october means a month of horror games
Re: october means a month of horror games
You know, this guy at the local flea market has had this game at his table for like a month now. I always almost get it, but its $15 and I'm really not sure if that's a decent price for it. It sounds fun though. Now I may actually pick it up after reading this.
Re: october means a month of horror games
Yeah, I'd pick it up for $15 if I didn't already have a copy. Is it complete? Either way, still a really fun game in my opinion.
One of the things I loved about the PlayStation was that Squaresoft managed to experiment with it a bit, and met with some great success in my opinion. Einhander, Bushido Blade, Tobal...great stuff.
One of the things I loved about the PlayStation was that Squaresoft managed to experiment with it a bit, and met with some great success in my opinion. Einhander, Bushido Blade, Tobal...great stuff.
Re: october means a month of horror games
Yeah it is complete and the case is in great condition. I'll probably end up picking it up from him eventually. The place gets like no business, so I can't imagine it selling any time soon.
Re: october means a month of horror games
Ok, so I was busy Saturday. So it's time for a double post!
Echo Night
Echo Night is a first person point and click survival horror game, but forget the usual trappings of battling monsters. The emphasis in Echo Night is more on solving puzzles while you run around a ghost ship, accessing new areas and pacifying ghosts. That's right, Echo Night goes for supernatural horror with little direct combat. In fact, beyond a few ghosts that are hostile and drain health simply by being near you, most will sit there and talk quietly with you about plot points. As for how you get on the ghost ship...well...that's a little awkward. Here's the plot:
"You play the role of Richard Osmond, who receives a letter from his father that went missing. You are brought to his remote burnt down house by a police who is investigating the case. Upon searching the house, Richard finds a painting that sucks him into the past to uncover the story surrounding your father's disappearance."
That's right, it's a ghost ship in a painting. So you must help release these ghosts and find various items to uncover the truth about your father's disappearance. It's an interesting concept, and if you like one of these games you'll more than likely enjoy the rest of the series since they're similar, though in different locales.
The game was generally panned for its graphics, and if this one plays anything like the third one(the only one I've played in the series), they're pretty laid back games for horror titles, but I enjoyed the third immensely. And the hostile ghosts will mess with you, especially when they seem to come out of nowhere.
Also, though that image of the game is the Japanese version, the first did see releases in all three regions. It's unfortunate that it was criticized so heavily, as it led to the sequel only seeing release in Japan.
Echo Night
Echo Night is a first person point and click survival horror game, but forget the usual trappings of battling monsters. The emphasis in Echo Night is more on solving puzzles while you run around a ghost ship, accessing new areas and pacifying ghosts. That's right, Echo Night goes for supernatural horror with little direct combat. In fact, beyond a few ghosts that are hostile and drain health simply by being near you, most will sit there and talk quietly with you about plot points. As for how you get on the ghost ship...well...that's a little awkward. Here's the plot:
"You play the role of Richard Osmond, who receives a letter from his father that went missing. You are brought to his remote burnt down house by a police who is investigating the case. Upon searching the house, Richard finds a painting that sucks him into the past to uncover the story surrounding your father's disappearance."
That's right, it's a ghost ship in a painting. So you must help release these ghosts and find various items to uncover the truth about your father's disappearance. It's an interesting concept, and if you like one of these games you'll more than likely enjoy the rest of the series since they're similar, though in different locales.
The game was generally panned for its graphics, and if this one plays anything like the third one(the only one I've played in the series), they're pretty laid back games for horror titles, but I enjoyed the third immensely. And the hostile ghosts will mess with you, especially when they seem to come out of nowhere.
Also, though that image of the game is the Japanese version, the first did see releases in all three regions. It's unfortunate that it was criticized so heavily, as it led to the sequel only seeing release in Japan.
