Alan Wake: The Signal, is the first DLC title for the Alan Wake series. Personally, I do not like paid DLC content in games as I do believe that, if it can be made into DLC it SHOULD be available in the game. However, I will ignore that for this review since this content did come with my Collectors Edition. Since this is a DLC, it will be a relatively short review however since this was not covered in the main review, no harm in reviewing this. This takes sometime after the end of the main game therefore be warned that this review my contain some spoilers in relation to storyline and gameplay.
Title Image: Taken from an image of the Alan Wake cardboard cutout from the Official Alan Wake forums.
Once Again, there will be spoilers in this review, so if you haven already played the main game….
GO
BACK
NOW!
Still fine with reading? Not going to go and cry in the corner now that the main storyline of the game would have been spoiled? If you are sure, then please scroll down just a little bit further to enjoy this review.
Alan successfully managed to defeat Barbara and free Alice from the dark place, however so far, there is no way of knowing if he managed to survive or escape the dark place himself after completing the story. Alan realizes that he is walking into the same cafe that he did at the start of the main story, however things seem to be off, everything is repeating itself as it did that day, and their voices are distorted. There he learns that he himself has written him into another horror story, and his main enemy? Himself?
The storyline of this bonus chapter generally doesnt contribute much to the original storyline, besides that fact that Alan did not successfully escape the dark place, and now must face someone who appears in TV’s that is similar to a mad version of himself. He is contacted by Thomas Zane and told that he must follow the phones GPS signal to an area of this world where he may be able to help him, therefore, he must traverse through a distorted Bright Falls to may his way to the area.
It is generally an appropriate storyline however I didnt feel that it was enough to really feel like a worthwhile contribution to the storyline, and considering they just announced there will most probably only be two DLC episodes including this one, makes me concerned how they may wrap the storyline up overall IF they do not release a sequel.
Primarily during the game, Alan, and for a while an illusion of Barry are the only character prominent in the game, alongside, if you read my quick storyline outline above, a psychopathic Alan Wake in the TV and Thomas Zane. The other characters are generally non-existant in this game nay for some cardboard cutouts and memory scenes of the characters found around the levels.
Graphic and music quality are generally the same as the main game, however in terms of graphics, as this is a warped story of Alan’s, the environments are taken from the main game, but modified to either include a more run-down feel including large gaps in the roads or power poles suddenly arising from the ground. More impressive however was the final boss of the DLC which seemed different, even by this games standards and the replacement of the ravens in a certain level with copies of Alan’s books, always fun seeing literature kill.
Gameplay is the same as the main game however the difficulty of the levels were increased slightly to include what I suppose they would consider the “best bits” of the main game such as dodging ravens whilst avoiding a large swarm of shadows which would appear if you shone a light on the corresponding word, monster trucks and several new and unseen challenges. The first time I found that I died quite a considerable number of times, however after a few shots I was able to get through the whole level without dying once, a requirement for an achievement. Just like the previous game, there are a large number of collectible items for you to collect throughout the levels in order to earn achievements such as cardboard cutouts of the characters and alarm clocks. Overall this should take you a maximum of two or so hours to complete.
This was an enjoyable addition to the series and added some much needed difficulty to the game. However, I would have appreciated it to be just a little bit longer or incorporated a bit more of a storyline then following a GPS signal. I look forward to seeing the next DLC which is supposed to be coming out at earliest, late this year.
Score
Storyline: 7
Characters: 8
Graphics: N/A
Music: N/A
Gameplay: 7
Replayability: 7
Personal Opinion: 8
Overall Score: 7.5
