Games the UK/US have missed out on.

Due to the Adult themes that are the norm in Survival Horror games, some regions decide to complain about some scenes/elements in the games that are released. This eventually means that some games are banned in some regions where others will tolerate it.
Sometimes it's the games' publishers that decide where a game is released. Sometimes they explain why the choice was made where others stay silent. Usually they don't give us an explanation and feel we should just except it.
The games below are examples of games that not all regions have had the chance to play, but why? I've tried to find out...



Imabikisou
Where Released: Japan
Why? Unknown - Market Differences?

It's not a game really, it's a "Graphic Novel" for the PS3 but it looks blooming marvelous.
Not a lot is known about it in the west and the official website is in Japanese. Google will translate for you but it still doesn't make much sense but what I can make out is that it revolves around a drug called "Vision" and a group of people including Hiroki Makimura and his girlfriend Manami Hayase. The people that use the drug end up dying in a fire leading to the belief that the drug is cursed in someway. Hiroki and Manami try and find out how to stop the curse.

The game consists of static images and short animated sequences but the graphics are amazing and the atmosphere still seems really intense despite the fact that you don't control the characters as in move left, forward etc. Instead, the game gives you options so you can tell the character what to do - at least, I think that's what you do.
I've tried to find the demo to get a clue as to how game play works but have had no success - my guess is that it was taken off the PSN.

The trailer above gives you an idea on what the game looks like and it isn't short of atmosphere at all. It's very dark and but I doubt it's something for Survival Horror gamers. If you're a fan of the Japanese horror films, like me, then this game should look interesting to you.

The game was developed by Japanese developers, Chunsoft and sega. Chunsoft has never released a game in the western market which is probably the main reason the US nor the UK has seen it.
It's easy to question whether this game would do well in the western market. Sound Novels aren't exactly the norm over here and the game would have probably bombed if it had been released here.

Chances of it coming to the US: None
Chances of it coming to the UK: None



Forbidden Siren 2
Where Released: Japan, UK, Europe
Why? No explanation.

Forbidden Siren 2 was released in Europe, Japan and the UK but wasn't released in the U.S. Forbidden Siren 1 was a huge success in Japan so the game was released in the UK four months later and then the US a month after that.
Poor sales figures of the original game may have been a reason why the US didn't get the sequel but Sony never made an announcement.

Several Survival Horror fans complained about the decision not to release Forbidden Siren 2. American Horror fans loved the original despite its difficulty and were quite unhappy about this.

It's a shame too because Forbidden Siren 2 really improved upon the original and the storyline and characters (including voice acting) as much better. In my opinion it was anyway. Youtube.com is a good source of seeing the game for yourself although it isn't the same as playing it.

Chances of it coming to the US: Very very small. The original was remade into Blood Curse so maybe FS2 has the same fate.



Rule of Rose
Where Released: US, Japan, Europe
Why? Banned

Rule of Rose was all over the gaming websites showing videos and screenshots etc. and it looked really good. The graphics looked fantastic and the storyline seemed interesting. The heroine, Jennifer is kidnapped by a group of snotty kids called the Red Crayon Aristocrats. They threaten to kill her if she doesn't do things for them so Jennifer is forced to search the ship where she is held hostage.

The games was due for release in all regions, that is until the Italian European Union minister Franco Frattini came along. He complained of the Brutality involved within the game along with the erotic aspects of the game involving female minors.
In 2007, Members of the European Parliament (MEP) proposed that the game be banned in Europe.
The game's publisher decided to withdraw it's release from the UK but, and this is the nonsense part, the rest of Europe would see it's release.
This annoyed a lot of people just because Frattini has no power in the UK. Why should the UK miss out when the rest of Europe is able to get it. Rule of Rose isn't the worst game ever released not when compared to the violence within GTA, Silent Hill and Resident Evil. These games pass just because they sell well and if the government can get money from a game (through V.A.T), who cares about the content?

I've managed to find some scenes on youtube to see what kind of subjects the game deals with and this is what I found:

• A dog can be found hanging from it's legs. The dog's eyes have also been covered. This can be considered cruel.


• In one cut scene, a grown man is consoling the young Diana by stroking her hair and arms.


• The children are regularly seen beating something in a bag. This is likely the Dog that Jennifer rescues


• The children bully Jennifer throughout the game

Maybe they were right to ban the game but giving it a more mature looking front cover and giving it an 18 certificate rating should have been good enough to stop parents buying it for their children. Adults should be able to make their own mind up about it - it's only a game after all.

Chances of it coming to the UK: Absolutely None



Fatal Frame IV?
Where Released: Japan (So far...)
Why? N/A - No Release status not confirmed.

We don't know what the deal is with this game yet. It was released in Japan in July 2008 but as of March 2009, the US and UK have not got it yet.
In January 2009, the Official Nintendo Magazine (UK Edition) announced that Europe and the UK were going to get this game in early 2009. Play.com, had a release date of 6th February down and things looked positive, for the UK at least.
It's now March '09 and nothing has been mentioned since, Tecmo haven't exactly been talkative on the subject and Nintendo (the game is for the Wii console) have been just as secretive.
Confirmation on a US release has not been mentioned AT ALL so it's quite likely the US will miss out.

It makes me wonder why Nintendo expressed interest in this when it only had the intentions to release it in Japan? Why Tecmo let it happen in the first place. Fair enough, the PS3 isn't the best selling console but at lease give it to Microsoft who are very Western friendly.
I think it's fair for me to say that the US is the series biggest market, especially when compared to the UK and it would be a bad choice to sell there.
As far as the UK is concerned, the Wii is the biggest factor in it's ever increasing games market. With advertising, it will sell especially with the good reviews it had in Japan (Edge Magazine - 8/10 and Famitsu - 34/40).

The UK has had confirmation and unless they change their mind we will get it though the US may, unfortunately miss out.

Chances of it coming to the US: OK. No confirmation yet but the UK hasn't been given a date yet so there is obviously still some time.
Chances of it coming to the UK: Very Good. It's been confirmed.

Silent Hill: Homecoming

Developer: Double Helix
Publisher: Konami
Released (UK): Feb '09
Released (US): Sep '08

May contain spoilers.Homecoming is the latest Silent Hill game and it finally hit the UK shores in February '09 after hitting the states in September '08.

