Goosebumps PS4 Review

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As a kid I grew up reading these books. Not just one or two, me and my brother bought them by the set. Then the choose your own scare books came out and we bought even more. Now I wasn’t expecting a lot from this outside of some cheap nostalgia. This point and click adventure was short, to the point and loaded with nostalgic charm by the truck load. From seeing an actual truck load of Goosebumps paraphernalia at the beginning to a haunted house you can find killer sponges, huge green blobs and many other things I won’t spoil. That being said I do very much mean this game is short. Could probably do it in an hour or two with a decent guide and not much longer without.

The real question for this point and click adventure is not was it good. The question is are you a goosebumps fan? The answer to that question is the answer to whether or not you should buy this game. I for one, was not disappointed. Thanks for your time, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil (movie 2002)

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So I’m going to piss a lot of people off possibly because as a Resident Evil fan, I actually enjoyed the movie. It’s not a masterpiece and yes, it’s not really a faithful adaptation but its got spirit. Paul W.S. Anderson gave us this first installment to the movie series with an intention of sort of a prequel to the game, using stylistic directions from the classic game and familiar locales from the game. In interviews he discussed how he knew of all of the dedicated fans of Resident Evil 1 and 2 their were and how he didn’t want to retell a half ass version of either game on screen. That I can believe and respect.

The film starts with an outbreak of the T-Virus in the underground laboratory facility called the Hive, miles under a remote mansion miles from Raccoon City. Once loose, the Hive’s security A.I, the Red Queen, acts and kills everyone in the Hive to stop any chance of a containment breach. Inside the mansion, a woman we only know as Alice wakes up foggy and disoriented with no memory why she’s there. Suddenly she’s found by commandos who crash through the windows, apprehending another man in the mansion. The mystery unfolds as the head commando reveals to Alice the Red Queen released a gas above that caused her memory loss. They venture into the depths of the Hive to reprogram the Red Queen, finding the poor corpses, until soon they come to life and a dire experiment is on the loose…

So this movie is not perfect by any means but it ain’t garbage like the other films would become. The acting is so so but the creature and zombie effects are sweet for the time. The Red Queen is creepy and kind of a dick but delivers a truly great “your fucked” speech. The score is a cool fusion of Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson which comes off as unique, eerie, or just plain bad ass. The ending is bleak but satisfying. There are some hoky moments and the characters can be kind of wooden but has the texture of a decent horror movie in it. Definitely check it out for cheap and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil (remake)

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Resident Evil changed the world of horror gaming back in the 90’s when it came out for PlayStation with it’s tight, eerie corridors, creative monsters and brilliant sound designs just to name a few reasons this game kicked ass. But it did not age well. So in 2002 we got one hell of a upgrade for the Nintendo GameCube. Better graphics, hugely improved voice acting, new story pieces that include Lisa Trevors (creepy ass poor thing) and better handling. So for those of us that are new to the series, Resident Evil is the story of the unfortunate S.T.A.R.S team who were investigating a string of murders in the Arklay Mountains. There is a ambush and the remaining members fall back to a mansion hidden in the woods. Albert Wesker, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Barry Burton are all that seem to be left. You play as either Chris or Jill, each character has there own unique advantages; Chris can take more damage and does more damage with the combat knife while Jill is quicker and has a lock pick which helps get through the mansion faster. As they venture through the mansion, they discover the horrible experiments being done inside its walls through letters and files and the Umbrella Corporation’s dastardly underground facility where the T-virus has been let loose.

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My favorite addition to the game was the story of Lisa Trevor, as seen above, the unkillable giant who had been taken from her parents and experimented on by Umbrella. She slumps after you, moaning for her dead mother. If you come across her, run like hell and don’t look back. Also, another addition is the new variation of zombies called Crimson Heads- twice as fast, three times stronger, and armed with giant claws that come from zombies you didn’t either decapitate or burn, which adds to the survival aspect of the game. And of course what bad ass horror game wouldn’t be complete without a giant zombie shark boss! The game is still effective and even made me jump a few times. Some of the puzzles are convoluted as hell but thank god for YouTube.  Seriously pick this game up because word is Resident Evil 2 is being remade so may the gaming gods bring you glory and stay away from windows.

