How do you feel about horror games?

Before I continue, I, for one, am very afraid of horror games. Whenever I play any horror games, I would get a bolster and hug it whilst holding the controller. One of the most recent games I played was Ju-On: The Grudge for the Nintendo Wii in my friend's house. It wasn't fully scary because I have 2 of my friends playing and commentating alongside with me. My hand was literally trembling due to the atmospheric music the game has. Mind you, the game has one of the most cheap scares you'll ever see in a horror game. Some examples of cheap scares are while opening a door, there would be a small cinematic sequence and suddenly a hand reaches out for your hand and you're forced to look at a woman with a rather distorted, bloody face. It's very scary, but you will feel it's so cheap that it's not worth going forward anymore. Anyway, horror games make me feel insecure. It never fails to make me think about myself, about what I've done. It makes me guilty once a while, and I believe in karma. In short, horror games make me lament on my past.

I was introduced to Fatal Frame from one of my friends. The first time I played was Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly during a sleepover at his house and as we play, we could not take the pressure and everything around us just felt cold. The scariest moment about Fatal Frame 2 was when we took a break, we did not pause the game, we just let it run as we relaxed. Apparently, the game still haunts you while taking a break. A creepy screensaver comes out of nowhere and loops over forever. It was the image of the Limbo Woman. Somehow, only one of my friends and myself noticed it and the rest didn't. That screensaver alone have set the mood for my whole night; terrified. You can view the screensaver here.

One of the earlier horror games I played was the F.E.A.R franchise. It featured a long-haired girl in red clothing and supposedly, she follows you whenever you go. The first time I heard that, I had nightmares. Back then, I was only 17 years old. I was quite timid but now, I grown more immune to horror. The atmosphere in F.E.A.R is incredibly scary. It's all silent as you move forward and you'll hear every interaction happening in your environment. Be it soldiers talking, objects dropping or of course, scares. Unlike Fatal Frame, you don't feel vulnerable at all. You have an arsenal of weapons to fight against enemies and in Fatal Frame, all you get is an upgradable camera. F.E.A.R is nothing compared to Fatal Frame in my opinion, but it is still an honorable mention.

Of course, I'll be looking forward to any horror games releasing this year. I really hope there will be a Fatal Frame 5, an improved Silent Hill from all the crap releases and F.E.A.R 3 hopefully.

Thanks for reading. Peace out.

John

Nostalgia!

Hiya!

How do you like our new look? Pretty awesome isn't it? I'm loving it every second. All credits goes to John for finding an incredible theme and polishing our blog with pages and labels. Thanks John!

For today's topic, I wanna touch on nostalgia.

Personally, I loved every single moment when I get nostalgic about something. I agreed with what John said in the past. He said that most technologies are going downhill and gaming is no exception. For the past few years, I have yet to discover an RPG game dedicated to its traditional mechanics. The closest was The Last Remnant. It had turn-based battles with a squad system which was extremely flawed.

The squad system consists of a group of teammates, each with their individual abilities and powers. Interestingly enough, you're able to create a squad dedicated solely to magic or power, thus creating a mixed squad is not advisable, in my opinion. The major flaw about the squad system is that all 6 members' Health Points are combined into one. Defeating just one member kills the whole squad most of the time. Nevertheless, the story of The Last Remnant was captivating enough to keep me occupied. Then, I went on another search for the graphically enhanced RPG with traditional mechanics. I eventually found one, which was Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra.

It had everything a true classic RPG should have. Turn-based battles, engaging storyline and a beautiful artwork. I never played the earlier episodes, but I'm really in love with this episode. Unfortunately, I do not own this game. It was a Playstation 2 game and not to mention, most PS2 games are rare! I'm waiting to borrow this game from someone I know, she still hasn't completed it so I'll have to wait. This game would be on my playlist during the holidays. Right now, I'm still studying and hating it as always.

There was another game as well, named Persona 4 which I'm waiting for John to finish so that I could play it too. So far, there isn't a game that met my expectations of a true RPG.

My formula of a true, nostalgically enhanced RPG is...

Chrono Trigger OST + Final Fantasy 9 Equipment Skill Learning + Free Roaming and Area Discovery and Exploration + Anything Else Cute + Xenogears Storyline and Characters + Turn-based battles = My dream RPG.

xoxo

Erin

Introductions!

HIYA! My name is Ereeen! Ok sweet. I created this blog together with a gaming friend of mine, John, who is an overly addicted gamer and also, porn (I said it!). Alrightee, so my friend and I will be sharing our gaming lives with anyone who is reading this blog. I don't expect it to be hugely popular YET, but soon to be. I'm currently residing in Singapore but I'm heading to Tokyo, Japan soon after my A levels to pursue my dreams. Gaming is not my dream, I'm pursuing to be a drawing artist. Yes, I hate studying...

Enuff with that! About my gaming experiences...

I love the Final Fantasy series especially FF5 and 6, Xenogears (Fei & Bart <3), style="text-align: center;">~~~

Hi there.

My name's John.. And I hate Erin for saying that I'm addicted to porn. (Is there a doctor who can cure my addiction for porn in Fallout 3?)

To start. I'm updating this blog in collaboration with one of my most trusted friends, Erin. I knew her since Granado Espada started. We were in a guild named Rasalhague, but unfortunately it closed down because the guild master had to go. The whole guild died and we were left to fend for ourselves. Right now, she's kinda like my sidekick. About me? I'm currently on my goal to be a games designer and enrolling in ITE MacPherson to pursue my Higher Nitec certificate. Unlike Erin, I have a passion for games! Okay, maybe not so much but I played games throughout my life. When Erin's on hiatus, I'll be here to provide the juiciest updates! Stay tuned!

So about my gaming experiences..

I started playing when I was in Primary 1. My dad bought my first console, an NES lookalike which ALSO plays similar NES games. One of the very first NES games I played was Final Fantasy 3 which is my favorite out of the FF series. I, too, loved the Final Fantasy series, along with Xenogears. My second console was a Sega Saturn, which featured many of the arcade games you would find in public arcades, but in an enhanced version. I loved Daytona USA and Virtua Cop on the SS.

My third console, which is also a breakthrough, is the Playstation. Most of my favorite games are Playstation ones. I still have it, have yet to sell it, might be keeping it forever. Then comes my PC which I started playing MMORPGs with it. I'll update more of my PC experiences soon to come. My last console is a Playstation 2, which I gotten help from a friend to purchase it at a really reasonable price despite its rarity.

The games I love are Final Fantasy 3, Xenogears, Metal Gear Solid series, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto and Fatal Frame. I love retro games as well, but they're too many to list.

In the future, we would be updating our experiences with online/offline games. There might be rants, complaints, congratulations and more. Stay tuned and share your feelings with us!

Peace,

John