Alan Wake game shows fantastic physics

GAMES ARE GETTING even more realistic. It took them a while, but now at least two developers are pushing the boundaries of what we used to get with graphics in computer games.

While German CryTek opted for a tropical paradise transformiing into a frozen hell in its upcoming hit-title Crysis, the Finnish guys from Remedy opted to play it cool and put their latest title in the American mid-west, with life-like woods and waters.

However, looks aren't the only thing this game has to offer. Remedy started to create the game actively using HDR, offering different lighting effects and implementing them inside the game environment, featuring changes between day and night, while weather effects combined with physics were really impressive.

Regarding physics, Remedy showed us a demonstration of a tornado which was breath-taking. In the next three shots, you can see what happens with the house once tornado hits.

It seems that game developers are now finally starting to utilise the latest and greatest hardware to offer best possible experience, although publishers are always asking for games to work on the slowest machines, not worrying that game experience will dramatically erode and developers won't be able to make what they want to.

If you're not aware of Remedy, we have to inform you that these guys have been on the market for quite some time, most notably with their game engine MAX-FX, which used to power older versions of 3DMark and of course, their masterpiece of game noir, two iterations of Max Payne.

The story of Alan Wake is an interesting one, but I won't bother with details - they're available on official site, after all. What I can tell you is that Alan Wake will submerge you into its bizarre world just like Max Payne did.

The game is scheduled to hit the market during next year, and you can bet both DAAMIT and Graphzilla will use Alan Wake heavily in promoting their graphics cards - but being quad-core native friendly code, Alan Wake will also enjoy marketing promotions from DAAMIT (again) and Intel for their 4x4 and Core 2 Quad offerings. Below, hold Alan Wake in all of its glory. µ