Atrocitas

Hello after about 2 years of absence. I’m in fact not dead. Was just being preoccupied with life. Moved jobs, moved cities etc. But I’m back and lets stop blabbering about me and more about this game that I bought a Wii U for. And YES, SPOILERS (ALL OF THEM) Ahead because this game is already damn old and I’m only playing catch-up now!

There’s a lot of indie horror games out there but only a handful of them that are considered truly gems with the way they’re intricately designed to give depth to the game and in turn enhance player experience. The Witch’s House is a game created by Fummy (Japanese game creator) on the RPG Maker VX. As someone who had a couple days’ of experience messing around with RPG Maker VX, let’s just say there’s some intense customization in the coding for this game.

I didn’t bother with the title screen of the game which appears after the ‘game over’ screen since any players of the game will become intimately acquainted with both screens ANYWAY. 

Without giving too much away for those that still haven’t experienced this game and want to:

It’s a single player game, player controls a female protagonist who goes through a(n abnormal) house in the middle of the woods. Questions about the general plot are only answered indirectly through very short diary entries and even shorter interactions with the various objects within the house and/or its inhabitants. As I hinted earlier, this game could be summed up in one word: unforgiving. The options for actions offered to the player at various situations lead to either success or failure (death), there’s limited hints and not all of them straightforward (who would want that?). Jump scares are around every other corner and so are creatures that could directly threaten the character. For a relatively short game, the thoughts that have gone into the very design of the game and the attention to detail of the game creator really shines through though and players should be able to appreciate it throughout the game play.

There has apparently been a book released in 2013 by Fummy that’s named The Diary of Ellen. Its contents serve as a prequel to the video game and to avoid any spoilers, I’m going stop here. If anyone is interested though, here’s a link to the blog that offers a translation of the book:

Purple Mountain (Zi Jin Shan) in Nanjing is a popular tourism spot and is at the same time a popular spot for eternal rest due to its good Feng-shui. Several famous historical figures are buried here, including the Chinese emperor who started the Qin Dynasty.

While the mountain is a tourism hot spot during the day, at night this mountain remains an eerie desolate place. A rumor is going around that a group of friends drove a car up the mountain in the middle of the night seeking some adrenalin rush or excitement. They parked their car at the car park available to tourists and left the car for a short amount of time before returning and driving off. It was during the time when the car was uninhabited that the security camera operating at the car park picked up something supernatural. A figure in white appeared in the back seat of the car which was empty. The figure looked to be quite small so it could have been a child. Nevertheless the apparition disappeared before the group of young people returned to the car.

A while ago in Japan, to promote the release of the Fatal Frame movie (I haven't seen it, gotta look into it...) there was a competition on twitter for 4 cameras (not sure if they really function?). These cameras are made to look like the in-game camera obscuras. I must note Information below all came from a thread on it in the forum of Beyond the Camera Lens which can be found here. I'm just rehashing stuff other people have posted and made the comparison images below.

So my favorite Grave-robbing/treasure-hunting/adventure/supernatural fiction series is being made into a movie! This can go either really bad (movies almost never live up to the books and I expect the same in this case) or it can be slightly above average. I'm so cynical!

Here's the main Chinese wiki page for the movie:

http://baike.baidu.com/subview/51049/10058940.htm?fr=aladdin

(rofl 'aladdin' in the url)

I had a glance at the profiles of the actors and the actress that are playing the main roles, main character and the girl look the parts of their characters. The funny sidekick character is supposed to be way bigger than what the actor looks like though (someone will be living off McDonalds for a month now!) I mean he was referred to as "fat guy" for a reason you know?!

It also looks like the film will be shot with 3D cameras so that it can be played for the IMAX experience. I hope they utilize the 3D nicely or it can add unintentional viewing headaches...

I thought they had given up on this series since I haven't heard of anything about a new Fatal Frame game coming out for AGES! I have never been more glad to be proven wrong!

That's the cover. So it's going to be a Wii U exclusive I hear, I hope someone translates this with a patch like the previous Fatal Frame. Meanwhile it seems like I need to save for a new console...bugger. Without spoiling too much, there is cameo and mention of at least one character from previous games. I quite like the new character designs too (yeah mini skirts and shorts but dam those legs look great and even though I'm no lesbian I can still appreciate those perfectly rendered CG tubes thank you very much).

This is the main character (or at least one of them, if this is anything like Fatal Frame 4) and I do get a nice vibe. If the trailer on youtube is to be believed, we get to run through woods and I think this girl has potential to win a sprinting contest if we're having a competition between all the Fatal Frame main characters (aka the girl's got some SPEED!). That has sort of irked me in the past games, I know the point of a slow running character gets the players' hearts pumping during a ghost chase but if the game was a tad closer to reality (I mean look at those graphics!) you know a person will book it when they so much as hear a ghost whimper (let along full on groans/moans/screams).

If you think she's hot now wait until you see her dead...no seriously, that trailer ending got me so hot and bothered excited.

