What Is Techno Again?

Shattered Memories: A Eulogy

Okay, this apparently went live Tuesday on the front page of Kombo.com, but I was too distracted by my recently defunct computer to notice. Anyway, I hope you take a moment to hop over to Kombo and check out my first guest article for them!

Over the years, my obsession for the Silent Hill games has nestled into my life like an infection. Akira Yamaoka’s music, which balances so beautifully against Mary Elizabeth McGlynn’s and Joe Romersa’s haunting vocals, effortlessly spreads its tendrils under my flesh. The gritty visuals poison my veins, the nightmarish town rots my bones, the psychological illusions deceive my brain, and the lingering terror grips my soul in my sleeping hours. Despite its deathly visage, I can’t help but experience a sort of inexplicable, Gothic fascination for the series whose stories have always rattled me. But when the recent Shattered Memories caused my dry throat to constrict and my eyes to wet, I knew the usual horrors weren’t culpable.

Tags: Climax Group, Kombo, Konami, Shattered Memories, Silent Hill
Posted in Features, Gaming, Kombo, Writing | No Comments »

A Look Inside The Room

Many gamers disregard Silent Hill 4: The Room as an unfortunate blip, undeserving of the Silent Hill name. I’ve already discussed the many pros and cons of the video game, but why is it really worth playing? Why does it rank, in my view, alongside the much idolized Silent Hill 2?

In my latest series feature, which landed a guest spot on GamerNode, I discuss the overwhelming influence of voyeurism and how it uniquely relates to the characters (especially Henry Townshend), gameplay techniques, and story involving Walter Sullivan’s 21 Sacraments. The Room achieves some rather interesting effects, both similar and new to the Silent Hill cannon, so I hope you enjoy this in-depth look into the game.

Unlike its predecessors, Konami’s Silent Hill 4: The Room coaxes the player away from the namesake town, changing the honored formula and permanently altering the series’ requirements. Besides distorting audience perception, the fourth game introduces a first-person viewpoint, interspersing the usual monstrosities with ghosts and establishing a limited inventory system, to name a few. Fans recognize the series’ essence within the theme of isolation; although gruesome horror and twisted psychology present less wondrously in The Room than prior titles, the game’s subtle achievements rival the likes of the celebrated Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams. Unlike the latter, however, Silent Hill 4 does not concentrate its efforts on making the player feel wholly alone — quite the opposite, in fact.

As a series, Silent Hill’s energy traditionally draws from its backbone of psychological cunning and Japanese subtlety. The first game blames the town’s cult religion as the freakish activity’s root but wisely marks the occult phenomena as a mere precursor. The true power manifests from the depths of characters’ minds, laying the groundwork for series chills just as the surrounding fog emphasizes the blurred line between reality and dreams. But Silent Hill 4 departs from the usual darkness, removing many of its self-defined conventions such as the flashlight and sirens and clearing the veil shrouding the town’s mysteries. As gamers, we now stand on the edge, looking upon Silent Hill as an outsider; through that perspective we experience new psychological dangers perhaps more threatening than we initially realize.

Tags: GamerNode, Restless Dreams, Silent Hill, The Room
Posted in Features, GamerNode, Gaming, Writing | No Comments »

Silent Hill: A Decade of Nightmares

I’ve been meaning to catalog the full Silent Hill history for awhile, but now couldn’t be a more perfect time. Unless I’m screwing up the math (which is possible, trust me), then January 2010 marks the full ten-year anniversary of the survival horror series. What better way to celebrate than to take a look back on the years with all their missteps and achievements? … Okay, well, I guess we could all dress up as the crazy gang of monsters and characters and put on a performance enacting famous scenes from the video games in a thematic party, but maybe that’s a little much. Eh, there would be punch, though.

Who’s your favorite Silent Hill individual?

For the last ten years since its 1999 debut, the Silent Hill video games have launched gamers into the heart of a macabre town crawling with unearthly creatures, cult secrets, and enough horrid psychological chicanery to justify a happily executed lobotomy. Despite the series’ notable footprint on the surface of the survival horror expanse, each installment bears its respective weight in flaws as terrifying as its disgusting creatures and unsettling music. So what makes Silent Hill unique and massively popular among horror addicts? Here’s a rundown of the Silent Hill landmarks that established the series and an envisioning of what fans can expect in the years to come. Feel free to add your own tribute in the comments below!

Tags: Climax Group, Double Helix Games, Konami, Microsoft Xbox, OneMetal, PC, PlayStation, PSP, Silent Hill, Team Silent
Posted in Features, Gaming, OneMetal, Writing | No Comments »

Buffy’s Karl Moline Talks Willow Magic

Man, it’s been a busy week! Good thing I like this job so much. It does have its perks, after all—like getting to talk with Karl Moline, guest artist on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Willow one-shot out today. In the interview, Karl discusses the comic and the There’s Something about Willow issue.

A very special one-shot ships today from Dark Horse—and it’s just in time for the holidays. Avid Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans might not be able to have their favorite witch gift-wrapped under the tree this year, but they can snatch a generous dose of Willow action in today’s comic. Guest artist Karl Moline agreed to sit down and answer some of our pressing questions. Who is that serpent lady on the cover and what does she want with Willow? What’s it like working with Joss Whedon? And most importantly, who’d win in a pillow fight: Spike or Angel? Okay, I made that one up, but Moline does give us the behind-the-scenes skinny on the Willow extravaganza.

