It's just not the same.
But it's Halloween for crying out loud. I can't pass up a post on Halloween. Plus, there's a ton of info that's come up in the last several months that I meant to post about and just never got to it. So, in lieu of real content, here's a summary of some of the noteworthy horror-goings-on that have happened lately.
- Frictional Games, the awesome guys behind the Penumbra series, have been blogging about horror games since June. Readers of this site will find a lot to enjoy there, so check it out.
- The Saw game is out. Though the reviewers panned it it's certainly a horror game and I should add it to the database.
- If you've never played the Crimson Room series you are missing out. And now you can play them on PSP or DS. Since I think I committed to including handheld games this year, that makes these candidates for the Quest. The horror aspect of these games is probably debatable, as it's all discreet and suggestive, but I think that they're probably a good fit.
- Speaking of hand-held horror, Nanashi no Geemu: Me has been out here in Japan for a few months and looks pretty good. Goddamn I need to find some time to play all these games.
- McFarland Publishing was kind enough to send me a free copy of a new book on horror games, Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play to review. I was somewhat surprised to see myself listed as a source for a couple of the articles. The editor, Bernard Perron, is the same guy who organized the Thinking After Dark conference that I attended earlier this year in Montreal. The text looks pretty good but I haven't had a chance to sit down and read it carefully. I'll post a full review when I have had more time to read it.
- Dead Space: Extraction is out and got pretty good reviews. It's a light gun game so it's not a fit for the Quest, but it looks like a lot of fun nonetheless. I also have a copy of Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles that I need to get to at some point.
Here in Japan Halloween pretty much means lots of orange and black decorations on store windows and a sudden abundance of jack-o-lantern flower pots for sale. Horror is a summer genre here, so while this country loves horror media and produces a lot of highly scary stuff, Halloween just isn't the same. So here's hoping that you guys are enjoying the holiday. |
|
