It's Here, The Official Silent Hill: Revelations 3D Trailer

I am going to start off by saying it is so hard not to judge this movie already by what I have seen. I read through the Silent Hill 3 Wiki (since I have yet to beat this game). I am a little confused about the relation of the first movie with this movie, or if the intention is for them to be related at all.

First, the Wiki claims Heather Mason, from the third Silent Hill, is the reincarnation of the deity from the first game, but in the first movie the girl with black hair (their adopted daughter) was the reincarnation. Are we supposed to take this as a relation or completely separate? The girls look absolutely nothing alike. From the ending of the first movie, I took it as they were trapped in another dimension forever, like lost spirits. What confuses me is they used the same actor from the first movie for Harry Mason, so are they supposed to be connected? I am hoping the movie has some explanation.

At the conclusion of the first game, Harry Mason is given an adopted baby girl, which in turn becomes Heather Mason. I am hoping this is shown in the new movie at the beginning, as like a summary of what became of Harry after the disappearance of his other daughter and wife. Then that will at least make a little more sense to me.

The game's story line is pretty grotesque, including vomiting and swallowing fetuses to birth this new deity, and though it would be awesome if they went in that direction, I doubt they will. The main idea of Silent Hill 3 is Claudia is after Heather to use her to birth this new evil deity. Harry Mason actually dies in the game, but it is hard to say what becomes of him in the movie because it is noted that he is just missing. Vincent, the handsome sidekick she finds in the film also dies in the game and I am again intrigued on whether or not they will trail the dark story bit by bit.

I do like the creature design as it brings to life what I encountered in the game. I know Pyramid Head is a cool character and he's been in most of the games just because he's so badass, but again he makes no sense in this film because the second game's storyline never made an appearance in the films. He stems from the second game. Oh well. All I have to do is try not to pre-judge, and just go see it for myself.

Silent Hill Book Of Memories (PS Vita): Good or Bad?

I know a lot of people, fans, are upset about this, claiming it isn't like Silent Hill. It just needs to be clarified this is not a Silent Hill game, per say. It's a spin-off, a completely different game using the Silent Hill environment.

Silent Hill as an RPG is...troubling. It's no longer third-person or one-player, but co-op. I am still deciding myself if this is a good move or a bad move and how I feel about the interface of the game. At first reaction, I am excited because I love creating my own character in WoW and then adventuring off into the world carrying out quests, and when you change that world into the Silent Hill world, well I'm downright ecstatic.

On the other hand...the true Silent Hill fan in me is crying. What have you done with my Silent Hill? First Downpour was a huge letdown, after months of waiting, and now this, an RPG Silent Hill. No, it's not a Silent Hill game, BUT an RPG Silent Hill where you can create your own generic victim and trounce around Silent Hill battling the same creatures over and over. The horror has been taken out of Silent Hill and replaced with a new horror; Silent Hill is no longer scary! Maybe the rest of Youtube can sum up what I am trying to say:




As you can see, I am pretty torn. I think the Silent Hill lover in me has gone numb. The mourning process began a long time ago and I just sort of gave up after Downpour. Someone needs to start a completely new horror series that doesn't COMPLETELY SUCK BALLS! For once, I'd like a video game to scare me like Silent Hill used to. Currently, our society is struggling with the concept of "originality" in the media in terms of movies and video games. We keep making sequels, knock-off series, etc. Why won't someone use their brain and throw down an original concept that will scare the hell out of us? Zombies are overdone, ghosts haven't been used in the right way yet, and gory creatures from Hell need to have a seriously creative comeback. I admit, it's hard to depict ghosts as villains in video games without cheesing out. If you check out the video game I talked about in an earlier post, about being a 2-year old in a haunted house, that is what I am talking about. Creativity. All the paranormal games are I-Spy crap and point and click cheeseballs. I want action, terror, gore. I found this in Nightmare House 2, a Half-Life 2 mod. But I want MORE. How about that Japanese game, Fatal Frame? Now that's scary shit. I bought the second game for my Xbox 360 and it still scares the hell out of me, mostly because I play it at night with high volume and the lights turned off. That's what I am talking about. Squeeze out the American cheese from our video games, throw in some foreign folklore and create the story. I don't know if it's because Americans can't get scared anymore like we used to, or if our creativity sucks, but I am still looking for that new video game that really gives me a scare, to replace the hole in my heart where Silent Hill used to make its home.

