DIMIC

This is one of those orders I really looked forward on getting my hand on. Next to the game itself, the special edition looked promising. Let us find out if it still is!

After removing the cardboard sleeve I find to my surprise a box shaped like a black book with the title of the game, Alan Wake, on the cover in shining silver. When you open the ‘book’ you find the the title page with an autograph of Alan Wake himself! (Oh my gosh! I think I’m going to faint!)
The book contains the game, an extra disc and a book titled The Alan Wake Files.

The Alan Wake Files
A strange book, ‘compiled’ by an author called Clay Steward. The entire book gives you the feeling that it’s real, not just some goodie from a game. If you remove the outer cover of the book you’ll find that its made of the same material as the big book. The stamp you’ll find in the game pinpointing a supply chest, is on the front of this book, also in silver print. It really is a strange book, I haven’t read all of it yet but so far, I can’t say a lot about it. It contains information about the events that happen in the game and interviews with characters. Since I haven’t finished the game yet, I’m going to put this book aside for the time being. But I must say, it’s an intriguing little book. Ah, by the way, it’s a hardcover 😀

Bonus Disc
The second item I pulled out of the book is the Bonus Disc. It’s a nice holder with a soundtrack disc (rip-able yay :D) and a bonus disc. The music is very nice apart from one song. The bonus disc holds a lot of interesting things like interviews, background information, bonus content and a gallery. Almost all the videos are quite interesting to watch although they contain some spoilers. Best to watch it after you finish the game. You can also install two themes on your Xbox and you get some Avatar pictures you can use. The themes are really nice I must say.
I also really like the digital art book, even though I would prefer a printed version. It contains material from over five years back: some concept art and ingame material dating from 2005 ’till 2010! The disc also contains storyboards  together with their corresponding in-game movies which really is a nice touch. I didn’t looked at all of them until I finish the game. Otherwise, talk about major spoilers!

The Game
And it also included the game, would be strange otherwise wouldn’t it. I can life with the fact that it isn’t in a steel case or something this time since I really like the overall look and feel of this edition. But it’s kind of strange that the game isn’t in a standard green Xbox 360 box. The case is just black, almost like a case for a PC game or a DVD case. Although they didn’t use the standard color, this case fits the edition better so I’m almost glad in some way.

Conclusion
Overall, I really adore this edition. It’s simple, it doesn’t include a lot of goodies which I normally love but it fits the feeling and look of the game so good I absolutely don’t care. I think this is great edition even with the lack of a printed art book and other goodies. The soundtrack is also a delight to listen to (minus one song). So all by all, it’s definitely worth buying! (and the game itself makes it also worth while 😉 )

Pictures:

Item reviewed: Alan Wake
Type: game, Xbox 360
Variations: Normal edition.
Rarity: Easy to find and not to expensive.