Alan Wake is back. Only one word needed to describe this game. Outstanding! Yes, Alan Wake American Nightmare is coming to XBLA on February 16th as part of the XBLA promotion House Party. This is not Alan Wake 2 for those that decide to label the game in such away. In fact it’s a spin off that will lend to the story that the original title created but it also is a standalone product itself. Alan Wake fans both new and veterans of the series will find something to take away from this downloadable masterpiece. At CES 2012, I had the chance to run through the arcade game mode “Fight Till Dawn” with Remedy’s own Oskari “Oz” Hakkinen.

I always enjoy time with Oz as you can see, feel and hear the passion he has for his game. And it is evident that the team feels the same way about the game and Oz is the perfect centerpiece to convey those feelings. From the moment we shook hands it was evident that Oz was excited to show off the new game especially since he was so aware that I was a huge fan of the previous game.

He started off by giving me a little insight into what American Nightmare is and that while it is not a direct sequel to Alan Wake it does contribute to the overall story and Alan’s quest to save his wife Alice. One of the first things I noticed in the game was that the visuals are absolutely amazing. I know you have all seen the trailers and the game footage from CES but this is one you have to see with your own eyes. I can honestly say this is one of the best looking games available on XBLA and for that matter it could even compete with full retail games in visuals. This game looks fantastic in every facet.

You’ll notice that the game is much brighter in color palettes, contrast and overall appearance. This is in fact due to the game taking place in Night Springs under the red Arizona desert sky. In Alan Wake, Bright Falls was a dark and shadow infested environment with large evergreen trees everywhere you looked. Just the presence of the massive trees and forest creates a natural shadow as its difficult for light to penetrate down through the thick foliage. In Arizona, it’s wide open with stars and moonlight to light up the barren landscape. Light reflects off of everything and creates a natural ambience that feels so right for Alan Wake. Oh don’t worry, there are still plenty of shadows and plenty of breath catching moments to be had under the desert sky regardless of the brighter color palette.

Oz proceeded to tell me how Mr. Scratch, Alan’s new nemesis was created from Alan’s own mind. Mr. Scratch is the dark evil side twin of the Alan Wake urban legend of Bright Falls. He is a hideous murderer derived from the stories of the local folk of Bright Falls. Alan must defeat Mr. Scratch in order to move closer to finding and rescuing Alice. While we did not play any of the story mode, Oz went on to tell me that you’ll definitely find some elements and characters drawn straight from the original title. For instance, Barry Wheeler is back but not in such a primary role as he was the first time around. You’ll hear him on the radio and Alan will have some interactions with him but that’s about it. Remember, everyone thinks Alan Wake is dead or has disappeared with no trace. The story mode itself is a 4-5 hour experience and follows the Night Springs episodes that Alan of course does not remember writing.

After some talk about the original Alan Wake and some thing we can expect in the story mode it was now time to see the new Arcade mode, “Fight Till Dawn”. This arcade mode offers up 10 expansive maps that has you fighting for your life for 10 minutes. It’s completely action based with no cinematic sequences or story cut scenes involved. You’ll have to try and survive the entire 10 minutes against various enemies of different shapes, strengths and even heavily armed. For this demo I chose the Cemetery map.

The gameplay itself is pretty much what you had with Alan Wake only this is definitely refined quite a bit more. You’ll shine light on your enemies in order to weaken them and then fire your weapon to destroy them. Some enemies will require you to put down your flashlight though so be aware of each and enemy you face. There are quite a few new foes to face off against including a grenadier who will constantly hurl grenades at you so your best bet is to get in close. Alan has learned a lot since the first game and uses this knowledge to his advantage in the new installment.

There are some small changes in the arcade mode. For instance, as you run around the map you’ll be in search of new ammunition, weapons and other ammunition. The dark enemies will constantly be closing in on you so you’ll have to keep moving and try not to get surrounded. At the top of the screen is your health meter which consists of 3 bars. You will recover health but only up to one bar. In order to fill your health bar completely you will have to use one of the lighted safe havens as you did in the original Alan Wake. Once you have used a safe haven it will then go dark and you’ll have to make your way around the map and stay close by to another as you fight off the waves of enemies. The safe havens do regenerate over time though.

You’ll find collectibles in the game such as Transcripts to further the story mode, but no thermoses to worry about thankfully. There are also plenty of other little tidbits added in for fans of the franchise that should be appreciated but you will have to find those for yourself. No spoilers here. As I mentioned earlier the maps are huge and there is plenty to explore and discover so not only move to stay alive but move around to find anything and everything you can. You never know what may be lurking out there.

I really enjoyed the “Fight Till Dawn” mode and I saw a few folks actually finish a map and last the entire 10 minutes. It may sound easy to do, but it’s far from that. High scores are kept on a leaderboard and to achieve those really high scores you’ll want to keep that multiplier building up through killing enemies and dodging attacks without getting hit. This is definitely going to be a game mode that is enjoyed and adds plenty of relay value to the game. If you are an Alan Wake fan then you are going to love this XBLA installment while you wait for the full Alan Wake Sequel. Now of course nothing has been announced but we all know there is one coming. On a final note, Oz did tell me that they left this game open for DLC so hopefully its accepted by all the masses and Remedy will continue to support the title with plenty of Alan Wake goodness.