The game had been in production (which started in 2004) for quite a while before being released with trailers and screenshots show up here and there. The release date was due to be in September for the US and the UK but Konami doesn't like the UK it seems as we always have to wait longer for the Silent Hill games (the only exception being Silent Hill 3 which we got first).
It all started when Germany refused to classify it due to a scene in the game where a character is shot. It is unknown whether this was the reason for the European delay or whether it was own to translation issue - Konami never confirmed. The UK could have been given the completed US version but we also had to wait seeing we are part of the "European Market".
The game was also made to go through a big change for the Australian market before being classified.


In Homecoming we play as Alex Shepherd (above), a Soldier injured in combat who has come home to the town of Shepherds Glen. On arrival her finds the town completely deserted with only a few residents still living there. His brother Joshua (also above) has gone missing, his father Adam has gone to find him an his Mother Lillian is all alone in a catatonic state.
Alex also finds that Elle Holloway (below, left), his friend from childhood and her Mother Judge Holloway are still here. Elle who you can has been modelled off of Scarlett Johansson, is trying to find out what has happened to the town by sticking up wanted posters for the numerous people that have gone missing.
She is also in close communication with Deputy Wheeler who is also trying to find out what has been happening. With Elle's and Wheelers help, Alex sets off to find out what has happened to Shepherds Glen and his Brother.
During his rounds Alex meets three other characters. Mayor Bartlett who can be seen digging graves in the cemetery, Dr. Fitch who has gone crazy since the death of his daughter and Curtis Ackers, the junkyard owner who we meet near the games beginning and then again at the end.
Travis Grady from Silent Hill Origins and Pyramid Head (or Bogeyman) from Silent Hill 2 both give cameo appearances in the game.

The game isn't only just set in Shepherds glen however, it is called Silent Hill after all. Alex has several dream sequences that take place in Silent Hill involving the Hospital and the Hotel located in the town.
Halfway through the game Alex, Wheeler and Elle decide to go to Silent Hill for real after Lillian is kidnapped by strange men in Miner's clothes. However, Wheeler and Elle are both kidnapped by the same guys that took Lillian leaving Alex alone, again.

I've already mentioned the Hotel and the Hospital but other areas to investigate are the Penitentiary, Church, a place called Hell's Descent, the Sewers, Shepherds Glen Police Station, Shepherd's House, the Town Hall and the Cemetery (there's two in this game - one is in Shepherds Glen and one in Silent Hill).
Some areas are more interesting than the others whilst some consist mostly of battles. The Police Station for example is taken over by several Monsters that are too much to take on so you mostly have to run to get out as soon as you can. The Sewers are also full of Monsters you have to defeat with not much else to pay attention to.
The level where you're at Alex's house within the "Other World" is a very interesting one because it consists of four puzzles you need to solve in order to unlock the door to get out of there. I got pretty creeped out in this particular part of the game because Alex is not alone here, not one but a total of five Schisms are in the house with him.

The Monsters in Silent Hill Homecoming are some of the best in the whole series with a few star Monsters definitely worth noting.
Siam is a very good looking Monster which is primarily a large Man with giant clubs for arms. However, he also has the body of a female on his back who just lies helplessly with it's masculine side kicks ass. Whilst the game was in development it was Siam that interested me the most but you hardly come across him in the game and only shows up during crucial points in the game. E.g. When you have to save Elle from one and when one bashes down the Penitentiary gate.
You have the Needlers, who attack with their blade-like legs. Lurkers, who crawl along the ground laying into you with their hook-like claws. Smogs who spray toxic gasses and what's a Silent Hill game without a Dog or a Nurse Monster?

It was Schism (above, right) who was the star of the game for me though. They are very quick and can catch up with you quite easily. You will only come across them in enclosed spaces too which means you can't sneak past them. I mentioned earlier that one of the levels has five of them all under one roof which is unpleasant for those scared of this particular Monster who can be deadly in small spaces because they use their scissor-like heads which can cut Alex in half.
I once watched one for a while whilst it couldn't see me, I was on the steps in Shepherd's house and I really didn't want to deal with it and I did stop to compose myself before killing it. I hadn't felt this way since the Doublehead in Silent Hill 4, the first Silent Hill I played.

The game also had a variety of very difficult bosses to overcome, Sepulcher, Scarlett, Asphyxia (my favourite boss) and the final boss Amnion. They were all very difficult to beat even on Normal setting because it wasn't just a case of hitting them, you needed a different strategy for each one. It takes several attempts until Alex finally manages to bring them down, it did for me anyway.

Silent Hill Homecoming has had mixed reactions from fans and critics. Critics have been quite fussy with this and general reviews have not been favourable. Metacritic.com gives an average score from the various critics in the biz which is 72/100. The average score from gamers however is 8.5/10 so Double Helix have done enough to please Silent Hill fans.

The game definitely isn't flawless:

• Music: Akira Yamaoka only composed 70 minutes of music for the game which isn't a lot saying that game play is about 5 hours long.


• Puzzles: There were never any options to reset the puzzles when you really needed it. One puzzle in the attic was one which got harder to solve the more you moved the sliding tiles. I had to leave the house then leave the garden then re-enter before the puzzle reset.


• Action Level: Silent Hill fans like to explore the various locations to find clues in the story, any freaky going ons designed for scares or to find as many health items as possible. In most cases, the Police station for example where you were being chased by 7 monsters.


• Inverted Aim: There wasn't an option to use Inverted Aim. This wasn't a problem for me but many have expressed disappointment in this.

I played the PS3 version of Silent Hill Homecoming which had some additional problems:

• Sixaxis: When an item was found you could use the sixaxis controller to turn the item round to look it over which was unnecessary. Puzzle pieces could also be moved using sixaxis but it was very sensitive meaning that you hardly had to move the controller to do it.


• Trophy's: Even though the 360 version of the game did have un-lockable achievements for it's gamers the developers failed to have Trophy's for its PS3 gamer which is unfortunate.

The game had a lot of good points though:

• Alex Shepherd: I really liked Alex as a Protagonist. I think they did a good job of making the player sympathise with him because I definitely did. I think Alex is my favourite off all Protagonists - easy on the eye too.


• Monsters: I've mentioned these already but the Monsters were a really good point. They look amazing and provide you with a challenge, especially Siam who is very strong and the bosses were the hardest of all Silent Hill bosses.


