The Month of Horror PART IV: dsheinem vs. noiseredux

[dsheinem]

Just read about that bullshit, 3 saves, no checkpoints Hardcore mode in Dead Space 2. Looks like I won't be playing this after all.

I refuse to play games that treat gamers like little children with endless hours of expendable free time.

Why not just play normal mode without those save state hijinks? Dead Space 2 is ok. I like 1 the best by far. I am playing 3 right now.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Since our children went to bed early, my wife and I decided to make V/H/S a double feature with:



The Faculty (1998), a dumb, fun take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers that prominently featured some late 1990s hottest heart-throbs (such as Usher Raymond and Elijah Woods...<swoon>). It was not particularly - or even a little bit - scary, but the Robert Rodriguez direction ensured that both the action and dialogue were always entertaining. It gains some points for featuring a pre-Daily Show Jon Stewart as a villain, but it loses some points for also featuring an incredibly annoying young Josh Hartnett. Finally - and like The Craft - the extremely dated effects, fashions, and music added a heavy dose of 1990s nostalgia to the film, which both my wife and I enjoyed tremendously.

.....

prfsnl_gmr's 2013 List of TERROR!
1. The Frighteners (1996)
2. Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966)
3. Salem's Lot (1979)
4. Blood Thirst (1965)
5. The Hunger (1983)
6. Jigoku (1960)
7. Full Circle (a/k/a The Haunting of Julia) (1977)
8. Corridors of Blood (1958)
9. The Craft (1996)
10. The Bay (2012)
11. V/H/S (2012)
12. The Faculty (1998)

[GSZX1337]

It's been almost ten pages and no one seemed to say anything about my post mentioning Cry of Fear, so I won't bother elaborating on it. I will however, post about my play-through of Silent Hill which I just finished.

I'm having mixed feeling about this. There are some parts that I genuinely liked and there were some parts that bothered me. The problem is that the parts that I found bothersome also felt very tiny and minuscule. Sure, the tank-like controls are a pain in the ass, but it wasn't too much of an obstacle and there are additions that make things a bit less painful. The way you interact with shit can be annoying, but I was never rushed to press X the right way. Even though these things pissed me off at times, I never found them to be that big of a deal. Nevertheless I will make a list of negatives.

Controls - Like I already said, the spinning on the spot was a pain in the ass.
Interaction - This game has a nasty habit of having static objects look like you can interact with them. This combined with having to have Harry face the right way to interact with things often left me wondering if the item was just a piece of scenery or if I wasn't facing the right way while pressing X.
Camera - Not much to be said here. This was to be expected.
Lame Boss Fights -
10 Move a little bit
20 Shoot a few times
30 GOTO 10
The only exception to this was the Cybil Boss fight. This is the boss fight where I found my first two complaints to be most aggravating. Having to navigate around the horses on the carousel was incredibly frustrating. Also, I couldn't use the Red Chemical on Cybil no matter what I did. Not really sure what I did wrong.
Combat - This can be pretty clunky and inconsistent. I found hit and run tactics to be a bit hard to do. I just sort of lunge forward, fire my gun or swing my melee weapon, and stumble back, all while hoping like hell I won't get hit. As for the inconsistency, for some reason I could walk backwards with some weapons but not others. Also, sometimes when firing at stationary targets Harry would randomly miss. He'd hit 9/10 times, but for some reason he'd just miss the remaining 1/10 times for not apparent reason.

Now, for the positives.
Fucked up visuals - Seeing bodies mutilated with barbed wire and papers soaked in blood is always nice. Nothing I haven't seen before, but it' excels in its gruesomeness.
Survival - Having to ration ammo, scrounging for health drinks, and picking your battles wisely make this game feel like a real uphill battle at times. Later in the game I was wiping the floor with most of the enemies, but at the beginning it felt like a real struggle for survival. Pulling through by the skin of your teeth can feel real rewarding in a game.
Utilization of Atmosphere - I don't really recall any bullshit jump scares. Just the one in the Alternate School locker room. The game sometimes abuses random sound effects, but for the most part the horror is atmospheric. Eerie imagery is also used to great effect. Seeing things the way they're supposed to be one moment only to have everything change the next can be very off-putting. My favorite example is in the boss fight with Cybil. I was trying to be a smartass and run around the carousel in an attempt to blindside her. About halfway around, Cybil just showed up next to me. That made me run like a bitch in the opposite direction.

Even though the negatives I list outnumber the positives, the positives have more weight to them. I guess this goes with what I initially said about the complaints really not accounting for much.

Now, to tackle the issue of scariness: To be honest, I wasn't scared during the game. Sure, the game spooked me a couple of times (thanks to those damn ghost babies) but I didn't the sense of dread and terror I was hoping for. It was the same feeling I get when I watch a film like the Shining. I'm seeing things that are fucked up,horrific, and macabre, but I don't get any sense of fright. But, did I enjoy myself? Sure, just a bit disappointed I didn't shit my pants.

EDIT: Made a couple edits to make my post make sense.

