Venom has to be one of the most interesting Marvel characters ever created. Since I was a kid, he�s been my favorite. Eddie Brock and the black alien symbiote used to give me child hood envy and I wished I could have a cool alien costume just like him. Being a huge Spider-Man fan, I found Venom to be my favorite character in the series. Since Venom branched off from Spider-Man and has had several independent series, I think the guy deserves some much needed attention.

After finishing the first comic in the new Venom series this week, a sudden re-interest in the character hit me. Venom needs his own game. Not just another comic game adaptation. Venom is a creature that inspires fear. His image and abilities have the potential (and have) to scare the crap out of people. Originally just a buff guy in a blue-black costume, over time, Venom�s appearance changed into something monstrous. Razor teeth, claws and brute feral strength have become a part of the character over the years. Venom�s character and history has the potential to be one brutal M-rated action horror title.



Eddie Brock and his alien pal have had harsh, scary moments together. Venom, once an evil creature became a lethal protector over time. His nobility may have involved eating some brains and slaughtering criminals, but his heart was in the right place. It would be unfair of me to not mention Mac Gargon, or any other of the Venom hosts. While they all had their own unique experiences as Venom, Eddie Brock holds the most potential for a riveting tale. The time between Lethal Protector and Eddie�s rebirth as Anti-Venom holds a great opportunity for a dark tale to be told. Whether new, or based on one of the other mini-series.

Perhaps even a game as Eddie Brock and his newly formed Anti-Venom symbiote against an evil threat would be amazing. Spider-Man: Web of Shadow had a good story to give, but it�s presentation was lacking. Nor was it a horror game. The time after Venom created a truce with Spider-Man holds the best opportunity for riveting tale. Eddie Brock is a disturbed individual and his weak mental state combined with the alien symbiote host gave way for a good dramatic tale over the years. Brock�s sanity was in question during his independent series. His time gone may not have been fully covered. Here lies a empty spot for a game to take place. Perhaps even the mini series called The Hunger can be used.



Making Venom a deep dramatic horror tale would require the game to be severely brutal. I�m not talking of any game rated below a M for Mature. Venom, as a character, is a monster. There is no need to sugar coat his horrifying appearance. But what kind of game would benefit him? What comes to mind is a mixture of The Darkness -in terms of brutal comic style- and Prototype -brutal as well, but similar in combat style-. The Darkness is a game about a character enduring a bonding with a demonic being. Eddie Brock co-exists with the alien symbiote. Here lies potential to create a narrative driven story with a battle for control, sanity and free will. Prototype has Alex Mercer as a guy infected with a virus that allows him to transform and use his tentacle appendages to kill foes in brutal ways. I am hesitant to think of an open-world Venom game, but perhaps it could work. Getting the lack-luster Spider-Man games from Activision out of my mind will require some time.

Venom to me is a Marvel character that is worth exploring in a videogame. His dark past, and weak sanity has driven him to do horrible things. He is literally the victim and the perpetrator in one. A dark story that delves into his and Eddie�s mind accompanied with brutal gameplay could create a great psychological action horror title. Just please, don�t bring back Topher Grace.

Have an ideas for a Venom game? Let me know in the comments.

Originally posted on my horror game site, HellDescent.com

What defines a horror game as survival horror? What aspects differentiate the genres? I wanted to take a look at how people view the survival horror genre in whole. I’ve sent out a request to several people behind horror games to find a common ground. I wanted to see the differences and similarities in their definitions, and perhaps figure out what the genre means to them. This is all in hopes to analyze the aspects of what makes a survival horror game.

This article will be somewhat “episodic”. Overtime I will post another response from a different developer on what they think about the genre. Hit the jump for the full article.

