Horror Gaming Resurgence

Don't look now, but it looks like 2014 may be the year that brings horror gaming back to consoles. PC gamers are lucky enough to have a pretty healthy library of releases every year, with entries into every genre from A-Z. We console people still have plenty to play, but the genres are a bit more limited. A few years ago, it was almost impossible to throw a rock in a Gamestop without hitting a survival horror game. Sure, you could say the market was saturated, much the same way the first person shooter genre has reigned supreme the last few years. Survival horror, hell just horror in general, has taken a pretty substantial hiatus, save for the occasional Silent Hill sequel, or rare gem like the first Dead Space, in the console market.

2014 looks as if it might be a game changer, however (pardon the pun). There have already been a couple of  worthy entries in horror gaming, particularly for the PS4, and I thought I'd show off the games that I've enjoyed so far, and give a look at some that I'm looking forward to later this year...

Outlast was a freebie for PS+ members for the PS4 back in February. This game takes the "survival" part of survival horror very literally. Aside from a run button and a hide button, you have absolutely nothing to defend yourself with. You play as a investigative journalist, acting on a tip about strange shit going on at the long abandoned mental hospital recently re-opened by the Murkoff Corporation. Armed with your notebook and Sony Handycam, you must navigate the blood stained walls of the hospital in search of the truth, and a way out.

Not content with having just one game that will make you scream like a little girl, the PlayStation Network has just added another indie horror title, Daylight, to it's store. This one's party Outlast, part Fatal Frame, and even adds a hint of Silent Hill. That's a recipe for scary, I don't care how hard core you are. In Daylight, you play Sara, who has just awakened in an abandoned hospital, with no idea how she ended up there. Like Daylight, you only have a few random items at your disposal, including a cell phone, glow sticks, and flares, to traverse the maze, searching for clues as to why you're there and just what happened at the facility. Of course, what Sara quickly discovers is that she's not alone...

There are others out there already, Dead Nation Apocalypse Edition for instance, but those are the two that have really gotten me excited about horror games so far.

Now for the really good stuff, the upcoming horror titles for the remainder of this year. In no particular order...

That's a whole lot of horror gaming goodness for the remainder of 2014, and that's just the ones that have been announced. Who knows what else this year has in store. I'm still waiting impatiently for news of a next-gen Silent Hill, among others. It's a good time to be a horror fan, no matter which kind of horror fan you are. If these games end up playing even half as good as they look, we are in for on hell of a fun year. 

WOLFCOP trailer

We finally got a real trailer for one of my most anticipated films of the year, WOLFCOP!

2 Extremes Week at Guts and Grog!

I'm taking part in another great blog theme over at the House of Grog. Click the link to check out my entry into 2 Extremes Week, you'll find out what the two films below may or may not have in common. Don't stop there though, there have been lots of great entries into this theme, make sure and check them all out...

Batman : Strange Days

Here's the brand new animated short produced by Bruce Timm. Obviously set in the past, based on the Batplane and Batman's costume, this is a really cool little Hugo Strange tale. I know we'll never get Batman the Animated Series back, but I'd love to see more of these short films in the future.

The Results Are In...

A while back, I decided that I needed some kind of log of my dvd and bluray collection. I decided this when I bought multiple copies of a couple of movies, not realizing I already had them. I blame this entirely on hitting pawn shops as the like, where I end up going home with 20 dvds for $15 and such as that. When you get 20 movies at one time, then head back for another round a few days later, at my age, you tend to forget exactly what all you picked up.

So a good friend of mine turned me on to a free Movie Collection app, and since then, I've periodically taken a letter or two of the alphabet and catalogued my collection. I realize mine isn't as impressive as some others, particularly those lucky enough to receive screeners through the mail, but I thought I'd post the results for those interested in that kind of thing. I'm a bit of a sucker for stats and the like, which is part of why I love sports so much, I suppose. Anyway, here's the breakdown...

Total of 911 movies in your collection

Movies by Category

Horror: 449
Action/Adventure: 157
Comedy: 101
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 61
Animation: 44
Drama: 36
Thriller/Crime: 16
Foreign: 15
TV: 9
Martial Arts: 7
Documentary: 5
Family/Kids: 4
Music: 2
Sports/Fitness: 2
Western: 2
War: 1

Movies By Format

DVD: 775
Blu-Ray: 111
Blu-Ray/DVD Combo: 17
Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Combo: 5
Blu-Ray 3D/DVD Combo: 3

So, there ya have it. In what should be a surprise to nobody, Horror took the win by a landslide. Some movies I had a bit of trouble accurately categorizing, and while only 4 are showing for Family/Kids, I actually have way more than that, most of them are just located in my kids room. The collection is forever growing, as I add anywhere from 2-4 movies per week on average.