I loved Alan Wake when it was released a few months back (It fell between Really Good and Amazing) and getting the chance to play the first DLC episode for free due to a great early purchase deal made me remember all the things I loved about it and made it stand out.
"The Signal" take place directly after the end of Alan Wake. The "last time on Alan Wake" segment that starts each episode of the original game makes a lot more sense coming in months after the original as a quick TV-like means of reminding the player what the heck went on in those final moments. Alan spends the episode following the GPS signal (using his Verizon phone! Product placement!) put out by Bioshock afficianado Tom Zane through various landscapes ripped from the original game, each representing Alan's increasingly tortured psyche. Now, the idea of retreading tons of forest levels that you already played through in the original game sounds pretty boring; however, the designers at Remedy put some really fun twists on what could have been a painfully repetitive journey. For example, at one point Alan reaches a locked church which, in the original game, led to a standoff with the Taken (possessed townspeople); here, it leads to an exploding deer float, which attacks you, and a very fun experience blowing zombie villagers away with your flashlight and some well-placed blast furnaces.
Each section felt both familiar and fresh, reminding me of many of my favorite parts of the original while providing me with some new challenges. Some people really disliked the combat in Alan Wake in which our protagonist must burn off a layer of the oily Dark Presence from his enemies using a flashlight, flares, and flash grenades before finishing them off with some traditional weapons. I, for one, got quite a kick out of the combat: running and dodging towards the next light; dropping flares to slow an oncoming rush of enemies; flashing my light to stun my foes for that extra second needed to reload. If you felt the same way about combat in the main game, you'll enjoy this DLC just fine. If you hated it...well, you probably hated Alan Wake so why would you want to play more of it?
Some gripes though. Alan Wake had an awesome story and some very funny characters. Other than some cameos as cardboard cutout collectibles and a few funny exchanges with your agent, Barry, in dream-form, "The Signal" is a solo affair that only inches the game's overall story forward. Since story was one of the selling points of the main game, this does seem like a bit of an omission. There's a second DLC pack on the way and talk of a sequel. Perhaps "The Signal" will come together as a small piece of the larger narrative. Or maybe it'll just be a fun diversion.
So, for free, the episode is a cool redux of some of your old stomping grounds, as well as a few new places, giving you more opportunities to play in the world of Bright Falls and to experience the always creepy feeling stemming from running through the woods at night with killers on the loose. Reminds me of my childhood! For five to seven bucks, I probably still would have had the same amount of fun. It's more of a game I enjoy and to receive it for nothing is a great value. "The Signal" is Really Good.
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