Crap, it’s already April 2?

So I missed April Fools this year. Sorry. My excuse is that I was on a plane over the Pacific, which is true. Next year I’ll have some totally mind blowing joke prepared for you all (I considered posting that Alan Wake had been announced as an iPhone exclusive, but I figured that probably won’t have gone over well).

I have a post in the wings about The Path. The short version is that you should go buy it. While it is in many ways a classic adventure game, it’s been filtered and twisted and it’s like nothing that you’ve seen before. It’s a different kind of horror game, one that will require you to think. I’ve only spent a few minutes with it but that’s more than enough to recommend it to you here. I’ll have a much more in-depth post about this game when I get to spend a little more time with it.

Last week was also GDC, and there’s been some horror-related news to talk about. Here’s some screenshots from the new Silent Hill remake, which looks, uh, odd. I’ll play it, and I’m very happy to see that somebody is finally using the Wiimote as a flashlight (ok, Fragile did this first), but I can’t tell much about it yet by just looking at the screenshots. Also, I was surprised to learn that the Saw game is still in development (apparently Konami is the new publisher), and even more surprised that there are screenshots available. The database is quickly falling out of date!

At the end of the month I will be speaking at the Thinking After Dark conference. The list of speakers is impressive, and the topics are all things I am interested in, so I am quite excited about attending. Any of you in upstate New York or Montreal should come attend!

15 thoughts on “Crap, it’s already April 2?

  1. really looking forward to what you have to say about The Path – i’ve heard *so many* mixed opinions about that game.

  2. That really sounds like an awesome conference. Is it going to be filmed at all? If not, we’re relying on you to give us details! First time posting, great site.

  3. To think I was planning on going to Thinking After Dark but decided not to.. I feel like a damn fool.

  4. Chris recommending a PC game? Assuredly a late April Fools joke. πŸ™‚

    Still, that’s some endorsement. I’ll have to snag ‘The Path’ and see what all this good news is about.

  5. I think the new Silent Hill game sounds awesome. I love the changes they’re making to the gameplay. It looks like they’re trying to bring the “survival” and “horror” back to survival horror, and I love the idea.

    Have you read the full article yet? There’s scans at a lot of places.

  6. Had a quick look at the article on Silent Hill. This really stood out:

    ”The psychology profile stuff really is intergrated wholly into the game, it creates a unique experience for each player. You can have 10 people play and all of them will see different things.”

    Sounds like a really interesting way to use information. It would be interesting if they took the series in a ‘new direction’ by remaking the original.

  7. Hmm, Chris, what’s your opinion of that new Silent Hill remake?
    Looks like Climax is recycling the ideas of the “Winter” project. That heat-based gameplay doesnt fit SH much, imo.

  8. So trying to download the Path off steam and it has caused nothing but problems. First Steam charged my debit card, then didn’t let me download the damn game! There support network is also terrible.

  9. Not quite, the game is really abstract gotta pay attention to EVERYTHING that happens on-screen, I’ve played as scarlet to the end of her part, lots of exploration and the atmosphere is dead creepy =D

  10. Much as I love the Silent Hill franchise, I think I’d rather play a whole different game utilizing some of the scare tactics that Silent Hill used to spook the player.
    Not so much a Silent Hill under another name (with the same gameplay-formula and character types), but a completely new game using the best of psychological dynamics to scare the player and building upon that, and discarding what doesn’t work.

    I mean, I love the universe that Konami created, but it’s kind of stale now…

    This whole ‘revitalization’ of old classics in the survival horror genre reminds me of the going trend in American film, now: ‘Just remake something we made 100 years ago, and no one will notice we’ve run out of ideas.’

    It’s kind of depressing that most horror fans seem to want to play more of the same instead of fleshing out new territory in this genre.

    Will the “Think After Dark” conference be recorded? I’m interested in hearing what the speakers have to say. I hope remake-syndrome in survival horror will be addressed, too.

    The Path, you say? Uhhmmm…. I’ve heard.. nothing but bad things about this game:
    http://diehardgamefan.com/2009/03/13/review-the-path-pc/

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-path-review

    The concept of the game had me interested ’till I got a look at a Youtube trailer and some screenshots.
    ‘Looks like a Liberal Arts freshman threw up all over it. :<
    That voice-acting seems..bearable, but not particularly scary.
    I’ll ‘prolly play this on good-faith, but I’m not very optimistic given my first impressions.

  11. The Path, you say? Uhhmmm…. I’ve heard.. nothing but bad things about this game:
    http://diehardgamefan.com/2009/03/13/review-the-path-pc/

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-path-review

    The concept of the game had me interested ’till I got a look at a Youtube trailer and some screenshots.
    ‘Looks like a Liberal Arts freshman threw up all over it. :<
    That voice-acting seems..bearable, but not particularly scary.
    I’ll ‘prolly play this on good-faith, but I’m not very optimistic given my first impressions.

    You know, I was almost in the same exact position as you, except I had only seen good reviews for the path. But I brushed everything aside and just bought the game. The first impression I had with it wasn’t great either but trust me when I say if I wouldn’t have given the game a shot, I would have deeply regretted it(if that makes any sense). I recommend just playing it and making up your own opinion.

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