preGAME 14: Alan Wake

[ Music ] ^M00:00:07 >> Hey everybody, welcome to preGAME. Round of applause, I love it. The energy in this room is exciting. I'm Jeff Bakalar. >> I'm Mark Licea. What -- >> What's going on? >> I'm doing well. >> We got a semi-scary show going on today. >> Today's show is terrifying because, live -- >> Terrifying. >> -- On today's show, we're going to be doing a game demo of Alan Wake, an entire week before it comes out. Oh, my God, this is a scary game. >> I'm excited. >> We're going to have to hold hands and put on nightlights because you guys are never going to want to go back into the forest ever again. Ever again. >> Unh-unh. >> We got a lot to talk about. Let's get things going with our news and headlines for the week of May 11. ^M00:00:47 [ Music ] ^M00:00:49 Lots of headlines to talk about. >> Lots of trailers. >> And that's the most important part of our little segment today. We have three amazing trailers of games that everyone needs to start getting excited for. >> I'm going to show them. >> We're going to show them one after another, but we'll show them, we'll talk about them, and, you know, we'll have a lot of fun. First game I want everyone to watch with us right now is "Enslaved." It's by the people who did "Heavenly Sword." Great game. I was a huge fan of that game. Let's check out what "Enslaved" is all about, and we'll meet up right after the trailer. ^M00:01:23 [ Music ] ^M00:01:29 >> Save me; save yourself. I die; you die. ^M00:01:37 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:01:42 My freedom is your freedom. ^M00:01:45 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:01:48 You get me back to my world, and I'll set you free. ^M00:01:51 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:02:09 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:02:22 >> Very cool. "Enslaved" is -- a lot to digest. >> Yeah, watching that trailer. And I guess if people are kind of confused when they're seeing the trailer, and they're not sure what's going on, just a little information on the game. It's loosely based on a 16th century Chinese novel called "Journey to the West." >> So I wonder how they -- >> It's set 150 years in the future past that time. >> So that's basically the past for us, essentially. >> Yeah. Yeah, apparently, but it looks pretty cool. >> Yeah. And I -- it's -- >> A lot of green. A lot of robots. >> It's, you know, it's totally ambitious. >> It kind of reminds me of "Prince of Persia," the last one. >> With all the, you know, with the -- that sort of art style, you mean? >> Yeah. >> Yeah, absolutely. It looks really cool. Like we said, very ambitious. It's a lot to digest just from this trailer, but what I like about it is that the game looks heavily story-based, which I think is very important in games. So, yeah. >> And just the fact that it's from the developer, Ninja Theory, man -- >> 'Cause I'm such a big fan of "Heavenly Sword." >> "Heavenly Sword is so amazing. >> And that was one of the games -- that was pretty much the flagship game that they pimped out when the PS3 came out. >> Absolutely. >> And that was the game that they showed off. >> Yep. Absolutely. >> And it was a great game, so hopefully this will follow suit. >> I hope so. No release date on "Enslaved" yet. The full name is "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West." We're really excited about it. We will have more when we know more, but for now all we have is this trailer, so definitely looking forward to that. We'll get to that when we know more. Next step, we have another super-cool trailer. So exciting. It's called "Singularity." >> Oh. >> And let's check it out. >> Let's see it. ^M00:04:02 [ Silence ] ^M00:04:07 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:04:16 >> I had to great intentions. ^M00:04:18 But they blinded me to the truth of what we created. ^M00:04:24 [ Game sounds ] They have harnessed the singularity -- ^M00:04:30 -- And claimed the future as their own. The only way to stop them is to take control of time itself. ^M00:04:40 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:04:51 Bold returns to you. ^M00:04:53 [ Music ] ^M00:04:58 Life turns to death. ^M00:05:01 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:05:03 And death becomes something in between. ^M00:05:07 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:05:23 There is potential. There is hope. And in the right hands -- ^M00:05:27 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:05:30 -- There is still time -- ^M00:05:32 -- To make things right. ^M00:05:37 [ Music ] ^M00:05:44 >> Wow. Singularity. How can you not see that trailer and get trilled -- chills. >> I was seriously -- my -- >> It looks incredible. >> I hope we're able to see the jaw that has dropped. >> I don't know. I mean, it's -- look, trailers are great these days. Companies do a great job putting together sort of highlight reels of the game, but man, oh, man -- >> Best of the