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Year 3 of Celebrating All Things Spooky

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, My Stories, Writing  8 Responses »  Tagged with:
Oct 022015
 

Celebrating-All-Things-Spooky-storiesIt’s October.

It’s time for something special.

Each October, I devote certain posts to “Celebrating All Things Spooky.” This usually means horror, but not always. Last year, one article featured Pokémon (and a giveaway).

And of course, for the readers among you, I highlight my own spooky stories.

Spooky Stories

My horror/comedy novella The Accidental Zombie has been revised since last year, so it’s worth looking into. My Lovecraftian serial The Book at Dernier ran into some formatting issues with the website, but I’ve added links to help you navigate it.

Two new stories have been added to the list. “Sand,” available in The Mad Scientist Journal tells a story of a scholar who delves into the dark secrets of an ancient civilization. It was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and Professor Layton.

“Lovecraft meets Layton” isn’t a combination you encounter often.

Next, check out Wicked Words Quarterly to read “Rokurokubi,” inspired by the yokai from Japanese mythology.

And of course, you can find links to all my short stories and flash fiction right here. Let me know your favorites.

What to Expect

Okay, in past years I haven’t exactly stuck to a schedule for Celebrating All Things Spooky.

This year, we’ve got one. Come back every Friday for a new article. The Monday and Wednesday posts will be normal articles for the site.

Expect a focus on video games… but maybe another movie will sneak in, like when I reviewed Grinch Night and Arsenic & Old Lace.

Comment on and share the articles you like the most, and this year we’ll have a special incentive…

Giveaway

Alien IsolationTo thank you for your participation, you have a chance to win one of my favorite modern survival horror games, Alien: Isolation.

The winner will be randomly selected from the list of eligible entries on November 1. There are several ways to enter:

  1. Leave a non-anonymous, non-spam comment on any regular article (1 entry)
  2. Leave a non-anonymous, non-spam comment on a Celebrating All Things Spooky article (2 entries)
  3. Recruit a friend who leaves a non-anonymous, non-spam comment mentioning you (2 entries)
  4. Read any one of my stories and leave a non-anonymous comment (on this or another relevant article) about it (3 entries)
  5. Share a link to one of my blog posts on Twitter, up to 3 per day (3 entries)
  6. Write a review of one of my stories and send me the link (5 entries)

The Twitter entry method is the only one with a limit (3 per day). The rest are unlimited. For example, if you leave two comments on a regular article, you’ll get two entries.

If you are the winner, I will announce it and contact you so I can send you a Steam copy of Alien: Isolation.

As far as I know, Isolation is region-locked, so make sure you can play North American Steam games.

If you win and have no interest in Alien: Isolation, we will work out an equivalent game reward.

Good luck, and Happy October!

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Pokemon (and OR/AS demo code giveaway)

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Video Games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Oct 292014
 
Cover art for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Pokemon is an incredibly popular series. My personal favorites are SoulSilver, which got me back into the series after my long hiatus, and White, which I consider to have the best Pokemon story. I’m uncertain about Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as they’re remakes of the generation that stands out in my memory as my least favorite. However, it was during the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald generation that I became convinced I was too old for Pokemon, so maybe it’s just that.

Last week, I received a code for the Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire demo. I downloaded it and played it. As a Pokemon demo, I didn’t like it a lot. It’s split up into tiny missions that give you rewards to transfer to your main game. It wasn’t the cohesive experience I expect from Pokemon. On the other hand, it has solid Pokemon gameplay mechanics and some great new features.

Today, I received another OR/AS demo code. I don’t need two, so I’m offering it to you, as Pokemon joins our celebration of Halloween and all things spooky.

Creepy Ghost Pokemon Yamask

Sure, Pokemon is cute and child friendly, but that doesn’t exclude it from spookiness. Ghosts, haunted houses, and some downright terrifying Pokedex entries add darkness to this otherwise lighthearted series. One of my favorites is Yamask, a Ghost-Type Pokemon with this cheerful Pokedex entry:

Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.

What?? That mask is holding is a human face? Yamask used to be human? This dead-human-turned-Pokemon cries over the face it’s carrying around? We’re approaching Lisa Trevor levels of creepy here…

And the games themselves sometimes get a little darker than expected, like a notable moment in Pokemon Platinum that actually made me jump.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment telling me your most memorable scary/disturbing moment from a Pokemon game, and you’ll be entered to win this Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire demo code! (Note, the codes are region-locked, so only enter if you’ll be able to use a US demo code.)