Debut Clip From New Silent Hill: Revelations 3D

It is hard to tell what kind of film we are dealing with from this all-too-familiar clip from the upcoming Silent Hill: Revelations. We get it, nurses are scary and the first movie couldn't have driven that notion any harder. This may be my out-of-practice speaking, but I thought nurses only went quiet in the dark and that light attracted them just as much as noise? I distinctly remember having to turn my flashlight off while approaching a room and moving around in the dark (and hoping not to bump into anything) so that the "frozen" nurses in the room wouldn't be attracted. But maybe the fact the lights are flickering indicates "dim" quality of lighting and therefore is not strong enough to fully attract the nurses...

BAH! I say the room should be dark, like in the video games, and let's make life a little more difficult for the characters. Let them sit in darkness and the audience hang at the edge of their seats on every sound in the room and whether or not a nurse is approaching. Let everyone feel the tension that the video game emitted.

Well, this film is already ranking low for me as I have not seen anything too enticing. Nurses; it's been done in the first movie. Give me something that really makes me want to see the movie besides how the Silent Hill name can be more ridiculed.

Torchlight II, Where Are You?

Can you smell it? The release of Torchlight II is growing near, and I can hardly stay on my seat. Steam has offered pre-purchase sales already and it is taking all of my will power to not spend the rent money ($19.99 actually!) on a pre-purchase. I've gotten ridiculously cheap nowadays.

Anyways, the release date is still unknown, or, a.k.a. "when it's done." It's killing me! Since Diablo III was a total letdown (which I did NOT spend my money on), a lot of people are looking to the release of Torchlight II. Although, there is controversy over the new Co-op and Multiplayer options with the Always Online DRM that Diablo also has. I, on the other hand, can't wait to play this game with my friends and others, as I spent countless hours playing on my own! And I just pray it won't be as awful as the Diablo III Free Weekend experience...I think I played a total of 1-2 hours when the servers were working? I have a Beta Preview for you here for Torchlight II, if you didn't get the chance to play.



You know, after playing Torchlight, I can relate everything else I play back to that because Torchlight was my first experience with a game of its kind. For example, when I played Diablo III, I thought "Holy cow this is JUST like Torchlight!" in terms of its interface, its inventory etc. I just recently picked up World of Warcraft and it's the same reaction. Torchlight opened a dangerous door for me, and for that I am grateful. I know one came before the other and so forth, but it's the order I played them in that matters to me.

Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you with just that. I've also got gameplay videos with two VERY annoying British men playing co-op, just to get an idea of what it looks like.

Again, I just can't wait to play. I just wish I knew WHEN I could play. The fact they are keeping the price at $19.99 makes me leap for joy, because as you all know, many a times a college student has gone broke for the price of a video game. The graphics in the video look great and sharper than in the original. Character design has improved as well as the number of classes and pets to choose from. I'm a girl, and I love the part of choosing the pet. It tickles my cuddly side. I don't know about you, but I am most looking forward to the weapons. I have a cuddly side, yes, but I do love my weapons. All in all, the sooner Torchlight II can get its butt released, the sooner I can put off the rest of the world for a little while.

Word On The Street: Diablo III Failed Miserably

Okay so I've been sniffing around the internet lately and I have come across a TON of articles, blogs and comments negatively speaking about Diablo III. Boy, am I glad I didn't spend $60 and go broke for that. So, what's going on? Check out some of the Facebook comments under their status stating they released the patch.

Well Folks, the tribe has spoken. And this is just Facebook under Diablo's official page. On top of this, there are various blog posts and websites stating some of the same upsets. Yes, some people are being asinine or senseless and complaining about way too much, but these are the consumers. They put out the cash for the games. They affect the outcome of Blizzard's success. If they are unhappy, their unhappiness will spread among other fans before the upset with Blizzard becomes the central emotion in relation to the company. So when someone sees a Diablo 4 (if attempted), it won't have as many buyers. Or, if I dare say, any product by Blizzard in the future. Despite the reasons, unhappiness is unhappiness and from the looks of it right now, unhappiness is taking over.

I think Blizzard could've done better. It's not about being a hater or anything like that, but about the fact that Blizzard's audience had high expectations for Diablo III and those expectations were not met. The server problems experienced during the Free Play weekend and opening day were sort of expected, but it seems the problems persist. I would be mad if I spent all that money on a game and was dissatisfied extremely. Especially college students, who barely have any money!

I wonder how Blizzard plans to respond to all of the negative comments, or if they will respond at all? I hope they respond. Check out this article I just found today: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Diablo-3-Player-Count-Dives-By-65-According-Gametrics-44420.html#.T_xfe_61FCo.facebook

Looking at this data, Blizzard isn't looking too swell. Too bad I'm too wrapped up in World of Warcraft to boycott them.

