MegaCorporation CHAANK ARMAMENTS is the world’s leader in weapon’s manufacturing and development. Their latest experiment in cybernetically enhanced super soldiers is a complete failure; resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians. As a result, the newly appointed CEO, Hayen Cale decides to terminate the contract of the one responsible: Jake Dante. Unfortunately, Jake doesn’t take this news lightly and unleashes his latest project – a death machine called the War Beast – into the building with the intention of slaughtering everyone involved in his termination. Cale, along with a band of coworkers and misfits, must now find a way out of the building before it’s too late.
(Non-Spoiler) Review:
I have a soft spot for these weird B-Movies that existed during the mid 80s to late 90s. Especially when they involve killer machines and practical effects. I don’t know what it is that I love about them. I just know that I do.
1984’s Chopping Mall is the best example I can think of when describing this sub-genre. It’s just a bunch of clunky robots rolling about, killing everything in their path. It’s silly, it’s absurd, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
Death Machine falls into that same absurdity pool that birthed Chopping Mall. You’d think a movie about a giant killer machine that resembles a walking bear-trap covered in Raptor Talons would be dumb.
And you’d be right. It is dumb, but it is dumb in all the right ways. Okay. Death Machine is this weird, hyperactive work of art that somehow balances horror with insanity.
How do I mean? Well, let me give you an example.
There is a moment in the movie where our villain, Jack Dante (Played by the delightfully entertaining Brad Dourif) is threatening our protagonist Hayden Cale (Ely Pouget). He is trying to blackmail her into sleeping with him to which she responds by putting a gun to his head.
Dante then goes to his knees and continues talking dirty. It is at this point that we realize that to Dante, this is just foreplay. He’s getting off on it. Only when she pulls the hammer back on the gun does he realize that she is serious.
Now, by itself, this scene sounds rather tense. Our hero is dealing with a sick, sexual deviant who clearly gets off on violence. It’s impactful and gives us some insight to how Dante’s twisted little mind works.
But then the scene keeps going. After apologizing for not realizing that it was “Her time of the month.”, Dante raises his arms and runs out of the room while pretending to be an airplane.
I could not make this up even if I tried.
This is only the tip of the insanity ice burg. You have eco-terrorists quoting Street Fighter during combat. Then there are the characters named after famous horror icons (My favorites being a pair named Waylen and Yutani respectively). Then you got the War Beast itself. It is this obscenely gigantic practical puppet that somehow looks as badass as it does ridiculous. And finally you have Brad Dourif himself who chews the scenery as a mouse does cheese.
Seriously, what even is this movie?
I’ll tell you. The movie is Fun. It is well paced, comedically written, enthusiastically weird, and entertaining as hell.
Released for the Nintendo Gamecube back in 2003, Gotcha Force is an arena-based fighting game that pits tiny robots (known as Borgs) against one another in hopes to save the Earth. Basically, it’s Autobots vs Decepticons if they were 4 inches tall.
I’ll be honest. I had never even heard of this game until a friend of mine gave it to me as a gift. Unfortunately, like Legend of Dragoon before it, I just never got around to playing it. Frankly, I always thought it was a kid’s game. What with its young protagonists and its child-like aesthetic. Apparently, I was wrong.
My live-stream chat later informed me that the game was not only good, but difficult as well. Curiosity peaked, I decided to make it the next game we finished on stream. Which leads us to the following question. Was it as good as Chat made it out to be or was this another game blinded by nostalgia?
Story
Does Gotcha Force have a story? Yes? I guess? Sort of?
Kidding aside; yes. Gotcha Force has a story. It’s just razor thin. Basically it boils down to a young boy named Kou finding an alien robot named G-Red. G-Red tells Kou that the evil “Death Force” is planning an attack against Earth. It is now up to Kou to find allies in order to create a kid army strong enough to defeat the Dark Emperor.
Along the way Kou meets up with several neighborhood kids. The youngest being (I think) 5 years old and the oldest being a pre-teen? They don’t really give much information about the characters. They just exist to fight alongside you.
Not all kids are friendly; however. There are three brats who, for reasons that I couldn’t figure out, have joined the Death Force. First you have Sho who, for all intents and purposes, is the Gary to your Ash Ketchum. He’s pretty much your rival. Then you have the rich, snobby brat Tama and finally you have the green-haired Orochi whose motivations I really never understood.
Eventually, you win over the hearts and loyalty of the other kids in the neighborhood and together you team up to face the Dark Emperor. The story is nothing special but it serves its purpose.
Gameplay
As we mentioned before, Gotcha Force is an Arena-Based action game. It’s a high-octane 3rd-person action game where you build a team of Borgs to face off against the enemy team. Every Borg comes equipped with 2 special attacks and a melee attack that can combo.
Teams can consist up to 30 Borgs at a time though you’ll be lucky to get upwards of 5 or 6. You see, Borgs cost “GF Points” and you cannot exceed the amount of GF Points you have in your pool. Smaller bots can cost as little as 200 points whereas the bigger, more powerful bots can exceed 1,000 points. You earn GF Points by participating in battles – which this game has in spades. Most battles will net you a few dozen Points whereas boss battles will provide you with much more. Usually in the hundreds.
Oh. Did I mention that Borgs also count as your lives? Yup. The amount of Borgs you bring onto the battlefield count as your life system. When all the Borgs die, you lose.
This adds a whole new level of strategy to the game. Do you want a whole-bunch of little/medium Borgs to maximize your chances of survival? Or do you want a trio of Heavies and hope they deal enough damage to kill the enemy before dying themselves?
Now having a lot of GF Points means nothing if you don’t have Borgs to summon. Luckily, collecting Borgs is as simple as playing the game. At the end of each battle you have a chance to earn one (or more) of the Borgs you just fought against. This either comes in the form of the Borg itself, or capsules that you need to collect in order to form a complete Borg. So you really don’t need to worry about finding Borgs. You’ll soon own more Borgs than you can handle. That is not an exaggeration either. From what I’ve been told, there are about 200 individual Borgs in this game. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
That’s pretty damn impressive!
Then there’s the Ally system. During the story-mode you end up teaming up with other neighborhood kids. These kids each have their own specialized team of Borgs that will fight alongside you in battle.
Now each kid has their own unique team. For example, your rival Sho specializes in heavily armed, melee-focused Knights. Tama on the other hand has a single Borg in his team but its a massive skyship that utilizes multiple cannons and lasers to decimate the enemy forces. Another has Jet-themed borgs whereas another has healers. These options allow you to further customize each battle to better your odds at survival.
For the sake of transparency; I will like to mention that there is a Challenge Mode and a Multiplayer Mode that I hadn’t tried. So, unfortunately, I will not be discussing either in this review.
Review
I like Gotcha Force. I like it a lot. This is one of those games that surprises you. It waves its colorful, childish design around before sucker punching you in the gut with its high-octane action and surprising difficulty spikes.
How do I describe my experience? Okay. So during the first half hour or so, the game lures you into this false sense of security. You’re tearing through the enemy Borgs with little to no effort. You’ll be facing maybe 2 enemy Borgs at a time. They each have very little health so it doesn’t take much to destroy them. Then will come the next wave of 2 enemy Borgs and you’d kill them easily as well.
Then, without warning, you’ll be facing upwards of 5 Borgs at a time. Each with mega weapons that cover the screen with bright, flashing colors and particle effects. You’ll watch as your favorite Borg suddenly gets bodied across the arena as if he weighed nothing. Lasers will blast you into oblivion and before you know it, you’ve lost half your team.