Alan Wilson
Vice President of Tripwire Interactive.
Known for: Killing Floor



Being pedantic, just divide it up into the constituent parts – “Survival” and “Horror”. For the horror part to work, you need a good combination of setting, monsters, shock, surprise and some suspense. Doesn’t really matter what the monsters are – zombies, vampires, the large hairy tentacle thing from Call of Cthulu. And the setting doesn’t matter that much either. It is how you use the setting. To get a good “horror” feel, it needs those peaceful moments, combined with the suspense – you just know something is going to happen and, when it does, it should be a shock. Rather than “slower” paced, I reckon it is more about varying the pace. Amnesia: The Dark Descent, for example, does it by keeping the base feeling slow and unhurried. But dark corners, noises off, spooky hints all go to build the suspense. You just know stuff is going to happen, but you can’t tell when and how. And when it does, it is often sudden – so it is shocking. Just hiding in a corner gets scary. Combination of sound, helplessness, dark corners – it gets scary. It is horror. There are times when you feel perfectly safe – but that is just the start point.

Then, “Survival”. You have to veer between feeling safe and feeling like you are genuinely threatened. If there isn’t any credible threat, how can there be any big buzz in “surviving”? The horror elements certainly should amplify that feeling. When I’m under pressure from a bunch of monsters in Killing Floor, a crawler popping out of a ventilator or somewhere, or a stalker uncloaking behind me, can still make me jump. The surprise/shock immediately amplifies the “survival” part, with a lot of “crapohcrapohcrap” suddenly in my skull. The tricky balance is to induce moments of pure panic – but they have to be survivable, or they are just “give up and walk away” moments, when they should really lead to “Woahhhh – how DID I get out of that?”.

Alan brings up several points at keeping a horror game in a survival zone. The threat of death must be apparent when enemies arise. He also says the threat must be accompanied by peace. The player must feel isolated and alone for the incoming threat to be scary. Whatever threat it may be, it must be substantial and strong enough as to get the drop on the player. He also mentions that a pure feeling of accomplishment must arise when the threat has been dealt with.

This is starting to sound right. Classic survival horror games were plentiful in this respect. Resident Evil pits you against sudden powerful zombies after numerous quite areas. Silent Hill did the same, but in a supernatural aspect. The feeling of isolation being suddenly ended by an encounter with a beast much stronger than your protagonist is what many attribute to survival horror. Killing Floor contains many of these aspects, but I’m sure many will be quick to call it an action horror game due to it’s large arsenal of weapons and multiplayer.

–

Tomm Hulett
Producer at Konami
Known for: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Silent Hill: Downpour



Survival Horror is a specific type of horror where the player character is underpowered and vulnerable. The player should feel like their death is a very possible risk. To accomplish this, enemies need to be threatening in a real way—not just scary looking or deformed, but actually able to kill the player. In most action games you are only “afraid” of the enemies if your life is low. In a Survival Horror title, you should be afraid as soon as you spot the enemy. (It’s not Survival Horror per se, but Left 4 Dead’s special infected do this really really well. As soon as you hear a Witch or Tank, your flight response kicks in and you are scared.) But it goes deeper than just the actual, concrete threats—in a Survival Horror game players need to feel like the world itself is against them. This means heavy, suffocating atmosphere. No mushrooms in question blocks here—if you find a weapon or health pack it’s because you lucked out, and you’d better hold onto it because you’re going to desperately need it.

Tomm stresses preservation just like Alan did. The need to survive is what makes a survival horror game; not complicated since survival is part of the title right?

The two both bring to light that survival horror enemies must be stronger than the protagonist. Their presence must bring terror due to their strength. Both Alan and Tomm mention that the appearance of the enemy does not have to be disturbing or monstrous to be terrifying if these survival horror elements are apparent.

Think about this for a second; what games have you played where the enemies were incredibly strong and your only way of advancement was to be sneaky and by conserving your available resources. Personally, Minecraft comes to mind. This cutesy building block game was not meant to be a horror title, but when the nighttime creatures appear, and you’re resources are extremely low, there is a strong sense of fear and anxiety. Now take this simple mechanic of vulnerability, and add some intense ambiance, disturbing visuals, a great story, and voila, you have something resembling a survival horror game. But is it really that simple?

–

SWERY
Director at Access Games
Know for: Deadly Premonition



Survival horror is an exercise in escapism, but the player must furthermore escape from the world he has escaped to.

It’s sort of a self-contradiction. I think this is the fascinating thing that really appeals to its audience.