• Locations: The locations in Homecoming were very good graphically. Hells Descent was uneventful and you couldn't explore the Police station but the towns of Shepherds Glen and Silent Hill were designed well and the fog from Silent Hill 2 had returned which I liked. The Penitentiary was a nice place because you could explore it without getting ambushed.

In Silent Hill games you will sometimes come across some references to previous Silent Hill games and you did in Homecoming too, though not as much as you would do in previous games:

Silent Hill 1:

• Wheeler mentions a female police officer who went missing in Silent Hill. Cybil Bennett from SH1?


• Finding a Serum will get you the "Dr Kaufmann's Handiwork" achievement.

Silent Hill 2:

• Some of the achievements in the 360 version reference Silent Hill 2 characters. Killing a Feral will get you "Eddie's Legacy", "Angela's Choice" is given to you if you don't forgive your father and killing a Siam will get you "Shades of James".

Silent Hill 3:

• Josh owns a doll of Robbie the Rabbit who was first seen in Silent Hill 3


• Douglas Cartland is mentioned as a detective who had exposed the Cult for what it was.

There were some differences in Homecoming that set it apart from other games of the series. A star rating isn't given at the end of the game which is bugbear of mine. The star rating was a way of showing the player how well they've played.
Memo's that Alex come across are not stored for you to read another time but any clues these memo's give are stored in Alex's journal.
Speaking of which, the journal could have been used better. In Project Zero 2, Mio would write things of interest as she went around the Lost Village. It would have been interesting if Alex did the same.

The game, despite some problems with game play that I've already mentioned was definitely not as bad as the critics have said - not at all. I think it's one of the best. OK, Team Silent (Silent Hill 1,2,3 and 4) did a better job with atmosphere but Homecoming had a good storyline nonetheless. Alex was extremely like-able and the scene when Deputy Wheeler was attacked by Asphyxia had me gripped.
There's no doubt in my mind that this game was highly influenced by Silent Hill 2 but I did prefer Alex to James and the Monsters in Homecoming were much better than those in SH2.
It didn't have as much atmosphere as Silent Hill 3 but it had better story, better Monsters and a more like-able Protagonist.

9/10

Better than Silent Hill 2 for me but it wasn't on par with Silent Hill 4: The Room.


9/10...Too Nice?
Alex Shepherd...One for the Ladies?
Was anyone else disturbed by Schism or just me?

Silent Hill 1

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Released (UK): Aug '99
Released (US): Jan '99

May contain spoilers.Resident Evil was the start of the Survival Horror genre and was the only game worth any attention, until 1999 at least.
Silent Hill came catching up almost immediately and the first in the series is classed as the best Survival Horror game of all time.

It follows Harry Mason who has come to the town of Silent Hill with his daughter Cheryl.
The opening scene of the game contains clips that show what has happened prior to the games events as well as scenes from the game. See for yourself:

Cheryl has been having nightmares about a town called Silent Hill and her father takes her there to see if it will make her better. Unfortunately though, on their way to the town, they are involved in an accident after an unknown girl throws herself in front of the car.

When Harry comes to, he finds Cheryl has gone missing but where has she gone? He decides to take a walk into town where he eventually finds her. However, Cheryl doesn't hang around and runs away and when Harry chases after her, the town goes dark.
Walking along with nothing but a lit match as his only source of light, Harry comes across a dead, half decayed, body of a man on one of the chain link fences before being attacked by a group of monsters.
After this nightmare he wakes up in a local cafe where he meets Cybil Bennett, a Police Officer from a neighbouring town named Brahms. She has come to Silent Hill due to a lack of communication between the two towns. Harry tells her his situation and she agrees to out to help look for Cheryl, handing him a gun before she goes.

Harry is left to his own devices and walks around the town searching for clues as to where Cheryl may be. The areas that Harry need to search include:
Midwich Elementary School, the Sewers, Alchemilla Hospital and the town itself.
You will find the Sewers to be quite tedious due to it's maze like feature where you get attacked by several of the most irritating Monster of the game - the Hanged Scratcher. The Hospital is my favourite area of the game because it does have a very creepy atmosphere and is full of puzzles to figure out.
The "Nowhere" part of the game is the most interesting as Harry gets close to finding out what happened in this town.

Harry comes across several characters throughout his search for his little girl, the first of which is a woman who shows up at the school after Harry kills the Split-head lizard. We don't know who she is because she doesn't talk to Harry at all, but disappears without a trace.
A little later on, Harry meets a lady named Dahlia Gillespie in the Balkan church. She shows him the Flauros telling him to go to the Hospital to see if Cheryl is there. Dahlia gets involved quite a bit, telling Harry where to look next but why is she so helpful?
In the Hospital, we meet two more characters - Michael Kaufmann and fan favourite Lisa Garland. Harry's conversation with Kaufmann is a short one, Lisa (above, right) however is very friendly towards Harry and constantly asks Harry to stay with her.

Lisa is amongst the Silent Hill characters that have kept their popularity with Silent Hill fans, despite the fact that her character was used poorly in Origins. She also appears in the film by Christophe Gans but only for a brief period, and she isn't referred to by name. You will only come across Lisa in the "Dark" side of the hospital and that's because (as we later find out) she is a Demon just like all the monsters you come across.

Depending on which ending you're aiming for you may not come across Dr Kaufmann much at all. If you want the Good+ or the Good ending, you'll meet him in a bar being attacked by a group of Mumbler's then again at the Motel where Harry finds out about Kaufmann's involvement with the Drugs.
Kaufmann isn't a good guy but he had no problems with Harry so doesn't pose any threat.

This game has a large variety of Monsters some of which are quite irritating (Air Screamer, Hanged Scratcher) and some that have become a staple within the Silent Hill games (The Dog, Groaner, and the Nurse).
The Grey Child Monster was censored out of the European version due to their resemblance to real children (though I disagree that they look alike) and were replaced by the Mumbler, a bear like creature that is also in the US version.

There were some awkward moments in this game. The phone call you receive at the school from Cheryl where she screams for you to help her and at the Mall where the TV screens all show Cheryl bound to a chair.
The music really did add to the atmosphere of the game proving that Akira Yamaoka's composing skills have been strong since the beginning of the series.