I am not exaggerating when I say that there are moments in this game where I can barely keep track of all the insanity that I’m seeing on screen. So many Borgs, so many weapons going off, so many explosions, so many special abilities firing off – it’s pure madness!
I love it.
For you see, these difficulty spikes forced me to reevaluate my Borg team time and time again. There were moments in the game where I felt like I had assembled the perfect team. A team who could destroy my enemies without a second thought.
Only for the Death Force to completely and utterly wipe me out. These new enemy Borgs rendered my tactics completely useless. They chewed me up and spat me out like so much scrap metal.
For this, I was thankful.
You see, it is all too common for me to fall into the trap of using the same group of characters from start-to-finish. It happens all the time – from JRPGs to Fighting Games. I find a team that clicks with me and stick with them until the end.
Gotcha Force forces me to do the opposite. It forced me to experiment with different Borgs – swapping out my Heavies for those with lower armor but higher speed. There was many a time where I eked out a victory thanks to a Borg I previously thought to be useless. This kept the game fresh and exciting.
Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for the game’s Storyline or it’s Voice Acting.
We mentioned before how Gotcha Force’s storyline is bare bones. It is basically the same plot as Power Rangers and Transformers. A force of good turns to kids to help them defeat their evil, almost identical, counterparts. We don’t ever learn why the Death Force is so bad nor do we ever learn the villain’s motivation. Hell, we don’t even communicate with the Dark Emperor until 3/4ths through the game. As such, I found myself spamming the A button to get through what little dialogue Gotcha Force has in order to proceed to the next battle.
The Voice acting is just as rough. Each character has a series of phrases that they repeat ad nauseum. The problem is that these phrases don’t match up with what the characters are saying on screen.
For example; Sho’s dialogue would read “…” but his dialogue would be “YES!”
To which your character says. “Who was that guy” but his voice would say “OH!”
It’s very conflicting. Sure, it’s funny at first but even I found myself rolling my eyes by the end of the game. I am sure this could be due to translation errors or something but either way; it was rough.
The music however, is upbeat and matches the intensity of the gameplay beautifully. I found it catchy and fun. If I had to make a compliant about the soundtrack it would be that there wasn’t much variety in the music. It had four, maybe five real tracks in the game. That said, the music was pleasant to listen too and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Conclusion
Gotcha Force was a pleasant surprise. I literally thought it was going to a laid-back game designed for kids. A “Babies First Armored Core” if you will.
I’ve never been so wrong. This game is intense! It’s non-stop, adrenaline pumping madness that keeps you on your toes. What surprised me the most was just HOW MUCH content the game throws at you. You get over 100 battles with the chance to collect about 200 Borgs – each having their own unique gameplay style and stats. Not to mention the multiplayer split-screen component and challenge mode. There’s even a trading option to allow you to trade Borgs with your friends!
The graphics are bright and vivid and the gameplay fast and tight. Even with so much happening on screen, I never experienced slowdown or stuttering. The few issues that the game does have (Voice acting and story) are so minute that it never distracts from the game itself.
I give Gotcha Force a 9/10. I highly, HIGHLY recommend Gotcha Force to anyone able to purchase (or emulate) it.
If I may be so bold; we are experiencing a new Horror Renaissance. The last time Horror achieved this kind of fame and popularity, it was during the late 90s with the release of SCREAM. Before then, horror was a bit stagnant. We had some good hits, sure, but it was becoming a bit repetitive. SCREAM changed that with its unflinching violence and meta commentary. Then we had the rise of so-called “Torture Porn” with SAW and HOSTEL followed by the Remake/Reboot Revolution.
Then, around 2009/2010, we entered a new age of Horror. One that focused more on creative freedom. Leading the charge was Blumhouse Productions – a production studio that focused on lower-budgeted movies in exchange of higher creative freedoms. This method has done wonders for the studio as it produced such blockbusters as the Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Purge franchises. They also produced some of the last 10 years’ most acclaimed horror movies like The Invisible Man (2020), Get Out (2017), Upgrade (2018), Halloween (2018), and M3GAN (2023).
Then we have MonkeyPaw Productions which co-produced the aforementioned Get Out along with US, (2019), Candyman (2021), and my personal favorite, NOPE (2022).
But it’s not just production companies. We’ve seen a rise of new blood as well. Writer/Directors such as Ari Aster (Midsommer, Hereditary), Robert Eggers (VVITCH, The LightHouse, The Northman), Mike Flannigan (Oculus, Haunting of Hill House, and The Fall of the House of Usher), and James Wan (SAW, Conjuring, Insidious).
Included in this new renaissance is Abigail production/directorial studio Radio Silence. Known for their over-the-top violence and humor (SCREAM, SCREAM VI, Ready or Not), Radio Silence is quickly becoming one of my favorite new studios.
So how did they do with their latest project? Well let’s talk about it and find out. This is our review on Radio Silence’s Abigail.
Story
Abigail is the story of the titular character and her kidnappers. A mysterious man named Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) hires a crew of six to assist him in finding, and capturing, the daughter of a rich man. The daughter in question is the 12-year-old ballerina Abigail.
The kidnapping goes off without a hitch. They abduct Abigail and deliver her to Lambert. Now, the only thing left for them to do is wait for the ransom. Once paid, they will find themselves 7 million dollars richer.
What the team doesn’t know is that there is more to this mission than meets the eye. Now they must work together if they hope to make it through the night in one piece.
**WARNING SPOILERS FROM HERE ON. IF YOU WISH TO AVOID SPOILERS, PLEASE SCROLL TO OUR CONCLUSION**
REVIEW (SPOILERS)
I do not normally include spoilers in our reviews but Abigail forces my hand. If you have watched the trailers, then you already know what I am about to say. If you haven’t – then this is your final warning.
The trailers (as well as all promotional media) show Abigail for what she truly is. A centuries-old, blood thirsty vampire. One who turns the tables on her kidnappers; turning them into her playthings. As a result, we get an absolutely hilarious bloodbath where a 12-year-old little girl beats the ever living hell out of a group of several able-bodies adults.
It is this kind of absurdity that Radio Silence excels at. We see this in SCREAM VI but more so in what I consider their best movie; Ready or Not. Like Ready or Not, Abigail’s humor stems from the absolute insanity of the situation.
Watching 14-year-old Alisha Weir tearing through a bunch of grownups is a joy to watch. Whether its tossing a 250lb man like a Cabbage Patch doll or dancing ballet while approaching her victims; she is a delight to watch. Seriously; this young actress steals the show with every scene she is in.
But it’s not just Alisha’s performance that sells the movie but the other cast members as well. In lesser hands, Abigail would be the movie’s only highlight. The other characters would be mindless meat-bags who serve little purpose other than padding the body count. With Radio Silence, however, each character is wonderfully fleshed out and developed. Not to say there is some hidden depth in these characters. More like they all have well-written, distinguishable personalities that add to the movie’s overall tone and humor.
One particular scene comes to mind. After learning the truth about Abigail, the surviving members get together to come up with a plan of attack. Using vampires in pop-culture, they devise a series of weapons to either kill, or at the least, subdue Abigail. The leads to some brilliant character moments as they argue over the types of vampires seen in movies and how each movie kills them differently. It’s a fun and smartly written bit of comedy that I truly enjoyed watching.
Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the gore – which this movie has in spades. There is SO MUCH blood in this movie that it makes the elevator scene from The Shining look like a mere puddle. Some of the sets literally get caked with the stuff – a majority of which being done practically which I am all here for.