best. Right. >> -- Doesn't that look great? >> Every clip in that game just looks amazing. >> So for everyone who's maybe a little confused, the people behind this is Raven Software. They haven't made a game, or at least an original title, in almost a decade. So that's -- you know, a lot of hype has to be leading up to this. >> Yeah. >> It's basically a Cold War era shooter, that sort of historical science fiction. The coolest thing that everyone -- you're seeing right now this thing called the TMB, the time manipulation device. Essentially, this thing is able to -- >> It can do anything, almost. >> It can, like -- >> It can restore crumbled buildings. >> Yeah, exactly. >> It can age people, and basically kill them. >> And [inaudible]. Unbelievable stuff. You're basically -- there's one scene coming up where you're able to resurrect a collapsed staircase in order to move on. So there's this whole sort of dimension of puzzle solving with this thing. I mean, it just -- you know, we haven't heard too much about it. The games only a month away, a month and a half away, so you know, we're really getting excited about it. >> We're going to try and get this on preGAME so we can really get more of an in-depth -- >> That would be wonderful. >> -- View at it. But the game's called "Singularity." Activision's putting it out. Raven Software behind it. I mean, the trailer speaks for itself. Really, really, you know, sort of -- and it's nice to see things -- a unique idea, you know? >> Yeah. >> It's nice to see that. So we'll have to see what happens. That -- June 29th is the release date on "Singularity." We'll have more as it develops. Finally, the last out of our trio of trailers, this is a sequel to the 2008 classic "Little Big Planet." It sold millions of copies, this game. It's back. Last "Little Big Planet," you could build your own levels. This time around, the focus is on building your actual own games within the entire Little Big Planet universe. So Wilson, let's check out this trailer for "Little Big Planet 2." ^M00:07:56 [ Music ] ^M00:08:03 [ Music ] ^M00:09:57 "Little Big Planet 2." Very exciting. The first game was so great because the world was so open and so customizable. >> Yeah. >> And this -- just the fact that you can create your own games looks so cool. >> I -- you know, I just did not know that that's where we were going. >> Yeah. >> You know, everyone sort of -- >> Because when I thought of "Little Big Planet 2," I was thinking what would they expand on? >> Right. >> How would they make it different? >> Right. >> And it definitely looks like a lot of different features. >> I'm not -- like I said, I'm not going to lie. Not where I -- not the direction I thought they were going. Media Molecule, these guys are just so ambitious. I mean, it says a lot that they're going to make a whole, entire, you know, game development platform. >> Yeah. >> You know, you saw the examples. They had, like, sort of an arknoid [phonetic] version. They had, like, racing games. I mean, I just think it's unbelievable. >> And in the original, you could kind of create your own stages, but you were limited to -- >> But you were on levels. >> -- To a certain amount of customization. >> Right. >> You could only do so much to it. >> Exactly. >> But the range was only so, you know, expansive. But this -- it just looks like the possibilities are even more endless this time around. We're really excited. You know, "Little Big Planet 2" supposedly this year, so a lot to look forward to. Man, oh, man. And like I said, two million levels, right? People have been to go crazy. >> Right. >> Unbelievable. Let's get into the rest of the stories for today. We want to talk about a few things that have made headlines this week that are important for you guys, that you guys should be knowing about. Project Natal back in the headlines. I feel like this happens every two months or so. They kind of slipped out a rumored release date. >> Absolutely. >> And it's not really confirmed, but -- >> Not confirmed, but according to a marketing manager at Microsoft Saudi Arabia division, I guess, is working -- >> After he kind of unintentionally leaked it. >> He might have leaked it. >> He got a little excited. >> Apparently. >> He got a little giddy over Natal. Apparently October. Sometime in October is when Project Natal will see the light of day. I -- that's -- I was expecting closer to the holidays, though. I was expecting, like, a Thanksgiving sort of thing, you know, and like Black Friday, like everyone -- you know. >> Well, October is pretty -- >> It's -- you're right. It is the season. >> It's just about a month before, you know. >> Right. And it definitely is the season. You know, I guess we'll have to find out the core details next month at E3. >> It's just a rumor. I guess Microsoft hasn't confirmed it -- >> Yeah, he spilled it out -- >> -- But they haven't denied it either. >> -- And then no one else sort of came on board and said yeah, he's right. >> Yeah. >> So, you