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Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a spooky XBLA battle between light and dark
Looks like the rumors were right, at least partially: Alan Wake's American Nightmare will be an XBLA exclusive title wherein our titular hero is pitted against Mr. Scratch, an apparently egotistical and especially evil version of Alan. Evil birds, evil satellites and everything you'd expect lurks within the Spike TV Video Game Awards trailer, as well as in your very soul.
'Alan Wake's American Nightmare' rated in Germany
Alan Wake's American Nightmare was recently rated by Germany's USK ratings board. The previously unknown title comes just as Remedy is set to officially announce a new chapter in the Alan Wake saga. Given the title, we imagine it's about Wake being chased by corn syrup monsters and overly large food portions. So, what is American Nightmare? It could be the official, recently adjusted name of Alan Wake's Night Springs, which is what we've been calling Wake's XBLA title ever since images leaked earlier this year. Another possibility is that American Nightmare is simply Night Springs' title in Germany. Finally, as something that would be a genuine surprise: American Nightmare is a different Alan Wake project we know nothing about. The answer should be revealed this weekend during the Spike Video Game Awards, and we've asked Remedy for comment in the meantime.
Alan Wake's Night Springs goes 'This Old House' in first screen
You already know that Alan Wake's Night Springs is headed towards its big debut at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, and you already know that it'll arrive on Xbox Live Arcade. What you didn't know is that Mr. Wake has got himself a whole new "Bob Vila meets Twin Peaks" look going on, as revealed by Game Informer's exclusive first screenshot. Also, hey, he's got a gas-powered pneumatic nail gun! The darkness isn't gonna like nails in its stupid face, is it? Yeah! It also appears that Wake's got quite a bit of walking ahead of him, as a nearby highway sign puts 15 miles between him and the titular town of Night Springs. Hopefully the Desert Shore Motel can help sate him for that journey with a damn fine cup of coffee and some delicious cherry pie.
Alan Wake's Night Springs developer defends decision to go XBLA
There's been a not-insubstantial outcry of concern from fans of the Alan Wake franchise following the announcement that the series' next installment, Night Springs, would be an XBLA exclusive. Worried parties shouldn't fear a sea change in the original game's setup -- on the game's forums, Remedy community manager Peter Papadopoulos explained it will be "structured like a full release," asking posters to "wait for the official announcement before making up your mind." But ... but we've already rolled out our Jump to Conclusions mat! Remedy CEO Markus Mäki also chimed in on the forums, adding, "If you're thinking about this in terms of some kind of a, I don't know, super simplified 'we still use the name but changed everything about it' version of Alan Wake, let me just say that this is not the case. That's all I'm gonna say." Other than these defensive statements, all we have to go on is the meager announcement from yesterday, as well as the supposedly leaked title screen acquired by XBLAFans this past May, posted above. We'll have to wait until the VGAs to see the game in action -- or, as the title screen would seem to hint at, in "Arcade Action."
New Alan Wake is an XBLA game
The new Alan Wake game to be revealed at the Spike VGAs will be for Xbox Live Arcade. This was first noted as a correction in a tweet by Game Informer news editor Jim Reilly, who clarified that it's a downloadable game, and "not Alan Wake 2." The announcement was confirmed on the Alan Wake Facebook page, which also asks "Are you ready to become the Champion of Light?" We'll see the first screenshot on GI's website on Monday. These details are in keeping with reports we've received in the past. In May, Remedy head of development Oskari Häkkinen told Joystiq that a new Alan Wake project was in progress, but was not Alan Wake 2, and "neither will it be DLC." That report also offered a fall release window, which is seeming unlikely at this point. Later that same month, a rumor popped up outing the next game as "Alan Wake's Night Springs" for XBLA.
Rumor: Alan Wake's Night Springs coming to XBLA
Alan Wake's Night Springs is the alleged name of an upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, reports XBLAFans. The site also obtained some screenshots, though their source asked for them not to be shared. This same informant outed Gotham City Impostors several months back. Night Springs is the name of the Twilight Zone-esque television show in the world of Wake. Though Remedy had no comment on this recent development, the studio did previously confirm to Joystiq that a new Wake was in the works, but that it would be neither Alan Wake 2 nor more DLC for the first game.
New Alan Wake confirmed, but it's not 'Alan Wake 2'
Remedy has confirmed that it's working on the next Alan Wake game -- but the "next" game is not the "Alan Wake 2" that was outed from an artist's resume. Oskari Häkkinen, head of franchise development for the Finnish developer, confirmed to Joystiq that a slice of the team is crafting "this next Wake installment," which is neither sequel nor downloadable content. "Fans of the franchise will be excited to learn that, yes, more Wake is coming!" he said. "But to be absolutely certain to avoid confusion, this next Wake installment will not be Alan Wake 2. But neither will it be DLC." The full explanation, "when we'll actually SHOW YOU," is being saved for the official announcement later. If it's not a sequel, then what is it? (What is it with you and confounding nebulousness, Alan?) "It's something that'll definitely give more to the Wake fans out there, but just as importantly, this installment will also give an opportunity for players who aren't familiar with the franchise to finally jump on board." Could it be an updated version of the original scary-forest sim, or an episodic continuation? Remedy is not announcing platforms or release dates yet, but told us that "Fall 2011 is probably a good guess." Also a good guess? Nowhere near a Rockstar game.
'Alan Wake 2' appears in artist's resume (and in our hearts)
CG character animator Althea Suarez Gata spent exactly one month at Halon Entertainment, a "previsualization and technology company" whose credits include the Halo: Reach "Deliver Hope" live-action short and a bunch of big-budget Hollywood stuff. In April 2011, just last month, she worked on "Untitled Alien Project" and ... what's this? A video game project titled "Alan Wake 2." Gata's duties are listed simply as "In-Game Cinematic" so it's hard to glean much beyond the whole it's Alan Wake 2 part. The first and last time we caught wind of a sequel to our number three game of 2010 was when Remedy's head of franchise development Oskari Häkkinen said, "We definitely want to do it. We have great ideas for it. I can see [writer Mikko Rautalahti] here twiddling his thumbs with his ideas for Alan Wake 2." For awhile, that faint glimmer of sequel light in the poor sales darkness was enough to sustain us but only now, with the taste of this latest morsel, do we realize how starved we've been. We've reached out to Remedy for a comment on the listing and also just to check in on how Alan's been doing.