The action sequences of similar quality. Watching the different characters taking turns beating on, or getting beaten up by, Abigail is entertaining as hell. I don’t know what it is but seeing a 14-year old beating a giant muscle-bound man senseless is just funny to me. It is even funnier when the same man chucks the girl into a wall before running away.
Off the top of my head, I cannot really think of any real flaws that hinder the movie. If anything, all I can say is that it isn’t as funny as their previous movies. I think Ready or Not delivered upon its absurdity better than Abigail does and I also feel like Ready or Not’s higher body count allowed for some more creative and memorable deaths.
Perhaps that is what I am trying to get at. With only 6 criminals and 1 killer, they really couldn’t give us a high enough body count to showcase Abigail’s brutality. After the initial kills, the rest of the movie is more of a cat-and-mouse sequence revolving around the survivors avoiding Abigail while coming up with a means for escape. With Ready or Not, we had a huge cast to take advantage.
I don’t mean to compare the two but with such similar premises, it is hard not too. That said, Abigail still succeeds in its premise; for which I am grateful.
Conclusion
Good horror comedies are hard to come by. I feel like most revolve a silly premise and stick to that premise as their primary source of comedy. The downside to this approach is that the joke wears thin by the third act. You can only repeat the same joke so many times before it gets old.
Then you get those horror comedies that take that silly premise and build upon it. The joke evolves as the movie goes on. Abigail is one of those movies. It could have easily been a generic monster movie with brainless, one-note characters and lots of gore but it instead delivers us some witty banter, intense action sequences, and some pretty damn good acting.
The cast is great – again with Abigail actress Alisha Weir stealing the show – the practical effects are delightfully gory and over-the-top, and the fight scenes entertaining as hell. While not as funny or corpse-filled as Ready or Not, it is still a fun movie for anyone seeking a bloody good time.
Legend of Dragoon is a JRPG developed by Japan Studio and released on the Playstation 1 in 2000 (United States). It follows the story of a young man named Dart who is on a journey to find his family’s killer. Along the way, he meets up with a group of characters and together they end up tasked with saving the world from an ancient evil.
I bought Legend of Dragoon at launch though I didn’t actually play it until this year (2024). Why? I don’t know. This was during the height of Final Fantasy’s popularity – with Final Fantasy IX coming out the same year. It would not surprise me that I set Legend of Dragoon aside in favor of Final Fantasy IX. IX is hands down my favorite of the 3D Final Fantasy games so it makes sense that I gave it all my attention.
After that, I just never got around to Legend of Dragoon. However this year I decided to stream a butt-load of JRPGs on my twitch channel. We started with Skies of Arcadia, then Secret of Mana, and we just recently finished Legend of Dragoon.
So. How did Legend of Dragoon fair? Was it a fine glass of wine that gets better with age or did it turn into so much vinegar in our mouths?
STORY
The story of Legend of Dragoon follows a young man named Dart and his childhood friend Shana. By the time we meet Dart, he is on his way back home after a years-long journey hunting a mysterious creature called The Black Monster (Creative name no?). The Black Monster is responsible for the destruction of not only his village, but his parents as well. Having sworn revenge, Dart ventured out in hopes of finding The Black Monster.
During his return trip home, Dart discovers that the local empire has destroyed his village (He can’t get a break can he?) and kidnapped his close friend Shana. He learns all of this from mysterious armored woman named Rose. She assists him in pushing back the remaining imperial forces. It is during this battle that she reveals that she is a Dragoon – a mystical knight imbued with the powers of the legendary dragon. To Dart’s surprise, she informs him that he is a Dragoon as well!
Together Dart and Rose team up to rescue Shana from the Imperial prison. Along the way they discover a plot to overthrow the world. A plot led by Emperor Doel and his right hand Lloyd (Yes, that is his actual name).
As is tradition, we learn that there is more to this story than meets the eye. While journeying to learn the truth, we come across a wide variety of interesting characters including the 16-year old dancer Meru, the barbarian Kongol, the knight Lavitz and his king Albert, the solider sister Miranda, and the martial artist Haschel. These heroes make up the rest of the legendary Dragoon Knights. Together they must find a way to stop Lloyd before he can bring about the end of the world.
Gameplay
Legend of Dragoon uses turn-based combat with a twist. That twist being an early form of Quick Time Events – that is, pushing a specific button when prompted. These are called “Additions.”
The way this works is as follows: Whenever you attack an enemy, a blue square appears in the center of the screen. A secondary square then flies across the screen to align with the static one. You are supposed to press the X button when the two squares align. This builds your combo. Think of this like a primitive version of Guitar Hero or a Rhythm game.
Each Addition has it’s own combo length and timing. One may have three inputs whereas another has five. Some have a slower input window whereas others are a lot faster. It’s an interesting premise that felt fun at first but wore thing as the game went on. But we’ll get into that later.
Every time you perform a successful Addition, you gain Spirit Points (SP). Spirit points not only level up your Additions but they also level up your Dragoon Abilities. The more SP you accumulate, the more attacks you can do while in Dragoon form.
Dragoon Form can be activated whenever you accumulate 100 SP. Upon activation, your character will undergo a Sailor Moon style transformation in which your character dons on their Dragoon Armor. Their offense and defense increases while also gaining the ability to use Magic.
Every action while in the Dragoon State uses up 1 level of Dragoon Spirit – with a maximum of 5. So if your Dragoon level is 2, for example, you can use 2 actions before your Dragoon State runs out.
But the Dragoon State is not the only time you can use magic. You can use it in your normal state as well but, like with the Additions, there is a twist. Instead of being an ability, Magic is treated like an Item. Magic spells are purchased from shops much like you would weapons and items. To use Magic, you select it from your items list and watch as your character “throws” it at the enemy. Depending on the spell, it either activates immediately or you have to mash the X button to increase damage. Either way, magic is a limited commodity. However, even this has a downside. Again, we’ll talk about it below.
Weapons, Armor, and Accessories are treated with a more traditional flair. You equip the best ones you find to increase your chances of survival. Simple.
Review
It took us approximately 53 hours to complete Legend of Dragoon. As far as I can tell, we completely a majority of the game. We found all the stardust (a collectable required to gain access to a hidden area). I was able to defeat the optional bosses. We max leveled some (not all) of our Additions and Dragoon levels, and we were able to finish the story.
So how did it turn out?
Honestly? It was rather average. Nothing too horrible but nothing too memorable either.
First off, lets talk the cast. Although we have several interesting characters, a majority of the game revolves around Dart, Rose, and later, Meru. This isn’t a problem early on but by the end of Disc 2 and start of Disc 3, the game’s focus shifts more towards these three. We don’t really get that much development out of the others until the final disc but by then, I found myself no longer interested. They were just side stories that felt more like padding than actual character development.
It didn’t help that the story felt quite generic. I will admit that this is likely my fault. Back in 2000, before I experienced other JRPGS and anime, this story may have felt fun and fresh. By playing it today, after 2 decades of anime and RPG experience under my belt, it felt predictable and tropey. We were able to guess practically every twist and turn that Legend of Dragoon threw at us. As such, I won’t blame the game for it’s story but more myself for my experience with the game’s tropes and story beats.
