Walkthrough Wednesday: Alan Wake Manuscript Pages, Coffee Thermoses, and More
By Justin Massoud
Maybe you aren’t already aware, but Alan Wake has multiple collectibles: 106 manuscript pages (many only located when playing in the unlockable Nightmare difficulty), 100 coffee thermoses, several TV and radio shows, can pyramids, and over 20 signs providing Bright Falls history lessons. And that’s in addition to the ultimate collectible — Alan’s missing wife, Alice. We’ve compiled the best Alan Wake walkthroughs this week to ensure your survival against the Taken, plus guides to nab all the crazy collectibles strewn across the poltergeist-wracked town.
While I personally don’t recommend the use of walkthroughs unless you’re really stuck, especially with a game as atmospheric and dependent on surprises as Alan Wake, gamepressure.com has a handy, well-written guide with screenshots. Bear in mind its focus is getting you through the game in one piece; the guide eschews collectible locations for the most part.
After playing through the game myself and spending an exorbitant amount of time trying to locate all the collectibles on my own, I can say with supreme confidence that your best bet is to ignore that aspect of the game your first time through. Absorb the atmosphere and enjoy the unique narrative; you can worry about locating all the collectibles on your second playthrough. And when you get to that point, do what I did: use this collectibles guide at swearingatvideogames.com to ensure you won’t be swearing at Mr. Wake. It features both written instructions, and, for the more visual gamers out there, a video guide. Just be warned: the videos jump around a bit and aren’t full walkthroughs.
If you’re having trouble unlocking some of the “secret” achievements, check out Xbox360Achievements.org’s handy achievement list. As usual, click at your own risk. Achievements have a nasty habit of spoiling plot points or boss battles.
Lastly, you may have noticed a grayed out “Nightmare” difficulty option when you first started the game. Unlock it by completing the game. Simple. Now, get back to finding those manuscript pages and coffee thermoses, you literary pack-rat. Alice can wait, right?
