Alan Wake

Alan Wake is a game driven by writing.  In creating a writer as the protagonist that is himself a writer, Remedy establishes writing allegory as the focus of the game.  The literal darkness in the game is a manifestation of the darkness of the main character.

Alan is a depressed, struggling writer, whose fiction has shaped his world.  While this is an awesome idea, I wish the developers could have left this for us to figure out, rather than literally spelling it out during the game.  Yes, Alan is writing his reality, you don't have to keep reminding us this during the entire game.

While this flaw exists, where the game succeeds is letting the gamer interpret much of what is going on.  This is where the game shines. Like a flashlight in the dark that Alan uses, so to does the gamer interpret the story though the darkness, with only a narrow focus of light to help them along their way.

On the gameplay front, the battles are cool; the light mechanic works well.  By the 3rd chapter or so, its already dull, and should have been mixed up.  But fear not, the story drives the game though these dull moments