know, obviously -- >> The first thing that I thought when I read this article, I was like, "Is he in trouble?" >> Yeah. >> Is he going to have a job tomorrow? >> So yeah, probably October 2010. I'd put money on it. Usually when these things slip out, they turn out to be the case. So, yeah, if you guys are wondering, Project Natal getting a better idea of when this thing is coming out. October is your best bet. Moving along, well, this is really going to parlay us into our discussion topic, but we're talking about Nintendo, and whether or not you would pay for an online gaming service in Nintendo. >> Is that even a good question? >> Is that even a good question? I don't know. We're going to talk about this. It's our featured round table discussion. ^M00:13:01 All right, so, I'll be honest, man. I'm just going to ask you straight up. Mark Licea -- >> No. >> I didn't even finish. So you would not pay for a Nintendo gaming service, as it exists now. >> I think if you are not paying for Sony, for the PlayStation 3 and their interface and all their online-ness -- >> Right. >> -- I don't think Nintendo has a right to charge you for their services because -- >> I think Sony's so much better, and they offer so much, and just the integration between downloading games, it's not comparable to the Nintendo. >> All right, well, I'm going to take the other side. >> [Inaudible] at all. >> I would pay if, though, if they were able to -- >> They completely revamped it. >> A total 180. I'm talking about demos. I'm talking about some sort of, you know, screen name system that doesn't consist of 16-digit friend codes, which is the most crippling -- >> Painful. >> -- And disturbing feature of Nintendo's online effort. >> And the connectivity is not great either. >> It's not good. One thing that I thought may be -- for some reason, this came to my mind, and I thought maybe I would pay for something like this -- would be if, possibly, they opened up their entire library of NES, SNES, 64 -- >> Right. >> -- And Wiiware games just to anyone who wanted to play them. So for the exchange of a monthly fee. That would be something that would be interesting. >> So sort of like an all-you-can-eat -- >> But I mean, at the same time, it would still be older games. >> Right. >> Oh, I mean, you know what, I would totally pay for that. >> Aside from Wiiware because that would be amazing. >> But you're right. If I could pay five, ten dollars a month and play literally any game from the Nintendo vault -- >> Exactly. >> Including Game Boy. I don't know where those games are. >> And it also serves the purpose of the Wii because usually you turn on your Wii when you're playing with people that come over, and a lot of those fan favorites are games that people like to play together like Mario Cart 64. >> Exactly. >> I mean, obviously Mario Cart for the Wii, but you know, just a ton of games that people are familiar with. >> Yeah. >> And I just think that would be an interesting way to charge for that. >> You bring up a great point. Let us know what -- absolutely. Let us know what you guys think. pregame@cnet.com is how you get in touch with the show. This is a hot topic. People are getting really heated about it. >> But when I first read about that, I was like, "Hell, no." >> Hell, no. >> What am I -- what am I paying for? >> Well, look, I asked people around the office when I wrote the thing, and people were like, no. Get away from me. >> Exactly, and just the fact that you come out with it, and it's free. >> How dare you? >> And Sony PlayStation, they have their free service, and then all of a sudden they're saying no, we don't want to do that anymore. We want to charge. >> People pay for X -- >> Who's going to be happy about that? >> I don't -- people pay for Xbox Live because of how streamlined -- it's not perfect, but it's done well. >> And how are you going to release that information to the press, and have -- expect people to be okay with it. >> Be happy about it. >> No one's going to be okay with that. >> Like I said, let us know what you think. More details as they come, but they're definitely flirting with that idea. Right now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for our live demo, "Alan Wake." We have the full game here right now. We're going to show you guys a little sneak peak at the horror inside the game. We're going to get to that right now. ^M00:16:00 [ Beeping ] ^M00:16:03 So "Alan Wake" on the show right now. We're going to be showing you just a little sneak peak at the game. We were able to talk with a developer a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, it didn't work out right now for our timeslot because of the time difference in the -- in Europe. >> And the fact that we changed dates last minute. >> And we did bump the show a day, so we had another illness. >> We do appreciate the live audience hanging out. >> Yes, absolutely. So I'm going to butcher this guy's name, but he's a really cool