Here we can see SWERY’s definition of the genre, while shorter than the others, he touches on the symbolic aspects. We have discussed the gameplay with Alan and Tomm and their ideas met in most areas. But here we have SWERY, the man behind one of the strangest games this generation. His views accentuate the the meaning behind a survival horror game and the core emotional aspect which is created to disorient the player.

This quote brings to mind Silent Hill; the players leave their world behind and in turn must escape this new place which they have wound up in; perhaps this is what SWERY means. In Deadly Premonition York enters this strange “otherworld” which he seems to never disclose to anyone else. He enters this place and must proceed to escape. Not to mention Greenvale; York arrives at this small town in hopes to find a killer and in turn must solve the mystery that somehow relates to his own past. Only then can he leave this new place. York’s previous cases were in cities, and he expected this small town mystery to be relaxing, but the story was much deeper than anticipated. Here we can see in some way what SWERY meant. Escape the old, arrive at new, escape the new.

I also asked some fans of survival horror what they thought the genre meant. Nearly everyone mentions weak weapons to non at all.

“A nice mixture of disturbing scares and jump out scares (we know we love the latter). Also greater focus on weak weapons, scarce ammo and when the enemies should be frightening as one enemy just as much as large groups.” says Manuel. He later calls Amnesia a “near perfect” horror game due to absolutely no weapons and being completely powerless even when hiding. Manuel pushes for powerlessness just as Tomm and Alan stated.

Ryan and Cody both state that sound is key to a survival horror game. That the atmosphere must produce an orchestra of sounds to envelop you -the player- into the world of the game. Erasing all ties to the real world and genre awareness, just the pure sense of anxiety and fear is what a horror game should be.

Sound design and visuals are becoming part of the definition. Along with SWERY’s symbolic interpretation of the genre, I am starting to see more and more sides of this aging genre. In the next part of Defining Survival Horror, I talk to Devin Shatsky, the producer behind Silent Hill: Downpour.

–

Devin Shatsky
Producer at Konami
Known for: Silent Hill: Downpour



Sur-viv-al –noun: the act of surviving, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances.

Hor-ror – noun: an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting.

The label Survival Horror specifically refers to the emotions that a game is intending to arouse inside the player. I think it’s one of those things that’s fairly easy to define, or quantify. Yet extremely difficult to actually execute on or qualify. I believe the main reason for this is because fear is completely subjective. The kinds of things that scare me may not scare you, and vice versa. So the results of the experience completely differ from each perspective. I’ve talked about this in past interviews, and I want to reiterate it here, that reality is a necessary component of horror for me. Things need to fall somewhere into the realm of believability for it to really have an effect (on me). I like to be able to immerse myself completely in a horror game or movie, and really try to identify with the main character(s). I want to be able to feel that “what would I do?” feeling during the experience.

Surviving, is the key word to define a proper Survival Horror experience. It’s not the environment, its not the setting, it’s not the atmosphere that’s most important. It’s that overwhelming anxiety that one can only experience when they are inches away from a horrific moment. So, the crux of the equation is ‘empowerment’. How powerful does the player feel at the moment of truth. If the degree of empowerment is little to none, I believe THAT is when Survival Horror is truly experienced. This can be experienced in a sandbox at a childrens park, or it can be experienced in a dark alley. All it takes is the proper equation. Dangerous Antagonist + Powerless Protagonist = Survival Horror. Of course adding a foggy, quiet town into the equation never hurts.

Thanks for asking!

A great definition by Devin Shatsky. He immediately jumps into the core component of Survival Horror, and that is surviving. Alan, Tomm and Devin all agree that empowerment is key to extracting horror from a survival situation. An immediate sense of incoming deadly situations are what unnerves the player and reminds them that their protagonist is just as frail as any other human being. If one of us were to be attacked by some shrieking beast, would we really have the ability to stomp its legs off without breaking a sweat? Perhaps not. Instead most of us would be ripped apart in seconds, unless we ran. The same should apply for a Survival Game.

The protagonist of a game within the Survival Horror genre should be an everyman (or woman). I don’t mean this in the sense of occupation, or social status, but by actual physical limitations. Classic Survival Horror games were downright hard. This was due to your character being highly susceptible to damage. Before Chris Redfield was punching boulders, he was as weak as any other human. Several zombie attacks and he would be down for the count. Same with Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 5; before she was a ninja with a breast machine, she was a normal person will very little physical defense. The same can be said for the Silent Hill protagonists. Harry, Heather, James, Henry, and Travis were very easily killed. Alex was a little more defensive due to his “soldier” past, but not many hits were needed to take him out either.

