when false rumors spread of Alan's disappearance; the Dark Place turned this misinformation into reality, forming a purely evil version of Alan. Mr. Scratch serves an unknown entity from the Dark Place and seeks to plunge the Earth into darkness. Alan must defeat Mr. Scratch to protect humanity, particularly his wife, Alice Wake. The game takes place in Night Springs, a fictional town brought to life by Alan's writings, where he encounters auto mechanic Emma Sloan, astronomer Dr. Rachel Meadows, and art curator Serena Valdivia.
Reader's Guide
Alan Wake's American Nightmare uses the same combat mechanics as the original Alan Wake: Alan must focus his flashlight on enemies before firing weapons. The game is more battle-focused, with more ammunition and a wider variety of weapons, including a machine gun, nail gun, crossbow, and combat shotguns. Some weapons are unlocked via cases found throughout the maps, each requiring a certain number of acquired manuscript pages to open. Collectible pages were also featured in the original Alan Wake, though they had only served to provide an additional story element. The game also features an arcade mode where Alan faces increasingly difficult waves of enemies; new arcade maps are unlocked as they are successfully beaten, and available weapons are determined by the number of pages recovered in story mode. The plot is framed by the narration of an episode of the fictional TV show Night Springs, which appeared on television screens throughout the original Alan Wake. The narrative involves Alan trapped in a time loop by Mr. Scratch, repeating events until he can gather a complete message to write a new reality that destroys Mr. Scratch. A post-credits scene shows Barry Wheeler waking up suddenly, believing he has heard Alan's voice.
Did You Know?
- The game was hinted at on 9 May 2011 when 'Alan Wake 2' appeared on a curriculum vitae, but Remedy stressed it would not be considered 'Alan Wake 2' nor mere add-on content.
- The soundtrack includes the song 'Club Foot' by British indie rock band Kasabian, which plays a pivotal role in the game's narrative.
- Poets of the Fall composed two new songs for the game: 'The Happy Song' and another.
- The game's first image was released by GameInformer on 7 November 2011.
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