In this new promo clip put together for Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Alan’s villainous alter ego Mr. Scratch breaks the fourth wall to pop by the Remedy offices to ahem “visit” his creators and put the frighteners on some reviewers who’ve not been too kind to him in the press.
It’s exciting stuff in a “Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman” kinda way, but more importantly it brings the enjoyment of the video game as a story-telling medium out of the console and makes the whole game playing experience much more involving.
Meanwhile, Electronic Arts recently beat my old employers Bank of America to the title of “Worst company” in America over on Consumerist.com. This is mainly thanks to its policies of:
-Holding back game content.
-Charging the consumer to unlock content already paid for.
-Draconian use of digital rights management (DRM) on all of its titles.
-Treating loyal customers like crap, and charging them for the privilege.
Yeah, it’s easy to see why. With all the recent controversy with DRM issues being addressed by different video game companies in a variety of different ways, it’s good to see developers like Remedy adding to the whole experience instead of implementing iniquitous ways of making you pay more for something you already own.
I’ll admit, I’ve yet to get a grip on Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, but this video’s pushed me over the edge. Alan Wake was a really atmospheric, spooky and entertaining game. Although not incredibly original gameplay-wise, it was certainly original in its storytelling and this video adds to that mystique. I’ll be having a crack at it soon.