So what about a protagonist that has a little more luck on his side? Perhaps a nice armor suit and a wide variety of weapons? Does his adventure qualify as survival horror? Stay tuned for our next part of Defining Survival Horror with John Calhoun, Producer on Dead Space 2.

–

John Calhoun
Producer at EA
Known for: Dead Space 2



Making good survival horror games is like making a good cocktail: you only need a few ingredients, but they have to be perfectly balanced to hit that sweet spot of “I can’t go on” and “Give me another!” The main ingredient is a protagonist who is less powerful than the threat he faces. In Dead Space, the hero is Isaac Clarke, an engineer by trade who’d be more comfortable fixing a shockpoint drive than dismembering a Necromorph. He’s not a soldier, not a hit man, and definitely not someone who’s trained to confront an undead scourge. When the character you’re controlling has a legitimate reason to doubt his chances of survival, then players are likely to experience similar pangs of fear and dread.

Another key ingredient to survival horror games is a relatable setting. People are very attuned to their surroundings, and can sense when something is wrong or off in a familiar space. The best survival horror games play off this phenomenon. Games like Dead Space 2 feature environments that we can relate to – apartments, schools, churches, hospitals – and effectively toy with players’ expectations. It could be something as simple as having a hallway be eerily quiet, or having a door locked and shuttered for no apparent reason. Players pick up on these small details because they’re both familiar and “not quite right,” and that enhances the horror experience dramatically.

The final ingredients are measured in dashes. You need a couple Boo Moments to keep your heart racing now and then. You need to keep the ammo count down just a bit, so you always have the fear of running out of bullets right when your back’s against the wall. And finally, like a good cocktail, you need to appreciate the experience slowly. Pacing is key to the survival horror genre, and the game should be designed so that players want to creep through it carefully. This lets them appreciate the atmosphere, and soak in the little details that help craft the horror experience. Serve it all up in an attractive package, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a scary game!

John hits the nail on the head. We previously discussed the vulnerable protagonist with Alan, Tomm, and Devin, but John brings us back the realm of what SWERY was talking about. John discusses the other “ingredients” to a survival horror title, which is about the atmosphere: the location of a survival horror game doesn’t take place in an area that is completely foreign to us, instead it’s something we are familiar with. A small resort town, or home, or the city is something we are all familiar with. But when these locations become perverted by monstrosities of either human or supernatural origin then fear become apparent.

Pacing is also a key component to a survival horror game. Running around jumping past enemies is not scary. In my first playthrough of Dead Space 2, it took me around 11 hours to complete the game. After I learned of all the scares and became a powerhouse due to NewGame+ it took me around 5 hours. This is not a bad thing at all. This shows the the game forces players into fulfilling an expected pace. The ambiance and scares considerably slow down players and forces them soak in their environments. An environment must be filled with details that slow the player down because they find something wrong with it; John states this in his definition. The world must seem familiar, yet disturb the player for multiple reasons.

The Dead Space series has gotten some flak for it’s label of survival horror. The sequel, while agreeably great, has been called an action horror title. The accessibility of Dead Space 2 has made many horror purists claim that there was no sense of survival. Isaac Clarke may have a large arsenal of weapons to choose from, but does that make the game any less survival horror? In my own playthrough, I stated that the sense of survival was strong. It has a slightly different air to it than say Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but it contains many of these aspects which we have discussed. Isaac may wear a suit which assists his combat, he may have a wide variety of weapons, and the game may have many action scenes, but does break down the core survival horror aspects?

In the next part of Defining Survival Horror, we talk to Thomas Grip of Frictional Games. He lends us his ideas on why Dead Space 2 is not considered true survival horror to some fans.

