The man responsible for directing nearly 50 cut scenes in "Resident Evil 5" shed some light on how they were made, and explained how he was influenced by "Metal Gear Solid 4," "28 Days Later" and "Black Hawk Down." Read more...

There's no good reason we haven't seen a decent video game based on horror's iconic monsters -- Jason Voorhees, Pinhead, Michael Meyers, Freddy Krueger -- and while watching a trailer for the new "Friday the 13th," inspiration struck: "Heavy Rain" provides an amazing framework for one. Read more...

"Clock Tower" is a PlayStation gaming franchise that has gone untouched since 2003, but Hollywood has continued to circle the game with the man with giant scissors.

The theatrical adaptation has been reported as only loosely based on the game series. Be honest -- do you remember anything from "Clock Tower"?

We all remember the iconic villain, though, who is predominantly featured in this series of movie posters made available online by Russian film site Filmz.ru (as discovered by horror site Bloody Disgusting).

We've included our two favorite posters below.

Read more...

For comparison's sake, here's EA's take: Read more...

The pressure must have been immense for Double Helix, the American studio tasked with creating the next "Silent Hill" game.

"Silent Hill" fans are rabid, obsessed with the series' intricate plot nuances and typically resistant to change (see: the formula-altering "Silent Hill: The Room").

It's with this mentality that Jason Allen, lead designer at Double Helix, went into approaching the development of "Silent Hill: Homecoming." Reception to "Homecoming" has been mixed from fans and series newcomers.

After finishing "Homecoming," I sent Allen a series of questions that I came up while playing through the game. Why not change "Silent Hill"'s archaic approach to puzzles? How did they choose Pyramid Head's appearance? Did they spend too much time making the game feel like the old "Silent Hill" games?

Read on for his answers. [SOME SPOILERS ABOUT THE GAME'S VILLAINS FOLLOW...]

Read more...

The combat in "Silent Hill: Homecoming" is an improvement over previous series efforts, but it wasn't enough for me. I wanted to tune it out and play on easy.

Except "Homecoming" removed the easy difficult setting from the "Silent Hill" franchise. There is only normal and hard.

What gives?

Over e-mail, I asked the "Homecoming" lead designer at Double Helix, Jason Allen, to explain himself.

"Balancing any game is always a difficult and somewhat onerous task," said Allen. "For 'Silent Hill,' in trying to maintain that atmosphere, it was difficult to set an easy mode up for the game that still kept the player in highly agitated state.  Though we did spend sometime looking into how to go about it; in the end it came down to insufficient time to truly justify its inclusion. I’m a firm believer that if you put something in the game, it better be the same high standard as the rest of the game – or you should cut it."

It sounds like Allen and I have to agree to disagree. I wanted to make the combat a moot point, whereas he wanted it to remain a central focus for my "Silent Hill" experience. That explains why he axed the easy mode option, given their development time. At least he did so with good intentions.

Check back later this week for more lessons learned from Allen's "Silent Hill" development experience -- and what he'd do differently with another "Silent Hill."

Related Post
Hey, Konami, Why Isn’t There An ‘Easy Mode’ In ‘Silent Hill: Homecoming’?
The Two-Hour Verdict — Is ‘Silent Hill’ Scarier Than ‘Siren’?
‘Silent Hill: Homecoming’ Mixes Western, Eastern Gaming To Stay Fresh (And Scary)

I have become more and more frustrated with "Silent Hill: Homecoming" in the days since I wrote a scares comparison to "Siren."

The combat in the new "Silent Hill" is more engaging than in previous games, but nonetheless frustratingly unwieldy. It becomes especially infuriating, given the game's lack of save points and med packs to patch your character up.

Eventually, I'd had enough of dying. I wanted to keep playing for the game's eerie atmosphere, but "normal" difficulty wasn't cutting it.

The problem? There is no "easy" mode!

Read more...

There are few times I can remember being more frightened during a video game than playing this year's "Siren: Blood Curse" on PlayStation 3.

But as a horror buff, I'm always left wanting more. Which is why I eagerly anticipated the release of "Silent Hill: Homecoming" this month.

I haven't finished "Silent Hill" yet, but have a good feel for it. After a few hours of "Siren," I'd experienced a turn-on-the-lights moment.

Did it happen with "Silent Hill"? Sort of.

Read more...

Eden Games is making some much needed control, camera and inventory changes to "Alone in the Dark" before it arrives on PlayStation 3.

These changes are in direct response to criticisms of the Xbox 360 version. At the Leipzig Games Convention, Eurogamer reported news of a patch so Xbox 360 owners could enjoy the same changes.

While checking out the tweaked "Alone in the Dark" in a San Francisco hotel yesterday, game designer Emile Morel couldn't explicitly promise such a patch was coming.

"We're trying to do it," said Morel. "It's technically complicated. The size of a patch is very limited by Microsoft. So if we do a patch it would only be about the new control and the new camera."

Morel says "only" because the PS3 version also includes a new subway chase sequence that would likely be too large to include in just a mere patch.

"We can't promise it because it is still early," he said. "We are finishing this [PS3] version first. I guess it also depends on the success of this version. If people review it again and said it's not worth it..." [laughs]

Would you reconsider playing "Alone in the Dark" on Xbox 360 if Eden Games delivered the promised tweaks?

Related Posts
'Alone in the Dark' Wii Loses Fancy Tech And Open World, Adds Motion Controls — Is That Enough?
First '120 Seconds' Of A Creepy Trip Through Central Park In 'Alone In The Dark'
Phil Harrison Explains Why 'Alone In The Dark' Fixes A Big Problem In Gaming

If you missed out on "Siren: Blood Curse," hop onto PlayStation Network and download an episode. Horror fans won't be disappointed.

There wasn't much talk about "Siren" before it came out. It came out of nowhere. Gamers who have already played "Siren" -- such as myself -- might be interested in learning more about its development and the people behind it.

Sony hooked me up with the game's story concept and game designer Keiichiro Toyama, a fellow lover of "Lost" and a man who…hates being scared?

Read more...