January 28th, 2009
There’s a new defining moment up, this time focussing on a newer Survival Horror game: Condemned. I’ve had some great fun with it, it has some truly unique ideas.
Graphics: Dropped 'till choppy
Not much Survival Horror news overall. Dead Rising: Chop till you drop is still shaping up, but personally, I’m not all that excited about it. The new controls are welcome, but not at the cost of what made the original so special and unique. Dead Rising is about huge numbers of enemies and the true feeling of a one-man army grabbing everything he can. Sure the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, but horror and comedy often go hand in hand.
There’s also new Oneechanbara, but even I’m reluctant to classify it as a horror game. We’ll see how it plays out.
Categories: Condemned, Dead Rising, Defining Moment |
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January 22nd, 2009
Ironically left in the cold
IGN posted a story about the cancelled game of Winter, and it seems like the entire community rises up to save the project. Watching the trailer shows an interesting game for the wii, but I’m sort of disappointed by it’s enemies. Even the music is like Silent Hill. However, a Silent Hill-esque Wii exclusive focussing on Survival instead of Horror (you have to keep warm) could be really interesting.
I’m sort of on the fence about the other two Wii games; Lit and Fragile. I’ll have to see a trailer before I’m going to add them.
Categories: Cancelled, Winter |
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January 21st, 2009
I am Alive, but what am I about?
Ubisoft announced that I am Alive would see a release early 2009. I updated the Calendar, but I’m still sceptic. Trailer looks nice and all, but it doesn’t seem to have a really special element.
Finished Prey, which turns out to be another unique entry; there’s a really interesting layer beneath all the action. It’s not just a gravity-flipping, portal-running, free-flying shooter, it’s got some great story elements as well. Survival aspects are defintely there although itemselection is almost non-existant. They’ve also changed the ‘continue’ into a sort of minigame. Really interesting and it doesn’t break the game’s flow. The Horror is definetly everywhere, the only reason people aren’t accepting as such is probably due to the fast-paced firstperson perspective.
Expect a new defining moment soon.
Categories: Calendar, Defining Moment |
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January 12th, 2009
Killer shot
There’s another defining moment! (Project) Zero/Fatal Frame is often regarded as the ’scariest’ series, but many don’t realize how it succesfully scares people. It sometimes uses the JumpScare, but it also uses strategic methods to scare the player.
Finished Legendary, which isn’t the bad game many people make it out to be. At it’s core it’s a solid entry, but unfortunately it gets bogged down by some poor development choices. It suffers some pacing and difficulty problems, esspecially near the end. The enemy battles have to be experienced though and it contains many great moments. Up next: Prey.
Categories: Defining Moment, Project Zero |
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January 10th, 2009
Creepy rooms on DS
Creepy rooms on PC
After the announcement of Resistance: Retribution (Calendar updated), another handheld horror game has come to my attention: Theresia for the Nintendo DS. Unlike the shooter on PSP, this is more of a slow exploration/adventure type of game. Definetly more classic-looking. There’s a trailer of the game here. Seems it’s already out in US and JP regions. EU can import it from those.
I’ve picked up Scratches and Outbreak (both PC games), haven’t really gotten the time for them yet, but Scratches looks particulary promising. Outbreak’s screenshots make it look like a Half-Life clone.
Categories: Scratches |
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January 9th, 2009
Desperately wanting to be scary
Resistance is quite a difficult series to categorize, but I’m always in favor of inclusion over exclusion. It has many elements that overlap with obvious horror titles. Including the feelings it generates during play.
Anyways, Gametrailers has a video on Resistance Retribution, a portable sequel. The contents look quite horrorstaple. In any case, it’s a good excuse to bring out the PSP again.
Categories: Uncategorized |
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January 8th, 2009
Why be happy with what you’ve bought, if you can improve upon it?
Downloadable Content really extends the replay value of a game, but we all know the dark side of paying for things that should have just been included in the firstplace. For your interest;
Why isn't this considered Survival Horror...
There’s an expansion for FallOut 3 coming up. An already brilliant game gets a new mission pack with assorted extra’s (outfits and such). For only 800 MSpoints (Xbox360) it can be yours soon. Lead Producer Jeff Gadiner said it will take about 4-5 hours to complete on average, or 10 hours if you’ve never played videogames before. Operation Achorage is the first expansion out of a promised set of three. I’ll update the Calendar soon.
Another Game addition is pretty much exclusive to PC gamers, but won’t cost you any money. If you’ve ever played the Thing intensely, then you’ve already know the number one gripe gamers have with it: Most Burst-Outs are scripted.
...and this is?
Luckily, one big fan is trying to creating a mod to make ALL burst-outs unscripted. The final mod would even include the option to take Team Members with you to the next level. The modder says this makes the game far more difficult and will balance it out a bit more by adding more Bloodtests (finally usefull!) and such. Check it out here and show your support!
Categories: Calendar, Downloadable Content, Mod |
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January 7th, 2009
The Calendar has been updated to give a better overview for 2009. Looking at it really shows the problem of regionreleases. US is playing Silent Hill 5, JP is playing Zero (Fatal Frame or Project Zero), while Europe always draws the short straw.
Left 4 Dead: Filled with fun
Been playing Left4Dead myself. Every major game-element gets introduced in the first movie, yet it’s still able to keep surprising you due to the level’s randomizer. Love the final stages wherein you have to dig in and defend your team against the hordes and hordes of undead. The resulting chaos is unparalelled.
Can’t wait for it’s DownLoadable Content either. New stages with new bosses are promised which would definitely improve the main game.
Categories: Calendar, Left4Dead |
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January 6th, 2009
Brand new year, brand new site.
We owe so much to this guy
To kick things off immediately, I’ve added the first Defining Moment. It’s about Resident Evil, one of the games that pulled me (along with many others) into the genre, so a fitting first entry for the site.
The Calendar will also soon be open, detailing which Survival Horror Games are coming up. 2009 looks to be quite a promising year with many new installments of old powerhouses.
Look forward to more additions and news.
Categories: Calendar, Defining Moment, Site |
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