–

Thomas Grip
Co-Founder of Frictional Games
Known for: Penumbra and Amnesia: The Dark Descent



First of all, I am not that fond of simply discussing if something falls into a certain category or not. This because these kind of categories rarely are very clear (see “no true Scotsman fallacy”) and that it is even very interesting to debate it. Instead what I do find very interesting to discuss, is what kind of feeling a game strives to evoke, and how successful it is at doing this.


Taking Dead Space 2 as an example, I think the first question would be: what are the designers intent with this game? This is of course hard to know, but as long as we focus on something that is a somewhat related to the game, discussions can be very fruitful. For example, say the intent was to make the as scary as possible; does the game live up to this? One can then discuss if the game should really have things like the stores and upgrade benches, and how these affect the end experience.

Now, from what I can tell, being as scary as possible was not the top priority for Dead Space 2, but simply framing the question that way can give rise to a deep and interesting discussion. This regardless of the correctness of our initial assumption.

With the above in mind: Why do people not call Dead Space 2 a survival horror? The answer is then that one need to look deeper then simply answering the straightforward question. It must first be established what players perceive as the intent of the game; did players expect a scary game and so on? The next step is then to find out what it is that make the game fail at living up to these expectations. One can then also wonder if going in with different expectations would make the player enjoy the game more and so on. I find that all sort of interesting things can spring from these kinds of discussions.

Here I had asked Thomas about some people’s issue with calling Dead Space 2 true survival horror. Because of Isaac’s access to many weapons, and his more combative approach to situations, many are left with a feeling that Dead Space 2 resides on the action side of horror. In my personal playthrough of Dead Space 2, I started on the survivalist difficulty. As the name suggests, I did a lot of struggling with surviving. I frequently ran out of ammo, I was killed multiple times a level, and I would run from many encounters to prevent a loss of supplies. Aren’t these the same qualities that we have established as a survival horror game?

Of course not everyone may have jumped into Dead Space 2 on a harder difficulty, but is it fair to call Dead Space 2 action horror with no survival whatsoever? I think the issue is that many believe that because Dead Space arms you appropriately and contains intense scenes of action you are given the upper hand on situations; frequently throughout the game, you are empowered. Empowerment seems to be a violation of the survival horror formula. We’ve discussed weakness with Alan, Tomm, Devin, and John, and for Isaac to even be momentarily empowered, fans become influenced into seeing the game as action oriented. Defining Dead Space 2‘s genre is up to the players it seems. Personally, I considered it a survival horror game in my first playthrough. But Newgame+ gave me a much bigger advantage. What about Hard Core mode? Do I look like a masochist to you?

We’ve received definitions from leading people in the horror gaming world. From Silent Hill to Amnesia, the survival horror genre contains many core qualities, but how it’s executed seems a bit subjective. What we do know now is that the feeling of a survival horror game should bring not just fear, but displacement. The protagonist must also be vulnerable to the world and enemies. Everything that seems familiar to us must be flipped upside down, figuratively (and physically). Survival horror is a dieing breed, but with upcoming games like Silent Hill: Downpour, Dead Island, Resident Evil: Revelation, Amy, etc. We have faith in seeing the genre flourish once more. I hope you enjoyed this long article, and please leave some feedback in the comments!

Originally posted on my website, HellDescent.com[i]

In this installment of Suitable Mention in Horror I�ve decided to go back a few years and talk about one of my favorite games of all time. The game is Breakdown. I�ve always stated that this game deserves a sequel, and discussing the horror elements within the title will hopefully let me vent my frustration in never seeing one.

Breakdown is a psychological thriller JFPS with a lot of unique elements unseen in other FPS titles. This game was deep, mysterious, emotional, and fun as all hell. Director Masataka Shimono made a unique title that will sadly never get the sequel that it deserves. Breakdown released in 2004 for the Xbox and was published by Namco. While it did not get all positive reviews, I loved its mind twists and complex story involving time travel. This engrossing title stole my interest so many years ago, and I find myself going back to time and time again.

You played as the only survivor of an experimental super soldier program. As Derrick Cole, you awake in an underground facility in Japan with no knowledge of who you are. From the get go, you notice that the entire game is in first person. Punching, kicking, shooting and even eating is all done from the eyes view. The game does an amazing job of putting you into Derrick�s head. Every action requires a prompt. If you wish to pick up health, an item, energy or ammo, you have to actually set up the situation. Derrick must extend his arm to pick it up, then continue with the task of grabbing said item. It may seem cumbersome, but it�s a take it or leave it form of first person immersion.