If you just want to comment without entering the giveaway, say so when you post.

Tweet a link to this article using the hashtag #AllThingsSpooky for additional entries.

A winner will be randomly chosen from all entries on Halloween! See you then!

Happy Halloween–a winner has been selected and the contest is over!

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Silent Hill Shattered Memories

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Oct 242014
 

We’re back with another look at an oft-maligned Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Shattered Memories is a re-imagining of the first Silent Hill game, and that’s where most of the negativity comes from.

Case cover for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Shattered Memories is not a remake of Silent Hill. It is not a reboot of Silent Hill. It was always described as a “re-imagining,” which basically means the developers looked at the basic premise of the original game and started asking “what if” questions.

What if the cult wasn’t involved?

What if Dr. Kaufmann was a psychologist? (To those of you who have played the original and think he’d be just about the worst psychologist ever… you’re right.)

What if Dahlia was a sexualized young woman in a relationship with Harry?

What if… okay, those are all the “what ifs” I can ask without getting into major spoilers for Shattered Memories, but by the time you finish the game, you’ll understand.

As a Wii game (eventually ported to the PS2 and PSP), it makes use of the motion controls for the flashlight similarly to Fragile Dreams, but with additional motion controls for mechanics like turning door handles and shaking off monsters.

Silent Hill Shattered Memories, the abstract form of the Raw Shock enemies

One person’s “bland” is another person’s “RUN!”

Like my favorite Silent Hill game, Silent Hill 4, Shattered Memories doesn’t receive a lot of credit from fans. Its re-imagining status is part of it, but other players complain about the lack of difficult puzzles, the lack of combat, the chases, the somewhat-bland design of the sole enemy type, how it doesn’t actually fit into Silent Hill canon (we’ll get back to this), and more.

Additionally, while the psychological profiling handled during the first-person psychologist sessions does affect the gameplay, it isn’t as complete and accurate as it might lead you to believe.

The answers you tell Dr. Kaufmann affect the nature of the monsters, the way other characters behave and interact with you, etc. It does cause some interesting variations. As I mentioned in my discussion of Silent Hill 4, I got into the Silent Hill series by watching a friend’s Let’s Play of Shattered Memories. There were certain things I expected because of that Let’s Play, and the differences in my own playthrough surprised me.

Shattered Memories is also criticized for not being scary and not feeling like a Silent Hill game, but… something about the atmosphere works really well for me.

Although you meet several different characters, the snowy streets of Silent Hill are lonely. Maybe it’s because it was my first introduction to the series, but to me, Shattered Memories conveys a haunting sense of isolation better than any of the others. You’re in a world where nothing makes sense, where strangers live at your address, people die in front of you and then reappear, and the world routinely freezes over into a supernatural, icy hell.

It’s not scary in the traditional horror sense, but Shattered Memories makes you feel alone, and its little “hauntings” you can pick up tell stories that play on more realistic fears. The main story also has some genuinely chilling moments and startling revelations. And if you’re familiar with the original, it’s worth playing just for the parallels and deviations.

Maybe it’s not the best Silent Hill game, but it’s definitely worth giving a try. I like it better than some of the others, that’s for sure.

What about you?

One final thing before I wrap this up–is Silent Hill: Shattered Memories canon?

From what I said earlier about it being a re-imagining or “what if” scenario, you’d assume not. But once you reach the end and uncover the true story, new possibilities begin to present themselves…

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking something very specific about the original Silent Hill, and yeah, that would split it off into some sort of alternate timeline if Shattered Memories was canon. But that’s not what I’m talking about. There’s actually a fan theory out there that placed Shattered Memories in canon with the main Silent Hill series. If you’ve finished the game and are interested, head on over to TV Tropes and scroll down to “Shattered Memories is in continuity with 1 and 3.” It’s worth a read.

Let me know your thoughts on this overlooked Silent Hill gem if you’ve played it, and if you haven’t… celebrate Halloween and all things spooky by playing Silent Hill: Shattered Memories!

Buy Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from Amazon
Buy Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from Play-Asia

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