Re: october means a month of horror games
While I've been trying to go with more obscure titles in this list, I mentioned a week ago or so that I was interested in presenting the first titles in major series, and we've come to the major series I had in mind. This series has freaked me out more than any other, though it's unfortunate that with each offering it goes just a little further down the tubes. Hopefully the upcoming revision will pick up the series again.
Silent Hill
"The plot focuses on Harry Mason as he searches for his daughter, Cheryl, who has disappeared following a car accident which left Harry unconscious. He finds Silent Hill to be largely abandoned, shrouded in a thick fog, snowing out of season, filled with monsters and being over taken by a hellish otherworld. As Harry scours the town, he begins learning about the history of Silent Hill and stumbles upon a cult ritual undertaken to bring a God to Earth."
Silent Hill plays entirely from a third-person perspective, with a mix of pre-set and controllable camera angles, depending on the location. Through certain sections of the game, Harry's flashlight is the only lighting, but this has a double effect of also attracting monsters. A radio that Harry has emits static whenever a monster is near, serving as the only means to know when something is approaching.
And then there's the other world. The only real term to describe it is Hell on Earth. Silent Hill has often been claimed as the scariest game of all time, and it certainly does its best to live up to its reputation. There's all kinds of disturbing imagery and audio. To add to it, the developers were influenced and made reference to many other works of horror, fantasy, music, literature, film, and so on. Here's Wikipedia's list of influences and references:
* The surname of Lisa Garland is taken from the actress Judy Garland, Cheryl Mason's first name is based on Twin Peaks’s actress Sheryl Lee, Michael Kaufmann is a combination of Troma Studios producers' Lloyd Kaufmann and Michael Herz and both Alessa (originally named Asia) and Dahlia (originally named Daria) are names derived from relatives (daughter and former wife respectively) of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento.
* On the side of a garage door near the gas station is painted in blood with the word "REDRUM" painted on it in reference to The Shining.
* Some of the creatures and puzzles were named or designed with the books Alessa was fond of in mind, such as The Lost World and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
* The names originally intended for the characters of Harry and Cheryl were "Humbert" and "Dolores," the narrator and title character of Lolita. The American staff altered the names, given that the names were uncommon.
* At the beginning of the game there is a sign that says Bates Motel, which is a reference to Norman Bates' motel from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.
* In "normal" version of the Midwich Elementary School one can find a list of teachers. The teachers listed are K.Gordon, T. Moore, L. Ranaldo, and S. Shelley. These names all refer to Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley of the rock band Sonic Youth.
* The names of the streets are taken from various science fiction and horror novels or writers, such as Bradbury Street, Bachman Road, Matheson Street, and Midwich Street. These refer to Ray Bradbury, Richard Bachman, Richard Matheson, and The Midwich Cuckoos.
Seriously, go check it out.
Silent Hill
"The plot focuses on Harry Mason as he searches for his daughter, Cheryl, who has disappeared following a car accident which left Harry unconscious. He finds Silent Hill to be largely abandoned, shrouded in a thick fog, snowing out of season, filled with monsters and being over taken by a hellish otherworld. As Harry scours the town, he begins learning about the history of Silent Hill and stumbles upon a cult ritual undertaken to bring a God to Earth."
Silent Hill plays entirely from a third-person perspective, with a mix of pre-set and controllable camera angles, depending on the location. Through certain sections of the game, Harry's flashlight is the only lighting, but this has a double effect of also attracting monsters. A radio that Harry has emits static whenever a monster is near, serving as the only means to know when something is approaching.
And then there's the other world. The only real term to describe it is Hell on Earth. Silent Hill has often been claimed as the scariest game of all time, and it certainly does its best to live up to its reputation. There's all kinds of disturbing imagery and audio. To add to it, the developers were influenced and made reference to many other works of horror, fantasy, music, literature, film, and so on. Here's Wikipedia's list of influences and references:
* The surname of Lisa Garland is taken from the actress Judy Garland, Cheryl Mason's first name is based on Twin Peaks’s actress Sheryl Lee, Michael Kaufmann is a combination of Troma Studios producers' Lloyd Kaufmann and Michael Herz and both Alessa (originally named Asia) and Dahlia (originally named Daria) are names derived from relatives (daughter and former wife respectively) of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento.
