 Mr. Dark vs. Mr. Light. Alan's wife made it out of the realm of darkness, but now Alan is trapped in an endless loop. He has to defeat his alter-ego Mr. Scratch or end up consumed by the evil that is constantly on his heels.
1. Gameplay
Alan Wake was an interesting game with a great story. Unfortunately, that story ended on a clear cliffhanger. It left the game feeling rather incomplete. Alan Wake’s American Nightmare picks up where the previous game left off and tries to tie things together, but still leaves a woefully incomplete ending. Still, the storytelling is awesome and many aspects of the game have been improved.  Alan seems to have a thing for women. American Nightmare extends on the story that the previous Alan Wake game laid out. Alan’s wife was kidnapped by some evil witch ghost entity. Alan spent a good deal of time fighting darkness (figuratively and literally) in order to get his wife back. He got his wife back alive, but in the process got trapped in the realm of darkness. In American Nightmare, Alan has to try and fight his doppelganger, Mr. Scratch, and hopefully make his way back to the real world.  My nemesis, myself. American Nightmare does include an interesting scenario. Alan is stuck in an endless loop. At the end of three different areas, he fails and is sent back to the beginning to retry everything. Once he does everything perfectly, he wins and the loop is broken. Think “Groundhog Day”, but without all of the days wasted spent discovering new and unique methods of suicide. What Bill Murray took years to accomplish, Alan can do in three days.  I didn't see Murray bringing down a satellite with a CD player. This is an excellent way of subtly explaining why the player keeps ending up in the same place over and over again, but it does make the game very short. And, even worse, the game doesn’t bother to give a definitive ending! After playing close to 20 combined hours of Alan Wake games I still have no idea if he made it out of the dream world, if the darkness was real, or if Alan’s simply gone insane. It nearly ruins an otherwise great story.
American Nightmare is a stand-alone expansion pack, so it’s not meant to be particularly lengthy. I managed to complete it in a little under 5 hours. There is an arcade mode where players can earn points and compete against friends, but after completing the campaign there is little reason to go back and try it again. The story is good and the extra content is interesting to find and read, but this game is still very short.
Players who have gone through the previous game, “Alan Wake”, will be familiar with the story and the combat style. So there isn’t much reason to get frustrated. The whole “infinite loop” thing is a bit surprising, but once players figure out that’s what is happening there isn’t much that is frustrating. However, I cannot stress enough that players should play through the previous game before attempting “American Nightmare”. The game does give a brief summary of what happened in the previous game, but it will not be nearly adequate enough to explain what is going on. That is the only really potentially frustrating factor in this game. 2. Parental Notices
Violence is very mild in this game. The majority of the game will be spent looking for parts for puzzles so that Alan can move on to the next section. Alan will have a small arsenal of weapons to use against his foes, but all of the firearms have the same effect. Shooting an enemy will result in a small spark until the enemy dissolves into ash. There is never any blood.  A focused beam is more powerful than a shotgun. Grenades, in the form of flashbangs and flares, will have a similar effect. After a blinding flash, flashbangs will instantly cause enemies to dissolve. Flares will only lower an enemy’s defense and cause it to back away. There are a number of television screens on which Mr. Scratch will taunt Alan. Most of the time Scratch simply talks about some sort of exploit, rambles on about Alan’s futile actions, or something along those lines. These broadcasts are barely worth watching. But there are a few times when Scratch does something noteworthy. For example, in one he brings a girl over and slits her throat. None of the violence is seen directly, but Scratch’s actions and her reaction imply the murderous results.  Ugh I hate this channel.
There’s only one recurring section that contains sexuality. While most of conversations that Alan will have with the female characters in the game will include some sort of tension, one character has been “tainted” by Mr. Scratch, the main antagonist. It is implied that Scratch and her had sex. Since Mr. Scratch is Alan’s evil side, she is also powerfully attracted towards Alan. She can be heard moaning slightly in a sexual manner before Alan finds her.  Evidently chicks dig writers. Maybe its their sensitive side? However, once Alan turns on the lights, she comes out of her trance instantly.
Aside from the random ashtray and beer can that can be found in the environment, substance use is not a factor in this game.  Nothing to see here.
Gambling is not a factor in this game. 3. Other Factors
There are no modding tools available for this game.
Religion is not a factor in this game.
Law enforcement is not present in this game.
There is no multiplayer mode for this game.
Extreme sports are not a factor in this game.
Magic is a constant presence throughout this game. Most of the enemies will have some sort of magical darkness that shields them from damage. The player must use some sort of light source to lower that defense in order to defeat them. There are a number of times when “ritual” will come into play as well. For example, in the first area, the player must activate a satellite transmitter near an oil derrick by turning on lights, playing music, and activating the rig. As a result, a satellite comes crashing down to Earth and allows Alan to proceed to the next area.  Incoming! Even after completing all three areas, Alan will be stuck in a sort of “Groundhog Day” infinite loop. After completing the third area, he will be transported back to the beginning of the game. Once he figures out how to do things perfectly and manages to kill Mr. Scratch, the loop is broken.  Scratch doesn't appreciate that.
There are no other factors involved in this game.
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