horror posts(Subscribe to this feed)

Splatterhouse opens its doors in Q3 2010

by JC Fletcher { Oct 13th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Click to enter SplattergalleryWe had kind of forgotten that, despite the closure of developer BottleRocket, Namco Bandai's current-gen Splatterhouse revamp was still in the works. And even if we had remembered that, we would have assumed that the supposed 2010 release had been quietly canceled in the interim. However, October is the right time for horror games and Namco Bandai has decided to surprise us all by releasing ~~the game~~ five screenshots!

These new screens look pretty different from what we've seen, seeming to show a little bit of a cel-shaded effect and, for some reason, reduced muscle definition on Rick. We didn't really expect Namco to be messing around with the basic look of the game, but there it is.

The company also adjusted the previous "early 2010" release date we'd heard: now the game is slated for "Q3 2010." We're kind of hoping the extra time goes into the graphics. At least into getting them back to the state they were in last year.

Gallery: Splatterhouse (10/13/09)

JU-ON to settle its Grudge on Oct. 13

by Randy Nelson { Sep 15th 2009 at 5:29PM }

Hopefully the decision to ship JU-ON: The Grudge on ~~Rocktober~~ October 13 -- as revealed by Nintendo -- won't prove an unlucky one for publisher XSEED. Yes, the game will be met at retail by the likes of Brütal Legend and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, but the "haunted house simulator" possesses something those games don't (we think): The ability to kill you one week after you play it. Oh, wait -- that was the tape from The Ring, wasn't it? Still, JU-ON will probably manage to scare up some sales.

Silent Hill haunted house spooking Orange County this Halloween

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 10th 2009 at 11:00AM }

Sinister Pointe, an Orange County, Calif.-based haunted house attraction, has got something special in mind for gamers this Halloween -- their annual gore-filled maze will be Silent Hill themed this time around. There's a few details on the company's site -- including an endorsement from Konami, it seems -- but no early looks at the attraction are given. We're guessing Pyramid-headed gentlemen and bloody, faceless nurses will be incorporated.

We're not certain how much a production like this costs, but if they're aiming for capturing the true Silent Hill experience, they must be spending a freaking mint on fog machines.

[Via Kotaku]

Next Resident Evil movie will be in 3D, will spawn new film trilogy

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 24th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Anyone who's seen one of the live-action films based on Capcom's Resident Evil franchise are aware of how in-your-face the movies' terribleness tends to be. However, horror film news site Shock 'Til You Drop recently got a terrifying piece of news from producer Paul W.S. Anderson at San Diego Comic Con -- the next film in the series, titled Resident Evil: Afterlife, will be presented in 3D. We're thrilled about the stereoscopic Jovovichian action -- we're somewhat less enthusiastic about the bump in ticket prices that'll come about to provide the necessary eyewear.

Anderson went on to explain the film would kick off an entirely new trilogy of Resident Evil films, saying he regards it "as a re-tooling and rebirth of the entire franchise." We know what you're thinking -- does this mean the films will finally remotely follow the plot of the games? Oh, don't be silly. It's Anderson, man.

[Via VideoGamer]

Comic-Con 2009: Left 4 Dead 2 Swamp Fever hands-on

by Kevin Kelly { Jul 24th 2009 at 8:00PM }

Electronic Arts hosted a studio showcase in San Diego yesterday, just before the start of Comic-Con. Inside the Onyx Lounge were bright cheerful lights, colorful pastel colors, fresh-baked cookies and ... The Littlest Pet Shop. However, if you headed downstairs to the basement, it was very dark, mysterious and crammed with things like Brütal Legend and Left 4 Dead 2. We couldn't resist the siren call of more zombie slaying, so we plunged straight into the new Swamp Fever level being shown off.

Head on beyond the break for our writeup. Later, look for our interview with Chet Faliszek, writer for L4D2 at Valve, where, according to him, "everyone is a designer!" But for now, it's time to find out why you'll want to catch "Swamp Fever."