But what I will find fault with is the game’s combat and item system. While I appreciate Legend of Dragoon doing something different – keeping players actively engaged with its combat system – I did find myself growing tired of constantly mashing the X button for every attack. This goes double whenever I find myself backtracking. The game forces you to travel through previous dungeons which increases the chances of you running into more enemies. This meant, for the sake of progressing through the game in a timely manner, I had to either run away, or use some repeatable spells to end the battle as quickly as possible.
Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with the combat. Leveling up additions is easy (and not to grindy) and seeing the different attacks play out is fun. I like seeing how each character fights. It is vastly different than other JRPGs at the time which kept characters swinging their weapons in the same manner no matter what their level. So I give them points for that. It’s just frustrating to complete a string of ever growing combos when you’re trying to get from point A to B as quickly as possible.
What did bother me, however, was the unusual inclusion of an Inventory Limit. Weapons and armor are capped off around (I think) 99 items. Fair enough. Even by the end of the game, I don’t think I got close to that limit. Items on the other hand had a hard cap of 32. So there were several moments throughout the game where I couldn’t open treasure chests because I had met my item limit. This also meant that I was constantly juggling Healing, Resurrection, Magical, and Ailment Items. Eventually, I just gave up on carrying Ailment Items and limited my Magical items to the tiniest handful. Most of my inventory was reserved for healing/resurrection potions and reusable magical items.
Yet again, I must give credit where credit is due. The aforementioned Reusable Magical Items was a fantastic addition to the game. With the limited inventory space, the inclusion of specific items that could be used over and over again (with a limit of 1x per battle) really helped balance the game. These items would either boost our characters’ speed, defense, and power, or act as a magical spell to damage enemies. So points for that!
My final frustration comes from the experience points and gold gained after every battle. Admittedly this comes from someone who loves grinding and making myself as over-leveled as possible but it did irritate me that the game provided you with the tiniest amount of Experience Points and Gold after every battle. Now I know why they did this. They wanted the game’s bosses to provide the majority of the gold and experience. That’s fine. But when you are low on funds and having to grind a bit to earn enough for a new weapon or piece of armor, that tiny amount of gold earned ends up being rather annoying.
This rings especially true if you want some of the game’s most powerful armor and accessories. At 10k a pop, these items are practically unobtainable unless you grind what the game calls Unique Monsters. These monsters have very low health but very high defense and agility. This means you’ll miss a majority of the time. But this is balanced by the aforementioned low health. You just need to score between 3 to 5 hits to take down one of these Unique Monsters. The reward for defeating them? Either a ton of gold (lowest being 300, highest being 1000) or experience. So, while frustrating that I cannot grind the normal way, there is a system in place to help players like me gain that armor.
This is the developers saying “Hey, if you WANT to get this hardcore armor, you can. You just have to work for it.” A bit irritating, sure, but doable. Once again – a frustration is balanced.
And that’s pretty much how I’d describe the entire Dragoon experience – Frustrating but Balanced. For everything that irritated me about the game, there was something that I found quite enjoyable about it. It was never too hard nor was it too difficult. Game Overs did occur throughout my playthrough which came as a welcome surprise. I don’t usually experience classic old-school Game Overs as much as I used too as a kid so whenever I fail in such a manner, it comes as a shock. I go “Oh, that just happened. Let’s change up our strategy and try from a different angle!” It was fun.
All that said – I will be remiss if I didn’t talk about the two things that had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The first being a part of the game’s design, the second being a glitch that drove me insnae.
On the design front there is something that Legend of Dragoon does that I’ve not seen in any JRPG. That is the game’s requirement of changing discs when backtracking.
Back in the day, games, especially Jrpgs, came on multiple discs. When you completed a specific area in Disc 1, it would save your progress and ask you to insert the 2nd disc to continue the game’s story. If, at any time, you decide to return to a town or location from Disc 1, you may do so without interruption. Sometimes there is a story element that prevents you from going back but usually by the final disc, you can go anywhere in the world without problem.
Legend of Dragoon doesn’t do this. Some towns are locked behind specific discs. There was one moment where I went back to one town while on Disc 4 and had to swap out to Disc 2. When I finished up in the town, I started a side quest that required me to switch to Disc 3. Now while this is a minor inconvenience, it is still an inconvenience that shouldn’t exist. As far my experience goes, this is the only JRPG that I’ve played with this problem. It’s odd and quite frustrating.
Lastly comes the “Fade to Black” glitch that I encountered three times during my playthrough. So from what I understand, the Fade to Black glitch occurs when gamers are playing Legend of Dragoon on anything other than the original hardware. This means if you are playing on a Playstation 2 or 3, or in my case, emulating the ripped discs on a computer, there is a chance the game will freeze after a boss battle.
The way the glitch works is as follows: During specific boss battles, if you transform into your Dragoon state while playing on anything other than the original Playstation 1, there is a chance that, after the battle, the game will fade to black and free. We didn’t encounter this glitch until the end of Disc 2 when we fought the Kraken boss. After discovering the glitch, a quick Google search resulted in evidence that this is a well-documented problem. That was rather disappointing to find out because now I had to do some extra research to find out which bosses I could and couldn’t use my Dragoon State on.
But you know what the kicker was? It was during the final boss of the game. After spending an absurd amount of time defeating him, I was treated to Legend of Dragoon’s final cinematic. Once the cinematic ended, however, I was not given the end-game credits but instead…
ANOTHER BLACK SCREEN CRASH!
Luckily, I had already seen the game’s final cut scene (unless there is one after the credits – I have not looked yet) so I just turned off the game and left it at that.
Conclusion
Legend of Dragoon isn’t a bad game nor is it a phenomenal game. I would describe this game as “one that exists.”
Of course I’m joking.
It’s fine for what it is. It has an interesting premise, an experimental combat system, some seriously catchy music, and – despite being a bit forgettable – a decent cast of characters. While it is true I was frustrated with a lot of the game’s backtracking and high levels of enemy encounters; none of these were enough to sour my experience altogether.
There are no regrets when it comes to Legend of Dragoon. For what it was, I enjoyed it. I am happy that I was finally able to remove it from my backlog and I am glad I was able to share my experience with those on my live stream.
Overall, I would give it a solid 7/10. A good, but flawed game, that was daring enough to try new things even if those new things weren’t always successful.
I recently discussed one of my favorite horror video games, Silent Hill 2. In that post we talked about what makes Silent Hill 2 such a successful horror game and why it still holds up well to this day. That I failed to mention, however, was one of the creepiest parts of the game. I would like to rectify that mistake so let’s get to it.
In Silent Hill 2 you play as James Sunderland, a man haunted by memories of his deceased wife. One day he gets a letter from her asking him to meet her in their special place in the town of Silent Hill. James ventures off to the small lakeside town to seek out the truth behind this mysterious letter.
James arrives to a deserted Silent Hill. The streets are empty; not a soul to be see. There is no one in the tavern or even the bowling alley. It is as if everyone in town had suddenly vanished. On top of that, there is a thick fog that baths the town in a shroud of darkness. It obscures James’ (and by extension, yours) surroundings.
Along the way to discover the truth, you encounter a wide variety of horrific entities. Creatures that can only be described as things of nightmares. Men-like beasts who look as if they had been wrapped in fleshy straight jackets, scantily clad nurses with bandaged faces and wielding pipes and handguns, a pair of living legs sewn on top of another pair of legs, and of course the dreaded Pyramid Head – a terrifying immortal that stalks your every turn. These are just some of the monsters that James encounters along his journey.
Normally, the monsters alone would be enough to elicit a player’s whimpers, and yet it isn’t enough. Not for a game like Silent Hill 2. It continues to assault the senses by providing the player with an environment as visceral and disturbing as the enemies themselves.