* On the side of a garage door near the gas station is painted in blood with the word "REDRUM" painted on it in reference to The Shining.
* Some of the creatures and puzzles were named or designed with the books Alessa was fond of in mind, such as The Lost World and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
* The names originally intended for the characters of Harry and Cheryl were "Humbert" and "Dolores," the narrator and title character of Lolita. The American staff altered the names, given that the names were uncommon.
* At the beginning of the game there is a sign that says Bates Motel, which is a reference to Norman Bates' motel from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.
* In "normal" version of the Midwich Elementary School one can find a list of teachers. The teachers listed are K.Gordon, T. Moore, L. Ranaldo, and S. Shelley. These names all refer to Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley of the rock band Sonic Youth.
* The names of the streets are taken from various science fiction and horror novels or writers, such as Bradbury Street, Bachman Road, Matheson Street, and Midwich Street. These refer to Ray Bradbury, Richard Bachman, Richard Matheson, and The Midwich Cuckoos.
Seriously, go check it out.
Re: october means a month of horror games
I don't know how hard it is to find this game but make sure you get the Director's Cut it has enhanced graphics plus an added chapter.IGN's Review wrote:Mediocrity is hard to choke down, especially in the gaming industry. All told, Scratches is a good game for what it is, but let's not kid ourselves here: it still suffers from the limitations of the strict point and click adventure genre. At best, it's an above-average interactive book though in the grand scheme of gaming, it is fairly average next to games such as Grand Theft Auto, Half-Life 2, God of War, et al.
This is not an easy game. Even with hints enabled, first-time adventure gamers won’t know what they're doing and will quickly become frustrated. If you’ve never looked at adventure games before and can stomach 1987-caliber graphics, head to Google and find the Rob Blanc or Larry Vales series. They're free, and a heck of a lot easier to deal with than this one. If you don't like adventure games at all, don’t even bother.
However, if you're an adventure gaming veteran, especially if you like the horror / creepy / gothic-type atmosphere, then Scratches is for you. It's a solid game although a bit on the short side as you may be able to get through it in less than a day. At the end, there are certainly a lot worse ways to spend the standard bargain price of $20. This is a pretty decent-good entry in the adventure genre thanks to some good presentation and interesting puzzles.
7.7
Speaking of Clock Tower I didn't know Kinji Fukasaku was behind CT3.
Thy ban hammer shalt strike 
Re: october means a month of horror games
Actually I've been looking for a copy of Scratches for a little while. I'll have to check out this Director's Cut.
I notice from IGN's review that they treat point and click adventures the same way they treat shmups...which is they have no idea what to do with them when it comes time to review. From the sound of it, it seems like it's just not possible for one to get a high score, simply because of what genre it is.
I notice from IGN's review that they treat point and click adventures the same way they treat shmups...which is they have no idea what to do with them when it comes time to review. From the sound of it, it seems like it's just not possible for one to get a high score, simply because of what genre it is.
Re: october means a month of horror games
Parasite Eve 2 is one of my favourite games on the ps1. It's always getting attacked for being a Resident Evil rip off/clone. I thought it was amazing. The graphics were good and the environments were awesome. There is an underground ecosystem in the desert where they set up a jurassic park like "tourist site" filled with mitochondrian mutations. The environments in that game are among my favourites. I found the story to be fairly interesting too. Something slightly different than typical "virus outbreak creates zombie hord". I had never played any real survival horror games like Resident Evil prior to getting Parasite Eve 2. I can say now though, that it's definitely more of an action game than a survival horror. It just makes me kind of sad when people go and rip on this game because I was such a fan of it. I have finally attained a copy of Parasite Eve 1 so I'll get to playing it to see how the sequal stacks up to it while I wait for the psp Parasite Eve.dsheinem wrote:I am a big fan of Parasite Eve and have recently started to look for the sequel - was it decent?
