Spooky’s House of Jump Scares: Oh, It SURE Looks Cute At First…

(Thanks, Akuma Kira!)
 

Ha and double ha. For a while, Fridays over at Desura have been interesting thanks to the site dropping four free indie game downloads for all in their Freedom Fridays promotion. Some of these games have been clunkers, others have been classics and a few defy a proper description because they’re so weird or unfinished or both that they feel like experiments that have taken a life of their own, bumped off their programmers and just forced themselves onto the site leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. Thankfully, Lag Studios‘ unique Spooky’s House of Jump Scares doesn’t fit into that latter category.

As you can see from that trailer above, the game starts off cute and simple-looking with cardboard monsters popping out of walls to maybe make you jump a little. But at some point during its thousand rooms, things take a decidedly dark turn as actual monsters drop onto the scene and give chase to your nameless character, a plot of sorts comes into play in the form of discovered notes and all of a sudden, the game with the dopey name you got for no money is freaking you out and you have to keep playing just to see what horrors that next room reveals. Okay, it’s no P.T. or Outlast, but the game will run on nearly anything and has enough tricks up its sleeve to be a nice little Halloween surprise. Anyway, go get Spooky and let her get under your skin. Hey, even if it doesn’t scare you at all, it’s FREE and you can’t be afraid of that price point at all…

Microsoft’s Temporary Xbox One Price Drop is a Tempting Tease…


 
If you were holding off buying that Xbox One because of the price point (despite the recent price cut to $399), Microsoft is making things a lot more tempting. While ACTUAL sales figures for the console (and yes, all other consoles) is a bit tricky to track down, those in the know know that Sony’s PlayStation 4 has sold at least 10 million units worldwide (a solid start, but that also means a lot more millions still own and play games on the PS3, particularly in Japan where the PS3 still outsells the PS4). Both Sony and Microsoft have to deal with one core factor with their new-generation systems in the fact that both the PS4 and Xbox One absolutely require a broadband connection in order to function out of the box if players want to take advantage of any online features… Continue reading

Review: TRI: Friendship and Madness

TRIAllLevelsPlatform: PC

Developer: Rat King Games

Publisher: Rising Star Games

# of Players 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A (95%)

It’s very hard to believe two people (Jana Reinhardt and Friedrich Hanisch) programmed the stellar TRI: Friendship and Madness, but that’s what it says on the official site and in the game credits. This family-friendly first person puzzle game plays like a hybrid child of Portal and a very well made Minecraft mod where you soon find the only limitations to solving the increasingly challenging levels are your imagination and sense of exploration. The game starts off small as a simple, somewhat straightforward Point A to Point B “find the keys to clear the level” experience, but once you get to drawing triangular platforms that can send you almost anywhere on a map, the game opens up into pure brain expanding territory.

Despite the often high level of challenge in reaching some really out of the way items, once you get the hang of things, the game is always a joy to play, particularly when you’re making your own route around the expansive and often gravity defying maps that have you moving around at seemingly impossible angles… Continue reading

Sunday Gives Me Both Barrels, But I’ll Be Quite Alright…

(Thanks, John Thomas!)
 
And how was/is YOUR Sunday? Mine is pretty lousy at the moment, but pretty much everything’s fixable with some time and a bit of money. My home PC decided to flip out and not want to boot up properly, my backup solution isn;t working (thank goodness for the laptop), the connection today is super-slow, I accidentally broke the paper holder on one of the printers here (nothing a little glue can’t fix, but it was a total “DUH!” moment when it happened), my Logitech G15 finally died, I can’t find the driver CD for my gaming mouse, some of the plants I was growing decided to keel over thanks to the temperature changes this past week and I still need to get to that pile of laundry I was supposed to do last week, but kept putting off because of so many games coming in and me needing to get to them. Yaaaaah. There are a few other things going on as well, but those are for me to know and you to not find out.


(Thanks, DreamWorksTV!)
 
Eh, small world problems, but all happening around the same time makes for a REALLY annoying day. Eh, here’s a little laugh for you while I get back to trying to actually be something resembling “productive” today. Back in a bit…

Do Your Eyes Need a Workout This Saturday Night? Well, Here You Go!

(Thanks, GoodOldDaysReturns!)
 

As for me? Well, I’ll have to pass on these sassy eyeball exercises, as Dungeon of the Endless and TRI: Friendship and Madness have both been giving them quite a wild time this week. That’s a good thing in terms of their overall scores, by the way. Anyway, I’m in the midst of some innnnnnteresting changes on the work front, but no reveals yet, people. I’ll let you know what’s what should what happen and if it somehow doesn’t happen, I’ll be all “Wha’ Happened?”:

(Thanks, MovieClips!) 

