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Original IPs have been quite the rage with EA these days and it’s hard not to get misty-eyed upon seeing Dead Space, a third-person action/adventure horror escapade developed by EA Redwood Shores, in action for the first-time. Reggie and I were invited to EA India’s office in Gurgaon today to have ourselves an intensive hands-on session with a near final-build.
In the beginning of the game, we’re treated with an in-game cinematic of lead protagonist Isaac Clarke with a space crew heading towards the USG Ishimura, a giant orbital ship that suffered a huge communications blackout for whatever reason unbeknownst to its curious approachers. Eventually, stinky poop hits the fan when your crew’s vessel gets pulled into the Ishimura’s magnetic field and you’re forced to make a landing inside its hull. Voodoo vibes are in full effect, and this is pretty much were you come in.
Imagine a calm, relaxing little town, away from the noise and the pollution of the big city… perfect for a weekend getaway. Spend a relaxing evening at the Toluca Lake, grab a couple of drinks at Heaven’s Night or visit the Historical Society. Meet strange new people, visit alternate dimensions, solve interesting puzzles and did we mention the monsters?
Welcome to Silent Hill…
Unarguably the pinnacle of survival horror, the Silent Hill series has been continuously scaring and captivating gamers since the release of the original Silent Hill in 1999. The fifth installment is set to release just a few days from now and so we decided to take a look back at the franchise before we brave the twisted little foggy town again.
In many ways, the first Alone in the Dark game pretty much set the standard for the modern-day survival horror franchise, even if Resident Evil usually ends up taking the credit for it. Sixteen years after the original ended up scaring the bejesus out of us when we were in our teens, Eden Games, who have been consistently wowing us with racing classics like V-Rally, Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed and Test Drive Unlimited, has been passed the torch (pun very much intended) and the resulting experience in the new Alone In The Dark happens to be one wild ride through a bed of roses. And, unfortunately, a briar patch to boot.
Alone In The Dark unfolds in the city of New York as the main man, Edward Carnby, wakes up suffering from an amnesia haze in an apartment building overlooking Central Park, around which the entire game and its mysteries are based. Saved from an untimely demise by a series of otherworldly fissures or “living scars” that tear the city apart, Ed finds himself on the run from the transformed creatures to try and figure out why he’s suddenly having such a lousy day. Along the way, Ed teams up with Sarah Flores, an art dealer who seems to have traded in the usual dress code for leather jackets and Goth thigh-high boots, as they struggle to survive until sunrise in Gehenna, formerly known as NYC.
While the story, penned by Sleepers author Lorenzo Carcaterra, isn’t as tightly wound as, say, Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, it serves as a highly engaging transport for the game’s mechanic and all the conspiracy theories surrounding Central Park – enough to make players at least want to do a decent amount of digging online. What’s confusing, however, is whether this game is actually some sort of a sequel to the original, having transported Carnby straight from 1938 to 2008 after his adventures in the Derceto mansion – a fact borne out by the Central Park EMT’s comments and the not-so-lucid endings to the game. Thankfully, the method of telling the story takes a huge deal of stress and implausibility out of actually doing it, by resorting to a DVD-style system that allows players to skip to any of the eight episodes (split across multiple scenes) that make up the storyline, in addition to rewinding or fast forwarding the game to replay a section in another way or skip one that’s causing a receding hairline.
Yes, we know. We’ve all heard things both good and bad about the new Alone in the Dark game, but the only way you’re really going to find out about it is if you play it for yourself. Which is exactly what three of our lucky winners will get to do, thanks to the Alone in the Dark contest that we’re running with Milestone Interactive.
Watch this space for our multiplatform reviews and comparisons of Alone in the Dark coming soon, along with one of our devilishly devious trademark Flash puzzles and you could win a copy of the game for the PC, Xbox 360 or the Wii. Be afraid, be very afraid. Of our puzzle, that is.
If there’s one way to make a survival horror game a lot more appealing to those who crap in their pants everytime they as much as hear a plastic bag rustle in the dead of night, it is to release one on Friday the 13th. Demoing Resident Evil 5 at the Microsoft Press Conference at E3 2008 some time back, Capcom’s Jun Takeuchi walked the audience through a demo of the game, which is also supposed to be playable on the floor for the attendees during the course of the expo.
After explaining a little bit about Chris Redfield joining a new organization called the BSAA (or was it the VSAA?) and teaming up with Sheva to hunt zombie ass deep in Africa, the game’s co-producer joined in to show off the game’s co-op session - which involved Chris and Sheva working together and helping each other survive the zombie hordes in what was undoubtedly the high point of the entire Microsoft press conference. Which, ultimately, culminated in them facing off against a chainsaw wielding zombie and having the entire world groan in collective agony at having to wait until March 13, 2009. And for all the people in India, you know what that means - RE5 will probably walk in the footsteps of DMC4, so you better start placing your pre-orders as the option goes up on Play-Asia!
If you haven’t heard of Penumbra, you’ve got to start playing more indie games. Really! Having followed the game since the students released a tech demo and moving into the hugely successful Penumbra: Overture, I’ve been waiting for more details on its sequel, Black Plague. And while we are still no closer to a release date other than sometime in early 2008, we at least have new screenshots to look at while we wait to resume Philip’s spooky adventures in Greenland.
For those unfamiliar with Penumbra, it follows the story of Philip’s quest in Greenland to find his missing father. Stuck inside a massive underground mine, with hundreds of weird creatures after him, Penumbra uses a unique mixture of first person action elements along with survival horror, where the player has to use physics-driven combat to hide from and escape his enemies. If you haven’t already played Overture, please do so right now, considering it’s probably the best indie survival horror game out there. You’ve got my personal guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
Hit the jump for screenshots.
A new trailer for the upcoming third and final film in the Resident Evil franchise following hot on the heels of the Resident Evil 5 trailer? Polly like that cracker very much indeedy! Building on the spectacular teaser that was released earlier this year, (you know, the one that showed a completely devastated Las Vegas) the new trailer shows off more of the movie’s zombie bashing plotline.
Set three to five years after the events of Apocalypse, Extinction sees the Umbrella Corporation failing to control the spread of the T-Virus, leading to a worldwide infection that has almost wiped out humanity. When Dr. Sam Isaacs and his team fail to synthesize a serum from her clones, they start hunting Alice down, who has since grown smarter, stronger and faster - thanks to her forced genetic modifications. Racing across the ruins of Las Vegas, Alice teams up with the few remaining survivors, including Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), L.J. (Mike Epps), K-Mart (Spencer Locke), Nurse Betty (Ashanti) and luscious redhead, Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) to stop the T-virus menace once and find sanctuary in infection-free Alaska.
The movie, loosely based on the games (as usual), will also feature a number of characters and enemies from the games, including mutant crows, Crimson Heads and Albert Wesker (Jason O’Mara) who may turn into a Tyrant, considering a Tyrant-esque “boss” is featured prominently in the red band trailer. Although a fourth movie based on the franchise was supposed to be made, it has now been confirmed that Extinction will round up the story arc, with director Russell Mulcahy explicitly stating “[]… not all the main characters will survive. As far as I’m aware, this [Extinction] is indeed supposed to close the book.” Judging by the pained cries of L.J. and the teary faces of Alice and Claire, it looks like poor Carlos Olivera may be buying it big time before the end credits roll.
Resident Evil: Extinction is scheduled for a September 21, 2007 release date.
Hit the jump to see the teaser, the trailer and the red band trailer as well as some leaked concept art from the movie.