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Surviving Alan Wake's American Nightmare
I'm pretty selfish. I know Alan deserves to be at home, sitting on the couch, watching reruns of Mad About You with his wife, but I prefer him on the front lines of the war against the forces of darkness. Who wants to play a game about a married couple being a boring married couple? I loved the original Alan Wake, but doubted the writer would ever return after the original's underwhelming sales performance. But here we are, and even though Alan Wake's American Nightmare isn't the direct sequel I'll always hope for, my brief time with the game gives the impression that I won't be disappointed.%Gallery-141956%
Alan Wake's American Nightmare begins 'mid-Q1,' new 'Fight till Dawn' mode announced
Alan Wake's been dormant since 2010, but he's not going to start dreaming until "the middle of the first quarter of 2012." That's the release window for his XBLA spinoff Alan Wake's American Nightmare, according to an announcement issued today. Also announced today: a new "arcade mode" called "Fight till Dawn," in which the beleaguered writer is swarmed by enemies over the course of a night, and attempts to build up a score by taking them out with a a variety of weapons, "from old stalwarts like the flare gun to wild new favorites like the nail gun and old school Remedy favorites like the Uzi." Online leaderboards will give you a chance to see who among your friends is best at withstanding psychological horror. We hope you never have a reason to use that information.%Gallery-141956%
Alan Wake tells his story on PC in early 2012
Remedy's hint for a PC port for Alan Wake was more than pillow talk, the developer has confirmed today. Alan Wake is slated to launch in early 2012 on the PC, right around the time Alan Wake's American Nightmare is planned for Xbox Live Arcade. Synergy! Both DLC episodes, The Signal and The Writer, are hitching along for the ride, included in the PC version for free. Finally, the cream of the 2010 crop comes to the PC two years later ... and it's not even from Ubisoft. %Gallery-141744%
Rumor: Alan Wake hiding in Steam registry, Remedy hints at PC release
Alan Wake may finally find the path to PC after almost two years of Xbox 360 exclusivity. Alan Wake forum users spotted telltale text in the Steam registry, indicating the game has (or had) some kind of presence on Valve's platform. This comes alongside Remedy's Executive VP Aki Järvilehto, passively mentioned the PC version to a Finnish website -- Just Push Start roughly translated him as saying there might be "some positive news to tell" PC fans in the near future. During Alan Wake's lengthy development there was much back and forth about whether the game would ever launch on PC, with the scales eventually tipping toward console exclusivity. Over a year later, and with a pseudo-sequel on the way for Xbox Live Arcade with Alan Wake's American Nightmare, we're hopeful for Alan's arrival on PC.
'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.
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.
New Alan Wake, BioWare game, and MGS Rising details at VGAs
Geoff Keighley has begun ramping up the excitement for the VGA show coming December 10, revealing some of the surprises coming up at the Spike event -- but, of course, only enough that they'll still be surprises. "Alan Wake returns," he tweeted, "and BioWare unveils a new game from a new studio." In addition, Hideo Kojima will reveal "the truth about Metal Gear Solid: Rising." Man, remember Metal Gear Solid: Rising? Keighley isn't hogging all the exclusives for Spike, having graciously shared "teaser images" of the new announcements with Game Informer, who is itself no stranger to exclusives, for the December issue. Rest assured, we'll get you all the info as soon as the game media's "1%" allow it to trickle down to your prole pals at Joystiq.
Intel to finally issue firmware fix for faulty 320 series SSDs (update: available now!)
When Intel first unleashed its third generation 320 series SSDs, we were thrilled with their prices that were 30 percent lower than Chipzilla's previous offerings. The love fest didn't last long, however, as many customers soon found they hadn't gotten what they paid for -- drives of all sizes were reporting only 8MB of capacity due to flawed firmware. Well, good news, storage speed demons, Intel's in the final stages of testing a firmware fix, and it'll be made available "within the next two weeks." SSD salvation's only a few days and a download away, so hit the source for the full details. [Thanks, Philip] Update: Look's like the update's live folks, so just head on over to second source link below and get all those bytes you paid for!
Death Rally recouped Remedy's dev costs in three days
Remedy is known for Alan Wake and Max Payne, but the studio also recently helped produce Death Rally for iOS, a game that has been very successful for the studio. Remedy Managing Director Matias Myllyrinne told us during E3 that the game recouped its development costs in three days on the App Store and took a mere eight months to develop. "A lot of the credit goes to Mountain Sheep for developing a great fun game. We produced it, took it forward and helped - but the heavy lifting is with the dev team as always," Myllyrinne said. We asked if the success of Death Rally has shifted the studio's priorities. "I think in terms of priorities, Remedy will continue to do what we do best. We love our big movie-like story driven action games - but it is also about applying these strengths in new ways too. There are awesome things happening with digital stuff like XBLA, Steam, iPhones etc. Where you can build a killer value and fun at a low price point and still make money." No comment on Alan Wake's Night Springs.
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.
