With the recent unveiling of eight new screenshots for the upcoming “psychological action thriller” Alan Wake, the buzz is back and I can just feel the hype rising around me. I have been trying my best to avoid all the high praise of a game that has yet to been released, but as a huge fan of games that want to make me wet myself I can no longer ignore the fact that this Xbox 360 exclusive is only 4 months away. One of my main concerns is that Alan Wake will not live up to my expectations of getting my heart thumping, my palms sweaty and my bum constantly situated at the edge of my chair.

To create a great thriller you need to think about how you’re going to inject the “Fear Factor” into your game and today I would like to tear apart the information we know about Alan Wake and see if I should order myself a new set of underwear so I am prepared for the best case scenario.

Fear Factor 1 – Atmosphere & Environment

Games such as Silent Hill are the masters of creating an environment that gets the hairs on the back of your neck standing to attention and that awkward lump forming in your throat. Here we have an old, deserted town full of fog, eery sounds and dark secrets that quickly fill all of your senses. With twisted creations, a history packed with violence and the ability to burn gruesome images into your retinas (check out “Silent Hill Fukuro” if you don’t believe me), Silent Hill is the Godfather of the thriller genre.

With Alan Wake we know that light and dark play major roles in this game, ( Remedy have implemented a day-time and night-time cycle) to the point where your flashlight may actually be the best weapon in your arsenal. From the screenshots we can tell that the town of Bright Falls, where the game is due to be set, is a location that most would find scary at night – You are in the middle of nowhere, away from the bright lights of a city and dense forestry surrounds you, cutting you off from the rest of the world. Take away the comfort of being able to actually see what is around you and you find your heart rate beginning to increase.

Fear Factor 2 – Tension & Apprehension

Dead Space was a real winner for making me jump out of my skin. The premise of the game meant that at any moment a large, rabid creature with razor-sharp appendages could fall from the ceiling above me and tear me to pieces in seconds. A memorable moment for me was standing in a room full of mutilated corpses and hearing a voice singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” echo around me through the ship’s ventilation system. There was a strong sense of doom about the situation and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

I can only hope that Alan Wake is on par with this game, but I have a feeling that the nail-biting moments will be created through the means of the story and not through the actions of the enemy themselves. Alan is a writer who finds himself facing up to his latest piece of fiction, a horrific tale that he cannot remember writing, being played out right in front of his very eyes. His wife has gone missing and he finds himself trapped in a waking nightmare. I believe the anxiety we will feel, as the gamer, will stem from Alan himself and the hurdles he will face in this game – Both physical and mental. I made a note that during the trailer a man was to be heard telling Alan “it’s all in your head”, something that anyone with a distressing story to share would hate to hear. I have a theory that we may become witness to a man’s descent into madness, but I could be wrong. We’ll see.

Fear Factor 3 – Beyond Control

The quickest way to get someone feeling dread in the pit of their stomach is to put them in a situation that they cannot control. In a game this is not something that is difficult to achieve at all as every decision you make is pretty much pre-determined by the the creators of the game.

A good example of how the developers throw their players into uncontrollable situations is by introducing an enemy that is unlike any other. In Silent Hill it was Pyramid Head, who wanted nothing more than to slice and dice you; in Dead Space it was The Hunter, who was out to rip your body into two; and in F.E.A.R it was Alma, who loved nothing more than to fuck with your head. I have no doubt that there is going to be something in Alan Wake that requires the gamer to turn on their tail and run for the hills. I will be extremely disappointed if the game lacks that “OH SHIT.. RUUUUUN!” factor.

There are not many games under the “Psychological Thriller” genre so Alan Wake does not have much competition in this field, but it will have some tough critics to please. As I have done so above, it WILL be compared to the top games of its category and let’s keep our fingers crossed that Remedy have risen to the challenge. They had great success with the Max Payne series (before they sold the rights to TakeTwo) and if they play their cards right, Alan Wake will be the game that gets their name back on gamers’ tongues.

Now there are several qualms that I need to get out of the way before I can get to the juicy, shall we say prime-cut stuff! First and foremost, you have to like Real-time Strategy. Second, you have to be of a patient temperament – if you don’t have experience in this genre you will be ‘owned’ in your first game, and probably tenth thereafter. Finally, you need a friend who can invite you because I’m afraid ladies and gentlemen this game is still in the beta stages.

