Bumble Inbie Gumble

        So after investing an incredibly small amount of money in the most recent Indie Bundle I graciously received my six games with the soundtracks and whatnot. Then of course the Old Gods of PC gaming decided to bestow upon the world 4 more games in this thing, and I think this bundle is singlehandedly getting me back into PC gaming. It even came with Torchlight, which is that poor-man's Diablo that I still haven't played. I've been spending a lot of time recently playing Shatter, which is a very interesting callback to the brick-breaking days of yore from games like Arkanoid. It even has the goofy brick breaking boss battles against monsters composed of big dumb squares that Arkanoid was known for. Also added was Jamestown, the awesome 16-bit shoot-em-up that I've heard so much about. So reviews of more manageable indie games are foreseen in my future. Toodles.

Resident Evil Schmix?

             The final countdown to Resident Evil 6 is upon us. Like 6 days. I don't now who hasn't been excited for that so I'll be going for a day one purchase. I have yet to play Resident Evil Revelations, so I'll be on the lookout for that, as well. The little demo that came with the woooooooonderful Capcom game Dragon's Dogma (I don't know why I didn't ever write more about that one on the old blog) was apparently a pretty good representation of the rest of the game, so I'm gearing up to like 2/3 of the game. The action segments in one of the storylines that boil down to just shooting and taking cover from zombies that are shooting and taking cover, so it's pretty much just a third person shooter at that point. But I'll buy it anyways because that game is gearing up to be awesome. Of course. Capcom doesn't really put out too many awful games, anyways. So there's that.

S'more Borderlands nonsense

     So this isn't my review for Borderlands 2, mainly because there's too much in that game to properly describe it in the short time I've played it. I really enjoyed reviewing the original Borderlands, so I want to do this right, obviously. I can say some about the game in the meantime, though. The way you can go about building up your character this time around is actually pretty involved, unlike the trivial stat bonuses you would receive in the previous game. You can actually build your own play-style, and the plethora of skills really increases the replay value, even with a character you've already played as. Randy Pitchford and the Gearbox team seemed hellbent this time around on making each character, even in the same class, its own little snowflake. If that snowflake lit people on fire with an alien shotgun. I'm really very excited to get more into this game and lay down a review in the future, and I'm looking forward to what the next few months hold for gaming. With the announcement of Kingdom Hearts HD for PS3, I'm kinda ready for anything. Resident Evil 6. Pay attention to that, y'all. Toodles~~

An update for the ages. (Or not.)

     So today was a pretty good day for video games. Probably the most aggressively hyped game in recent memory, Borderlands 2, dropped today. I was a giant fan of the first one, so this was a day-one buy for me. Honestly, the beginning isn't very Borderlands-y, but it's been picking up. Today also marked the release of the Humble Indie Bundle 6, which had me thinking. I've reviewed Binding of Isaac, but I've acquired quite a few PC games for being a console gamer, making me sort of want to review some more indie games. I was playing Lone Survivor, which is a sort of 2D Silent Hill. I'm pretty well known to have a survival horror kick, and this game actually manages some scares even in a 2D format, which is commendable. Sooooo PC games. Comin your way. No review tonight because I haven't finished Kingdom Hearts yet. But soon. So soon....

The Show Must Go On.

      Ever wonder about mortality? NOT ME! With my recent purchase of a 3DS, I've rediscovered 2 things. One, Kingdom Hearts is pretty good, and two, 3D is the worst gimmick of all time. So I've been playing Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. I'm not to keen on a couple of the new mechanics they added to bounce you between the two characters and I sort of hate the voice acting,  but I've been enjoying myself with it. More portable game reviews in the future. Pretty sure.  Recently I've also been playing Resonance of Fate, which is the RPG from the Star Ocean folks that was eclipsed by Final Fantasy 13. It's actually a pretty cool take on the tired old thing that is steampunk. Definitely expect a review of that, Nolan North and all. So yeah. Ciao.

Review- Silent Hill 2 HD

            Let me say that I never played Silent Hill 2 in it's original run, so all complaints about a lack of crazy fog in the HD version are lost on me. That said, let's begin. 

         The Silent Hill series has had a long history of being called the best survival horror game series of all time. Silent Hill 2, in particular is held up to the heavens as the shining example of how the genre should be. The game starts with the hero, James Sunderland, receiving a letter from his 3 year late wife. Not ten minutes into the game you discover that this town that's apparently very, very evil is actually very, very evil. The town of Silent Hill seems to be completely deserted, but James is never alone. Throughout the game he meets other tortured souls, searching through their own personal hell for the thing most precious to them. The re-done voice acting is pretty solid, but it doesn't have the same cheesy charm of survival horror days of yore.

       Silent Hill is known for it's interesting way of blurring the line between the supernatural and psychological disturbance, and Silent Hill 2 is no different. Without spoiling anything, every enemy you face in the game has a significant meaning that goes beyond the fact that it's a scary monster. Pyramid Head, perhaps the single most famous survival horror character ever, and Silent Hill's representation of guilt makes his first appearance here. He evokes such a sense of power that escape can sometimes seem impossible, perfect for the hopeless nature of the game. 

                   

      The gameplay in Silent Hill 2 is a mix of some interesting puzzles and melee/ gun combat. The combat is pretty standard, it's never awful and you can run past a large majority of the creatures. The puzzles can actually mess with you, which is odd to see. For example, leaving everything you've acquired throughout the game in a locker so you can descend in an elevator, or an area of the game that's more disturbing than it has any right to be, in which James continues to jump down pit after deep pit to reach his objective. The game can take from 7 to 11 hours on your first playthrough depending on how you handle puzzles and which difficulty you're playing on. 

      Of course, as with the Lollipop Chainsaw review, I feel the need to gush over the Akira Yamaoka score for this game. The music in Silent Hill 2 is haunting and unforgettable,  and after maybe a particularly shocking revelation in the story or surreal gameplay segment, a song can stick with you forever. While running through the city most of what you'll hear is the just-out-of-your-vision squirming of a straight jacket wearing creature as it scuttles from place to place. The sound design in the game can really bother you, from the slick sounds of one creature, to the creaking, squirming joints of another, to the scrape of Pyramid Head's sword on the floor, letting you know that death is just behind you. It's a great addition and it really goes to show how important good sound design is in such and atmospheric game as this. 

    Silent Hill 2 is the reason to get into the survival horror genre. Tank controls and allegedly frustrating item management that usually comes with the difficulty aren't a hindrance here. The sound, the art design, and even the getting to see one of the game's 6 endings all mix together to make a truly supreme experience. Silent Hill 2 isn't just one of the best survival horror games of all time, it's one of the most atmospheric games ever, and it'll stick with you long after you put the controller down. 
                                                    9.5/10