Re: october means a month of horror games
Not all their reviews are bad though.. They did give DCS Black Shark a good score and made certain to tell their readers it's not a game for the average player. But for niche titles (AGs, sims and such) dedicated online communities are indispensable.Ack wrote:Actually I've been looking for a copy of Scratches for a little while. I'll have to check out this Director's Cut.
I notice from IGN's review that they treat point and click adventures the same way they treat shmups...which is they have no idea what to do with them when it comes time to review. From the sound of it, it seems like it's just not possible for one to get a high score, simply because of what genre it is.
Thy ban hammer shalt strike
Re: october means a month of horror games
Moving on up in the world I suppose. We're up to the Dreamcast.
Blue Stinger
Honestly, Blue Stinger always felt like diet survival horror to me. I'll explain why in a bit.
"65 million years ago, a meteorite crashes into the Yucatán Peninsula, subsequently wiping out the dinosaurs and paving the way for humans. Now, in 2000, an island emerges where the meteorite is thought to have landed, and is granted the name "Dinosaur Island." A biotech corporation then takes up shop on the island. In 2018, Eliot Ballade, an elite member of the ESER forces, is vacationing near Dinosaur Island when something falls from the sky and leaves the island sealed under a mysterious dome of energy. When a mysterious, ethereal being called Nephilim shows up to chase Ballade, he takes it upon himself to solve the enigma of Dinosaur Island."
Ok, so it's not the most inspiring story. And as far as survival horror is concerned, you can buy an infinite amount of healing items and ammunition any time you need it which really cuts down on the horror vibe. There's also a massive amount of firepower. That said, I liked the creature designs, and really enjoy how they were juxtaposed with the Christmas decorations and tropical coloring of the island. Also, using a healing item was done in real time, so if you had a monster around, you'd likely get smacked.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues is that the camera system was entirely redone for the US release, and while it functions very well, it kills a lot of the tension the game was supposed to inspire. I don't know about the PAL release, but the Japanese version does have a much more dramatic camera, though it does make it harder to see, a la Resident Evil.
On an interesting note of trivia, this game actually hit stores a week before the Dreamcast did in the US, and nearly a month ahead of the Dreamcast release in the EU.
Blue Stinger
Honestly, Blue Stinger always felt like diet survival horror to me. I'll explain why in a bit.
"65 million years ago, a meteorite crashes into the Yucatán Peninsula, subsequently wiping out the dinosaurs and paving the way for humans. Now, in 2000, an island emerges where the meteorite is thought to have landed, and is granted the name "Dinosaur Island." A biotech corporation then takes up shop on the island. In 2018, Eliot Ballade, an elite member of the ESER forces, is vacationing near Dinosaur Island when something falls from the sky and leaves the island sealed under a mysterious dome of energy. When a mysterious, ethereal being called Nephilim shows up to chase Ballade, he takes it upon himself to solve the enigma of Dinosaur Island."
Ok, so it's not the most inspiring story. And as far as survival horror is concerned, you can buy an infinite amount of healing items and ammunition any time you need it which really cuts down on the horror vibe. There's also a massive amount of firepower. That said, I liked the creature designs, and really enjoy how they were juxtaposed with the Christmas decorations and tropical coloring of the island. Also, using a healing item was done in real time, so if you had a monster around, you'd likely get smacked.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues is that the camera system was entirely redone for the US release, and while it functions very well, it kills a lot of the tension the game was supposed to inspire. I don't know about the PAL release, but the Japanese version does have a much more dramatic camera, though it does make it harder to see, a la Resident Evil.
On an interesting note of trivia, this game actually hit stores a week before the Dreamcast did in the US, and nearly a month ahead of the Dreamcast release in the EU.