The voice acting was pretty poor however, Cybil (left) amongst one of the worst. Pauses in dialogue can be strewn out which makes the acting sound wooden.

The graphics were another negative point which makes me hate the fact that I wasn't into gaming and Silent Hill in 1999. At the time these graphics were considered brilliant and it was revolutionary within the gaming industry as far as the horror is concerned. I found it hard to get creeped out by things that didn't look real. On several occasions you find dead carcases hung on the walls but they didn't scare me because they weren't detailed enough.
I realise it's unfair to judge the game on it's graphics alone, especially since this is the best developers could do at the time but because I played this game after 2,3,4 and Origins, it didn't feel the same to me.

I find it hard to review this game because the graphics really did put me off and I know loads would disagree with me but I give it...

7.5/10


I welcome Feedback regarding the score I've given it.
I've also found this game to be the hardest to grasp so if anything mentioned is wrong, please tell me.

Ones I'm Not Bothered About

Resident Evil 5

This is the game that seems to be getting the Survival Horror fans really excited. I am not excited at all about this game at all and I'm more excited about Silent Hill Homecoming.
This game is due for release in the UK and the US on 13th March '09, just two weeks after the European release of Silent Hill Homecoming. This means that the game has overshadowed the release of Homecoming in within the European market.

The game is set ten years after the first Resident Evil game and follows Chris Redfield who was the protagonist of the first game. It's set in a fictional country of Kijuju, Africa where Chris has been sent there to investigate an accident that happened as part of his service in the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA).
A trailer shown at the E3 game's convention 2007 sparked an accusation of racism from Newsweek reporter, N'Gai Croal.
The trailer showed the White protagonist laying bullets into a group of Zombies, all of who were black, which I would expect seeing that it's in an African setting.
The following year a second trailer was made showing both black and white Zombies and an additional Female character of African descent. However, according to the games developers, these changes weren't made due to the controversy of the first trailer.

You can see an article about this here

I have also included the newest trailer which I found on youtube which shows more about the storyline and game play:

Resident Evil 4 didn't impress me at all despite all the raving reviews it received and it has put me off all Resident Evil games period. Apparently Resident Evil 5 plays exactly like Resident Evil 4 which really puts me off. However, the graphics in Resident Evil 5 are much better which is understandable seeing it's a next-gen game. The Zombies in particular look very scary compared to the Zombies that were in Resident Evil 4 but that isn't enough to persuade me to get it at release.

I may buy this in the very distant future when the price has gone down. I am not going to make the same mistake I made with Resident Evil 4.

For more details you can check out the Official Website which can be found HERE


Dead Space

This game was released in the US and the UK on Oct 14th '08 and I still haven't had any interest in buying it. It's another First Person Shooter set on the USG Ishimura "Planet Cracker" ship, whilst mining the planet of Aegis VII.
You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer who is stranded after his ship becomes infested by the Corruption, a hostile, virus-like, alien DNA with the ability to infest the bodies of the dead, turning them into grotesque Monsters called Necromorphs.

It's not that I'm not intrigued by this game, I do want to try it because people say it's brilliant and scary. I just don't want to pay the full price tag for it. Now however, the price has gone down to around £28 but I'm still not going to run to the shops to get it. I don't like first person shooters very much and that is what this game is, this means that it's mostly an action game which intimidates me. I didn't like Resident Evil 4 for this reason and it's also one of the reasons I'm not interested in Resident Evil 5 (above).

Below is a trailer I found on the Official website:

If you go to the Survival Horror forum on the US Playstation website you'll see that almost every thread is on Dead Space. It's proven to be very popular and it's got me interested in it - only slightly though. I have downloaded and attempted to play the demo but it doesn't emphasise much on the story so you can't get an idea on whether the game would interest you or not. It forces you into battle straight away and that's not what I look for when buying a Survival Horror game.

More videos and images can be found on the Official Website which can be found HERE


Anybody else not interested in these games?

Should Dead Space be considered a Survival Horror instead of a straight forward FPS like Resistance?

Will Resident Evil 5 be better than Resident Evil 4?

Ones I'm Waiting For

Alan Wake

Remedy Entertainment have been very secretive about this game and have hardly released anything about it. Alan Wake was even announced before the PS3 and Xbox 360 came out but it's only now that eager fans are getting what they want.
Alan Wake was to be released on both consoles until Microsoft bought the rights for it, therefore making it a PC and Xbox game only.
Screenshots were released in 2006 when the game was first announced but two years have passed so the game probably looks much different now.

The game is based around Alan Wake, a famous mystery writer. Suffering from a major case of writers block, his wife has brought him to Bright Falls to help him get his creative flow back.
Things go wrong when his wife disappears and the events of his last book, which he doesn't remember writing, start to occur to make things worse.

What we know:

- The storyline is all we know really. Remedy doesn't like to give things away it seems.

- The trailer shows a guy in a red coat, a Jon Lovitz type, who Alan calls Harry. We don't know why he's there and who he is but I'm sure I heard somewhere that he said he was Alan's manager, I could be wrong.

- In the trailer Harry mentions a Dr Hartman. "Dr Hartman was right. You are crazy". This leads you to believe that he must be a shrink.

Unfortunately, we don't yet know anything about the game play. Will there be monsters like in Silent Hill? What kind of weapons will there be?
The video section of the website shows a further two videos are going to be revealed - hopefully these will be game play videos, let's hope.

Remedy are saying that a release date won't be given until the game is finished so we don't have one yet. It seems they don't want to make the same mistake as other developers who give a release date before knowing when the game will be completed.

The official website can be found HERE

Official Trailer

Silent Hill Homecoming

This game has already been released in The USA and Japan but the UK has to wait until February '09 to get this game. Konami never gave us an official reason but it could be a matter of reasons.

1) Censorship - Germany in particular have expressed concern over the violence contained in the game. News of the German release delay came out before the news that the UK would also have to wait...Are the whole of Europe having to wait until Germany are satisfied? Will we have to make do with the censored version as well? News of the German delay can be found on this LINK

2) Translation - Europe speaks a lot of languages, that's a given so the game has to be translated to over 20 different languages. It seems the UK, who speaks English and in fact came up with the language have to wait with the rest of them. Sure, we could import since the PS3 and XBOX 360 are region free, but why should we have to pay for the delivery charges?

