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Spawn Kill Favorites: Resident Evil 2

“Ada, wait!” Before las Plagas, there were zombies. Ankle-dragging, brain-hungry zombies, the undead who waited behind corners and inside lockers, hoping an unlucky S.T.A.R.S. member or even some exhausted shop owner with a shotgun would walk straight into their open arms. Hey, it happens. Resident Evil 2 is proof.

When it comes to horror video games, Resident Evil tops the chart, nails the head shots, and splatters the screen with blood and gore. Although the popular series changed its mainstream viral formula with the “action horror” award-winner Resident Evil 4, fans still consider the second game a hot favorite. Leon S. Kennedy may be a teenage girl’s knight in zombie gut-stained armor now, but he wasn’t always such a looker who rolled with Umbrella’s punches as slickly as the bad puns and bingo jokes. Once upon a time in Raccoon City, he was a rookie cop whose first day on the job ended in city-wide decimation. He slogged through grimy sewers, followed a corporation’s blood trail, befriended Redfield’s sister … and fell for one dangerous lady in red.

Interested in the full retro review? Click here and read it on Spawn Kill.

Tags: Capcom, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation Network, Resident Evil 2
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Spawn Kill Favorites: Silent Hill

Oh, Silent Hill, how I adore you. Thanks to the PlayStation Network’s inclusion, I recently revisited the PSOne classic on my PSP. So despite the voice-acting that makes soap operas sound like Shakespearian language, what distinguishes Harry Mason’s experience and keeps the aging title memorable? Find out at Spawn Kill.

One decade ago, Konami left a neoteric imprint on the survival horror genre with Silent Hill, a video game that would inspire a number of future titles, a movie, and several books and comics. But Harry Mason’s investigation into the fog-covered town and its strange occurrences accomplished more than just a household name among the likes ofResident Evil. The heart-pounding adrenaline rush introduced gamers to a nightmare founded on psychological Japanese horror and an equally unnerving musical score by composer Akira Yamaoka.

Tags: Konami, PlayStation, Silent Hill, Spawn Kill, Team Silent
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Spawn Kill Favorites: Bioshock

This February promises the highly-anticipated sequel to the action-adventure RPG with a dash of horror, Bioshock. But what was so great about the first game’s underwater dystopia, you ask? Hop on over to Spawn Kill and check out my review, which went live yesterday (hooray!).

Few video games arouse genuine nirvana in players, but even less promise a blossoming underwater world only to swallow gamers whole and leave them wanting more wretched decay, both lovely and sanguine. BioShock is one such praised gem, and experiencing the game without feeling like the developers literally poured their souls into its creation is virtually impossible. Indeed, BioShock at its very core flourishes as a polished experience, and quite a mighty one at that.

Tags: 2K Games, BioShock, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Spawn Kill, Xbox 360
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Spawn Kill Favorites: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

The good people at SpawnKill were awesome enough to publish my Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune review up on their website. Go check it out and support them, too!

Tags: Naughty Dog, PlayStation 3, Spawn Kill, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
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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
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Do You Remember Chrono Trigger?

Ever heard of that classic RPG called Chrono Trigger? It showed up on the video game scene once upon a time for the SNES, and set a standard for its descendants in its genre henceforth. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Or you should. It’s a damn great game.

Why is CT a damn great game? Hop on over to Spawn Kill and check out my review of the DS version.

Tags: Chrono Trigger, Nintendo DS, Spawn Kill
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SDCC Assassin’s Creed II Panel

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con was a blast—both professionally, personally, and as a fan. I have to admit, though, that I am not a fan of the first Assassin’s Creed game. When you start making pie charts to demonstrate the poor quality of a game, you know something’s wrong. But I can’t deny that what I saw at the Assassin’s Creed II panel has me eager to get my hands on that luscious game. ACII is definitely one of my most anticipated games now. And that’s saying something.

You can read all about the SDCC Assassin’s Creed II Panel over at SpawnKill.com. Thanks once again to the SK crew for letting me hog their features section! They’re too good to me.

Tags: Assassin's Creed II, San Diego Comic-Con 2009, Spawn Kill
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