GEN: Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to talk shop with us, Karl! Let’s get down to business: the upcoming Willow one-shot. Regular Buffy artist Georges Jeanty is stepping aside for this issue. As co-creator and artist on the Fray-themed comics, what made you turn your focus from the future Vampire Slayer to the series’ number one redhead? How did you become involved with the one-shot?

Karl Moline: Well, while Fray has been my major focus with Dark Horse, I’ve developed a good working relationship with my editors and that has led to a few non-Fray related projects. I had a really good time drawing the Buffy characters, and Willow was probably my favorite of the bunch. I guess the Powers that Be felt I did a good a good job drawing her and thought of me for the one-shot.

GEN: That serpent lady on the cover—Willow has met her before, right? She seems to know a lot about Willow and her powers. How much of a role does she play in this issue?

Moline: We have seen her before, although her appearance was brief and somewhat mysterious. This issue will shed light on her ties to Willow and explain who she is and why we should care. Their history is important to Willow’s magic powers and fans will want to read this to get a clearer picture.

Read more at the Girls Entertainment Network. And while you’re at it, make sure to check out TheNerdyBird‘s chat with Georges Jeanty.

Tags: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Willow, Dark Horse, Girls Entertainment Network, Interviews, Karl Moline, One-shots
Posted in Comics, Features, Girls Entertainment Network, Writing | No Comments »

Game Over: Video Games on the Silver Screen

I really heart Spawn Kill. It’s bursting with video game action of every flavor, and it has a team of writers to its name who work hard and help make it such a thriving website and community. So I’m always giddy when they let me submit articles and get away with posting them as features. No, really. They spoil the crap out of me.

My latest read for them entertains the idea of why video game movies suck more often than not, and it mulls over possible causes and how they could be fixed … or at least bandaged to stop the massive bleeding. You get the idea, right? Make my day and check out the article by following this link into the depths of the interwebz (okay, I’m being dramatic, but today’s been an awesome day).

Video game based movies drag around an embarrassing history with a charm akin to a rotting corpse that was left in the sun, and frankly it’s not all that surprising. Some things own too much baggage to survive the transfer from medium to medium without dropping a few key items here and there, and oftentimes what does worm its way through the wreckage resembles a hideous mutant spawn that can barely manage intelligent human speech let alone impress anyone as some lovable lost puppy. Not much else needs to be said: Video game films are practically doomed from the start screen, much to the frustration of hundreds of controller-wielding fans.

But why do video games suffer from such a notorious reputation? Is it a crummy budget, bad casting, or just a bad batch of filmmakers and so-called creative minds? Maybe. But we all know that there’s too many awful video game movies out there to blame it on a handful of random factors. Books seem to revel in the highest adaptation success rate, with comics close behind and gaining speed fast. So is it just the medium? Video games aren’t always known for stellar storytelling, but die-hard fans are eager and willing to take up arms to defend their beloved games that, well … don’t suck.

Tags: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Spawn Kill
Posted in Features, Gaming, Movies/TV, Spawn Kill, Writing | No Comments »

Off to Never Neverland with Joe Brusha

Zenescope Entertainment regularly turns classic fairy tales and fiction into the stuff of nightmares. Alice in Wonderland and Grimm Fairy Tales have both fallen under its shadow, and now Peter Pan is up on deck. Joe Brusha, president of Zenescope and creator/writer of the upcoming Neverland books, sat down to answer my questions about the comic.

You can read the full interview over at the Girls Entertainment Network, but here’s a preview to get you started:

Joe Brusha is a busy man in comics these days. When his hands aren’t full of comics from managing Zenescope Entertainment as president, his pen and ideas are hitting paper. His latest contribution? Brusha has been putting his creative mind to work with the all-new, upcoming Neverland twist. The writer/company president agreed to take the time from his daily routine to give GEN the scoop on Peter and his boyhood pals … and foes.

Girls Entertainment Network: With notable stories like Wonderland and Grimm Fairy Tales in the Zenescope collection, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Peter Pan was given his turn in the spotlight. Why now, and has Zenescope ever done a Peter Pan comic before?

Joe Brusha: Neverland was actually one of the first stories I thought about doing for the Grimm universe, so it’s kind of been sitting around for the past few years. Pan has appeared briefly and been hinted at in a couple of Grimm issues, but this is really the first time he’ll been in a book.

Tags: Girls Entertainment Network, Interviews, Joe Brusha, Neverland, Zenescope Entertainment
Posted in Comics, Features, Girls Entertainment Network, Writing | No Comments »

Reppion and Moore Set a Very Important Date

Like Alice in Wonderland? John Reppion and Leah Moore certainly do, and this November they’re bringing comic fans a jumbo mini-series dedicated to the original Lewis Carroll work with The Complete Alice in Wonderland by Dynamite Entertainment. GEN got the scoop first, so head over to the website and check out the interview! You might learn a thing or two.

Tags: Dynamite Entertainment, Girls Entertainment Network, Interviews, John Reppion, Leah Moore, The Complete Alice in Wonderland
Posted in Comics, Features, Girls Entertainment Network, Writing | No Comments »