Gameplay – A delicate mix of Counter-Strike, Dark Age of Camelot, and Warcraft III – If that’s at all possible.

HoN is an up-to five versus five online RTS experience, where you control one character or ‘hero’ from a pool of sixty. Each hero has a unique selection of four skills, which can be ‘leveled up’ as the characters overall level increases (up to a maximum of 25). These skills can then be used to defeat enemy heroes or creeps (the AI computer controlled NPCs).

At the start of the game, each team spawns on either side of the map in their respective bases. The teams are split into Legion and Hellbourne (depending on your preference for almighty good or the armies of hell). The overall objective is to work your way into the enemy base and destroy the central building (World Tree for Legion, Sacrificial Pit for Hellbourne). This is done by attacking in one of three ‘lanes’ en-route to the enemy base. Each lane has a number of towers to destroy along the way, and while pushing the ‘lane’, AI-controlled creeps run from each base and can be killed to gain experience and gold advantage over the other team.

Throughout the game gold is obtained automatically every second, or by killing enemy creeps and enemy heroes. The money is then used to purchase items to make your hero stronger, harder, faster and better. Items can then be combined to create your very own Sword of a Thousand Truths.

Think miniaturised fantasy-themed transformers battling it out in a well organised 5v5 matchup. Essentially I like to equate HoN to a player versus player game of World of Warcraft, condensed into an hour’s session (for those of us who just can’t keep up with all that grinding and leveling).

Visual Presentation - Why can’t a competitive title that prides itself on engaging gameplay also have kick ass graphics?

Well, it can. Despite some DotA players accusing HoN of overindulging in graphical prowess, what we are essentially presented with is an extremely visceral and well-polished engine. The landscapes are full of vibrant colours and the various spell/ability effects pop out of the screen like James Cameron’s latest 3D cinematic epic Avatar.

Yes things can get a bit overcrowded when all hell breaks loose and ten heroes start going at each other, but it still works, and the fact that the game looks great certainly doesn’t distract the player from the fundamental objective of beating down your foe with an extremely large war hammer.

The texturing is obviously a step up from Warcraft III (considering how old that game is now), and I think people will be surprised with what a good job S2 Games have done with essentially a ‘mod game’.

Team Play – Two hands are better than one..

Like DotA this game prides itself on its team-play aspects. Like many of my fondest multiplayer experiences, the game revolves around using your hero’s abilities to compliment your teammate’s skills. You won’t win games unless you work as a team, and S2 Games have introduced some nice features to encourage this. The ability to use in game voice chat is a welcome addition to spamming your team in text chat, or ‘pinging’ on the map (highlighting areas on the mini map for your teammates to see).

Conclusion – Give it a try

As far as improvements on DotA go see a list here. My overall feeling is that if you like competitive games, and more specifically don’t mind RTS, then you should definitely check it out (providing you can get a key). As far as a release date goes – it looks like sometime within the next few months.

If you’re a DotA player sitting on the fence – I felt the same way even after a few games of HoN. But like any of these things, it took time and patience before I really started to appreciate what a great game this is turning out to be.

What’s the reason for this insanity? Well, currently, I am a fan, not of the final product, but of what it represents.  I am certain that Heavy Rain is going to change gaming irrevocably, and those of you that have read my article, ‘2010: The Death of Real Gaming‘, will know that, as far as I’m concerned, it couldn’t come at a more important time.

And what’s triggered me to externalize my feelings on Heavy Rain and what it represents? Watch this:

Today, I caught this astounding piece of footage from G4TV as it meandered its way down the front page on N4G. At first, I was merely interested, having not seen much footage of the game, however, as the scene unfolded my jaw literally dropped open. Never have I seen such attention to detail, such poise, such thought, and such relatable characterisation in a videogame.  Even the loadscreen (No puns please-ed) shown in the video knocks the socks of anything I’ve seen before. The way Madison’s eyes dart and flicker, how the skin around the eyes pinches realistically when she blinks. These are subtle details that take real care and respect to create in a medium so often as clumsy and blunt as video games.  And let me remind you, this is only the loading screen.

Moreover, the graphics, though incredible, are not the reason that Heavy Rain will, in my view, revolutionize gaming, and raise the bar.

The secret lies in a simple truth.