Derrick isn�t a deep character with a lot of feedback, but he does speak. I guess the developers thought it would be an way easy to force the player to feel like they were Derrick. Shortly after the tutorial level, you are drugged with a delicious looking burger and a can of a Coke-like juice drink. In a haze, you see a woman warp into reality moving backwards in time and then a break-in occurs. Before unnamed soldier can take you down, the woman reappears moving in normal time and she quickly dispatches the soldiers.

There is a war going on between humans the alien T�lan. These hulking organic-cybernetic creatures look humanoid, but are far from such. Derrick�s new friend Alex saved him, and tries to remind him of what is going on, but you are as clueless as your protagonist. Alex has been sent back in time to rescue you. She is surprised to find that you have no recollection of who you are. You soon find out that Derrick is the only survivor of mixing T�lan DNA with a living human being. Scientist extracted T�lan DNA which they concentrated into T�langen and Derrick was the only host to adapt to it. Derrick�s amnesia is also the result of the harsh experiments.

Throughout the game Derrick�s powers start to manifest in the form of glowing white veins extending up his arms. Breakdown is a First Person Shooter / Brawler. With these powers, Derrick can lay waste to enemies with his hands and legs. You may be thinking that this can�t possibly be a creepy game if you have mega-arms, but it is. The environments in Breakdown are cold, sterile and desolate, that for a last gen game look real and unnerving. The graphics while slightly stylized, are realistic and clean. The later levels also bring you to the dark world populated by the T�lan. Here things are black and lifeless; organic looking environments layered with almost cyborg-ish flesh become the norm. Let me not forget to mention the random occurrences where reality seems to break-down in front of Derrick, and only to him. These moments are marked by the appearance of a cat. One little meow, and it breaks away as does the following path: mind screwing at its best. The true reason behind this cat will provide an amazing twist.

Not only are the environments unnerving, but the enemies. They lack any personality. Hulking bald men with no expression or souls lumber around killing all humans. The first few levels make you powerless against them. Solus is the embodiment of the T�lan leader Nexus; his first appearance is a sign of future scary encounters. The game has fantastic pacing. From the start, pure survival is key, but as you progress within the story, you become a more powerful opponent against the T�lan. I loved how these power-up moments occurred. They felt well written and not forced.

The entire story of Breakdown is just fantastic. The game swings through time, reality, and worlds. The story is a thriller at its best, but the environments and scenarios evoke a real emotion that I have not felt in many games. It�s not the monsters or gore that makes this game scary, in fact, I don�t recall much gore at all. It�s the ambiance of the entire game. It just feels authentic yet foreign. This was an overlooked gem on the first Xbox. The story alone will leave your jaw wide open and heart in yearn for a sequel. I have tried to contact the director in hopes he can shed some light on the game, but nothing yet. I at least hope this article will drive some of you to check out this fantastic title. It truly only suffers from some small control issues and difficulty.

Originally on my horror gaming site HellDescent.com

HD collections for the PS3 seems to have become a new fad for the console. This is by no means a bad thing; quite the contrary. The ability to replay PS2 classics in an �unaltered� HD state is a great way for fans to relive their favorite titles, for newcomers to experience classics, and to be frank, it�s an easy profit for game companies. It all started with God of War, and then Sly Cooper, the Team Ico Collection due soon, and a few more are rumored. Konami once showed interest in a Silent Hill Collection, but nothing has come of it.

A Silent Hill Collection has much potential. For one, the die hard fanboys and girls can�t complain about it (zing!). Of course Silent Hill 2 through 4 can be played on PC in an HD resolution, but the ease of a PS3 collection containing three titles on one disc would be fantastic. Hell, Shattered Memories can even be put in the collection with Move support.