Review: Kromaia

Kromaia BoxPlatform: PC

Developer: Kraken Empire

Publisher: Rising Star Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A (90%)
 


 

Now, here’s a crazy paradox for you: Kromaia is an arcade-style shooter that’s currently PC-only, yet it bridges that gap between old and new tech and ideas past the point of reinvigorating a genre that might seem a better fit for consoles or yes, arcades. Yeah, yeah – you PC die-hards will be rolling your eyeballs and shaking your fists in my general direction right about now. But I counter that stuff by saying this is exactly the sort of game that needs to be on more platforms and not just exclusive to PC, no matter how large the potential player base is. It’s that good, that fun and that challenging and nope, you 3D-hating shmup fans aren’t getting off easy by skipping this because it’s not got a sprite in sight. The game is new-school looking, old school hard as nails and while “short” (Note: Arcade 101, Class 1: it’s not the length, but how much you go back to the game that counts), packs quite a memorable punch…
Continue reading

Lionsgate Wants To Get Witchy With It (And YOU) With Some Modern Horror Hits…

blair_witch_project_ver3_xlgHey! Got some time to get scared right about now? Well, guess what? BOO! Thanks to the fine folks over at Lionsgate Films, I’m going to help you in that adding fear to your entertainment life stuff with a slew of movie suggestions to get you and your fellow fright fans into the proper mood for a weekend packed with horror (that doesn’t involve relatives you don’t like or other actual threats to your existence). And yes, you can even WIN a digital download code of that freaky little film to the left – an oldie but a goodie to those who got scared right out of theaters back in 1999. So get yourself into the corner (NOW!) and listen up, chief!

Just check out the #LionsgateHorror Blog App, mix it up with that quiz it contains and if you’re feeling in the mood for some eye-popping flicks, check out the list of VUDU video recommends, go make a few impulse buys, invite a few friends over and make a night of it. Or a few nights if you like…

I’d say give The Cabin in the Woods, Cabin Fever and The Descent a shot if you’ve never seen them. I actually haven’t seen EXISTS yet, but it looks as if I may have to take the plunge myself into that creepy forest soon! What’s YOUR favorite #Lionsgate horror flick? Feel free to post in the comments below (after you read Los RULES, of course) and you’ll get an extra chance to win!

Los RULES:

Giveaway open to the U.S. and Canada ONLY. Each household is only eligible to win One (1) Digital Download code for The Blair Witch Project via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Why Don’t You Play in Hell? Well, THAT’S the Question of the Day, Isn’t It?

jigoku_de_naze_warui_xxlg 

(Thanks, Film Festivals & Indie Films!)
 

Well, for one, it’s HOT as you know what down there. Second, why bother when I can play in the hell that’s already up here. I choose not to because I like to sleep well at night. Wait, only The Bad Sleep Well… hmmmm. Anyway, this wild Japanese flick from director Sion Sono manages to reference Tarantino’s referencing of Asian cinema while also nodding and winking at assorted violent films from Man Bites Dog and even the wacky horror film Hausu. In other words, it’s a must see if you’re into this sort of thing.

(Thanks, TIFF!)
 

I happen to really like crazy films such as this, so I’ll have to take this one for a spin. Of course, for something SO outrageous, I’ll hold out for the Blu-Ray/DVD version just because I despise rowdy film crowds these days because they make every film an audience participation event even if it doesn’t need to be one. Blech. Anyway, I’m betting a dollar that U.S. distributor Drafthouse Films has a winner with this one. Hell, it has nowhere to go but UP at this point, given that catchy title it’s got…

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron Trailer: Shhhh! You’re NOT Supposed to Be Seeing This Yet (Eye Roll Version)…

(Thanks, JoBlo Movie Trailers!)

Oh, look. A “leaked” Avengers 2: Age of Ultron trailer. Or… is that *leaked*? Whatever. We all know that Marvel WANTS us to get all hopped up like a busload of kids returning from Candy Land on freebie day or adults staggering out of a Starbucks wide-eyed and giddy after some millionaire (Tony Stark, perhaps?) strolled in and bought free all you can drink espresso shots for one and all. Hey, it can happen, people! Anyway, it IS a nice trailer, isn’t it? Nice and darrrrrrrrrrk (as expected, since the Marvel Universe on film has been treading some intentionally gloomy ground of late). Well, let the waiting continue, as this isn’t going to be anywhere near a movie theater until what, next summer? I can wait that long. Look, time is passing already! It’s now not as long a wait as when you started reading this post, heh…

The Devil’s Hand on VOD: Spook Yourself Up, Party Style and You May Scare Up a $15 iTunes Giftcard!


 

TDH logo“When six girls are born on the sixth day of the sixth month to different mothers in the small, devout village of New Bethlehem an ancient prophecy is set in motion – on their 18th birthday one of the girls will become the Devil’s Hand. As the day approaches and one by one the young women begin to disappear, terror overtakes the quiet community and those remaining girls band together to uncover who or what is behind these treacherous acts.”

Are you now feeeeeeeeeling a wee bit chilly along that spine area yet? Good. The Devil’s Hand starring Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter), Rufus Sewell (Dark City), and Adelaide Kane (The CW’s Reign)is out now on VOD! Go check out the entire film with five friends and you could be a lucky winner thanks to the fine folks at Roadside Attractions! Just download the film from iTunes (it’s FREE!), get the Prophecy Party Planner here, follow the instructions and follow up with some handy social media interaction (Tweet using the #TheDevilsHand and #ProphecyParty hashtags and don’t forget to give a shout out to yours truly) and you just might win!

AND… Don’t forget to get the app, chap!!!

READ THIS (Rules, you know!):

Giveaway open to the U.S. and Canada ONLY. Each household is only eligible to win One (1) $15 iTunes Giftcard via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. The prize will be sent via FedEx or USPS. No P.O. Boxes please.