Think back to the games that you have played recently. Who did you play as?  A super soldier or a fantasy creature?  A trained killer or a famous soccer player?  An insanely gifted racing driver? All these, and many more, are probably roles that you have slipped in to, like a comfortable pair of old slippers, time and time again over the years.  Did you ever once play as someone like you? I doubt it, and, if you did, then you ought to be off saving the world right now instead of reading this article.

The CEO and founder of Quantic Dream, the developers of Heavy Rain, David Cage, had this to say in an exclusive interview in Dutch Magazine Chief early on in Heavy Rain’s development:

“Heavy Rain is about normal people who have landed in extraordinary situations. I wanted a much more personal story. The first thing that came to my mind, as a father of two little boys, was that the main theme should simply be a father’s love for his son. This is not a game about saving the princess or the world. Its [sic] purely about a father’s love. The main story will revolve around four different characters, and we’re putting the spotlight on their perceptions. The question ‘what is good and what is evil’ is the key here, that will be just a matter of viewpoint…I believe heavily in moral choices, I’m going to use them A LOT. They’re not about being good or bad, but about finding the right balance.” ( From kotaku )

So we’ve established that Heavy Rain is going to be about normal, everyday people like you and me.  This goes against the grain of gaming in general and I think it is a brave move that will indeed spark the revolution in gaming I eluded to earlier.  Imagine being able to truly relate to a character, as a representation of a human being, instead of empathising with a heroic architype, when Nathan Drake gets pissed off at being captured again, or understanding how getting blown up must suck for Master Chief.

I think that this is the way forward in gaming.  True immersion is to be found, not in increasingly advanced motion control systems (Natal, I’m looking at you), but in storytelling innovation.  In my opinion, Heavy Rain is going to become the stick against which all others will come to be measured.  Players will no longer be satisfied with superficial tales of war and adventure.

I for one, have been craving a game that really sets me in the place of the protagonist, really lets me relate and feel.

I want to be stimulated beyond my adrenal gland.

Heavy Rain is forcast to fall on February 26^th.

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VISUAL PRESENTATION:

Art direction:

The world of MAG is built around threes: three factions (Valour, Raven and S.V.E.R) fighting across three continents (North America, South America and Europe), with a different look and feel for each.

The factions had to be separated somehow, and the developers have gone for the three military classics: high-tech Scandinavian supermen, low-tech guerrilla warriors from the Czech Republic, and, of course, the balanced, rugged, US military grunts with real-world tech.

Loosely, this means you’ve got Raven, dressed in – guess what – black, spec-ops armour, S.V.E.R, in rusty, piecemeal, fatigues, and Valour in the earthy greens and blues of bog-standard military uniforms.  On the whole, this works very well.  It’s meant to be a realistic scenario and not Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (2007), after all.  Even though I’ve only seen things from Valour perspective, I’ve been able to scavenge enemy weapons and it seems that each faction has been given just enough ‘character’, to make you feel like part of a group (or Guild, as this attempts to be an MMO) with an individual set of ideals and their own cultural identity.  The self-customisation of your own player-character has a lot to do with this feeling of belonging – and I’ll come back to it.

The main area of difference between the factions, and the one your most likely to see – given they’re always right in front of you – is the weapons.  Now, I’ve only seen a fraction of Valour’s arsenal, but I can tell you that it’s your typical Assault Rifle (M4A1, and SCAR-type), submachine guns (MP5), machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles and pistols.  In some ways, it might actually be more interesting to join Raven or S.V.E.R as they have a slightly more unique set of weapons, instead of the Tom Clancy special collector’s set, which has been the norm since Counter-Strike 1.6 (2003).

As each faction has an HQ in a different part of the world, each landscape naturally has its own characteristics.  VALOUR, the faction I joined (being proud of the British armed forces, rah, rah) has its base in the Alaskan wilderness, and so it’s no surprise that the beta map for this location is an abandoned logging complex in the middle of the mountains.  Pine trees, patchy grass, dry mud, and dilapidated wooden buildings create a varied and convincing environment.

Then there’s Raven’s South American base (pictured in the gallery), where you fight in the ruins of ancient Incan pyramids, surrounded by thick vegetation, a river, and palm trees (perhaps the best palms since Crysis (2007)).  My only complaint here is that the colour scheme seems a bit too muddy in this environment, making it very hard to see.