dude. Everyone calls him Oz. His name is Ozkarry Hackenin [assumed spelling]. I think I might have said that -- Hikenin. >> It sounds like a street fighter move. >> It does, right? >> Yeah. >> He was cool enough to talk with us. You know, we had a great time talking. Spoke for like 25 minutes on the phone. We've met a couple times before. Really cool guy. Really gave us some insight as to how "Alan Wake" came to fruition. We've been talking about this game forever. Let's just shut up -- >> Let's just do it. >> -- And hop right into it. We're going to be showing you guys a section of the first episode. "Alan Wake" is set up like a TV series, and there's episodes, complete with cliffhangers, recaps, all that cool kind of stuff. So right now, we're going to get into one little part called "Waking Up." So let's check this out. ^M00:17:19 >> Wake up. >> Alice? ^M00:17:22 [ Music ] ^M00:17:33 >> Waking up in the crashed car felt like I had woken from one nightmare and entered another. I couldn't remember how I got there. All I knew was that something terrible had happened to Alice. The phone was dead. I'd have to find help on foot. ^M00:17:53 [ Music ] ^M00:17:56 >> So "Alan Wake" is a story about an author who goes on vacation. ^M00:18:02 >> [Inaudible] was a book, "The Creator's Dilemma" by a Doctor Emil Hartman. Seeing the book brought back my fight with Alice. I didn't like it, and I didn't like the guy's smug face on the cover, either. >> He goes on vacation, and things -- >> Go terribly wrong. >> Go terribly wrong quick. ^M00:18:19 >> They'd have a phone I could us. It looked like a long hike through the forest to get there. >> So without giving too much away, Alan is in search for his missing wife, and -- >> Damn. ^M00:18:32 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:18:39 >> Really creepy environment. Just a very scary game. And when we were talking to Oz about, you know, how they're able to make a game that's so scary, but, you know, don't forget, "Alan Wake" is rated "T." So, you know, a lot of people go oh, you need gore and all that stuff. No, you don't. They were able to do this with a "T" game. ^M00:19:01 [ Music ] >> Hello, is someone there? >> This really explains what's going on in this story with these pages. ^M00:19:12 [ Pages turning ] ^M00:19:15 >> The loose sheets of paper were pages from a manuscript entitled "Departure." That was the name I planned to use for the next novel I had never gotten started. I was named the author. I hadn't written it. I couldn't remember writing it. In the scene on the page, the hero was attacked by an ax murderer in the woods at night. >> Does not bode well. >> Yeah, that would bum me out if I found that. So now, we're going to make our way to this gas station, hopefully. >> And what's neat and kind of different about this game is -- ^M00:19:46 [ Music ] >> -- Before every -- oh. >> Oh, that was terrifying. ^M00:19:50 >> Please, I've been in an accident. >> -- Is before every episode, or every chapter in an episode, I guess, it gives you this quick catch up, like a TV show would have. >> Right. At the beginning of every episode. Right. Yeah. Really cool. When we were talking, they said they were heavily influenced by -- >> The lights up ahead were a good sign -- >> By TV, too. >> -- Maybe I wouldn't have to hike all the way down to the gas station to find a phone. >> Like "Twin Peaks," "Lost." Obviously, "Twin Peaks" is definitely the biggest influence, just judging from, you know, the actual mountain town setting and stuff like that. ^M00:20:21 [ Footsteps and music ] ^M00:20:32 >> Anybody there? Please, I've been in an accident. Hey. Hey, you. >> Failed. >> There's been an accident. I need help. >> Deposit. >> I need to -- >> Premiums cabins for rent in night fall. >> Oh, hell. >> Carl Stepki [assumed spelling]. Pleased to meet you. >> Oh, my. >> Nonrefundable reservation required. Fair and square. >> He looks like he can help you out. >> Yeah. >> Fair and square. >> Yeah, let me go talk to this guy. That seems like a good idea. So now you're running for your life, and here's a page from the manuscript. You can pick these up throughout the game, read about this story you supposedly have written but can't remember about. ^M00:21:24 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:21:29 That was terrifying. ^M00:21:31 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:21:51 >> I had to figure a way out of this. Any second now, and Stuckey would be knocking on the door with his ax like Nicholson in "The Shining." >> Nicholson in "The Shining." I like that. >> Also, you know, I found a lot of product placement in this game. >> You can just see the Energizer. >> Energizer. Energizer makes the flashlights in this game. ^M00:22:08 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:22:15 >> Are you going to call for help? >> This is your -- this is, basically, your main weapon in the game. The light. That's how you defeat the enemies in the game. ^M00:22:22 