First gen SH

So a new defining moment, it’s Silent Hill’s turn this time. Love the game, although graphically it’s a bit outdated. It requires quite some ingression to still create the power it once had. It’s the one that started it all though, and although the series is currently a little diluted, it’s still a franchise worth having around. And this defining moment underlines Silent Hill’s genius.

Second gen SH

Fear 2 is out, right after it’s own demo. Haven’t had a chance to play it, but it looks more of the same, I’m not really warm for this title and their promotion to it hasn’t really focussed on unique horror aspects at all. Dead Rising 2 announced and a rumor about a Dead Space prequel. Looks like horror is on the rise, contrary to most naysayers.  Love to see some new franchises too, but you can’t have it all.

What is that Thing?

So, turns out LIT is a horror game. Who knew? Supposedly it’s fantastic and it’s everything a WiiWare game should be. I don’t know, haven’t tried it so far. I’ve updated the calendar in the small hope it will see a global release.

I’ve also thrown up a new Defining Moment; it’s about The Thing, a highly underrated gem in my opinion. True, the game was bogged down because of the scripted turns, but nonetheless it’s a fantastic piece of digital horror. Really mimics the movie’s emotions. Sadly, the planned sequel never came to fruition, but I’ll be covering that another time.

Spaghetti Demon Children

Finished Jericho recently and I must say that I had this game pinned all wrong. It’s a great game with some stunning visuals. Really like the timetravel and character abilities. The ending was…odd…to say the least, but supposedly it’s a set-up for a sequel or something, which I really hope gets a release.

Played the RE5 demo yet? Ugh, I told you not to spoil yourself. If you still need more RE5, I suggest heading over to www.hobofightclub.com for a cool side-by-side trailer analysis from 2005 to 2009. It has really come a long way.

I’ll be posting up another defining moment soon and it’s going to be a fan favorite, so stay tuned.

Foundation of Survival Horror

There’s a new defining moment, but it’s a bit of a wild card. It’s from the first game I ever played; Castle Adventure. I wasn’t planning on writing an article about it, until it popped up in a few conversations and I realized I wasn’t alone in my amazement over the game’s mechanics and the resulting scares. I delved deeper into the game and found out that it could be considered as one of the survival horror foundations.

Resident Evil 5 demo is out, but my advice is stay away: You know the game will be good, you know you will buy it. Don’t spoil yourself, just wait a little longer.

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.

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.

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.

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.