Salem’s Lot

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Ah welcome to best and worst of Vampires part 2 (see my Dracula and Twilight reviews for part 1.) So as I said in my Cujo review, I was going to be covering a little more Stephen King and since the Dark Tower movie approaches, I thought this would be a great time to hit up Salem’s Lot, which comes into play towards the end of the series with Don Callahan, one of our main characters.

Salem’s Lot was Stephen King’s second novel after his huge success with Carrie, about how the quiet town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine is quietly taken over by a Vampire named Kurt Barlow and his assistant Straker who move into the “haunted” Marsten House. You notice how I kind of emphasized the word quiet? Well, Salem’s Lot is a quiet book. Do not read this if you are expecting a bloodbath, rich emo kids that sparkle, or vampires that turn into giant bat creatures and fight werewolves for the fate of the universe or some shit like that. Hell, King’s vampires in this are pretty typical. Pale, fangs, lure you to let them in, crosses, holy water, sunlight, and only come out at night- the classic vampire mold. And that’s not a bad thing, because we are given relatable characters and a simple setting many of us either live in or can picture and how it can be creepy or unsettling.

The story centers around Ben Mears, a famous writer who grew up in the lot and returned to it after twenty five years to write about the Marsten House that scared him as a kid. He becomes friends with old Matt Burke, a teacher, and gets the hots for Susan Norton, a young college grad who’s a fan of his. Ben finds out a man named Barlow bought the old Marsten house for his antique furniture business but no one has seen him, just his partner Richard Straker. Not soon after, people start disappearing and others start dying but don’t stay that way. Soon it’s up to Ben, Matt, Sue, young Mark Petrie, Dr. Jim Cody, and struggling father Don Callahan to ban together and finish the undead crisis weeping through quiet little Jerusalem’s Lot before they become next in Barlow’s horde.

Movies have been made about this book and/ or mini series but you’re better off just reading it. It’s a decent vampire story that’s well written, has some genuine chills in it. If you want a decent adaptation that frankly ain’t a adaptation, I recommend checking out the anime Shiki. Both are pretty damn similar but Shiki gives you some darker pathos and a six episode slaughter-fest at the end, but as one of my favorite high school teachers used to say, I digress. Definately check out Salem’s Lot if you’re a Stephen King fan or want a good classic vampire story without the goth romance tropes that have become commonplace in vampire fiction (and anime fans, check out Shiki).

Jigsaw first trailer review

jigsaw Ugggggggggh. Dammit I cheered in 2010 when I thought Saw was over. I actually stood up and cheered in a theater in downtown Scranton ( by the way, it was the first week it was in theaters and I was one of four people there so I’m pretty sure no one really gave a flying crap a fat guy up and cheered at the screen.) Well, sorry Torsten 2010, Saw has returned….with bucket-helmets this time apparently. Ok, I’m not going to lie, I am going shit on this trailer not because Saw returned with a fresh new plan. If I saw any kind of originality or even an inkling of anything I didn’t already see in the last 7 films, I’d gladly give it the benefit of the doubt. Alas, no go little doodle. A lot of the scenes reminded me of scenes I’ve seen in the others, just with a different actor, different lighting, or a slight variance to the trap. Example 1: broad daylight in a fairly populated area, people stop slowly and stare at what I’m sure is the sight of a Jigsaw trap going off for all to see (Saw 7). Example 2: five people strapped onto leashes against the wall, getting pulled to there deaths; granted, in Saw 8 they are being pulled forward into a wall of buzz-saw blades instead of a what the hell ever happened in Saw 5 ( I try to forget Saw 5 happened.) Ok, so in 7 we saw the end of Hoffman, but who knows if he’s really dead or perhaps now we’re into Gordan’s line of carnage since we know him and a group of Jigsaw survivors have taken up the mantle. What does this mean? No damn clue. So I will wait to until trailer 2 before making up my mind on even if I want to see it at all. When I was 12- 14, Saw was the shit. It was every middle/ high school kids favorite blood and gore slasher flick; hell, I’d go as to call it the Scream of the 2000’s decade. I think it is a fairly solid trilogy, or would have been if Loinsgate didn’t get greedy and people didn’t keep askin for more. So what do you think of Saw’s return? leave me a comment below or hit me up on twitter @TorstenV and may the gaming gods bring you glory and pizza!