Death Rally updated with new track and more
If you're starting to get tired of seeing the same old rallies and the same old deaths in Remedy's iOS racer Death Rally, a new update freshens up the game with a new track, the ice-covered "Eureka." The method through which you get new tracks is new, as well: you now collect track parts. The latest update also brings in-app purchases to the Rally, in the form of a "Shadow Man" who can "help you progress faster." Sure, in-app purchases that make the game easier might be considered a slippery slope, but the Eureka track is literally a slippery slope. There are also some bug fixes and improvements, which you can read about after the break.
Remedy's Myllyrinne pushing for digital future
According to Remedy head Matias Myllyrinne, the sooner the game industry switches to an entirely downloadable model, the better off it will be. Myllyrinne notes that the DLC episodes for Alan Wake were "hugely successful, and really resonated with the fans." He elaborated that current download marketplaces like Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam offer developers a unique opportunity to "directly engage with your audience." A download-driven industry, said Myllyrinne, would be "better for consumers, better for the developers and publishers," though he admitted such a shift would be "not so good for retail." That said, however, he added that given the way retailers incentivize the sale of used games, he doesn't really "feel sorry" for the potential loss they would suffer. Look, Mr. Myllyrinne, if going downloadable gets us another Alan Wake, just tell us where to sign up.
Remedy's Death Rally blowing up iOS App Store on March 31
Remedy's follow-up to last year's suspense-filled psychological thriller, Alan Wake, may not have the intriguing narrative or lovingly crafted mythos of its predecessor, but at least it has ... murdercars. And a release date! Death Rally, an iOS reboot of Remedy's very first game, will bring all of its vehicular violence to the App Store this Thursday, March 31. No price has been announced for the title, but keeping in mind that players will be able to wreck the shop of Alan Wake's somewhat grating companion Barry Wheeler with a souped-up hot rod, we don't know that there's a price too high on this Earth.
Remedy: Signing with MGS for Alan Wake was 'a business risk'
Speaking at a GDC panel earlier this year, Remedy's Markus Maki discussed the development of Alan Wake, namely that the game was originally planned as a multiplatform release, PC and PS3 included. As reported by CVG, Maki noted that Remedy had to maintain a narrow "focus" to get the project done, which meant staying light on features -- no multiplayer, etc. -- and eventually agreeing to become a Microsoft exclusive. Regarding the planned multiplatform release, Maki stated that Microsoft's offer to publish the game pulled "one big technological effort, the PS3, out of the equation," thus allowing Remedy to focus on a single platform. That said, Maki added that moving to a single platform "changed the technology risk to a business risk - but that's a subject for a different talk altogether." Ouch. Meanwhile, the PC version of Alan Wake, for reasons we may never fully comprehend, remains (appropriately) shrouded in darkness.
Remedy co-founder joins Rovio to bring Angry Birds to consoles
Petri Järvilehto, one of the founders of Remedy Entertainment, has joined fellow Finnish developer Rovio Mobile as senior vice president of console development. Serving in this new role, Järvi– er, let's just go with Petri ... will spearhead Rovio's efforts to "take the Angry Birds success story to current and emerging console platforms." Currently, a port of the original Angry Birds smartphone game is available for PS3 as a PSN Mini, but Rovio looks to be aiming for new heights as it prepares to launch its flightless birds into future console games. "We want to make Angry Birds a long-lasting global gaming franchise, and we see the console platforms as a way of delivering an even more entertaining, powerful and involving experience," Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said in a press release, perhaps hinting at the dark, psychological turn the bird-launching series could take on consoles. "I think we're only in the beginning, and with consoles we have the opportunity to create a new kind of gaming experience," Petri added, ending on a cliffhanger. To get a sense of where he's coming from -- and just how completely different it is from Angry Birds -- Petri personally led the development of Max Payne 1 & 2 and headed up the initial game design of last year's standout Xbox 360 exclusive Alan Wake. He will remain on Remedy's board of directors.
Remedy brings Death Rally out of the garage for iPhone port
How will Remedy follow up last year's exceptional, psychological thriller Alan Wake? With a game about cars blowing each other up, of course. Death Rally was Remedy's first game, published for PC by Apogee in 1996 and cleaned up to run on modern rigs in 2009. Now, with the help of Minigore dev Mountain Sheep, Remedy is porting the combat racing title to iOS devices, including iPhone and iPad, for a violent history lesson on the go. You can acquaint yourself with the world of Death Rally (hint: it's mostly rallies and dying) by watching the trailer after the break -- or, even better, by playing the '96 freeware release! [File download, PC only]
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.
Alan Wake, Mass Effect 2 and Limbo among Time's best games of 2010
In collating the top ten of everything in 2010 (excluding the top ten recursive jokes about top ten lists), Time has picked some of its favorite video games from the last twelve months. Among the top ten are science fiction stalwarts Halo: Reach and Mass Effect 2, the elegant and creepy Limbo, and iPhone finch fling-em-up, Angry Birds (which just makes it in, having launched at the very end of 2009). Time's top choice is Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake, which is praised by writer Evan Narcisse for its mature craft and metaphoric gameplay. "Its mix of meta-awareness and Hitchcockian suspense make Alan Wake a unique and fun experiment and one of the best games of the year." Alan Wake's devoted fans are likely to agree: Time couldn't have picked a better game, and the game couldn't have picked a worse time.