Gallery: Left 4 Dead 2: Swamp Fever

Continued →

Hudson's 'Calling' revealed once again

by JC Fletcher { Jul 8th 2009 at 3:00PM }

Last year, footage of an unannounced Wii horror game from Hudson, Calling, appeared on the publisher's PR server, and was quickly pulled from both the server and YouTube. Nothing has been heard about Calling since, until today, when the game was officially revealed in Famitsu magazine.

Calling: Kuroki Chakushin (Dark Call) features an in-game cell phone through which players will send and receive messages, and record audio and video, all of which will almost certainly be spooky. According to NeoGAF, the game is 70% complete, which makes sense given that it's been in the works since at least October.

Impressions: Ju-on: The Grudge (Wii)

by JC Fletcher { Jun 7th 2009 at 9:30PM }

Making a horror game for a "casual" audience requires a reorganization of priorities. While something like Resident Evil is intent on scaring the player, there are a lot of gameplay elements aside from fear, like inventory management and even accuracy. These elements make for a well-rounded game, but they can actually prevent the player from experiencing all the game's scares.

AQ Interactive's Ju-On: The Grudge, being released in North America this October by XSEED, takes out all the "survival" from a survival horror game to create what XSEED calls a "haunted house simulator," focused entirely on scaring the crap out of players over and over again. And from what we saw, it works.

Gallery: Ju-On: The Grudge (Wii)

Continued →

Open up your eyes for Alan Wake media

by JC Fletcher { Jun 1st 2009 at 5:45PM }

You read about people watching a new Alan Wake trailer. You may have even watched people watch the trailer on video streams. And now, you can watch the trailer, just like you were sitting at Microsoft's E3 keynote! Except it's not followed by several minutes of searching for "Rusty." And also it's probably not on a gigantic screen with an executive standing in front of it. Maybe it is. We haven't been to your house.

If the trailer isn't Wakey enough for you, check out our gallery! And then download this Xbox Live Premium Theme!

Gallery: Alan Wake

XSEED shocks us with Ju-On localization announcement

by JC Fletcher { May 22nd 2009 at 3:15PM }

We were minding our own business, not really paying attention, when an XSEED press release JUMPED into our email inbox and scared us half to death. Feel Fear: Ju-On, a teaser for which was just released in Europe, is coming to North America to scare our North American pants off (and imported pants as well) in October of this year.

The press release announcing Ju-On: The Grudge offers a few new details about the gameplay. To the dismay of those expecting a third- or first-person survival horror game, XSEED bills Ju-On as a "haunted house simulator," in which players explore scary environments with a pointer-controlled flashlight, driven to "proceed forward even after being frightened and running away from the initial threat." The game includes the ability for a second player to trigger scares using a second Wiimote, causing the other player to "jump and hate you forever."

So if you want your friends to hate you forever, check out Ju-On: The Grudge this October!

Gallery: Ju-On: The Grudge (Wii)

Teaser for new European Wii game 'Feels' like Ju-On

by JC Fletcher { May 18th 2009 at 8:15PM }

Rising Star Games sent out a video teasing the announcement of a new game at the upcoming London MCM Expo. The video features people holding Wiimotes in a dark room in front of a flickering TV, and then having the crap scared out of them -- an idea last used for Nintendo's hilarious Fatal Frame IV commercials.

A brief image shown at the end of the trailer pretty definitively confirms the mystery title to be Kyoufu Taikan Ju-On (translated by Siliconera as "Feel Fear Ju-On"), the Wii horror title being made under the supervision of The Grudge director Takashi Shimizu. If Rising Star is picking this up for Europe, we should be able to expect a North American version from either XSEED, who works with Rising Star owner Marvelous on North American publishing, or Ignition, who publishes many AQ Interactive titles like Blue Dragon Plus and Boing! Docomodake DS. The video is available after the break.

Continued →

Prepare for Sadness: Nibris showing something at E3

by JC Fletcher { May 6th 2009 at 2:45PM }

Sadness "developer" Nibris sent out a message to its YouTube channel's subscribers, indicating that something related to the developer will be shown at E3 this year. Note that the message doesn't specify the vaporous Sadness game, or that a game will be shown at all -- merely an "update." Which means that even in the unlikely event that Nibris shows up and displays something, it could still be disappointing.

