Alan Wake: The Signal Review

A faithful addition that will delve you further into Wake's world.

Alan Wake released to much praise at That Gaming Site and by many others of the gaming community. Eager to witness more of Wake's story, The Signal attempts to fill this void with a new downloadable chapter that expands on the original game content. The Signal definitely lives up to the quality of the original episodes and by no means feels like an add on without a purpose.

The Signal picks up shortly after the main game concludes, to a certain extent the add on begins to explain circumstances involving the ending. The episode in true Alan Wake form ends on a cliff hanger teasing the next episode. Certain characters from the original episodes do indeed make a comeback. Barry makes a return and his character stays true to his comic relief roots.

Certain assets are new, these include certain game items and visuals as well as various audio files from voice overs to music. The live action Alan Wake portrayed by Ikka Villi also makes a return and plays a larger role than he did in the other episodes in terms of how much you seem him. Seeing Villi's character makes you sympathize with what he is going through especially as a result of the various connections one may have formed with characters in Alan Wake.

The locations vary, some are new to the game but others make a return from the original episodes and are reimagined to a certain extent. With the new environments, Remedy has stuck with their trackrecord of creating areas that are realistic and believable in design, although there are definitely obscure levels which fit in with the story.

New collectibles were also added, there are 10 alarm clocks and cardboard cut outs you can find hidden throughout the episode. The alarm clocks make a noise when you are near them making them easier to find than manuscript pages. The cutouts are scattered throughout and are found simply by searching the environment. The cutouts are a play on the infamous Alan Wake cutout seen in the Diner at the beginning of the game complete with descriptions of what they portray, they could potentially be hinting at future story elements. Manuscripts do make a return but not in the same form as they were in the previous episodes.

Eight new achievements were also added to the game, during my playthrough I was able to unlock three of them.

The episode took me close to two hours to complete and I only managed to get about 50% of the collectibles. There is a notable increase in difficulty as well as the complexity and scope of the "puzzle" elements you come across. Without giving too much away, having to safely maneuver a "minefield" of words while the Taken were chasing me was both fun and challenging at the same time.

One of the main complaints with Alan Wake were the facial animations, to a certain extent facial animations were improved although still aren't perfect. There aren't many cutscenes in the episode but there are still enough to give you a glimpse of the improvements.

The product placement has been significantly reduced in The Signal, references to Energizer batteries and Ford vehicles are no longer present although a Verizon phone is featured. I didn't find anything wrong with the product placement in Alan Wake asides from a few instances towards the end of the game since it added to the realism of the world, instead the products have been replaced with generic items.

The Signal is a must for anyone who played and liked Alan Wake's story, users who purchased the game new can receive the add on for free but even at 560 MP ($7) The Signal is well worth the price.