One such example would be Room 208. In the Woodside Apartments, the first real “level” of the game, you come across Room 208. It is an important room in which players must solve a puzzle in order to progress. The first time players visit the room they may notice how sparsely decorated it is. The only bits of furniture in the room are a coffee table, an old television set, and a gross armchair. Consequently, it is nothing out of the ordinary. Therefore why should you question this room?. After all, we’ve seen other rooms that look similar. Why should this apartment be any different??
It is only after you find the clock key that the room changes. Even as the room loads into view, you can immediately tell that something is wrong. The sound of static now fills the once quiet room. Walking into the family room will expose players to a grisly sight – a trail of blood leading from one side of the room up to the chair. A splash of blood on the television and in the chair itself, a corpse.
All the while the television remains tuned to a channel of constant static. An eerie soundtrack to the grisly scene lying in front of you. That is what I mean by the environment being an unreliable narrator. Silent Hill 2 immerses players in an ever-changing environment. Similarly, the town, much like James, is an unreliable narrator; constantly changing what is real and what is make believe.
Yet there is something more chilling than Room 208. I am not talking about the prison level; filled to the brim with some fantastically horrifying sound design. Nor am I talking about the endless pitfalls beneath the Museum (If you know, you know.).
No. I am talking about a small, almost forgettable moment early in the game that, to this day, sends chills down my spine.
In Neely’s Bar, a tavern that you can explore during the first half of the game, you come across a window. Plastered upon the window are newspapers and written upon the newspapers (presumably in blood) are 8 simple words.
There Was a hole here…
It’s Gone Now.
Chills. I have chills.
There is something inherently wrong about this sentence. I cannot put my finger on it. Like, who wrote this? What is the hole that they are referring? Is this a physical hole or a metaphorical one? What made it vanish?
I am picturing some poor soul who, like James, is trapped in their own personal hell. Within the walls of Neely’s Bar is someone who has seen a hole – a hole big enough for them to notice daily. Eventually, there comes a day where the hole no longest exists.
I imagine this shattering their world. That there is this constant in their life that had suddenly up and vanished. The hole has gone away and it took their perception of reality along with it. Furthermore, if that was not strange enough, they also feel the need to tell others about the hole. They paint the window with a warning for others to see. To let people know about the whole.
Of course, this is just a theory I have. . There are some fans out there that feel like this message represents James and his possible alcoholism. That the hole is the pain he feels over his wife’s death and by drinking, he has filled that hole. Either way, it is still an eerie message that sends shivers down my spine.
Although I wish I could explain it better, I can’t. The message triggers this primal fear from deep within. Therefore I cannot help the almost Eldritch-like feeling I get from reading this. Almost as if there is something more ancient, more evil than Silent Hill out there waiting for us.
Feeling almost Eldritch in nature – as if the hole is part of something more ancient, more evil than Silent Hill itself.
No matter how you interpret the message, you cannot deny the sense of wrongness and dread that comes from reading it. Just another example of the brilliance that comes is Silent Hill 2. That even something so small, so simple, can elicit terror in the player.
Now I ask this of you, my dear readers: What subtle moments did you find equally scary in Silent Hill 2? Please let us know in the comments below and thank you for joining us today!
One of my fondest memories as a kid was sneaking through the Horror section at my local Blockbuster Video. It was here that I was introduced to the stunning VHS box-art designed to titillate as well as horrify. But there was one movie’s cover that stood out from all the others and that movie was DOLLS.
You see; in the days before streaming, before blu-ray, before even DVDS, we had VHS. Bulky tapes that required rewinding. That needed Vertical Hold adjustments to get a clear picture. Tapes that your VHS player could randomly eat and destroy. These wonderful relics dominated home entertainment as early as the late 70s and stayed popular until the early 2000s when DVD finally took their place. And while I do miss taping my favorite television shows as they aired live, I don’t miss the hassle that came with owning VHS. They took up a ton of space. Rewinding them was a pain in the ass and you never knew when your favorite tape would finally degrade to the point of being unwatchable.
That said, there is something that I do miss about the VHS tapes of yore. That being the box art. They grabbed your attention with their heavily stylized and usually hand-drawn artwork.
What made these so memorable, however, was that some art did not even depict a scene from the actual movie. Instead it exercised creative liberties with the movie’s overall concept. One example would be the box art for the horror-comedy HOUSE. It showed an overly detailed rotting hand ringing a doorbell. I remember it terrifying me whenever I saw it at my local Blockbuster Video. The brown flesh, the cracked fingernails, the visible muscle and bone; how could this movie NOT be scary?
Chopping Mall is another one that stands out. The robotic hand carrying a blood red shopping bag with body parts poking out of it. I learned later that the art had nothing to do with the movie but still! It looked awesome!
You have Fright Night with the clouds forming a vampire’s face above a house, Critters with a Crite standing center stage with that creepy, hungry smile upon it’s face. WaxWork with the butler opening a door to a wall of twisted monstrous faces. And who could forget ALIEN with its minimalist style of a single Xeno egg floating in the darkness of space.
Beautiful. All of them.
But then you had movies that were a mix of live action and hand drawn art. One of my personal favorites was the cover for Dead Alive (Brain Dead). It had a woman pulling her lips apart while a screaming skull peaked out from the inside of her mouth. Or what about THEY LIVE with a closeup of Roddy Piper’s face with an alien reflection in his sunglasses?
You have Tremors with the live action cast standing in the desert with a hand-drawn Graboid tentacle coming up from beneath them and Nancy’s frightened face with Freddy’s claws over her face in the original Nightmare on Elm Street VHS Cover.
The fact is, these covers were a work of art and although every movie had their own style, it was the horror genre that took box art to a different level.
Which leads me to today’s Retrospective.
Dolls (1986): A Visceral Treat for the Eyes.
As I mentioned earlier, there was one movie that stood out among all the others and that movie was Dolls. Dolls had some of the creepiest box art that I had ever seen. It was of a dolly in a red dress and black curly hair. The left side of her face was flawless. Shadows, however, bathed the right side of her face. Through these shadows you could make out the hint of a human skull. Contained within both of her hands, risen for the audience to see, were a pair of human eyes.
It had its desired effect. It scared the living hell out of me. This box art was one of those images that I would see whenever I was alone in the dark. I would imagine that little doll in my closet; staring at me with those empty eye sockets. I hadn’t even seen the movie and already I was afraid of it! But what about the movie itself?
The original release of Dolls came during the 1985 Italian MILFED Film Festival. It’s story revolves around several people who become stranded in a gigantic mansion during a horrible thunderstorm. As it turns out, the mansion is home to former toymakers Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke; both of whom welcome the strangers to stay the night.
The group includes a young girl named Judy and her despicable father David and equally foul stepmother Rosemary; businessman Ralph, and hitchhikers Isabel and Enid. The kind-hearted Hartwickes are more than happy to let them stay the night as long as they all behave themselves.
Judy, ever the curious one, discovers that the mansion is chalk full of wonderful toys. This includes stuffed animals, marionettes, and beautifully detailed dolls. Gabriel tells Judy that he and his wife were toy makers and these were their toys. The collection enthralls not only Judy but also the businessman Ralph. As it turns out, Ralph has never outgrown his fondness for toys and is very excited to see such a collection. It does not take long for Judy and Ralph to become friends; having bonded over their mutual love for the Hartwickes’ work.
