Alan Wake's American Nightmare to be more action-oriented

By Martin Robinson Published 15 December, 2011

XBLA game to be faster-paced than original.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the new Xbox Live Arcade installment of Remedy's series, is going to be more action-oriented than the 2010 original.

"One of the things about Alan Wake is that people loved the story, the setting and the theme but people wanted more in-your-face action," Remedy vice president Aki Järvilehto told Eurogamer, "people wanted more variation, different types of enemies and different types of weapon."

And that's precisely what Alan Wake's American Nightmare will offer - as well as a new arcade mode that sits alongside the story called Fight 'til Dawn. While details are still scarce on the new mode, it's safe to assume that it'll offer the same kind of wave-based gunplay of Gears of War's Horde mode.

"It's more faster-paced, and more action-orientated," said Aki, "I think people expect that from an XBLA game."

The news came as Remedy unveiled the PC version of Alan Wake - although the Finnish company was unable to confirm or deny if American Nightmare would also be coming to the PC at some point in the near future.

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About Martin Robinson

Martin is Eurogamer's features editor with responsibility for commissioning, editing and often writing our feature and preview content. He's also passionate about driving games.

Read more articles from Martin by visiting the Martin Robinson archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 5 months ago

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  • wizlon #1 5 months ago

    Sounds quite good actually, Alan Wake certainly needed a bit more variation. Would still like to see a real survival horror successor though.

  • Spong #2 5 months ago

    "One of the things about Alan Wake is that people loved the story, the setting and the theme but people wanted more in-your-face action..."

    I certainly never said that.

    I called it. I said the other day here that I feared AN would be more akin to the gameplay of Resi and its Mercenaries Mode. It's gonna be one yawn-inducing stand-off after another, with a bit of fluffy story and wandering in between.
    Edited by Spong at 15/12/11 @ 15:48

  • DarthInsinuate #3 5 months ago

    I think I might have played Alan Wake wrong, I just sprinted from battle to battle. It was an action-oriented game for me.

  • -cerberus- #4 5 months ago

    Alan Wake's best parts were the quiet ones where we got to meet the town's residents or wander through a dark forest.

    And now they're implementing even more guns and action and explosions?! Fuck this game.
    Edited by -cerberus- at 15/12/11 @ 11:06

  • Acquiescence #5 5 months ago

    I certainly don't want more action - the whole point of survival-horror is that it's a slow-burn and that the emphasis is on exploration and not combat. The genre should be more like an adventure game, less like a shooter/hack 'n' slash. That's why Homecoming didn't work.

  • arcam #6 5 months ago

    I was so excited about Alan Wake coming to PC yesterday!

    But if they are going to ruin the franchise, I'm wondering of it's worth getting invested in it. The whole thing that appeals to me about Alan Wake is the setting and atmosphere. This news has really deflated me :(

  • theonlyix #7 5 months ago

    I'm not liking where this is headed :-(

  • Spong #8 5 months ago

    "I think people expect that from an XBLA game."

    Yeah, I expect it. Doesn't mean I want it though. That's the whole reason American Nightmare being an XBLA game made me "uh oh" at the announcement. It's depressing news to be honest.
    Edited by Spong at 15/12/11 @ 10:41

  • the_dudefather #9 5 months ago

    Wait, wasn't Alan wake an action game already? sure it had some sections where you moved around an area without action in between enemy encounters, so do most action games?

    All I remember is pew pew shoot the shadow lumberjacks and occasional bits were you talk to Joe Pesci or watch TV

  • Jimster71 #10 5 months ago

    Sounds like it will be most of the things that were wrong with the DLC, lack of actual story and just throwing more enemies at you.

    I loved the original game, one of the most atmospheric I'd played but it lost it's way towards the end. Sounds like Remedy haven't found it yet.

  • tomjoadsghost #11 5 months ago

    @lollage: It'd just be nice to see a little more thoughtful gameplay, the original already had frantic twitchy gameplay in spades.

    They've already built a great world it would just be cool if we got to do something a little deeper within it.

  • kamps09 #12 5 months ago

    It all goes step by step downhill for me. First strong main game, then not so good DLC (somewhat aimless) , now action-orientated, episode based spin-off with arcade mode. Mystery and horror is important part for me, not action.
    Edited by kamps09 at 15/12/11 @ 10:47

  • arcam #13 5 months ago

    I know 'make it more action-oriented' is the standard response to any retail game that doesn't do blockbuster numbers, but I though XBLA meant you were a bit less restricted? Lower costs, less risk, that sort of thing?

  • ollyn #14 5 months ago

    Alan Wakes strong point was never it's action. I loved the game but the fighting got real repetitive by the end. If anything it was AW weakest part, I would much rather see the open world they were shooting for originally than this.

  • node #15 5 months ago

    @Jimster71 Agreed. Alan Wake was great but tailed off near the end, overstayed its welcome. Remedy made Max Payne though - I personally trust them to get the action/story balance right with this one.

    Also, Horde mode? Please. Remedy put Dead Man Walking mode in Max Payne 2 long before Gears of War 2 came out!

  • kinky_mong #16 5 months ago

    What a surprise, people moaning as soon as the "a-word" is used. If EG users had their way every game franchise would just be walking through quiet locations talking to people.

  • Subdominator #17 5 months ago

    Variation is much needed (though I wonder why they are only showing old mechanics in the trailer), but action was already enough in Alan Wake. The main problem was the constant lack of ammunition.