I�m not asking for something complex like revamped everything, but give it the HD treatment. Improved textures, 5.1 surround (Hi-Fi Akira!), trophies, and a load of bonuses. Thrown in all the of the Making Of videos, the art films, an art gallery, and maybe some other pieces that the fans have a hard time getting a hold of. Perhaps even a demo of Downpour? Konami has a chance to do something wonderful here. They could easily commission either Climax or Double Helix to do the port, while Vatra works on the latest entry in the series. The God of War Collection�s dev time was just under 15 weeks; certainly Konami can get a team to do this and release months ahead of Downpour. As for profit, it�s safe to say there will be one. So, what do you say Konami? Pretty please with a Pyramid on top?

Originally on my horror gaming site, HellDescent.com

Silent Hill 8 was announced at this years E3, and many wondered why it was even called Silent Hill 8. If you follow the canonical path, this would be either 5 or 6. Homecoming was originally known as Silent Hill 5, but changes were made to the title. The next Silent Hill title can be called many things. In this article we think of a few possible titles and explain some reason behind them. Hit the jump for the full list.

Update: Well, it looks like we were close. Silent Hill 8 producer Devin Shatsky says that one of our titles was considered a while back, but was scrapped. An official announcement will be coming soon!

Silent Hill 5 or 6

Silent Hill 5 never actually released, instead we received Silent Hill: Homecoming. The title was changed possibly due to fan outrage over an American developer (Double Helix) continuing the series as a numbered sequel. Silent Hill 8 may very well become Silent Hill 5, because Homecoming was not numbered as such. On the other hand, Konami could officially state that Homecoming was Silent Hill 5, and thus making Silent Hill 8 Silent Hill 6. Perhaps Konami will �bite the bullet� this time, and allow Vatra to officially label their Silent Hill title with a canonical number.

Silent Hill: Conviction



Murphy Pendleton is the protagonist of Silent Hill 8, his �occupation� is a prisoner. He has already been convicted, and finds himself on the run in Silent Hill 8. We don�t know why Murphy was convicted, but the title makes sense with his current situation. The title isn�t very elusive as the others, but hey, it works out.

Silent Hill: Atonement

Still following in the vein of Murphy trying to redeem himself, we land at Silent Hill: Atonement. Sometimes the correctional facilities work, and inmates become aware of their sins. Murphy can be led down a path that will help him atone for his past sins. Running away from the police isn�t exactly a way to show you are rehabilitated, but who wouldn�t flee if given the chance?

Silent Hill: Awakening

Now it is safe to say that a character with no memory of his or her past deeds is getting cliche, but perhaps Murphy�s past goes deeper than his own lifetime. Perhaps something done in his previous life has followed his soul. His ties to the town of Silent Hill may be deeper than this one lifetime. Do we think that Murphy will perhaps be connected to Jebediah in blood or spirit? We doubt the latter, but this is Silent Hill after all; anything can happen there.

Silent Hill: Redemption



The town of Silent Hill has had many people lost in their own lives as they struggle with their inner demons. The town has been known to guide these unfortunate soul to either enlightenment or punishment. This protagonist is a convict, and is most likely seeking redemption of some sort, though we don�t know if Murphy actually committed any harsh crimes. Perhaps he did and Silent Hill wanted to be the force that led him into a way of realization or acceptance. However, we also feel that Redemption is simply too blunt. Other Silent Hill games have already gone down the �redemption� path with their characters, so hopefully if we are to redeem Murphy, let it be done in a truly mesmerizing way.

Silent Hill: Retribution

This title would be very similar to Redemption. The story path of course would be Murphy receiving retribution for his past deeds. He can either prove himself innocent, or changed. With the connection to Past Life, we think that perhaps Murphy was once a horrible person as Jebediah was, and now must face his inner demons.

Silent Hill: Revelation

Will the next Silent Hill game follow the same name as the second film? We doubt it, but the name would match. These ambiguous titles are not our favorite approach to naming the games, but it is something to think about. With Silent Hill: Origins, Silent Hill: Homecoming, and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, it�s safe to assume the next Silent Hill title will contain some sort of subtitle.

Silent Hill

Yes, just plain Silent Hill. Silent Hill 8 can be pushed as a reboot of the series. Not in terms of forgetting everything and making a whole new mythos, but a gameplay and series reboot. The first Silent Hill released in 1999, and it�s not very hard to think that Konami�s aging series will be rebooted. Tomb Raider, Devil May Cry, Splatterhouse, and a few others titles have been rebooted this generation, and Silent Hill may be next. Instead of adding a number or subtitle to this game, Konami and Vatra could go with this root and just call the game Silent Hill.