But the fun doesn’t last long. As the guests turn in for the night, one of the hitchhikers sneak out of their room with the intent of robbing the mansion. What they find instead is a pack of pissed off dolls who brutally attack the hitchhiker. Judy witnesses this event and tries to warn her parents who promptly ignore then punish her for “making up stories”. Upset, she turns to Ralph who, having seen some of the dolls move himself, believes her. Now they must team up to survive the rest of the evening while also figuring out the mystery behind the killer toys and their creators.
Right off the bat I want to talk about the movie’s special effects. They are absolutely fantastic. The crew used a mixture of marionettes, stop motion, and animatronics to bring the dolls to life and it works wonderfully. Because of the different styles of movement, it gives each toy their own distinct aura of creepiness. The jittery, twitchy stop-motion just gives a sense of wrongness to some of the dolls’ movements. Compare this to the dolls controlled by animatronics – with their eyes moving slowly in their eye sockets, their limbs moving smoothly, almost as if they were actually alive – all of which add a sense of danger to these particular toys.
Then you have the bounciness of the marionettes that somehow provide a weird sense of silliness, yet realness, of the situation. There is a scene, for example, in which a marionette gets set on fire. Its body begins bouncing and jerking about as if someone is yanking on its strings. I don’t know why but it just makes the doll feel that much more real. Like it’s actually reacting to the fire. I mean, we know there is a stagehand off camera pulling on the strings to make it move but because we never see the strings or the person pulling it, it just makes the doll feel alive.
On top of that we have the fact that the dolls are not just hollow shells but actual living, breathing creatures complete with a skeleton, muscles, and functional organs. Whenever they take damage, chunks of ceramic break off exposing their ooey gooey insides. It is a wonderful little detail that piles onto that sense of wrongness that I mentioned earlier. It makes us question the toys’ origins. Where did they really come from? How did Hartwickes manufacture them? Are they truly alive or are they possessed by something out of this world? I absolutely love it.
The same cannot be said for some of the characters. While there is nothing wrong with our victims, they do amount to nothing more than a bunch of walking cliches. You have the neglectful father, the cruel stepmother, and the greedy punk rockers. They don’t really have any development outside of their one personality trait but you know what? That’s okay. We are not supposed to root for these people. They are all despicable one way or another which makes watching them get what is coming to them that much more enjoyable.
That said, we do get some great development between Judy and Ralph. As the only characters with good intentions and kind hearts, we cannot help but worry for Judy and Ralph’s safety. I could not help but love the bond that forms between them.
I also enjoyed the toymakers Gabriel and Hilary. They are not just mindless psychopaths, luring people into their home to die for their own sick pleasure. There is a method to their madness and it makes them that much more interesting to watch. In fact, they remind me a lot of John Kramer from the SAW franchise with their philosophy on appreciating the little things in life. I don’t want to go into too much detail but there is a lot more to the Hartwickes than meets the eye.
Then we come to the gore. We get some pretty wicked kills – from someone having their eyes gouged out and replaced with doll eyes, body parts being sliced and chopped with little knives and saw blades, and even a firing squad! But the highlight comes from the doll’s themselves.
Like I said before, the dolls all contain these slimy, almost mummified bodies beneath their ceramic shells. So, seeing their true forms come out whenever they are damaged is a real treat. And they are not created equal either. Some are look as if they had been dead for decades whereas others look as if they were recently deceased. Some have pumping organs, some have red and white muscles, and some even have their eyes intact. I love the variety as it keeps each reveal fresh and unique. Honestly, I love this movie. The story is simple yet solid enough to keep you engaged, the kills are fun, the special effects top notch, and the victims despicable enough for us to root against. And honestly? I really do believe that this movie helped pave the way for other movies such as Child’s Play and Puppet Master. It contains many elements that both franchises would explore in greater detail and I feel like the effects for Dolls helped inspire the way Chuckie and the Puppets would be animated in the future.
I will always recommend Dolls to anyone who’d listen. It’s fun. It’s unique. And it is one of the few movies that lived up to its terrifying VHS cover.
Please give it a go when you have the chance. I do not think you will be disappointed.
I distinctly remember the exact moment in which I became interested in Silent Hill. I was in high-school and reading a game magazine (either Game Informer or Electronic Gaming Monthly) and there was an interview with one of the creators behind Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately, I cannot remember if it was with writer Hiroyuki Owaku or director Marashi Tsuboyama but what I do remember is how they described the game.
You see, before Silent Hill, horror games were all about the interaction. You interacted with the monsters in some degree. Whether engaging them in combat (Resident Evil) or running away and hiding (Clock Tower), you were constantly interacting. Thus, the design of these games followed the idea of “Showing” instead of “Telling.”
Games like Clock Tower, Resident Evil, and Dino Crisis wanted you to see the enemy. They wanted you to see the zombies, the Scissor Man, the dinosaurs and while these games relied on jump-scares; they also focused on Survival. So much so that Resident Evil often referred to as the father of “Survival-Horror”. That is having players manage their limited resources to make it to the end of the game. And sure, there can be an argument towards the Clock Tower franchise being the first – I mean it is literally about surviving an unstoppable enemy – it is Resident Evil’s mix of action and horror made it the go to example of the Survival Horror genre.
That all changed with the introduction of Silent Hill
Silent Hill was released on the Sony Playstation in 1999. At first, it was seen as nothing more than a Resident Evil clone but for those who sat down to play it; they discovered it was so much more.
Where Resident Evil focused more on jump-scares and inventory management, Silent Hill focused on atmosphere and the fear of what you can’t see.
Silent Hill takes place in a small town that is as foggy as it is barren. This fog acts as a visual barrier – keeping the players guessing at what horrors could be just beyond the curtain. It was common for players to be walking towards their destination only to have a monster appear in the distance. Shrouded by fog and emitting terrible, inhuman sounds; the glimpses of these creatures proved scarier than Resident Evil’s infamous jump-scares.
Silent Hill 2 took this idea and ran with it. As I said, I was reading an interview with the game’s developer. They explained that it was scarier knowing that something terrible exists than being surprised by its existence. The example they gave was something along the lines of: “Imagine you enter a hallway. In the distance you see something waiting for you. But instead of it coming for you, it turns around and leaves.”
So now you know there is something in the hallway. You know it’s there and that is the direction you need to go. Now you must make the conscious decision to trek down the dark, scary corridor with the knowledge that something is waiting for you. You don’t know where it is nor if there are others waiting with it. Only that it’s there.
Building upon this mechanic was the addition of making your character “combat inefficient”. James, the protagonist in Silent Hill 2, is not a cop, nor a soldier. He is a regular guy. He has troubles swinging heavy weapons and is not the best marksman with a firearm. This forced players to adapt to a new playstyle. That of “fight or flight”. Do you take the time (and the risk) to fight every monster you come across? Or is it better to just avoid them altogether, juking and dodging around them?
That is not to say that other games didn’t use this mechanic. Resident Evil, again, encouraged players to conserve their ammo by avoiding enemies whenever possible. However, this was not always the best (or easiest) option. Resident Evil’s infamous tank-controls made avoiding enemies rather difficult. On top of that, Resident Evil heavily relied upon backtracking – that is, returning to previous locations. By ignoring the monsters you leave yourself open to dealing with them upon returning.
Silent Hill 2 avoids this by sticking to a more linear format. Yes, you do have to backtrack throughout interior locations, the overall experience is still linear. This means you have a lot more freedom in avoiding your enemies, thus making most combat optional.