3) Sods Law - We had to wait for Origins and now we have to wait longer for Homecoming. Maybe Konami just doesn't think much into pleasing it's European Market. It's not all bad I suppose. The game has been banned entirely from Australia apparently due to a specific scene within the game.

Homecoming is going to be the fifth instalment of the game (Origins not counting as it's a prequel). It's based around Alex Shepherd who has gone back home, after leaving the Army, to Shepherds Glen after news came about of his younger brothers disappearance. When he returns home he finds the whole town in a mess and his Mother in a catatonic state. She went crazy after Joshua, her younger son's disappearance so Alex goes about finding him. His investigation around Shepherds Glen leads him to a nearby town called Silent Hill where he intends to find out what has been happening.

Konami were quite generous in the information they gave out regarding this game. Trailers and screenshots were released, giving us a chance to look what the game is going to look like.

What we know:

- We know that the cast of Monsters includes new as well as old - Siam (Right) is one of the most impressive, and the monster that got my attention. The Nurses return (it wouldn't be Silent Hill without them would it?) and they've been busy advertising the game, modelling on the popular Play Magazine front cover.

- Pyramid Head is going to be in this game. He was spotted walking around the town in one of the trailers released but how does he fit into this game when he was a manifestation of James Sunderland’s character in Silent Hill 2?

- We know that a female character is in the game, Elle, an old friend of Alex's who can be found on the official website. The official trailer (below) shows a truck driver, Travis Grady from Origins and screenshots so some kind of police officer, who remains nameless to us lot that haven't played it.

- The games has also taken on the appearance of the movie. In the previous games, we never actually saw the real world turn into the nightmare world but in this game, we will. The two realms will merge in real time, wall paper melting off of the walls and such.

Since this game has been released in the US, we know that the game has proven successful with Silent Hill fans but the critic’s reviews have been mixed. Metacritic gives the scores received from various magazines and websites, then giving a critics average. The worst score given was 60% from GamePro and the most promising score was 90% from the Official Playstation Magazine (US). The average however was 7.2/10, the sites users giving it 8.1/10 proving the game has been quite well received generally.

The official website can bee seen HERE

Official Trailer (YouTube)

Fatal Frame IV: The Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

Fatal Frame IV was announced, to the UK at least, earlier this year (2008). The game has been developed by Japanese developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. The news was both good and bad for fans because even though a new game is coming, it's coming on the Nintendo Wii. Previous games have been released on the Xbox and the Playstation 2, PS2 being the only console to have all of the first three games.
The game was released earlier in July over in Japan but for a while there was no news on a release over in the west. However, news came out earlier in December of a European release due early 2009. America is still to find out whether they will get the game or not.

Ten years ago, five young girls were kidnapped and held hostage in a mysterious mansion in Japan. They were all saved by a detective on the hunt for the criminal who had taken them. Several years later, two of the girls died under mysterious circumstances but the remaining three, now 17 years old have returned in order to find out more about what happened all those years ago.

What we know:

- There are four main characters in this game: Ruka Minazuki(F), Misaki Asō(F), Madoka Tsukimori(F) and Chōshiro Kirishima(M).

- The Wii remote and nunchuck will be used to aim the Camera Obscura and the torch that the character holds. How the camera will work however, remains to be seen.

- Ghosts include what looks like a female nurse and little boy, who is especially creepy - reminds me of the boy in the film, The Grudge.

We know nothing else regarding this game but news on game play and characters should be released soon if a European release is going to be the rumoured February '09. The official website and the official trailer are in Japanese but they shed some light into what the game will look like.
The game actually looks really good for the Wii and the ghost especially look really realistic, even more so than the ones in The Tormented.
Hopefully an English version of the website will be released real soon.

The official website, in Japanese, can be found HERE.

Trailer (Subtitled)

I'm really looking forward to all of these games. Silent Hill and Fatal Frame are two of my favourite Survival Horror games and both look like a good edition to each series.
Alan Wake is the one I'm looking forward to the most. However, it's a new addition to the genre and could be a huge sucess based on how it looks. People are getting restless waiting for it but good things come to those who wait.
I'm a geek, and I know this Why? I bought my Wii and Xbox 360 especially for Fatal Frame IV and Alan Wake so they better be really, really good.

Siren Blood Curse

Developer: Sony Entertainment Japan
Publisher: Sony
Released (UK): Dec '07
Released (US): Nov '07

May Contain Spoilers. Siren Blood Curse is the latest instalment of the Forbidden Siren franchise and was released in Europe, Japan (where it was called New Translation rather than Blood Curse) and the US.
The game is a complete remake of the original game but with some adjustments. There is a whole new cast of characters, one reoccurrence and most of the environments have been changed although some have just been tweaked.

The story is based around an American film crew who have come to Hanuda to investigate a local cult and the sacrificial rituals the cult committed thirty years prior.

True to Forbidden Siren form, the story line is a confusing one. I cannot remember if the original had a time line situation but Blood Curse does. The game's time line is back and forth between 1976 and 2007 and times can even join together. The best example is the opening scene...The TV crew are in 2007 but they are witnessing a ritual which took place in 1976 and characters from both time periods can be seen in the same mission. Siren_Hill, a member of the US Playstation forum has done a nice thread on the time line which makes more sense [Here]

The cast in this game are mostly American, except from two from the local area of Handuda Village, Japan.

Howard Wright is travelling across Japan and has found himself stranded in Hanuda after his motorcycle broke down (His blog - http://hw-biker.blog-paradise.com/e/index.html confirms this) but why was he in the deserted village of Hanuda anyway?
We first see him in the opening scene when he stops a religious group half way through performing a ritual. One girl has already been stabbed and he manages to cause a distraction so a second girl can run away.
Howard is the main character in this game and the character we play as the most. His character is of course similar to the role of Kyoya Suda in the original.

Sam Monroe is a College Professor and Folklore expert who is in Hanuda to act as a consultant for a TV show that is being filmed on the rituals that happen there.
His character is based on Tamon Takeuchi from the original game because he is the guy who figures out what has been happening in Hanuda and how to stop it.
Sams part in this game is slightly confusing because there are two versions of him. One is the Sam Monroe who is new to Hanuda and the other is the older Sam, who knows exactly what to do to stop the games events from happening again.