Game engine:

I’m disappointed by most game engines.  But then, it’s not the fault of most developers.  They have to cut corners for the sake of fps, or scale, or time.  And yet, I still find myself wishing that most developers had gone just a little bit out of their way to make their games what I will call a cohesive graphical experience.  By that I mean, all of the models, textures, shader-effects and geometry are of a consistent quality – there is no weak link that brings you out of the gameplay experience.  Recently, games such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(2009), and Assassin’s Creed II (2009), have excelled in this area.  However, it has to be said that popular titles such as Modern Warfare 2 (2009) can get away without this level of overall detail because they are fast moving, action games that put an emphasis on competitive play, rather than immersion.

So then, how does Sony Exclusive MAG fare?  It faces tough competition from other Sony exclusives such as Killzone 2
(2009), and Resistance 2 (2008), and, unlike both of these examples, attempts to put an unprecedented number (256-128-64) of players into huge gameplay environments.  Is it a case of, great scale, poor graphics?

Thankfully, no.  The MAG team, no doubt with the help of a significant amount of optimisation time, have managed to create a decent, while not exceptional, graphical experience.  There is a good amount of variation in the textures and the up-close detail (on wooden and metallic surfaces) is supported by a number of shader-effects like those seen in the Unreal 3 engine.  In fact, I’d say the overall look falls somewhere between Resistance 2 and Modern Warfare 2.  I must also praise the lighting, as it offers dynamic shadowing, diffused fog, and HDR effects that really help bring out the atmosphere and texture work in the levels, never making anything look bland or flat.  Character and gun models are also highly detailed and benefit from specular maps (body lighting), and detailed normal mapping.

Interface:

The menu system can make or break a smooth gaming experience, especially when that game includes RPG elements or an online mode.  MAG does both, and luckily its menu system is not broken.  It’s not good looking, but the design is a straight forward system of windows with options that can be navigated by L1 and R2 as well as the stick.  If there’s a frustration, it’s that there are, as always, too many ‘log-on’ screens.  You go through about five before you can get in a game.  Also, you have to bring up several windows and navigate onto a game-type, just to start queuing for a match.  Having said this, they are quick steps, and it doesn’t take long to wiz through them.  Moreover, the war-room menu – or game lobby – is a large map of the world with all the current locations that can be fought over displayed.  This screen has all the information you could ever want about MAG on it, from the number of players, to your friends and, of course, who’s winning the war.  I don’t really care, at this point, about how many contracts my team has secured.  I don’t even know why I should.  But it’s a nice persistent element, which is the main reason the game can be compared to an MMO, other than the character creation system.

The menus for updating and maintaining your character are similarly filled with options and information, however, it’s all intuitive if you’ve ever played an RPG before, and I’m sure even players from Modern Warfare won’t spend too long scratching their primordially sloped brows, before they figure out how to equip all their items, change the colour of their camouflage, and add the aviator sunglasses to make their character look hardcore.  To be honest, you can spend too long trying to make a pretend solider look hardcore or even badass.  When there’s 100s of players on screen all throwing grenades at you, it doesn’t matter what you look like, you will run like a Teletubby at tubby-toast time.

And so to the HUD, which is nothing new.  The radar can show you enemies that have been spotted as red dots, and where you are on the map in relation to your team-mates (blue dots) – wow.  Your health is displayed as a numerical value, which makes the process of using your health-injector-thingy, simpler I suppose, as it is less vague and frustrating than a fade to black and white, which has become something of a fad these days, or health-bar.  Bullets and other useless information are also given as numbers in true MMO fashion, unforgiving to those who have a Magic Maths Shield.  The crosshair is actually a white cross – retro – with a dot in the middle and everything.  Indeed, the whole thing has a real PC vibe; made me think of CS and Battlefield 2 and older games, if there are any.  It expands and contracts to show your recoil, and turns red when you have hit an enemy (though there is a small amount of blood, it’s not easily seen).

So, it’s not a casual interface.  It encourages thought and strategy.  Although, in a slight nod to the non staff-wielding players among us, there is an ‘enemy fire sensor’, taking the form of little white semi-circles that tell you the direction of close by enemy gunfire, similar to the way red semi-circles tell you where you are being shot from.  Given the scale of the maps and the number of players, this ensures you never actually miss the battle.

Options:

There are various settings available in the MAG menu system, from clan-tags to volume and gamma settings.  As this is a beta, suffice to say there appear to be no noticeable absences.

Check back soon for some gameplay videos showing MAG in action, and hopefully not too much of me noobing it up.

Meanwhile, enjoy the gallery.