And lots more. Don’t miss the great features from some of the other staff writers–Terror Tuesday reports from Austin, Texas, Giallo film reviews, Horror-fied re-imaginings of mainstream films, and more.
Cool news this morning for fans of adventure games with horror overtones. JoWooD Entertainment and Dreamcatcher will bring Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper to American Xbox 360 owners this March (Europe has had the game since November of 2009…). The title will be released under the banner of The Adventure Company, a label that seems to be almost single-handedly keeping this genre alive.
Here’s what gamers can expect from the title:
London, 1888. A series of horrendous murders has left a trail of blood throughout the troubled London district of Whitechapel. Nobody, nothing seems to be able to stop this brutal killer, and the population is close to panicking. Step into Sherlock Holmes’ boots and solve the most sinister case in his career! Enter the twisting, gloomy, dirty back streets of 19th Century London in order to follow the trail of the gruesome criminal whose name alone suffices to spread fear and horror. His name is … Jack.
Jack the Ripper.
Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper? I’m all over that. Check out what my fellow horror game critic Marcus Simpson thought of the title by reading his review over at Screamstress.
Sony Pictures doesn’t want you to forget its film Legion is coming out next month. First they gave us a repackaged holiday trailer, and now they’re sharing an online game that allows you to experience some of the film’s narrative firsthand.
I spent some time screwing around with the game this morning and it’s pretty cool. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have enough Kung Fu Angels running around for my tastes, but it’s free so bitching about it seems wrong.
You can give it a spin by aiming your browser here.
Legion is set to bring the apocalypse to a theater near you on January 22nd.
A week or so back, I posted some good news about Sega’s upcoming Aliens vs. Predator game: Lance Henriksen was not only doing voicework for the title, but he’d be appearing digitally in the game as well.
A few days ago, we got our first opportunity to hear how he’ll be utilized in the title courtesy of this new story trailer for the title. Henriksen narrates as only he can–meaning with a cool, gravelly voice that makes even the most innocuous of statements sound incredibly menacing and intimidating. Henriksen’s carved out a nice niche for himself in the game voiceover market, but seeing him return to a franchise like Alien is even more special to this fanboy.
Check out the trailer below. The title will debut on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime in the first quarter of 2010.
Those crazy EA marketing folks are at it again–because nothing says “holiday cheer” quite like a song about Hell and Lucifer sung to the tune of the “12 Days of Christmas”.
The demo for Visceral Games’ loose adaptation of Dante’s classic story is already out for the PS3. The Xbox 360 demo hits tomorrow. Until then, mix this with the Nat King Cole at your holiday festivities and see how your guests react…
I’m back in action, just in time for the usual slow news weekend. The PC is fixed (the problem was exactly what I thought it was), and I’m good to go. Thanks for suffering through the past few days of fewer than average updates.
Today, I bring you one of the stories that got missed because of my technical difficulties. A few days ago, Southpeak Games and Renegade Kid launched a teaser website for Dementium II–the follow up to their Nintendo DS title Dementium. Amazing how that whole sequel titling thing works, isn’t it?
Anyway, there’s not much happening on the site at the moment–it’s a little film clip with a timer that for some reason requires you to verify your age in order to see it. Apparently, that’s because there will soon be a lot more content on the site–including horrifying new clips and images from the game.
The title will be available wherever videogames are sold in February 2010.
About the only thing certain about the planned cinematic version of Konami’s popular horror game Castlevania is this: it will be based on a videogame.
The film turns up in the news once every few months, and it’s usually just to announce some sort of change in who’s doing what in the production. Paul WS Anderson was set to write and direct at one point, then he dropped out. News came back in July that Saw creator James Wan was attached to direct (which was pretty exciting news), but even that may not be the case.
Bloody-Disgusting has a staffer on set of Anderson’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, and he reports back to the mothership with the following piece of puzzling news. According to RE producer Jeremy Bolt, Anderson is once again interested in the Castlevania project.
I’m not sure what to make of this story, so I’m taking it with some healthy skepticism until we hear more. No offense to Anderson, but I’d be far more interested in seeing what Wan would do with this property. I’ll bring you more on this one as the details become clearer.
I wrote the headline to this story not really thinking–and only now does it dawn on me that “gets a street date” make it sound like Silent Hill: Shattered Memories went out and picked up a hooker…
That’s not what happened, though. Instead, Konami has announced the release date for the title (or, the date the game will “hit the streets”). Wii owners can experience an updated version of one of Survival Horror’s most revered titles on December 8th. PlayStation 2 and PSP owners will have to wait longer as no date has been set for either of those platforms. What can gamers expect from this re-imagining? Check out these details.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories begins just like the original as Harry Mason is searching for his daughter through the snowy streets of the haunted Silent Hill where he will encounter a cast of unique characters. However, this time, players are equipped with only a flashlight and cell phone to get story information, solve puzzles and navigate the darkness while escaping the demons that lurk among them. In addition, a psych-profiling feature has been added to analyze players and adjust itself to their actions, making this the most customizable and terrifying survival horror title to date.
Early demos for the game have been impressive and I’m excited to check out the Wii version of the game–if for no other reason than because it will actually give me an excuse to turn on my Wii…
Jump past the break for a character breakdown from Konami’s press release.
A double dose of Dante’s Inferno news this morning that’s sure to make gamers happy.
First up, news from EA (courtesy of Kotaku) concerning the release date for the game’s official demo. PS3 and XBox 360 owners will be able to try out the first level of the title sometime next month. EA hasn’t been more specific than that but you can at least sleep easy tonight knowing that you’ll be guiding Dante through Hades sooner rather than later.
If that wasn’t enough to satiate your need for all things Inferno, here’s another developer diary on the game. This newest segment covers level six, better known as “Heresy”. This new level finds Dante going deeper into Hell–and it’s the first area in the game that really portrays a fire-and-brimstone Hell that many of us recognize from the Bible. One of the producers mentions that by this stage, we’re “in Satan’s backyard”.
Dante’s Inferno continues to impress me with each new diary they reveal (which means EA’s marketing plan is working). We’ll all get a chance to experience the finished product when it hits retailers everywhere on February 9th of next year.
Fort Zombie made its official debut on October 30th (just in time for Halloween!), but Paradox Interactive is still releasing videos showcasing what you can expect from the title. This newest one is roughly two minutes of gameplay footage with some cheesy ’80s-esque action music on the soundtrack. If you’ve got a ten in your pocket and a hankering for some zombie-killing, this might be the game for you. Now, read on to get a better idea of what the game’s about.
In Fort Zombie, players must save the town of Piety, Indiana from an impending wave of zombies migrating from a nearby major city. Players are challenged to take control of a single building throughout the entire campaign. By effectively building this structure into the ultimate fort, as well as carefully searching for supplies and finding and training survivors in Piety, players have a chance at conquering and outlasting the flesh-hungry zombies.
The game blends zombie-killing mayhem with casual RPG elements and is available for PC download now–for an insanely cheap $9.99 price point. Yes, the graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge, but the gameplay may well make up for the visual shortcomings. Plus, it’s ten dollars–what do you expect?