Which brings me to the point of today’s post. Team Blooper, the developers for the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake just dropped a gameplay trailer titled “Combat Reveal Trailer”.
Now, I pride myself on keeping an open mind when it comes to remakes of classic games. I understand that things must change in order to fit in with modern sensibilities, but usually involve quality of life changes. Better controls, updated graphics, ability to save more often – things of that nature. What worries me is when a remake alters the fundamental nature of the game.
In the case of Silent Hill 2 – putting a higher emphasis on combat and mobility.
Do not get me wrong. The trailer starts off well enough. The return of classic puzzles, the beautifully updated graphics, the music, and environments; these all look wonderfully done. Then the trailer cuts to the combat.
It is here where my worry begins to sit in. Let’s go down the list.
My first concern revolves around the use of an over-the-shoulder camera. The original game used a somewhat isometric style (for the most part) with the camera high in the air at a sharp angle. This means you had a good idea of what’s directly in front of you and a little bit behind. Even in dark environments you can tell when something is sneaking up from behind.
Left – original
Right – Remake. Can you see what’s happening at all?
With this new over-the-shoulder camera, it feels a lot more constrained. During the trailer there are moments that seem so claustrophobic and so dark that I cannot even tell what’s going on except that we are being attacked. While this may be intense for a while, if not done properly it will be more irritating than it is scary. Hopefully this is just an early beta example with the camera and lighting being tightened up before launch. As of now, however, it feels a bit TOO close to the action to where everything seems cluttered and frustrating to deal with.
Secondly, I am disappointed with the introduction of Quick Time Events. We watch our main character tussle with one of the monsters – and the player needs to mash the X button to escape the monster’s grasp. Silent Hill 2 should be above such things. It should not be about button mashing but instead about losing yourself to the sights and sounds of the world around you. This works in more action-orientated games like Resident Evil 4 but just feels out of place with a slower-paced game like Silent Hill 3.
Finally, let’s talk about the mobility of the enemies. Specifically, at the 01:14 mark where we see one of the Nurses hopping, somewhat comically, over a barrier to reach your character.
Now I am not saying that we cannot update the movement and speed of our enemies but there is something disappointing about seeing one of these horrific monsters hopping around the environment as if it were a tactical shooter. In the original games, the Nurses were enemies that could equip weapons. They moved with creepy, unnatural movements (usually dragging seemingly broken limbs behind them) while carrying a variety of weapons. Weapons that include pipes, knives, and even handguns! They would limp towards you, their weapons glinting in the light of your flashlight; every movement bringing a sense of terror to the player.
And, like I said, the terror came not from the fact that they were agile and quick but because they were durable and moved in unnatural ways. So, seeing them becoming these quick, agile things in the remake just feels wrong. Maybe it’s the nostalgia in me, but I still believe that seeing something move in an unnatural state is a lot creepier than something rushing me like a normal person could; regardless with how they look.
So where do I stand? As of right now, I am cautious. Not cautiously optimistic, not cautiously pessimistic; just cautious. Silent Hill 2 is hands done one of my favorite games of all time. It’s no exaggeration either. I still stream this game every year for Halloween. I love this game so it makes sense that I would be worried with how this remake will turn out but as of now, I cannot form a more definite opinion without seeing actual gameplay. What I need is a full minute or two of actual gameplay. Let me see how our character moves, how the lighting looks, how the combat handles from start to finish. Once I get that, then I can make a more informed opinion.
I have hopes that Team Blooper is able to handle the complexity and psychological aspects that makes Silent Hill 2 such a timeless game. Just as I hope they remember that combat is not a necessity to the original Silent Hill games. Only time will tell.
Let’s see what the next trailer brings us. When it drops, you can be sure we’ll be revisiting this topic but until then, I am not holding my breath.
Tell us, readers: what are your hopes for the Silent Hill 2 remake? Are you excited or are you in the same camp as me, worried with a dash of caution? Let me know in the comments below!
As long as there have been video games, there have been horror video games. Even before the days of computer graphics we’ve had access to horror gaming in the form of text-based adventures. Colossal Cave Adventure arguably being one of the first horror games; with its creepy atmosphere and detailed descriptions. Everything about it was made to keep players on edge. We’ve since evolved – from the simplistic Haunted House and Halloween on the Atari 2600 to hyper-realistic Resident Evil 8 and Alan Wake II on modern consoles.
But a game doesn’t necessarily need to be classified as Horror to scare its audiences. Case and point: the action role-playing game Lies of P.
Lies of P is a gothic tale inspired by the classic story of Pinocchio. In the fictional city of Krat, engineer and puppet maker Geppetto has teamed up with the charismatic capitalist Venigni to create a series of clockwork automatons meant to make life easier. These puppets come in a variety of styles and professions. Some of these puppets include Police officers, butlers, entertainers, sand enforcers. Unfortunately, the puppets pull a WestWorld and go rogue. And if that was not bad enough, there is also a terrible plague that the citizens of Krat must deal with as well.
You control “P” – a human-like puppet who can lie. This is an important trait as it allows him to move among humans without drawing attention to himself. And you must guide P through the city of Krat to find the cause of the outbreak and put a stop to it.
Lies of P is classified as a “Soulslike” game. That is, a game whose mechanics are based off the notoriously difficult Dark Souls franchise. These are games that challenge the player with claustrophobic environments, disgustingly morbid enemies, and massive bosses. What makes these games stand out among others is the “Souls” system. As the player defeats enemies, they collect Souls (or Ergo in the case of Lies of P) that act as experience and currency. Upon death, however, players drop ALL their Souls where they die. If they die again before picking up the dropped Souls, they lose them forever.
I don’t need to tell you that this system adds a whole new layer of fear to these kinds of games. There is a constant battle between risk vs reward. Do you push onward through the scary alley, or do you turn back around and make a mad dash to the nearest save spot or shop to spend your experience on attributes or items?
And the game preys on this constant struggle. Neowiz Games and Round8 Studios did a fantastic job playing on players’ anxiety and greed. All throughout the game there are items out in the open with the intent of luring players into a false sense of security. There are so many expertly placed moments strewn all throughout the game that trick players into leaping before looking.
For example: There is a moment where a lone enemy stands in the middle of a narrow street. It has its back turned towards you meaning that you can easily sneak up behind it for a stealth kill. At first glance, you cannot see anything else in the street. So, you rush forward to get an easy kill.
Only to discover that just out of view, hidden behind a pillar or a crate, is another enemy just waiting for you to get into range. The first enemy was a trap and you fell for it.
Mechanically this is what transcends Lies of P from an action game to a horror game. The environments are so expertly designed that you will be questioning each step you make. Do you explore off the beaten path in hopes of a new treasure or do you push forward in hopes of finding another save point? Do you take your time in a new environment or do you rush through to lure your enemies out in the open?
Every decision you make just adds another layer to the anxiety cake that is Lies of P. But it isn’t just the mechanics that make it scary. It’s the design as well. Without going into spoilers, the enemy design is top-tier body horror.
The puppets themselves are scary enough. They move erratically – their limbs jerking around unnaturally as they limp towards you. The visual alone is enough to send a shiver up your spine. I personally despise the legless puppets that crawl on their bellies towards you like zombies; their gears grinding loudly as if screaming into the night. They are unsettling and I hate everything about them.
Then you have the biological enemies. Again, I won’t get into spoilers, but let me just say that they remind me of John Carpenter’s The Thing. They are ugly, and mean, and just flat out uncomfortable to be around. And they get worse as the game goes on. I absolutely love it.