Original article found on my horror gaming blog, HellDescent.com

Treyarch was once considered the underdog of Call Of Duty development. They had to turn out a game better and more interesting than Infinity Ward for a few years. Usually Treyarch�s Call Of Duty games were considered the weaker in the franchise. What was their answer to this long running stigma? Zombies of course! In 2008, Treyarch�s Call Of Duty: World at War was released, one of the newest additions, zombies. Why are there zombies in your World War II shooter? Because there just can be. The new mode became highly popular and even spawned an iPod/iPhone spin-off game in 2009. Zombie mode returns in Treyarch�s latest Call of Duty game, Black Ops. With it comes an even more frantic, and hilarious experience.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops brings back the highly addictive Zombies mode in a familiar and new way. There are two Zombies maps in Black Ops: Kino der Toten, and �Five�. Dead Ops Arcade can also be counted but I�ll get back to that later.



Kino der Torten has players transported forward into time to face Nazi Zombies (the best kind), hellhounds as well as Nova 6 gas zombies. This is the only map that follows the Nazi Zombies story established in World at War. The map has several rooms to move into, and contains many of the devices that the previous map, Der Riese included. The entire map is a huge cinema with access to surrounding buildings and alleys. The map is rundown, dirty and similar to previous maps. Players step into the returning shoes of Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki and Doctor Edward Richtofen. Kino is available upon start, and �Five� must be unlocked by beating the campaign.



�Five�, while not following the Nazi Zombie story, has to be one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen. This map brings in four new characters to the zombie invasion. John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, and Robert McNamara. These political figures are casually have a meeting over the world�s conflict with communism in the Pentagon, when the DEFCON system goes online. Zombies have invaded the Pentagon, and it�s up to these historical figures to serve the smack down. The entire map takes place in the Pentagon. Opening up locations leads players down to a secret underground facility where the zombies and Crawlers get even more ferocious. The boss of this map is a mad scientist that steals your equipped weapon. Using some type of cloaking/teleporting, the scientist can move around maps quickly and easily. He is particularly hard to kill because of his weapon stealing ability, and transporting of players. The random quotes spout by the characters are extremely humorous. Nixon, while not a crook, is a coward. Kennedy is the leader, so he plays a brave role. Castro is an extreme badass, and McNamara sort of goes unnoticed.



Zombies mode in Black Ops basically plays as a horde mode. All four players must survive round after round of zombies. What Zombies in Black Ops does so well is the feeling of frantic uncertainty. Zombie mode feels very similar to the game Killing Floor. Players must survive waves of zombies, restock on ammo, buy new guns, close doorways and open new ones in hopes to survive the onslaught. While this is a coop game mode, turning your back still feels threatening. While repairing a door, the nagging feeling of a zombie sneaking up is always on the mind. Choosing the right weapon is always a gamble. Spend money on an exit strategy, or pump up your gun? Good teamwork can keep this flowing in the positive direction as you can ration off your teams expenses. Rebuilding doorways and killing zombies net you cash. Money can be used to activate map items such as a new level of DEFCON in �Five� or perks/traps in Kino der Torten. Both maps feature a wide variety of weapons, some from the past, some from the games current setting (the 1960s). The secret unlockable Dead Ops Arcade, or DOA, is a different type of zombie mode. It�s a top-down coop shooter that plays heavily like Smash T.V. Players shoot down mass amounts of zombies, and rack up points. It�s a nice addition that livens up Black Ops Zombies, but some more traditional maps would have been nice.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Zombies makes it into our Suitable Mention series for a few reasons, it has freaky zombies, frantic heart pounding gameplay, and it�s overall just pretty damn fun. The original Zombies maps from World at War are available in Black Ops for those who purchased the Hardened or Prestige editions. I certainly hope those maps appear as DLC soon, because I feel like killing some more Nazi�s, who just so happen to be dead. ES IST MEIN TEIL!

The original version of this article can be found on my horror gaming site, HellDescent.com