It\'s been months since anyone has really heard or seen anything substantial out of Alan Wake, a survival horror game that virtually came out of nowhere at E3 2005. The PC and Xbox 360 exclusive has been under complete lock and key since then.
Recently, Remedy demonstrated Alan Wake at an Intel press conference, showing off some new elements and the first hint of gameplay. The video link of the conference
can be found here (off-site link). You\'ll find the footage for Alan Wake at 16 minutes in, so you can just fast forward to that point.
Much of what is shown is similar to what was seen at E3 2005, with fantastic looking environmental effects and a gigantic seamless world. They briefly demonstrate the engine\'s lighting and weather, all of which has been seen before. However, the video also introduces some new elements, including one or two scenes which actually include Alan\'s character running in motion, much as you would expect him to in the game itself. Alan traverses through a dark warehouse, flashlight in hand, demonstrating the complexity of the lighting system.
This is one of the first times that actual gameplay-style videos have ever been shown of the game; up to this point videos have strictly highlighted the graphics engine over game design.
The video then transitions to an outdoor scene where Remedy shows off something new in the environmental toy box: a tornado. The tornado rips through a ranch house, tearing apart buildings and tossing vehicles left and right. The physics demonstration is much more impressive in this demo than the one that was shown at E3 2005. Then, Remedy showed some cascading logs rolling across a road. While the 2005 demonstration was certainly interesting, it wasn\'t nearly as impressive as some of the other physics demonstrations at the show.
While the new demonstration certainly isn\'t long, it\'s enough to wet the appetite once again. We can only hope that we see more of this game come Microsoft\'s showing at X06.