Nibris is still holding to a Fall 2009 date for Sadness, so it's quite likely that this "update" is intended to be related to the mythical horror game. We hope Sadness actually does show up -- we'd love to add the day the game becomes real to our timeline (which we posted in 2007).

Dead Space: Extraction gameplay footage & prod interview

by JC Fletcher { Apr 9th 2009 at 3:00PM }

In the IGN video interview embedded after the break, Dead Space: Extraction producer Steve Papoutsis discusses the motivation for the "guided first-person experience" design for the Dead Space prequel, as well as the storyline, the controls, and the co-op modes. That's great, and of course it's wonderful to hear such ideals behind the game's design.

But the real attraction here is footage. The video is interspersed with gameplay footage from Extraction, mostly consisting of the disarming (and dislegging) of creepy spider-dudes. In our estimation, at least, EA is delivering the graphics it needs to ensure that the game is appropriately atmospheric. And by "atmospheric" we mean "eeeeeeeee."

Continued →

Konami will seize 'Saw' license

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 2nd 2009 at 2:15PM }

Konami's upcoming Silent Hill "re-imagining" doesn't mark its only forthcoming foray into the horror genre. According to The Cut Scene, the publisher has confirmed that it will seize Saw for an upcoming licensed game, hoping to balance the film franchise's gore and depraved puzzles with ... well, the gore and depraved puzzles one might expect to encounter in a video game.

Konami's marketing director, David Daniels, saw fit to label the move as a no-brainer, what with Saw having seen ticket sales of "over $600 million worldwide" and having sold over 16 million DVDs. Once considered as deceased publisher Brash's last chance at rising above mediocrity, the Saw game will be completed by developer Zombie and released alongside the next film -- Saw VI, in case you lost track -- this Fall on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Tasking you with navigating an asylum and defusing Jigsaw's trademark deathtraps, the Saw game promises to adopt an overt style of horror and make you "turn away from the screen for just a moment because of the visual intensity." Experience some of that visual intensity for yourself in the gallery below:

Gallery: Saw: The Game

New Alan Wake information doesn't tell us much

by Dustin Burg { Feb 21st 2009 at 5:00PM }

Fresh Alan Wake ~~information~~ text has made its way online, with a cryptic message appearing on the official Alan Wake forums. The paragraph, penned by Alan Wake himself, was posted by the forums' community manager and supposedly comes from developer Remedy Entertainment. It reads:

"The amount of pages keeps growing each night. There are also new edits on the old pages. They keep getting more aggressive. The story is rewriting itself. The protagonist is now my namesake, and his wife is called Alice. The most worrying aspect: the genre seems to be shifting. It's turning into a horror story. I can no longer be certain whether the hero can succeed or even survive. Apart for jumbled fragments of bad dreams and an oppressive feeling, I can remember nothing of the process when I wake up. But this morning, a breakthrough! When I came to my senses, I could smell her perfume on my shirt. I am close. I know it. I must push on.

- Alan Wake"

So, some pages are being re-written, a horrible horror story is starting and there's perfume that smells like shirts ... or something. Honestly, we have no idea what this all means, but feel free to share your thoughts. Who knows, maybe there's a new trailer or a release date hidden in there somewhere.

[Via IGN]

A violent look at Resident Evil's survival horror past

by Dustin Burg { Feb 7th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Using a laser sight we point you in the direction of GameTrailers' educational retrospective series that pulls back the eyelids of the Resident Evil franchise. Part one of the (alleged) six part zombie-retrospective, "Horror Stories", takes a stroll through Resident Evil's history, how it pioneered the survival horror genre and how laughably bad the voice acting was.

Putting aside all discussion regarding the direction Resident Evil 5 has taken with its control mechanics, the video will evoke deep rooted nostalgic feelings and renew your phobia of human-sized arachnids. It did for us. Once comfortable -- and with an ample supply of herbs by your side -- find the 17+ minute video after the break.

Continued →