Melissa Gale is a Television presenter who has come to Hanuda to get footage for her show called 'Encounters'. She is the ex-wife of Sam Monroe and was unaware that her ex-husband was going to be the consultant for the show.
Her role is similar to the roles of Reiko Takato and Naoko Mihama from the original game.
She is very protective of her daughter and spends most of the game trying to save her from the wandering shibito walking around. She is eventually sacrifices herself whilst blowing up a maggot shibito in order to save her daughter.

Seigo Saiga is one of the characters local to the area and is one of two of the non-American member of the cast. Seigo is a member of the cult (like Jun Kajiro in the original) and is the guy seen stabbing the girl in the opening scene (notice the white shoes). He is one of the characters stuck in 1976 and relives the time again and again despite killing himself halfway through the game.
He is also a doctor at the local hospital (Shiro Miyata in the original) and always carries a gun (like Akira Shimura in the original).
As a human he is of no threat to anyone, befriending and helping Sam in one mission but as a Shibito, tries to stop Howard from performing his task of finishing off Kaiko, the cults god.

Bella Monroe is the daughter of Sam Monroe and Melissa Gale. She has come to Hanuda with Sam who couldn't find a baby-sitter in time for the trip. She finds herself in the care of Sol after the TV crew were separated. Bella spends most of the game by herself and we first find her hiding in the hospital after Sol promises to come find her.
Bella is the only character who doesn't hold a weapon and cannot attempt to fight the shibitos she comes across. Like Harumi Yomoda in the original game she will cower when too close to a Shibito so stealth is necessary.
She is also similar to Tomoko Maeda who in the original game turned into a Shibito herself.

Amana is also a member of the cult of Hanuda. We first see Amana in one of Howards mission where she finds him recovering from a gunshot wound. She promises to help him escape but they part ways after Amana is flown away by a Shibito.
We play as Amana only once where she tries to recall the memories she lost before the events of the game. Amana's character is similar to Hisako Yao in the original game because she is the one who is trying to bring back Kaiko.
Like Sam, Amana has another version wandering the village [Major Spoiler Here]: Amana is Bella, grown up. This means that Bella joins Sam and Howard as the only characters live through the events of the game.

Sol Jackson is the camera man for 'Encounters' and is a friend of Melissa. An archive item, which shows a film script written by Sol shows that he is in love with his friend and colleague.
Sol dies pretty early on in the game and although his death isn't shown, we can gather he was killed by a Shibito whilst he tried to distract it away from Bella. Sol can be found everywhere as a Shibito, especially if Bella or Melissa are around. His character is similar to the role of Yoriko Anno in the original game seeing that he is in love with one of the more leading characters (Anno took a fancy to Tamon Takeuchi in the original).

Miyako Kajiro (her surname isn't used in BC) is the second of the Japanese characters and is the same Miyako from the original with one difference. She can see in Blood Curse so isn't as clingy as in the first one. You never play as Miyako making her the only non-playable character.
Miyako is the sidekick to Howard for most of the game but is kidnapped by Amana in order to be sacrificed for Kaiko's revival.
The 'Fruit' which is mentioned throughout the game, is Miyako's blood which she gave to Howard after he was shot by Melissa (who had mistaken him for a Shibito).
Even after being sacrificed for Kaiko, she helps Howard to defeat it by showing his whereabouts.

Shibito make an excellent comeback and look better than ever. The same Shibito types are in Blood Curse although a new Shibito has been created for Blood Curse.
You have the regular Shibito which look and act as normal human beings, the Spider Shibito, the Moth Sbibito, the Brain Shibito and the new Maggot Shibito.



Human shibito (above) act just like normal people, carrying on with their daily lives as if they were still alive. They follow a routine just as they do in the original, patrolling the same areas making them easy to predict. They're pretty easy to defeat despite the fact that most of them carry a weapon of some kind. You can just sneak up behind them and impale them with one weapon or another or you can just hide in a closet until they go away.

The Spider Shibito (left) walk on all fours in a yoga, crab-like position which looks quite painful. They are more on guard and will spend time in one spot looking out for any intruders. They can be hard to spot too because they can walk on walls an on ceilings. They do have some limits though because they can't climb ladders and they can't open doors so they're easy to trap. They are quite fast when they see you and can jump on you from quite a distance so watch you're back carefully.

Moth Shibito (below) are Shibito with wings, so they can fly. They hide in bushes and in shadows so they can come out at you from anywhere. They will not hesitate to sweep down and grab you dropping you when high in the air. Some Moth Shbito carry guns so they can shoot you from afar making it harder for you to kill them before they kill you.
In all fairness, they are very seldom around so don't get in your way too much.



The Maggot Shibito is a new form of Shibito to Blood Curse but they aren't common and they sometimes act as a mini boss in the levels where they appear. They are the biggest form of Shibito and look like Maggots but with long arms. They are also in control of the Moth Shibito's meaning that once the Maggot is down, all the Moths go down with it. They're quite vicious and will throw things at you so you really nee to keep your distance and kill them using some kind of trap. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of them.

The Brain Shibito has also returned from the original game but the designers have done massive improvements to their appearance. Each Brain shibito looks different unlike in the first game where they all looked the same. Brain Shibito are your best bet of a scare in this game because they look that disgusting. The Brain Shibitos are much more shy then their maggot counterparts because they run away from you when they see you coming.
There are many Brain Shibito about so I'll go through each one. (I've named them myself because they have no official names - well one does)


Patient Brain (above) - Is seen in the Hospital when playing as Melissa Gale. It a large, black tumour-looking blob that is pushed around in a wheel chair by a Human Shibito nurse. It can't run away like the others because it has no legs but it is protected by the Nurse who will come running at you when she sees you - Knock her down first then you can attack the Brain. Easy isn’t it?

Headless Brain (below) - This Brain is located in the mines when playing as Howard Wright. This has tentacle things coming from its neck where a head would usually be. These tentacles grab onto the ceiling but this brain doesn't move. However, its position changes each time you play the level. This Brain startled me the first time I saw it because it looked violent, in fact it just stays there and lets you whack it to death.


