Blog, Blog, Bloq

 I recently finished the Silent Hill 2 Remake from Bloober Team. And quite frankly, it's good. I'm not in love with it, yet I think they did a great job regardless. While the combat and general movement are vastly different, the DNA of the series is embedded within. It works well enough and there are some really intriguing elements that get added in the Remake that set this game apart from its contemporaries. So, I am going to give my thoughts on the Remake and how it stacks up to the original.  To start off, I think Luke Roberts killed it as James and his acting gave the story the weight it needed. I say this as one of my criticisms for the original is that Guy Cihi can be a little too goofy and awkward. That's not to say James is supposed to be perfect, but the James in the script matches the energy that Luke Roberts gives off moreseo than Guy Cihi. I also feel the same way in regards to Angela's performance in the Remake.  I think that Gianna Kiehl was able to more a...

 Summer Games Done Quick is once again upon us. A perfect time of the year for me as I continue to trek through The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in Elden Ring. Something that I hope to be finished up with by the middle of July, so I can post my thoughts on it. Which has been pretty great so far with some minor issues. But I am not here for Elden Ring. I am here for Speed. And this year's SGDQ schedule looks to have some really solid picks. With the only games finished so far being Yoshi's Story and Minecraft Dungeons, as Mega Man 9 moves along. As always, the times and dates are going to be relative to my time zone, which is Central Daylight Time (CDT). So, be sure to abide by this if you happen to be viewing this during the week of SGDQ 2024. Without further ado, let's get into my picks for some games to look out for.  First up, I am going to do a cheeky double pick and give my reasoning. For the first game, I will be picking Bayonetta 2 (Nintendo Switch) Any% Rosa (Easy) tha...

 Horror games are such a mixed bag. That is apparent in franchises more than anything. The whole thing is reminiscent of Horror movies. You could be experiencing some shlocky bullshit or you could be witnessing one of the all time greats. It doesn't matter what the legacy behind the project is, it will eventually come down to the execution. Today, I want to discuss the rusty blade that is Silent Hill: Homecoming. A game that evokes Silent Hill really well in the monster design, but ultimately fails in areas that are natural to the series. This comes down to many factors. The puzzles are laughably easy and can be brute forced more times than not. The character writing is pretty weak for the most part. While the combat is also not much to scoff at, it does have its days. Yet fundamentally, it is easy to see why this game is disliked. I do not hate it like many others, however I wish that the game was something else.  Aside from the glaring issues, there are numerous nitpicks to ...

 Recently, I've been going through the first four Silent Hill games and as I am almost done with the fourth entry, I thought that I should talk a bit about them. For this piece, I kind of just want to talk about my experience with the games. It is no mistake to call Silent Hill 2 the cream of the crop that rises to the top. The story of James Sunderland and his delusions of guilt and grief is told masterfully in the space of this game. From Maria to Laura, the cast is rounded out to one of the best that I have dealt with across games. Whereas Silent Hill 1 built the foundation for unhinged personalities to dwell, it is the second and third entries that really elevated the series as a whole for me.  While there are many great elements to gush about in Silent Hill 2, the character that I liked the most was Angela. A young woman looking for her mother in Silent Hill. Meeting her in the foggy cemetery with no one else in sight was unsettling, but her attitude made you feel less te...