I can only think of a very few games that are played from the perspective of children and all of them are indie-made sleepers. In addition to a few RPG Maker games, there’s Papo & Yo, Baby Blues and now, Among the Sleep, which looks to be the most intriguing for a few reasons. First, the protagonist is a mere two years old, second, it’s a horror-themed game that doesn’t revolve around combat (I don’t know any two-year old babies who can carry around a rocket launcher and Rambo-sized knife). It’s also a recent Kickstarter project that’s garnering a lot of interest for its theme and excellent visuals. Hamar, Norway-based Krillbite Studios is crafting this gem up carefully.
There are minor similarities to Baby Blues in that the game has a young child and a teddy bear as key elements of the experience. However, Among the Sleep focuses on its child escaping from a nightmare and from the production art shown so far, the game looks to take on a more fantasy-themed twist as it progresses. Hmmm… Keep an eyeball on this one, pony up a pledge if you like what you see and someone get Guillermo Del Toro on the horn – a film version looks right up his strange, dark alley. That or, hell, I’d ring up LArry Cohen and get his blessing to do his cult 1974 flick, It’s Alive as a game, complete with that creepy Bernard Herrmann score and the film’s shocks and scares intact.
Fina is a nun who players will meet early in the story. Strangely, this woman of the cloth looks a lot like Lux’s sister, Fina. Is there some sort of connection between the two ladies? Lux is determined to find out…
Lovely. There’s really not all that much to say here except Kadokawa Games, grasshopper manufacture and of course, Suda 51 are all on point and of course, 
Holy Cats. That, friends, is the new FENCER class in action here and if this video is any indication, 
OK, I’m only running this here because I’m trapped (TRAPPED, I say!) at home on a sloooooow as molasses Internet connection and can’t upload all those lovely new 
Oh, brother. Raise those hands now… WHO didn’t know that this was going to be a new 
Whee, a library update after a wee bit too long. OK, I never found my missing Silent Hill 4: The Room for the PS2 (what, I never told you it was missing? Well now you know!), so I figured that I probably accidentally sold it off or worse, stuck it in that big box lot of about 80 or so PS2 games I sold a few years back as a freebie. Oops. Anyway, I hadn’t been actively looking for a copy for a while, but poking around on ebay recently, a sealed Japanese version turned up at a crazy low price and my brain said (in the words of the late Merv Griffin) “D’ooooh!” as I ended up bidding and winning this one. I also finally got back the Xbox version I’d lent out ages ago the same day this arrived, so here you go. Yes, the import game has an English text option, so it’s quite playable…
Some recent PS3 games? OK, two racers and two RPGs for your viewing pleasure. MUD (recently reviewed here) and WRC 3 (which just came in today and will be reviewed soon – so far, it’s quite good), plus White Knight Chronicles II and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, both developed by Level-5, and one FAR better than the other, period. Look, I LOVE Level-5’s games a great deal, but the first WKC, despite some nice-looking visuals and online play (it’s basically a MMO engineered for the PS3), is a pretty dull affair from the chunk of time I’ve put into it so far. The main issue is the combat system which should have been simpler and more action RPG oriented (like a Dragon’s Dogma, or Demon’s/Dark Souls) slogs down to a sea of menus and more menus plus a few menus for good measure. This wouldn’t be a bad thing if the game wasn’t insanely easy once you’ve gotten those menus and powers figured out. It’s also generic to the point of being maddeningly RPG 101 at times and despite a decent character editor, the guy or gal you create is a silent partner to another character who’s not much more interesting. I haven’t fired up WKC II yet, but I’m not expecting much other than better-looking visuals and probably a few gameplay tweaks. It’s not a BAD game, by any means… but it sure is bland for all those large maps, huge cast of characters and lovely CG movies…
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