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:22:27 >> Oh. >> Hello? Hello? >> Where are you? >> Our friend out there has done something with the telephone lines. ^M00:22:34 [ Game sounds ] ^M00:22:40 >> Okay. >> You're about to get bulldozed. >> This is going to be a problem. Oh. Let's try and get out of here. >> You're actually playing right now. >> Yeah, I'm playing. This is me. Oh. That's pretty good. >> That's pretty good. >> That was good that I got out of there. Wow. So -- >> All right. You're going to hunt down that. >> -- Really dynamic. Let's find this -- now, you can see, like, the environment, what they do when things are not so happy in Bright Falls. >> It's misty. >> Very foggy, a lot of wind. Really good atmosphere creation. >> All right, you got some friends. >> Here are the enemies, and you basically just -- you take out the darkness. The flashlight stuns them. Flashlight stuns them, and then you're able to shoot them. >> And that's cool because it goes along with what you're were saying about how you don't need to have blood gore if it's well done. >> Exactly. Exactly. And -- ^M00:23:39 >> It just disappeared. If I was dreaming, it felt real enough to make me sick. >> I think that's where we have to end it because we've already shown too much. >> Cliffhanger. >> Cliffhanger. You know it. That's exactly how "Alan Wake" goes. Yeah, and that's how we're going to end it right here. You guys want to check out "Alan Wake." It comes out one week from yesterday, May 18 on Xbox 360. >> Appropriately in the style of the game. >> Right? Do you like the cliffhanger. We did a cliffhanger with a game that likes to do cliffhangers. >> Exactly. >> That's how we do it here on preGAME. >> Only on the 360. >> It's definitely a -- you know, it's a very original game. I'm loving it. there's going to be a lot of downloadable content, also. So everyone who's wondering, the game that you get, there's basically -- Season One is what they're calling it. >> That's very cool. And then when you download -- >> So it's a complete story. >> -- It would be like, Season 2, or supplement for free from the original. >> Maybe. Maybe. They're a little unclear about that. >> Very cool idea. I think just the idea of that is just very unique and original [inaudible]. >> Yeah, it's -- I can't say enough good stuff about it. brand new take on weapons. We really like the whole light and dark sort of contrast, using that as a weapon. So, yeah, I can't say enough good stuff about it. Xbox 360 exclusive. You can only get it on that, "Alan Wake," May 18 is when it comes out. Finally on preGAME, every week we talk about new and notable releases. ^M00:24:54 [ Beeping ] >> All right, only a few to talk about this week. Obviously, "Skate 3," the game we featured last week -- >> Last week. >> -- On preGAME comes out this week on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so if you're in to that, or you're not sure about it, go watch preGAME from last week, and you can see what the game is about. >> Very niche, but a fun game. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> Won me over. >> Also, this week, "Lost Planet 2." >> Oh, wow. >> Heard some stuff about it. That comes out this week on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I think the PC version is a little delayed. I don't know for sure. But that's really going to do it for us today. >> Wow. >> Yeah. >> Quick show. >> Good show. >> Yeah, it was a -- "Alan Wake," time flies when you play that game. Can't thank the guys at Remedy enough for talking with us about the game. Everything -- they've been very accommodating, and it was a lot of fun chatting with those guys. Make sure you guys check that out next week. On preGAME next week, "Prince of Persia." >> On preGAME next week, right? >> Next week on preGAME. >> Last time on preGAME. >> Maybe we should do -- we should start it up. "Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands." Crazy. >> Crazy. >> We're going to have it next week, along with I'm not even telling you, a very special, surprise game. >> Oh. >> We're not saying what. You guys have to tune in next week to find out. Make sure you do that. That's going to do it for us on preGAME. Leave us an email, pregame@cnet.com, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can with all your videogame comments, questions, and stuff about the show you want to hear. That's going to do it, right? >> All right. All right. Everyone have a great week. We will be back next time. Thanks again for everyone who stuck around a day waiting for the extra show. We appreciate it. >> It was worth it, wasn't it? >> I think so. >> I hope our audience feels so. >> As long as I get to see "Alan Wake," it's definitely worth it. We will see you guys next time. I'm Jeff Bakalar. >> I'm Mark Licea. Thanks for watching. >> You've got it. It's preGAME on CNET TV. We will see you guys next week. Thanks again for tuning in. We'll see you. ^M00:26:47 [ Music ]