  • -cerberus- #18 5 months ago

    @kinky_mong: But that's not the case, is it? You, the majority, are getting your way. It's saddening to see that more and more gamers approve of games that don't require a brain to play. Point & shoot = happy times in your book. Not in mine.

    In an earlier article I was being a dick because I was complaining about the title 'American Nightmare'. Turns out I'm wrong, the title suits it perfectly because that's exactly what it is: americanized trash.
    Edited by -cerberus- at 15/12/11 @ 11:20

  • Histeria #19 5 months ago

    "...but people wanted more in-your-face action"

    Oh dear, I do wish people had asked me. :s

    I thought the biggest problem with the first DLC was too much action, not enough creep (whereas the main game got the balance just right).
    Edited by Histeria at 15/12/11 @ 11:26

  • oceanmotion #20 5 months ago

    Slightly concerned now as the action wore thin in the original but did have some highlights. Variation is key this time around. I liked the slower paced parts. I thought XBLA meant they could be more free but I guess not. Still, lets wait and see how the game turns out, Remedy must have learned something.

    It's just a bizarre comment from Remedy. Alan Wake had loads of action.
    Edited by oceanmotion at 15/12/11 @ 11:27

  • madjim #21 5 months ago

    Oops... When I was playing Alan Wake (and I greatly enjoyed it), I was thinking "Come on, let me explore and feel the place a bit. Don't send me waves and waves of monsters all the time"! If I had something against this otherwise great game, was that the action was too much to allow you to feel scared. And now they built on that? I will read the reviews before I decide to spend.

  • henro_ben #22 5 months ago

    I enjoyed Alan Wake but by the end I'd had more than enough of the combat, got tedious very quickly.

    Will wait and see, but my interest is waning somewhat...

  • DiamondIce #23 5 months ago

    I don't want "more in-your-face action". Why do all games end up turning into 95% shooty-bang-bang types?

    For example in AW, I wanted more daytime scenes and investigating.

    It sounds like comments made about Dead Space. Some people wanted stupidly over-powered weapons, which removed the whole point of the situation in my mind.

    The worst bit in any horror game is not shooting something. It is the foreboding fear that something is about to happen.
    Edited by DiamondIce at 15/12/11 @ 11:56

  • _LarZen_ #24 5 months ago

    Oh no....hope they havent turned totaly braindead run and gun.

  • King_Edward #25 5 months ago

    How much more Acton orientated can it get?

  • BearFishPie #26 5 months ago

    I'm with Acquiescence on this one. There are far too few proper Survival Horror games out there now, and while the original Alan was far from a perfect example (Alan himself is neither interesting, nor likeable, for example), I liked the slow-fast-slow-panic style.

    Sounds like it's going to end up closer to Resi 5. Boo.

  • Xardan #27 5 months ago

    Not fucking looking good is it? Where every game now has to follow the action-oriented route. Fuck. This.

  • robbiejc85 #28 5 months ago

    I'm a complete lights-on wuss when it comes to games like Dead Space and Silent Hill, and I found Alan Wake to be mildly heart-pumping at best.

    Yes AW had it's odd creepy moments, but I never saw it other than a B-Movie / Twin Peaks mash with a really fun, stylistic take on RE4's combat.

    That's why I'm a little confused as to why there is so much negativity towards the 'action' of this XBLA spin off. Alan Wake fell completely off the original survival horror premise of 2005 when they re-showed it at E3 a couple of years back - and that's not meant as a criticsm. It was a really fun action game that came up against (and lost to )one of the generations' greatest action titles.

    So why is everyone mad it's still an action game? It's like being angry that Gears of War got bigger set pieces in every sequel!

  • ChuckNorris #29 5 months ago

    I quite enjoyed AW despite it being already too action oriented imo. The parts I liked the most were the ones where action took a back seat to tension building and story/intrigue development, which Remedy did quite well. I quit playing toward the end because the action had become relentless and insanely predictable. When I think great action moments this gen, AW does not come to mind. What a terrible idea...

  • RandyKleen #30 5 months ago

    You mean 'orientated'

  • arcam #31 5 months ago

    @RandyKleen

    http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ori1.htm

  • Histeria #32 5 months ago

    @RandyKleen Oriented and orientated are both acceptable in this context - although the former tends to be used more in US English and the latter in British English.

    I am such a dull nerd.

    (EDIT: A nerd and a slow typist. That is depressing)
    Edited by Histeria at 15/12/11 @ 15:57

  • Bulbatron #33 5 months ago

    Loved the setting and atmosphere of Alan Wake. It had great graphics and audio too. But I didn't enjoy the combat at all, so it looks like there's no point in me bother with this.

  • sourc0r #34 5 months ago

    more action. exactly what Alan Wake needed.

    NOT

  • Rack #35 5 months ago

    Did anyone see this weeks Extra Credits? It seems very apt here; they talked about how it was easy in testing to ignore testers feedback if it somewhat resembled a plan you were making, but this could end up backfiring if you weren't careful.

    Players: Alan Wake was great in the slow crawl tension building sections but the action was a bit rubbish.

    Developers: Ahh yes we did think the action was a bit samey, that's why we're focussing on it much more now to make it a bit more interesting, great we're on the same page.

    Players: But that's the OPPOSITE of what we wanted.

    Developers: Don't worry, we're already on it. More action!

  • Kaminari #36 5 months ago

    "More Tarantino than Lynch" says Remedy about Alan Wake 2.

    That doesn't necessarily sound like a good thing.

  • madjim #37 5 months ago

    @Kaminari

    No, it doesn't. And I love Tarantino btw.