Parent's Guide: Alan Wake - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

Alan Wake is an horror-themed adventure game that tells the story of the titular writer, Alan, and his experience in a small town called Bright Falls. Shortly after arriving in the remote retreat, Alan's wife, Alice, goes missing, and the town is overcome with an all encompassing darkness, that seems to possess both the townspeople and inanimate objects alike. Creepier still, Alan starts to discover pages of a manuscript that claims to have been written by him, yet seems to accurately predict the things that are happening around him. Using nothing more than his trusty torch, a pistol, and some nerves of steel, it's up to Alan to get the bottom of the mystery, and find his wife Alice.

In a town shrouded by darkness, light becomes your greatest weapon. Lampposts form safe havens and checkpoints in the town, where you can replenish your health safe from the grasp of "taken" - those who've been possessed by the darkness. While combat is less frequent than in similar games, it's still an important part of the story here, as you have to break through the Taken's shield with your torch, before firing a few shots at them to finish them off. When you're not fighting for your life against the Taken or fending them off with a flare, you'll be exploring the idyllic yet eerie town of Bright Falls, searching for any clue about what happened to your wife, whilst trying to piece together the long, twisting, yet thoroughly entertaining story.

In terms of accessibility, there's nothing here that should really pose a problem for a child who has experience with other third person style games. A reading ability isn't really necessary, as the game is fully voiced, with full subtitles for those who'd prefer them. Pretty much the only stumbling block is whether your child will be able to handle the dual analogue control scheme (similar to that found in the Toy Story 3 game, Fable, or more mature titles like Gears of War or Uncharted). If they can, the chances are they'll get on fine with Alan Wake.

Although it could probably class as a horror game, Alan Wake tends to get its scares in a more traditional way - by making you jump, rather than relying on in your face, explicit gore. Although you'll have to take on enemies who have been possessed by the darkness, there's no blood when you shoot them, and when you finally defeat them, they simply fizzle away in sparks of light, rather than collapsing. As far as swearing goes, again, things are rather mild here, with the odd "s**t" being as bad as things get.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360