Bee Brain - This is the Brain Shibito at the Shibito Nest when playing as Howard Wright. It looks like a Male Human Shibito but it has a head that is an oversized Bee. This guy is fast and wanders around in the pitch black making him hard to see so you have to trap him (with an animal trap) or cut him off. If you can catch a glimpse of him as the lightning goes off, the effect quite be quite surprising if you run into him unexpectedly.

Yukie (Nurse Brain, right) - Again, it's Howard that comes across this Brain, in the Mines. Yukie plays a small part in the story line because she's close, and I mean very close to Seigo Saigo (think of Mina Onda from the original game). She looks human but has some slug like things draping off of her face and like the Bee Brain, she is very fast and has a huge area to hide in. I remember having a hard time bringing Yukie down - get a sniper gun an you should get her quite easily.


The Sight-Jack has been changed in two ways although one of them is quite the annoyance. The Sight-Jack mode now allows the character to move whilst keeping tabs on a specific Shibito. The screen splits whenever you do this so half of it shows where your character is and the other half shows the view of the Shibito. Good Luck if you have a small TV screen because it's hard to see where you're going when this happens, especially if it's dark.
In the previous games, if a Shibito catch sight of you, the screen would flash re to show you what direction it was coming from. In this game, the screen splits again and will stay, showing you where the Shibito is coming from, until you press R2 to get rid of it. These are very annoying because they are uninvited by the player so they get in the way.

The archive item has returned with 50 items to collect as well as 50 different weapons to find. Some of the archive items are really interesting and give more information and background history of the characters. Sol's ID sheds light to a secret crush on Melissa, A tape can be found with an episode of 'Encounters' on it and Howard's mobile phone has a message on it from a friend. If you bought the game from PSN, there is an option to save some items onto your hard drive. One archive item seems to be an MP3 player and you can download the end music from Siren 1 and Howard’s phone has some pictures on it which can be downloaded. Some of them are quite nice too, if you like Japanese Landscape.

Forbidden Siren always had mixed reactions with the acting, especially the voice over’s, but with an American cast this isn't a problem with Blood Curse. The characters are played by proper actors just as in the first too games although it's not as obvious in this games graphics since it's for a next-gen console with next-gen graphics.
The environments look really good on this game although some areas are too dark to see at times but as a Survival Horror, you would expect it to be dark. The house is especially good, especially when you get into the living room which is very detailed.

The environments have changed in appearance, although some have stayed the same.
You have the Fields (below) where the church is located. The church's location has changed but apart from that, the area looks the same.


The Mines have returned but look completely different to the mines in Forbidden Siren 1 and are maze like in appearance because it has many levels with blocked stairways and elevators.
The house is also here and looks way better than in the original although the layout has stayed exactly the same.
The Hospital has changed, and looks more like it belongs in a Horror Game. It has changed in appearance and has a bit more blood in it as you can see in the picture below.
The shopping area from the original (where the restaurant is) has also changed in appearance and for some reason, is flooded. The picture of the Human Shibito's that is in the Shibito section are seen in this area if you want to know.
The Nest has to be back because it's very important to the story line and it's in much more detail, with items such as fans knocked over and broken plates all over the floors.


The school has gone and the area where Harumi manages to escape in the original game is not here either. Some other areas whose name's I cannot remember have also gone - The level where you had to hear Harumi's message from the tower and the level where you first play as Shiryo Miyato aren't here either.

The problems that the original had have all been erased. Checkpoints are more frequent, the characters are stronger taking more damage and archive items stay in the archive once it's been collected. These problems of course were all dealt with in Forbidden Siren 2 but if you're American, you wouldn't know about them.
The maps are another improvement for the series. You can view the map down from the top by which I mean in a Birdseye view or you can view the map in 3D, which shows each level at the same time. The map also locates where you have to go in order to fulfil your objective which makes the game easier.

Overall the game is fantastic and definitely improves on the original game. For me, the storyline wasn't changed enough to make sense to me so Forbidden Siren 2 has managed to beat it on that respect which means Blood Curse cannot score as highly that. Close but I'll give it...

9.5/10

All pictures have been taken from the Japanese Website which can be found HERE.

Silent Hill Origins

Developer: Climax Studios
Publisher: Konami
Released (UK): Dec '07
Released (US): Nov '07

May Contain Spoilers:After the brilliance that was Silent Hill 4, I waited for ages for a new Silent Hill game and 2007 brought that moment. However, I was quite disappointed that it was to be for the PSP and not the PS2 or the PS3.
Although the game was released in 2007, the first trailer to be released was in 2006 and that promised the game was coming "This Winter". "This Winter" however turned out to be winter 2007 instead because of deadline problems (always the case).
It was a long wait but the trailers that were released looked really good and Origins was looking like a competitor.

Silent Hill Origins is a prequel to the first Silent Hill game and is based around Travis Grady. Travis is a lorry driver who is driving through Brahms on a delivery which is halted after a girl walks onto the road causing Travis to stop.
Travis stops and despite the fact that the girl runs away, he doesn't carry on with his journey and instead takes a detour to Silent Hill.

He follows the girl to a house that is seen caught on fire, a lady is seen walking away from the place. After hearing a girls scream coming from the house, Travis being the hero he is goes in and saves her. The girl is burnt badly but he gets her out, fainting shortly afterwards.
When he wakes up, he finds himself in the town but the girl isn't there with him. The game is then based on Travis trying to find out what happened to this girl and why the residents of the town (the ones he sees anyway) are so secretive.

Travis (above) is the only new character in this game, the supporting characters being from the original Silent Hill. The characters brought over are:

Alessa Gillespie - Alessa Gillespie is the girl Travis saved from the house but we don't know if she is dead or not. It's what Travis is trying to find out throughout but, as he goes on through the game he comes across her in a live state without any burns at all. She doesn't speak throughout the whole game but tries to lead Travis in helping her.
Dahlia Gillespie - In this game she doesn't give the whole witch like vibe she does in the original. She wears what I would call normal clothing rather than the Wicca-like clothing she wore in the first game. We speak to her three or four times only.
Dr. Kauffman - We see him only three times and he's very arrogant even now. He is very secretive and tells Travis he has no idea which girl he is talking about but expresses his uneasiness of Travis' presence.
Lisa Garland - She's a trainee nurse in this game and is nothing like the nurse in Silent Hill 1. She's flirtatious and is definitely not the innocent girl you meet in the original game. She’s the friendliest character Travis comes accross.