Visually, Lies of P is top tier. Like its enemies, the levels have their own distinct style and personality. We see a wide variety of environments throughout the game; each one eliciting a sense of dread in its players. There are claustrophobic alleyways, corrupted bogs and farmlands, a creepy puppet factory, and even a cathedral filled to the brim with all kinds of unspeakable horrors.
In the end, Lies of P is a fantastically crafted game that will satisfy gamers and horror fans alike. From its beautifully gothic visuals to its disgustingly terrifying monsters – it has something for everyone. There is currently a demo out on both STEAM and consoles. So, if you are in the mood for something challenging and creepy than give the demo a shot.
Godzilla: Minus Zero follows the story of disgraced Japanese kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki). Koichi, unable to go through with his suicide mission, fakes engine trouble and lands on the small repair station on the island of Odo. It is here where he suffers through an unforeseen catastrophe that leaves everyone at the station dead save for himself and one other mechanic. With the war coming to an end, Koichi is discharged and sent back home.
It is here, in the shambles of his war-torn home, that Koichi meets two other survivors: the resourceful Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and a baby she rescued named Akiko whose parents were killed during the bombing of Toyko. Wracked with survivor’s guilt, Koichi reluctantly allows the two to stay with him.
At first it seems like Koichi will finally be able to get past the horrors witnessed during the war. He gets a job, makes new friends, and even helps his community. Unfortunately, this all comes to a crashing halt with the appearance of a gargantuan creature known only as “Godzilla”.
With Japan on the verge of total annihilation, Koichi must face his inner demons if he has any hope in protecting all that in which he loves.
Review:
My relationship with Godzilla is a complicated one. I’ve always been a fan of the franchise despite never actually finishing a Japanese Godzilla movie. I have seen bits and pieces of them but never actually sat down to watch one. Because of this, my primary exposure to Godzilla came from the American movies – the 1998 Godzilla, the cartoon series on Fox, and, of course, the latest Monsterverse series. This makes Minus Zero the very first Japanese Godzilla movie that I’ve watched from start to finish.
And it blew me away.
I cannot describe in enough detail just how much I enjoyed this movie. It took the one complaint I had with the Monsterverse franchise – the human element – and made it not only the most important part of the movie but the motion engaging and emotional part as well.
I am not ashamed to admit that I watch Godzilla for the carnage. I want to watch a giant lizard beating on other giant monsters while destroying everything in its path. As such, I am not really a fan of the so-called human element that the Monsterverse crams into these movies.
However, that isn’t the case for Minus Zero.
The best way for me to describe Minus Zero is as follows. The Monsterverse movies are Godzilla films that just so happens to have people in it. Minus Zero is a war film that just so happens to have Godzilla in it.
Koichi’s story, along with stories of those around him, is so compelling that even if you removed Godzilla, it would still be a great movie. Watching Koichi battle his inner demons – his survivor guilt, the disgrace he feels from abandoning his kamikaze mission, and the struggles he faces daily to redeem himself – makes for a phenomenal character story.
Ryunosuke Kamiki’s performance as Koichi is masterful. You feel every raw emotion that goes through his mind. You feel his fear at going into battle. The guilt he suffers through from being one of the only two survivors on Odo. And the angry, primal pain he goes through when witnessing Godzilla’s destructive power.
I also love that he is not the typical “hero” that we’ve come to see. He doesn’t make these grandiose speeches to rile up the crowd nor does he run into battle guns blazing. He’s just a man. A man with fears, insecurities, and nightmares. As human as you and me.
The rest of the cast is just as good. There is not one person in this movie whom I feel is a waste. Koichi’s work friends are fun and entertaining to watch. The chemistry between the actors felt real and authentic – so much so that I found myself worrying constantly for their safety.
As for the finale? Oh man. Seeing the fear on their faces as they witnessed the sheer power of Godzilla in all his glory. I could not help but clutch the arms of my chair. What phenomenal acting by everyone involved in this movie.
And speaking of Godzilla. I’ve always heard of him being described as a “Force of Nature” and Minus Zero is the best example of that descriptor. He is literally an unstoppable force; a being of pure destructive power and we are but ants. Normally I cheer whenever Godzilla appears on screen but this time, I feared his presence. This was not the cartoony action “hero” that I’ve grown to love in the Monsterverse.
No.
This Godzilla is a monster through and through.
Now as much as I would love to go into more detail, I fear that if I did, I would be stepping into spoiler territory. So let me conclude with this final message.
If you have the chance to see this in theaters, do so. I went to see this in IMAX, and I don’t regret it one bit. Not only is the movie visually beautiful but the sound design is top notch. I felt every footstep, every growl, every roar as if I was there in front of Godzilla. And when his theme song kicks in – booming over the theater speakers? Oh man. What an experience.
A Black Friday sale in Plymouth Massachusetts goes wrong when a riot breaks out resulting in several deaths. Now, one year later, a mysterious man dressed up as John Carver is killing those responsible for the riot.
Review:
Thanksgiving comes from the mind of Eli Roth (Hostel, Green Inferno) and Jeff Rendell. It is based off their fake trailer, also titled Thanksgiving, that was created for 2007 film Grindhouse. In the trailer we watch a pilgrim-themed killer committing all sorts of horrific Thanksgiving-themed murders done in a deliciously corny, albeit extremely violent, Grindhouse fashion.
Eli Roth describes the 2023 movie as the “Remake” of the grindhouse movie that no longer exists. Instead, he delivers onto us a more traditional slasher movie complete with a “teenage” cast and a classic ‘whodunit’ storyline. And as a traditional slasher, the movies excels. It movies along at a brisk pace with likable characters, humorous moments, and of course, lots of kills..
What it fails at, unfortunately, is the ending. I do exaggerate when I say that Thanksgiving was rapidly climbing my list of favorite holiday-themed horror movies. It had everything I wanted. It was funny, it was creative, it had a compelling mystery that kept me guessing but all of this fumbled at the 1-yard line. I do not really know the situation (if there is one) that resulted in the ending feeling so abrupt and rushed, but I will say that it left me a bit disappointed.
Now please, don’t get wrong. The movie as a whole is entertaining as hell. I cannot tell you the last time I saw a traditional slasher movie as good as this one. It really felt like it was an homage to the ultra-violent slashers of the 80s and early 90s. Not to mention that the characters were surprisingly likable. I found myself rooting for them and it was always a bummer when one of them was attacked.
That said, the movie is not flawless. There are some odd editing moments sprinkled throughout and some of the acting felt a little wooden but none of these really bothered me.
Up until the ending. I cannot go into too much detail without spoilers. What I can say is that the ending felt incomplete. I do not know if this was intentional – setting us up for a sequel – or if it was just another example of writers not knowing how to end their movie. Either way, I could not help the sense of disappointment that I felt once the movie was over.
In conclusion, I do recommend people giving Thanksgiving a chance. I am sure that they will enjoy it despite the ending. So please, check the movie out and let me know what you thought. I will love to hear your opinions on it.
TLDR:
Pros:
Fantastic practical effects for a majority of the gore.
Feels very much like an homage to the classic, ultra-violent slasher movies of the 80s and early 90s.
Likable characters.
Lots of genuine humor.
Wonderful side-characters that really help make the town feel real and lived in.
Tense opening sequence with the Black Friday riot.
Cons:
Some gore is notably CGI. Not enough to ruin the immersion but always prefer practical.
The final act feels rushed and has some odd editing choices.
