Well if your Monday didn’t suck already, then prepare for more disappointment. Konami today confirmed that the highly anticipated horror game ”Silent Hills” is cancelled. Both Norman Reedus and Guillermo del Toro have tweeted that they are both heart broken by this and have left the project. Konami claims they are still in talks with Hideo Kojima, but as for now Silent Hills is dead, and that sucks big time. Konami also stated that the Silent Hill series will continue but that doesn’t give us much hope for the franchise.
This really pisses me off. I was looking forward to this game, it looked amazing and seemed like it was going to revive the silent hill series. Konami is at fault here, if they would of just given Kojima his creative freedom and let him do what he wants with his games, then this wouldn’t of happened. Now Konami has lost one of their best developers and lost great potential with Silent Hills.
From all the survival horror fans, we would like to say from the bottom of our saddened hearts is FUCK YOU Konami.
Oh how I miss the good old days of horror games on the Playstation 1 and 2. Sure we may see the genre coming back this generation but it just doesn’t feel the same. All the classic horror games we have played are either dying, abandon, or just kept from us like how Nintendo is handling the Fatal Frame series. We shall not give up hope though, as there is a game currently out now on steam that is oozing with nostalgic horror goodness!
DreadOut is an Indonesian survival horror game that was developed and published by Digital Happiness. The game is heavily inspired by the Fatal Frame games and is centered around a group of students who are trapped in a cursed and haunted town. DreadOut focuses on real life Indonesian folk lore and ghost stories, much like how Slender: The arrival is based on western folk lore character ”Slender man”.
I was not kidding about how this game oozes nostalgia. The atmosphere of DreadOut feels just like a Fatal Frame game, with it’s dark atmosphere and slow paced gameplay. When it comes to graphics, DreadOut is visually lacking. It’s graphic are very low res and look like what you might see on a playstation 2 or PSP game. Still the graphics have a charm and add to the creepy feel of the game and I love it! The design of the ghosts is what makes this game terrifying, nothing like walking down a pitch black corridor with nothing but your phone’s light on and then suddenly having a ghost based on a real life folk tale scare you! This just makes the game too bad ass.
The gameplay is very simple. It plays pretty much like a Fatal Frame game, it is in a third person perspective and you must use your smart phone to battle ghosts and find hints to solve puzzles. The game does promote exploration since there are collectibles for the player to find in order to unlock achievements. The player can also collect power items that will aid them in boss battles. The game has two endings; both good and bad. So make sure you try to get the true ending on your first play through so things can make a bit of sense.
Difficulty wise this game can be hard for new players. I admit that I died alot during the first boss battle, but this is a good thing since it forces the player to find out what the bosses weakness is and use it against them. Once you know how to defeat the enemies the game is quite easy to play. Unlike classic horror games, this game is not very long and that was kind of a bummer for me. The game is about 4 hours long, even shorter if you rush through it. For me I wished it was longer since I was starting to get so immersed into the story and wanted more.
For music in the game, it was amazing. The soundtrack fits perfectly and sounds so awesome during boss battles. My personal favorite track has to be the cover of Gloomy Sunday by Sarasvat; Which serves as the game’s main theme.
All I can say about DreadOut is that the game is amazing and I hope to god we get a sequel. There is so much unanswered questions to the story and so much content here to make a franchise off of. My personal rating for DreadOut is a 8/10. My only complaint is that the game was way too short but with the story, music, and some pretty cool innovative parts in the game that I wish we saw in other horror games made up for the game’s length.
So if you loved the old Fatal Frames, Silent Hills or even Resident Evil games. Then please go play DreadOut you won’t be disappointed.
DreadOut is available on Steam and Playstation 4 for $14.99
Well here we go again people, the third installment in this highly popular PC horror game series is coming to steam! The game’s story takes place thirty years after the events of the first game. From the look of it, it seems there is only going to be one animatronic character coming after you.
No release date has been confirmed but here is the greenlight page for anyone who would like to vote on it.