The Monsters of this game are numerous, though some are not very imaginative at all. This game also includes many bosses - all of which are relatively easy to defeat. The monsters include some old favourites as well as some new ones:
The Nurse makes a come back although they have gone under a great deal of revamp. They now look like the nurses from the Silent Hill movie but they seem more stupid because you'll find you can sneak past them with the light off.
The Patient Demon (AKA Straight Jackets) from Silent Hill 2 also makes a comeback but they're faster and chase after you. They have the same spitting attack as before but they give greater damage than before - ignoring them is your best bet. If they get too close, they straddle you and head butt you in the face.
The Carrion monsters (below) are supposed represent the road kill that Travis, as a lorry driver has run over throughout the years. I think they look like plucked Chickens with no heads but that's just me.


The Ariel is a puppet that comes to life but they are very easy to defeat when you use a fire arm. You only come across them when you're in a specific area – the Theatre.
The Caliban is first seen as a boss to one of the levels but becomes a regular enemy after that. They come in various sizes and you'll come across some that block the roads of the town. They're very slow and easy to get past if you don't want to waste your time.
The Two-Back (below) looks like a guy riding another guy like a horse. You only come across this monster in the last area of the game but they're very powerful. What’s more is that they always appear off screen so you can't see them until you've put several bullets in them.
The Remnant is probably the only monster in this game that has any creepiness. They're basically a shadow with some kind of harness. Like the nurses you can get past them without the light on but they can whack you quite hard. They remind me a little of the Mannequins in Silent Hill 2 because they give out a masculine scream when hit.


Then we have the bosses of the game. You come across one of the bosses at the end of each area and then you have the sub-boss and main boss at the very end so there's 6 in total:

The Hospital - Our first area is the Alchemilla Hospital where Travis believes the girl is resting. The hospital is commonplace in Silent Hill games – every game in the series has had a level in a hospital. The boss isn't much of a boss because it's just a Straight-Jacket with no part in the story.
Cedar Grove Sanitarium - We find out that Travis' mother was once committed here and the boss is a monster that represents her. Apparently, people in the mirror would talk to her and asked her to kill little baby Travis. This was to make sure that he wouldn't return and stop the ritual revolving around Alessa. She was stopped though and taken into care where she eventually died.
The Artaud Theatre - This is where we find the Caliban as our boss. Apparently, it's the monster of a Shakespearean play that was once played at the theatre. A note says that the costume was so scary, a little girl ran out screaming. Tony, the actor playing Caliban died from a haemorrhage shortly afterwards - The little girl turned out to be Alessa.
The Lakeside Motel - Two boss fights take place here, the first being the Butcher (below) [There's a huge spoiler here so look away now if you don't want to know]. The Butcher represents a serial killer who would bring women to the motel in order to rape then kill them. This killer was to be known as The Butcher but he didn't look the same in reality. The second ending of the game proves that the Butcher is indeed Travis Grady.


The second boss fight in the Motel is the monster representing Travis' father. After arguing with his wife at the sanitarium, Travis' father killed himself whilst little Travis played in the motels game room.
Then we have the ultimate boss, Samael, the Cult's God. The word God isn't necessarily true as all Silent Hill fans know that the Cult actually worships a Devil and the ‘Paradise’ they seek is actually Hell.

There are several issues with this game that I’m not happy with. One of which is the breakability of the weapons Travis uses. Where you would expect things like TV sets and toasters to break when thrown, even strong weapons like pipes and sledge hammers break. What's the point? It doesn't make the game any better; to me it makes it worse. Is it just me?

The Characters weren’t exactly memorable for me. I didn't feel anything for Travis Grady at all. In Silent Hill 2 and 3, you feel for the main characters - James for losing his wife and Heather for losing her father. I didn't feel any pity for Travis and he's lost both his parents - am I just that insensitive? Maybe, but as I've already said, I felt for James and Heather and I even felt for Walter Sullivan in Silent Hill 4 so I can’t be that bad.
Lisa was a big disappointment. She had no part in the plot at all and it wasn’t necessary at all for her to be in this game. I would say that she’s been put in the game to satisfy all the fan boys out there, but they messed with her character. She was very sweet in the original Silent Hill and you really did feel sorry for her situation and the scene of her death is classed as one of Silent Hill’s greatest.
The Butcher wasn't impressive either - can anybody say "Pyramid Head knock-off"?

The levels aren't up to much either although the Motel can be quite interesting, especially since this is where the Butcher hangs out. There are a lot of peepholes in this area which did spook me out at times. As well as the main levels of the game, Travis will come across other buildings to gain access to other areas. One of these is the Butcher Shop which is the best area of the game - freaky stuff happens in this place. Watch for the Nurse.

The main drawback of this game is the medium it has been developed for. The PSP doesn't have the best sound quality or the best graphics. The shiny screen makes it hard to play on the bus or in the car (as a passenger you understand) which means you have to wait until the sun goes down to play it. The game even makes you aware of this when you turn it on, advising you that the game is best played in the dark and with headphones on.
The game has been released on the PS2 since but the graphics have basically stayed the same.
The cut scenes are appalling for this day in age, PSP or not. However, you have some occasional scenes that are fantastic - why they didn't use the same technique for all the cut scenes, I don't quite understand. The game would be so much better for it if they had. I’ve found two examples of cut scenes from YouTube to demonstrate my point:

Good Cutscene:



Bad Cutscene: (This also shows the terrible acting and lack of chemistry between Travis and Lisa)

The UFO ending returns after being left out of Silent Hill 4. The ending is pretty uneventful but you get a useful weapon out of it. The game has several Accolades to achieve where you will unlock a new item once you’ve achieve it. Accolades include such things as completing the game within a certain time scale, limiting the use of your flashlight, using your fists to attack rather than using weapons etc.
Examples of the items you unlock include new outfits, a novelty light (where the flashlight projects a smiley face, football or Peace image) and armour for your hands.
This is one of the good things about the game because these items can make the game easier for you, making the accolades easier to accomplish.

It’s not the best Silent Hill game, for me, it’s actually the worst of the series but there has been a difference of opinion.
Fans of the series that I’ve come across on forums such as http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board?board.id=horror and www.play-mag.co.uk/forum seem to like this game more than Silent Hill 3 and 4. Not me though – I give it...

6/10