[AppleQueso]

Also, sometimes when firing at stationary targets Harry would randomly miss. He'd hit 9/10 times, but for some reason he'd just miss the remaining 1/10 times for not apparent reason.

That's an intentional thing. The idea is that you're just some chump who doesn't know how to use a gun properly and has shitty aim.

[GSZX1337]

Also, sometimes when firing at stationary targets Harry would randomly miss. He'd hit 9/10 times, but for some reason he'd just miss the remaining 1/10 times for not apparent reason.

That's an intentional thing. The idea is that you're just some chump who doesn't know how to use a gun properly and has shitty aim.

I kinda figured that, but shouldn't he miss more if he has a shitty aim? He's on the mark almost every time. Hell, I've taken down some airborne enemies with only a little bit of aiming. It never caused me to die, just to cock an eyebrow.

[AppleQueso]

Maybe Harry plays a lot of Duck Hunt at home.

Controls - Like I already said, the spinning on the spot was a pain in the ass.
Interaction - This game has a nasty habit of having static objects look like you can interact with them. This combined with having to have Harry face the right way to interact with things often left me wondering if the item was just a piece of scenery or if I wasn't facing the right way while pressing X.

I want to point out real quick that the sequels generally improve on these.

There's a control option called "2D" which basically just acts like any other third person game (no tank controls) though you're still as slow as usual. Characters will also tend to tilt their head and look towards important items.

[dsheinem]

Watched Lords of Salem last night. I liked it, but didn't love it and was a bit let down to be honest. The imagery was damn cool, but the plot was fairly poor in the second half and the ending left me wanting a lot more resolution - it seems that things stop just as they ramp up. In any case, I am curious how different Zombie's own novel (based on a very different original script) compared to the film.

Tonight: at least one Psycho sequel...

Oct 2013 Films
The Reef (2010)
V/H/S (2012)
The Thing (2011)
The Island of Lost Souls (1932)
The Screaming Skull (1958)
Rubber (2010)
Trollhunter (2010)
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Black Christmas (1974)
Videodrome (1983)
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Pumpkinhead (1988)
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Lords of Salem (2012)

Oct 2013 horror-related games
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack (done)
Little Inferno (done)
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (done)
Dead Space 3 (in progress)
Cry of Fear (in progress)

[noiseredux]

In any case, I am curious how different Zombie's own novel (based on a very different original script) compared to the film.

I'm not sure how much RZ "wrote" the novel. I'm pretty sure Evanson wrote it, and RZ gets co-author status since it's based on the original script.

That said, my wife read the novelization first, and said there's quite a bit different (and more fucked up) in the novel.


...



Curse of Chucky

Holy crap, a good Child's Play movie! When's the last time that happened? Answer: The 90's.

Curse isn't great. But it is at least entertaining, and (for the most part) tries to be a horror movie instead of a crappy comedy like Bride and Seed. There's also some pretty interesting scenes, including a Russian Roulette-inspired dinner involving poisoned chili that was pretty intense. The gore is pretty over the top at times, and for the most part it just tries to re-capture the feel of the original movie(s). I'm not saying "go watch this now!" but I am saying "you should see it when you have a chance." I probably won't watch it again any time soon, but I'm glad to see the franchise isn't completely garbage anymore.

[J T]

And this is probably the best film I have watched this month. Trick 'r Treat is amazing, and someone should go to jail for deciding this didn't need a theatrical release. Basically the film is a set of multiple stories all entwining in a small town in Ohio on Halloween. While time fluctuates and characters come and go, the townspeople continue their celebration, unaware of the nasty things which occur around them: murder, hot werewolves, pranks, massacres, and the little trick-or-treater named Sam. And while there are many points that I thought were great, Sam stands out to me as one of the best horror film creations in a long time. Trick r' Treat has got to be one of the best horror films of the 2000s and certainly one of the best films I've ever seen concerning the Halloween holiday. There's a bit of everything for everyone, including some wonderful performances from Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, and most definitely child actor Quinn Lord.

I watched this based on your review. Thanks for the heads up! The wife and I both enjoyed this and it's the perfect Halloween movie (sorry, noise, she didn't like American Mary, just me).

[prfsnl_gmr]

Unfortunately, my wife and I just watched:



The Devil's Carnival (2012). It was dumb, and the music was bad. (Apparently, all talented songwriters are saved because there clearly was not a single one in hell.) With a 55-minute running time, it was mercifully short, but I still do not recommend it to anyone.

.....

prfsnl_gmr's 2013 List of TERROR!
1. The Frighteners (1996)
2. Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966)
3. Salem's Lot (1979)
4. Blood Thirst (1965)
5. The Hunger (1983)
6. Jigoku (1960)
7. Full Circle (a/k/a The Haunting of Julia) (1977)
8. Corridors of Blood (1958)
9. The Craft (1996)
10. The Bay (2012)
11. V/H/S (2012)
12. The Faculty (1998)
13. The Devil's Carnival (2012)