http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/creating-a-video-games-world-with-real-people/

Liking this game more and more...Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Just downloaded them on Xbox Live, they look pretty sweet.

I have a question about these two episodes: Are they ACTUAL prequels or are they just parts of the actual game that they're releasing early?

Shane, if you're getting these, could you do some vids of them please? I've played the entire first "chapter/episode" of the full game, so I know what the main story would be like... lol

As far as I know, the videos are prequels that set the stage for what begins in the game. If you watch carefully, you'll notice a few details in those videos that are featured in Alan Wake. For one, the reporter who interviews that guy, zones out, and when he comes to, he's already finished the interview (Alan Wake also has black outs, hence how he wrote that story that he doesn't remember). Another thing to note is that some of the things he wrote down in his book, began to unravel before his very own eyes (Such as the decapitated deer).

One cool little nod to the game itself is the interview with Alan Wake that the waitress is watching. I couldn't really tell at first glance if it was a CG video or not, but if it's a real person in that video, he looks a lot like Alan Wake.