All we can do is wait; wait and see what Blizzard will do and wait for another mind-blowing game, maybe like Torchlight 2 or some of the favorites announced at E3.

Pyramid Head, Nurses and Silent Hill: Revelations 3D....Oh No...

Unfortunately (and oddly enough...) Silent Hill Revelations does not yet have an official trailer...or even a teaser...so I smell a trainwreck? The Hobbit isn't released until December and it already has a full trailer.

I can't get my panties in a bunch just yet. Though this whole production process has been a delayed mess, I still have hope that this movie will be much better than the first. If you didn't see the first, here's a trailer to give you an idea.


  Ok, so that movie was pretty good...if you didn't play the video game. If you played the game and are a loyal Silent Hill fan like myself, I am sure you were enraged. Everything was done...WRONG! No! No! No! Here's an example:
Pyramid Head: we know and love him, right? If you didn't play the games, he seems like an epic and terrifying character to have in the movie. But us gamers, oh we know better. See, Pyramid Head exists because he is the collection of James' supposed guilt over Laura's death (his wife). It is the torment and dark feelings that reside within himself. So...without James Sunderland, there is no Pyramid Head! It's like they just threw Pyramid Head in there and said "Hey, that's sweet dude!" Seriously...

Anyways, enough of that. I am an optimist, and I am hoping this next movie is more loyal to the true Silent Hill fans, as they have promised. Of course, I will have to see it in theaters, make my call and of course probably blog about it on here.

Just so you know, you will hear a lot from me on here about Silent Hill.

Something To Make You Smile: TF2 Musical

Okay so maybe The Little Mermaid was my favorite Disney movie from back in the day when Pixar wasn't popular, but add Team Fortress 2 into the mix and it is unforgettable. Check out this short film made in Valve's Source Filmmaker, which is still in beta, and tell me your day doesn't look a little more brighter.

Alice: Madness Returns Made Me Go Mad

Alice: Madness Returns beholds an incredible environment with such a distinct art style. The people in London are twisted and Tim-Burton-like while the different worlds of Alice's psyche (aka Wonderland) each lend a theme along with imaginative enemies and landscapes. Despite the dazzling art style of Alice: Madness Returns, gameplay is not as great as I had hoped. Let me begin by saying you've better be more than skilled at jumping onto platforms of all kinds, or you'll never make it past the first world. I'm not kidding. Maybe 90% of this game is determined by how well you can jump and/or float onto a platform. No doubt you will spend countless hours screaming at Alice and beating your computer at your failed attempts of trying to land perfectly. Hey, here's a fun fact. I discovered a game glitch where once you spawn, the W button appears stuck (though it isn't) and she will keep running forward until you beat on the W button a few times. I fell quite a bit due to this glitch, and it kept happening; it didn't happen ALL the time, but every now and then after spawning. And it pissed me off. Something else: when I first played the game last summer, I discovered another glitch. I think it was just after I bought the game after it was released, so this has probably been fixed since then. Upon the first major boss fight, you must use your umbrella shield to redirect fireballs into the enemy. In this glitch, the umbrella button, well...didn't work. At the time, I had no idea what was wrong or thought maybe I was pressing the wrong button. After meticulous research, I discovered others were having the same problem and maneuvered my way around dreadful instructions in order to fix the problem. I am proud to say I did some computer-science-manipulations (which is funny, considering I am a Communications major), and made it happen. I am still proud of that moment. Since then, I've had to buy a new computer and start all over again from scratch and was worried I'd have to conquer that glitch again. But I didn't, because I'm not sure I could work that magic again. With the constant rage-quitting and a sore wrist from beating the computer desk with my fist, and my mouth tired of stringing curse words, I still can say I hope to finish Alice: Madness Returns in one piece. After a while, I got a hang of the jumping and floating and landing. The combat isn't too hard and the puzzles are measly.  Overall, I loved the story, character design and environment of the game. I can handle jumping onto platforms any day if it means being surrounded by a gruesome version of a childhood fairytale. During some cut scenes, the art style changed into something like this. It's dark and I love it. Character design hardly disappointed me and I felt thrilled to see what came next. For instance, take the zombie guards of the Queen of Hearts. Just so cool and they tie right in to the story, since they were killed in the first Alice. Like I mentioned earlier, this game takes a certain amount of skill, senseless skill, but a skill needed to advance in Alice: Madness Returns, and I think I find myself only playing to finish the story rather than enjoy the constant jumping from platform to platform. It's about timing and if your computer lags a little, well good luck. Some games you can play laggy, but not this one. I play it for the story, and the art.