Microsoft At E3 2012

E3 has officially kicked off with Microsoft's press conference. So here's what got me excited:

Starting it off with Halo 4. The forerunners look sick, the music made me a little weepy in a good way, and the game looks gorgeous.

Gears of War Judgement trailer. As an unapologetic Gears freak, I was so damn excited to hear we're getting another game in 2013. According to the Gameinformer cover, both Baird and Cole are in chains. However, the very short trailer only showed Baird. Of course, there were lots and lots of locusts.

Resident Evil 6 focused on Leon and had tons of zombies. So many zombies. It looks great and I can't wait to play it.  It looks like the 360 will get DLC first.

Tomb Raider reboot is a game I've been waiting forever for. What was shown at E3 was awesome, especially the part where her parachute fails. What a heart pounding moment. Again it seems the 360 will get exclusive first DLC for this one too.

South Park Stick of Truth looks just like the TV show.  Trey and Matt talked a bit about the game on stage, but I wish their presentation was longer. However, it's good to know that they're still heavily involved with the game.

Smart Glass is a way to connect the 360 with smart devices. It seems like this is what the Wii U is trying to as well.   I think it is an interesting idea, especially with things like Halo Waypoint.

What didn't do anything for me:

Anything Kinect related like the Nike fitness game and Dance Central 3. Seriously, having Usher sing a song was just a waste of time.

Not too excited about Internet Explorer coming to the 360. I don't use it on my computer, don't think I want to use it on my 360. We'll see.

The Loco Cycle game confused me a bit. I guess you play as a female motorbike?

Black Ops 2 overkill. During the pre-show they talked about Blacks Ops and then at the end of the conference they played Black Ops 2 for about 10 minutes.

May Monster Madness: Resident Evil and Silent Hill

Call me weird, but I don't mind Tank controls.  Early PlayStation games often used Tank controls, like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. While there are few things more frustrating than trying to run away from a zombie or monster only to run head first along the wall, I have (almost) fond memories of the awkward control scheme's challenges.

But what about those monsters? From Silent Hill 2, I give you The Bubble Head Nurse

The shaky, twitchy way they walk creeps me the hell out. But they are faster than they look. They make horrible gurgle sounds and carry pipes. The pale ones has bloody mouths, while the darker ones seem to have a film part of their faces. They're gross, but I love them.

From Resident Evil 4, there's Dr. Salvador:

Yeah, he looks like  Leatherface wearing a sack, but there's more than one of these trying to part Leon with his head in RE 4. I think what gets me the most about "Chainsaw Guy" is that one of them shows up very early on in the game. 

*This is my last post for May Monster Madness. I'd like thank Annie Walls for putting it together. I really enjoyed discovering some great blogs!

R is for Resident Evil

Resident Evil is one of those franchises I absolutely love. Two new RE games will be released for the 3DS and I'm looking forward to them. (But first, I would actually need to own a 3DS. lol) I've been playing RE since the beginning and I still enjoy  busting out the first every now and again. I love shooting zombies (or the not zombies like in RE4 and 5) in the head. A lot. I also love puzzles, so RE, especially the older ones are a perfect mix for me.

While I don't dislike RE 5,  there is a part of me that wishes the series would return to its roots. Hell, I wouldn't mind tank controls. Or game saving that requires ink ribbon and a typewriter. Or little ammo and no place to store it. Call me weird. Perhaps I'm just being nostalgic.

Maybe RE 4 was the best mix of innovation and old school. It's certainly one of my favorite RE games and probably one of my favorite games ever. Resident Evil, to me, is something that should make you think. Not only about the puzzles, but the strategy of how to use your limited amount of supplies to your advantage. I remember in Code Veronica when I got to the Tyrant in the plane part. How I died and died some more, until I rethought how I was approaching the situation. There are many similar situations in the RE series.  Sure, it sounds frustrating, but what a feeling.

I hope when a new RE game is released for home consoles, it will remember its beginnings, if just for a bit.  This is a series that means a lot to me and maybe I just want to be stuck and frustrated again.

H is for Horror Video Games

Anything horror is awesome and survival horror games hold a special place for me. I'm just drawn to them and beyond any other genre, I pay attention to it most. I remember the first time I saw those damn dogs crashing through the windows in Resident Evil way back in 1996. RE is probably my favorite horror game and the R blog post will most likely be for the series. Even though RE has changed over the years, I still love it. Who doesn't feel fear and tension in RE 5 when Chris and Sheva are wading through alligator infested swamps?

Another horror love of mine is F.E.A.R. I'm ridiculously excited that after many delays, the 3rd one should be releasing soon. At the end of F.E.A.R 2, your character is stuck in a pretty um..unsavory... situation. Even though we'll be playing Point Man again and not Becket, the third installment is focused on that unsavory situation. And a really cool thing I can't wait for is the ability to play as Fettel in the co-op mode. It should be very interesting.

Then we have  Silent Hill. I recently started playing 3 again.  Downpour will be released this year (maybe.. gotta love delays) and it's suppose to go back to the series'  roots. Yay! As long as there's crazy puzzles and monsters I'll be happy.

I can't forget Left 4 Dead. It's a game I originally mocked. How intriguing  can a  game with little story possible be? All you have to do is shot zombies and not die. But I was wrong. It's a blast and so is the sequel. There's few things worse then hearing the cries of the Witch or the roars of a Tank. But the games are also pretty funny especially when you make Coach and Ellis sing at the end of Dark Carnival.

There's a new zombie game that's on my radar called Dead Island. If you're a gamer, you probably have seen the trailer, (not for the squeamish, btw)  which looks fantastic. The graphics are really amazing. Maybe all of us good little zombie hunters will find that under our Christmas trees. (unless that's delayed too)

5 of the Worst Horror Video Games

I'm a big fan of horror video games. There are some really great ones out there, but others ones are so bad, they're almost funny. Resident Evil is a great survival horror series, but games like Survivor are just terrible. Other horror games are based on movies like Ju-On. The American remake of this movie is bad and so is the Wii exclusive game. What makes these horror game horrible and what others made the list?

Read more here.