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Alan Wake DLC discounted on Xbox Live Marketplace
As part of its ongoing "Countdown to New Year's" promotion, Xbox Live has reduced the prices of both Alan Wake DLC episodes -- The Signal and The Writer -- by more than fifty percent. You can grab the two-part epilogue now at 200 MS Points ($2.50) apiece. If you're going to spend as much as $5 watching a nocturnal, has-been writer trying to escape his own plot twists, you're better off with Alan Wake than M. Night Shyamalan. The tenuously Alan Wake-branded "Rain Coat and Pants" avatar clothing set has also been reduced to 120 MS Points ($1.50), but we'd suggest saving that change for a rainy day instead. Like, when there's actual rain outside.
Remedy discusses next Alan Wake DLC, 'The Writer'
Outside of the knowledge that a second episode of DLC for Alan Wake -- titled "The Writer" -- will be coming sometime this fall and that it will cost 560 MS Points ($7), little else is known about the developer's plans for the future of the series. Though head of franchise development Oskari Häkkinen didn't get too specific, he told Eurogamer that the second DLC may not necessarily be the last we see of Mr. Wake on Xbox Live Marketplace. "I can't confirm whether this is going to be the last one or not. There are some things in the pipeline that we're looking at, and we're balancing out how we will move on with this," Häkkinen said. In terms of "The Writer," though, Remedy ... writer Mikko Rautalahti added that gameplay will skew towards the type found in the first DLC ("The Signal"), while level design errs more on the side of fantasy than the first. "You will be seeing a lot more weird stuff. And we've learned quite a bit from making 'The Signal,' and we'll be applying that to 'The Writer' quite a bit," he said. Both Häkkinen and Rautalahti remained relatively tight-lipped on the subject of an Alan Wake sequel, with Häkkinen only allowing, "I don't see any reason why we wouldn't continue with Microsoft with a full-blown sequel for Alan Wake. We definitely want to do it. We have great ideas for it. I can see Mikko here twiddling his thumbs with his ideas for Alan Wake 2. There's certainly a want, and that want is I believe from both sides." He did, however, add, "Right now I can't confirm anything." Given our feelings on the game (and the first DLC), we've got all our fingers and toes crossed for more.
MS to email replacement codes for Alan Wake DLC redeemed too early [update: codes going out!]
So, you bought Alan Wake at launch, and proceeded to redeem the DLC token code immediately -- because, with no warning on the card, why wouldn't you? Now "The Signal" DLC is out, and you can't download your free copy, and life is terrible. Or is it? Remedy announced via Twitter that help is on the way for those of you stumbling through a living nightmare of inaccessible post-game content. "If you've redeemed your code prior to release Microsoft will be sending out new codes to you via your email on XBL," the developer said. We're checking with Microsoft to find out exactly when those emails will go out. In the meantime, catch a new trailer for the DLC after the break. Or don't, if you have yet to finish Alan Wake and fear spoilers. Update: The codes are starting to be emailed out. Make absolutely certain you have a working email address tied to your Xbox Live account, or it's back to "living nightmare" time.
Review: Alan Wake DLC 'The Signal'
Alan Wake's mysteries still linger, months after a pitch-perfect conclusion. Unlike most downloadable add-ons introduced after the fact, the first of two new episodes, "The Signal," comes after the fiction and wisely targets fans who wouldn't care much for standard DLC fare like "Additional killing grounds!" or "Deadlier explosive rounds!" If you just wanted to share a few more words with the imperiled author (and get 250 Gamerscore out of it), here's your chance. Well, provided you can find him. The man's having trouble finding himself in the town of Bright Falls, which grows even more unstable and incoherent with every step he takes. Once again it's unclear where the world ends and the writer begins, and the developers at Remedy don't waste time before they start shoving reality and fiction into the same space. Their tinkering leads to an amusing spin on the original game's cardboard cutout gag, and more interestingly creates a few challenging scenarios that differ from those in the main game. I think I would have remembered a demolition derby. %Gallery-98078%
Alan Wake DLC episodes priced at $7 each
Remedy's imperiled author sim, Alan Wake, will be extended in two downloadable episodes later this year, with the first set to launch on July 27th. Entitled "The Signal," the first add-on is available free to players who purchased the game new. We met up with Remedy's Head of Franchise Development, Oskari Hakkinen, and ascertained that the episode -- which should last around 90 minutes -- will cost 560 MS Points ($7) on the Xbox Live Marketplace to those who purchased the game sans shrinkwrap. The second downloadable episode, "The Writer," will also cost 560 MS points ($7). According to Hakkinen, the $10 price seen within Alan Wake's DLC menu was meant to be a placeholder.
Alan Wake wanders into 'WAR,' a Poets of the Fall music video
We speculated that the live-action Alan Wake teaser that surfaced last week was promoting a new commercial or web short. It turned out to be a slick music video for "WAR," a song by Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall -- and one of the licensed tracks to feature in Remedy's atmospheric action game. The video features Alan Wake as portrayed by actor Ilkka Villi, who's basically the Milli Vanilli companion to voice actor Matthew Porretta. Head past the break to see Wake freak out to musical accompaniment, ponder his mysterious manuscript pages ... and wonder why the world's worst cameraman is stalking him and his wife through a field. [Seen Above: The first image from the upcoming Alan Wake DLC, "The Signal."]
Second Alan Wake DLC episode 'The Writer' priced at $10
Stephen Totilo once wrote that game content can exist outside of a game disc, and there's more than a little fun to be had in expansions. They're antithetical to the limitations of physical distribution. In a news story, the reader keeps asking, "What will it cost?" but there can be no explanation ... even though there should be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest and it's what we'll remember complaining about in the end. My name is Ludwig Kietzmann. I'm a blogger ... type thing. The second downloadable episode of Alan Wake will be called "The Writer." The description of the content, which recently popped up in the game's "Downloadable Content" menu, reveals that the tortured author will find himself in "strange circumstances" (surely he must be used to those by now) and must face "one increasingly nightmarish situation after another." According to the listing, the episode will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The first episode, "The Signal," will cost the same when it launches on July 27th, though it's a free download for those who purchased a new copy of Remedy's thriller. You'll find an image and full description of the DLC after the break -- don't venture further if you're sensitive to spoilers.
Alan Wake DLC called 'The Signal,' coming July 27
Have you already managed to complete Alan Wake's narrative arc, and now you're jonesing for more episodic storytelling in the Bright Falls universe? First of all, unless you live in Europe, holy crap you're fast. The game's only been out in the U.S. for half a day! Second of all, you now can look forward to the release of the game's first DLC pack, titled "The Signal," which Microsoft recently announced will launch on July 27. If you bought a new copy of the game -- which, again, we're assuming you did, since it's been out for a few hours -- you've already got a coupon code that will let you grab the new content for free. Of course, we have no idea what that that content will actually entail. We're assuming that signals will be involved, and will somehow be directing our attention towards things that are scary.