We Are Still Here

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I’m not going to lie to you, I watched this movie with a friend and we spent the first 40 minutes mocking it to keep ourselves entertained. The story involved a family that just lost their college aged son moving to a remote town to get away from it all. The house they bought they are told used to be a funeral home. What they weren’t told were the owners were selling the bodies and burying empty coffins. This is explained quite early by some neighbors that come to visit. After about the half way point things will finally start to pick up and it actually gets pretty exciting. Some solid death scenes as well as a town conspiracy, or cover up may be a better word. Every 30 years a “darkness” under the house reappears and needs a family. Last time they didn’t get one and the fear now is the darkness will infect the entire town if they don’t get a family this time.

While not the best movie I have seen recently it is far from the worst, and if you can get through the first 40 minutes or so you may really enjoy it. As always thanks for visiting, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

John Carpenters Vampires

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John Carpenter is a legend in the horror industry. Starring James wood the story revolves around a vampire hunter that works for the Catholic church. As the story goes a long time ago a member of the church turned against the church and too over a few cities. Eventually he was caught and burned at the stake and quickly  stories spread of him still walking at night. And this man was the first and most powerful vampire. Well one day on a routine hunt a master vampire is missing. Later that night what turns out to be the first vampire murders almost the whole crew with ease.  After all that, the real story begins but i won’t ruin that for you. I highly suggest you check it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Diary of the dead

ddead First, I have to say we at Saviorgaming.blog are saddened by the recent passing of one of horror’s greatest director’s, George A. Romero. Zombies were never the same after the first three films in his legendary Dead series: Night of the living dead, Dawn of the dead, and day of the dead. The fourth installment, Land of the Dead, was met with much wide recognition. The fifth installment, diary, I consider a underrated gem. Diary of the dead features a group of college film students in the woods with their sullen Professor, filming a movie when strange reports come in of  the dead coming to life. The film chronicles first- hand there experiences through first person film surviving a zombie outbreak, commenting on how the rational world melts away around them. Romero cleverly uses our main character (who we rarely see at all, because he’s behind the camera 95% of the time) to demonstrate our society’s over-dependence on the internet and our obsession with recording and reporting every second of our lives to validate our lives. I can believe the main actors are college kids living in northeast PA (two-thirds of the movie they are trying to get to Scranton, our hometown). The zombies are Romero’s classics but work for what the movie’s point is. There is enough strange moments to make the movie memorable and the narration is bleak but profoundly thought provoking. Though not as well know as the other entries in the series, Diary of the dead deserves a watch if you want to remember Romero as a man who used the living dead to say something about us and the times we live.

georgeromero  Rest in Peace George A. Romero, the godfather of zombies.

The Shining

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“I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m just going to bash your brains in.”

Probably one of the best quotes from this classic movie. I my not always enjoy Stanley Kubrick movies but this one for me will go down in history as one of the best movies of all time. The concept is simple from Stephen King, take a family, toss them in an isolated hotel, mix in a kids special abilities and watch the horror ensue. Jack Nicholson plays his part perfectly as a normal ex teacher working as a writer that seems to be a bit off before becoming full blown bat shit crazy. Shelley Duvall completely nails being the conservative house wife doing her duty by taking care of their son and  following her husband lovingly to this hotel for 5 months before turning into the scared lil woman that eventually clubs her husband with a baseball bat defending her equally creepy as hell son played by Danny lloyd. Seriously this kid makes me happy I have daughters.

From the very opening job interview to Jack chasing his family around with an ax this movie is great, and for once the movie was far better than the book. As always thanks for joining me and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Leatherface trailer review

lf Howdy ho, friends, Torsten V returns from a much needed vacation. Coming back from vacation, I returned to the much anticipated first trailer to the latest installment of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. This is the story of legendary slasher Leatherface as a teenager and what I’m going to assume is another Leatherface origin story. So first things first, I feel like I have to wonder if this part of the original timeline or a new series of films upcoming. I personally didn’t mind the remake and its prequel, in fact I actually like the more serious, darker tone. But with 2013’s Texas Chainsaw 3-D, that swept back into the original time line and frankly dissolve the series into a hot shitty mess. It;s a interesting question to ask. I liked a lot of the imagery of the trailer, including the fresh look of the mask but I wish there was a little more story in the trailer, just to get an idea where the hell it is in the timeline. Good to be back, and may the gaming gods be with you.