Bo, Cephus, and their kissing cousin Lulu lounge on their small trailer park camper couch drinking ice cold beer and watching a bag-filled of horror shorts discs. A fear-filled anthology containing four of the best horrifying shorts from some of the most talented and unknown filmmakers displayed for our country-bunpkin viewing pleasure.
For the most part, horror anthologies are the bane of my existence. The appeal of numerous plot lines, not intertwined, swells and overflows the mind. Trying to process it all is like dumping all your Thanksgiving leftovers down the garbage disposal and witnessing it clogging up trying to choke down week old Turkey, bits of yellow kernel corns, and de-gelatized cranberry jelly patties.
…but every once and awhile a worthy anthology gets it right, gets the gist of what makes the innards of good collection of horror shorts. I commend good compilation releases such as “Body Bags,” “Creepshow,” and “ABCs of Death.” Believe it or not or take my recommendation with a grain of salt, but “Hillbilly Horror Show Vol. 1” is on the same awesome level as those I’ve just listed in not so marketable fashion.
1: “Franky and The Ant”
Franky and his partner are hitmen and their current mark is a sexy, barely clad young lady. With bag over her head, the two men drag her to the isolated field where an open grave was previous dug. When the target is revealed to the two men, Franky has more in store for his partner and his target than what meets the eye.
“Franky and The Ant” is a quick-wit and smart short about lover revenge in a chilly cold-hearted and thrilling way. This short will make you think twice about the people who are close to you in more ways than one. Directed by first timer Billy Hayes, the festival winning short is a crime thriller with just the right amount of duration and enough story to make it compelling.
2: “Doppleganger”
In this stop motion short, a skeleton awakes alone in a cave and ventures out on a journey into the world. Walking across great lands and discovery the desolation of the world, the skeleton stumbles upon another skeleton. They’re both seemingly the same with only the lower jaw missing from the second skeleton. When the journeying skeleton extends a hand in friendship, friendship is not what the doppelganger is seeking.
Director Theo Stefanski creates a gothic and surreal looking info life after death and then death again. The message of nothing changes after death is a bit depressing in a comical depiction. The animation wonderfully constructed with love of classical inspirations. The short is short but the takeaway is everlasting.
3: “Amused”
Martha returns home to her snow covered house to find an insane individual munching on her daughter’s scalp. The crazed man then wears the detached scalp on his head and chases Martha through the cold countryside. With every hope of help, more terror lurks around every corner and its up to Martha to resolve her own salvation against the sinister amusement that has overcome the murders.
Cuyle Carvin is a vet in the film industry and with “Amused” being his first attempt at direction just proves that his experience is a test of time spent on the independent and Hollywood scene. “Amused” is well shot even if the film stock quality isn’t up to snuff; this might have been purposefully done give the tone and feel of the short a more retro sensation. The short has no dialogue and translate so well to the viewer that no chatter is necessary and I would go as far as unwanted. I would love to see more from Cuyle Carvin in the future in the horror genre and see a longer version of “Amused.”
4: “The Nest”
A small town diner has an award-winning, business-thriving honey from a deadly hive of over-sized, flesh eating swarm of bees that are kept secret. When a horse rancher and a government land inspector investigate the remains of a flesh-ridden horse, the diner owner and her dim-witted mute son strive to keep their hive a secret.
Saving the best short for last, Tim Zwica’s masterful short contains flawless acting and a story that fun as it is thrilling. Flesh eating bees. Who know that would be fun? The dark tone of the film’s cinematography surely heightens the appeal of the film and the special effects creates an allure that can’t be ignored. The Nest is produced by the ever-so-lovely Jennifer Scott who also plays a goth-hooligan girl who gets ravaged by the bees. “The Nest” might be a Syfy mega hit if it was made into a full length feature much in the same vain of “Sharknado” but I would predict that “The Nest” would have three times more success.
I’m hooked on “Hillybilly Horror Show” and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Glamour model Rachel Faulker and her skimpy outfits. Horror shorts with girth, grit, and guts unlike any anthology I’ve seen in a very, very long time. The “Hillbilly Horror Show” is today’s Joe Bob Briggs with more redneck fun. MVDVisual brings volume one home and I would recommend this DVD, though the cover lacks much artistic enthusiasm, with award winning shorts as these filmmakers need more exposure and new talent is brooding behind the scenes of Hollywood.
