Alan Wake’s American Nightmare detailed in Xbox World

First details on Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Remedy Entertainment‘s Xbox LIVE Arcade followup to the 2010 Xbox 360 exclusive, have come out of Xbox World Magazine.

Unlike the first game, American Nightmare is an open-world title, and will see players return to the same location multiple times throughout the story. It is “significantly bigger than any episode of the original game,” according to Xbox World.

Set two years following the events of the first game, Alan’s accomplishments have become an urban legend. Fans of his work have re-imagined the legend, which says Alan disappeared into the woods of Bright Falls, only to return as a maniacal serial killer named Mr. Scratch. According to the legend, saying Mr. Scratch’s name repeatedly will summon him, and because written word has a habit of becoming reality in Alan’s world, Mr. Scratch has materialized, and is off to kill Alan’s wife, Alice. Now Alan must stop Mr. Scratch, whose murderous activities are leaving bodies and video evidence for him to trail.

According to the mag, we’ll learn what happened to Alice and Barry after the events of the first game through manuscript pages, TVs, and radios we come across as we play.

As far as combat goes, the core mechanics are the same as the first game, though enemies respond to light-based attacks in different ways. A new crossbow weapon, which can break through the darkness protecting enemies, Uzis, military rifles and a nail gun, are being introduced for the first time.

For more details on the new Alan Wake, pick up Xbox World issue 113, which has an eight-page feature on the game.

Thanks, CVG.