So I was going to do a video review of this on our Youtube channel but I just haven’t had the time to record or edit so I’ll just write my review here. Before the review I’ll like to wish all of you a Happy Halloween! Watch horror movies or do what I’ll do tonight, play horror games! Anyway lets talk about The Evil Within, this game had to be my most anticipated game of the year. I was so excited when I heard that Shinji Mikami was coming back to horror, that I could hardly wait. For those who don’t know who Shinji is, he is the original director of the Resident Evil games, he pretty much created Resident Evil but unfortunately his last one was Resident Evil 4 and I’m sure you can tell it was his last because all Resident Evil games after that were terrible. So Shinji has put together his own development team, partnered up with Bethesda and gave us The Evil Within.
In the game you play as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective of the Krimson city police department. After a dispatch call, Sebastian and his team go to investigate a gruesome massacre at the Beacon Mental hospital but is later lured into a nightmarish world. The first thing you’ll notice in the game is that the graphics are very well done. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a horror game and it sets the mood very well in the environment around you. Character and monster designs are excellent, environments were detailed and gritty, and the gore physics oh the gore physics were awesome! If you love blood and guts then this game has it, but If you can’t handle the sight of it well then there is an option for you lower the blood but wheres the fun in that?
Character development in the game is good but VERY limited, you won’t learn shit about the characters unless you collect documents scattered throughout the game. Sebastian’s back story only unfolds through documents and letters you find and the same goes for the main antagonist Ruvik, who may I add is my favorite character in the game. He is voiced by Jackie Earle Haley and he does a fantastic job. Ruvik also acts as the nemesis of the game, if you have played Resident Evil 3 and you remember that nemesis would chase you at random moments of the game, well Ruvik will do the same. He will randomly spawn in the world and chase your character. The story of the game is very unique but It is confusing as hell, you will not know ANYTHING about the game on your first play through. You will need to research and play through the game several times to understand the story.
Now this game is BRUTAL it is hard, if you think this game is easy and you can get through it without dying well your wrong. You will die a lot in this game, it is punishing and some times just plain out fucking you up. Minor enemies of the game can be difficult, even in small groups they can over power you, I can say that I have died a total of 65 times in the entire game and there is a total of 15 chapters. There is an upgrade system in the game where you can upgrade your weapons, abilities, inventory, etc. In order for you to upgrade your character you will need ”green gel” which you get as rewards for defeating enemies and bosses.
For everything that is good about this game there are of course some minor things I didn’t much care for. First thing is that there is a season pass. Now I hate when companies announce downloadable content before the game is even released and they try to sell us a season pass. You can thank games like Battlefield with it’s Premium passes and Call of duty for my hatred of season passes. But the good thing about the Evil Within’s season pass is that you get three upcoming expansions for $20 so I have to admit that’s pretty good. The second thing that isn’t really a bad thing but it just threw me off is that the game is always in a widescreen mode. Like when you play a DVD and it’ll ask you if you want to watch in wide screen, well that’s what the game is doing. It has a bar up top and a bar at the bottom, not sure why they added this, I guess for a more cinematic experience but either way I hope they patch it to where you can disable it. Now the the thing that I’m really getting tired of seeing in horror games, especially Resident Evil is the damn chainsaw enemies. I’m so sick of chainsaw enemies I know that they were scary in Resident Evil 4 but they just aren’t scary anymore because Capcom milked that same tactic over and over again. I hope Shinji doesn’t bring back these stupid chainsaw enemies in a sequel. The final problem I had with the game is it’s lack off true horror. It may have a creepy atmosphere but for a veteran horror gamer like me, it just didn’t deliver that feeling of terror and fear of what will happen next.
Before I give my personal rating of the game I’m going to change how I rate these games. So now I will rate them from 1 to 10 so for the The Evil Within I’m going to give it a very high 8/10. It is a very good game and it is worth playing, especially if your a big Shinji Mikami fan like me.
It's Bloggin Evil! 