Without further ado, here's the link to the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9L0CpM2MSA

And here's the main theme song for it by Tsuki Amano because it's tradition.

Long time no post! Oh well I'm back with another survival-horror video game series. This one is an oldie but one of the classics. Forbidden Siren (or also simply known as Siren in the translated versions) is a series based on an isolated island which fell under a curse. As the main character(s) of the games, you must use a combination of stealth and combat to get from one place to another/obtain item/achieve certain goals. Stealth is the key word in game play, A unique game mechanic is your character's ability to 'sight-jack', aka you can see through the eyes of other characters/monsters around you as means of locating their whereabouts and learning their roaming patterns.See below for blatant example and also what not to do in this game.

Weapons in this game are somewhat limited and combat is a bit clunky but I guess that's to encourage more stealth play rather than plowing through swarms of shibitos/monsters-you-don't-want-to-meet with a baseball bat or something (btw you can't because you will get swarmed, personal experience here).

So far the series consists of Siren, Siren 2 and Siren:Blood Curse (New Translation) which is basically a remake of the first Siren game. There's also a Japanese film adaptation of this series which game out in 2006 (I haven't seen it so I can't say anything about it).

"Rough shift in the operating theatre? I hear ya."

Different variants of the monster shibitos have different abilities, traveling speeds and methods of attack to keep the gamers on their toes.

As a person who likes to draw/doodle/paint/sketch in my free time, a horror game with better graphics (Fatal Frame series for example) or unique drawing style stands out to me more. The indie game Knock-Knock is definitely within the field of unique illustration styles. The game has beautiful drawn backgrounds which really adds to the creepy atmosphere of the game. Add some vague notes and clues that don't closely link together to give an almost confusing plot and an interesting game-play system, it is a hidden gem for those true horror gamers who like to be immersed in an environment they cannot fully understand. And honestly, what's more frightening than the unknown?

Game trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLaR7rLIXxk

鬼打墙 - Gui(3)Da(3)Qiang(2) literally means Ghost Creating Wall(s), it's used as a popular saying for when people become trapped for no apparent reason at a location from which they wish to leave (ie. they know the area well and should not have any problems to start with). These locations are typically in countrysides, mountain ranges or graveyards. However this phenomenon has been known to happen in populated cities as well. The timing also varies since while it is more commonly known to happen at night, there has been claims that it occurs during the day as well. The scientific explanation behind this sort of events is that at night or when travelers are exhausted, their senses are muddled and exhaustion can even go far as create hallucinations so the travelers actually walk in circles instead of in straight lines.

This is quite a famous ghost story set in Beijing (apparently there are different versions for various cities and this story itself has several variations).

On the 14th of November in 1995, it was already very late at night, the last bus for route 375 stopped outside the bus stop outside the southern gate of the Yuan-Ming-Yuan Garden. On the bus there's a ticket lady besides the driver, they picked up 4 passengers: a young couple, an old lady and a young man. The final stop for the bus is Xiang-shan (Fragrant Hills) which is quite a way from the city.

After passing 2 bus stops, the driver spotted two shadows on the side of the road trying to wave down the bus. Since it was very windy and it's the winter season, the driver stopped the bus to let them on. When the strangers got on the bus, everyone realized it was actually 3 people, one person was being supported by the two others (one on each side of his shoulder) and that person seemed to have long unkempt hair. The middle person seemed unconscious and kept his head down at all times. All three new comers were also wearing traditional Qing Dynasty palace long gowns and looked abnormally pale. Everyone got a fright, they looked nervously at one another as the driver started the bus again.

The ticket lady tried to calm everyone down, commenting that they were probably actors filming in nearby area, getting a drink after work and forgetting to change out of their costumes in their haste. The other passengers felt more easy after that. Only the old woman kept on glancing back at the 3 strange people who were sitting at the very back of the bus.

After about another 4 stops, the young couple got off the bus already. The bus driver and the ticket lady were talking animatedly. Then the old lady suddenly stood up and started to assault the young man sitting in front of her in a fit of rage. She claimed that he had stolen her wallet while they both got on to the bus. The young man was very indignant, he stood up as well and started arguing with the old woman. The old woman had an iron grip on the young man's collar despite what the other was saying and she demanded that they get off at the next stop where there's a police station. The young man agreed hastily due to his eagerness to prove his own innocence.

Both of them got off at the next stop and as the bus headed away, the old lady breathed a sigh of relief. The young man asked the old lady where the police station was and the old lady replied that she just saved his life, then she tried her best to explain the situation. The old lady was very suspicious of the 3 people that got on the bus so she kept looking back at them. A breeze through the windows lifted the long gowns they were wearing and she realized that they had no legs (ie. are ghosts). The young man started sweating and the old lady convinced him to call the police.

The very next day, the bus company issued a statement: Last night, the final bus for Route 375 has vanished along with the driver and ticket lady. The police chased down the old woman and the young man who were thought to be mentally unwell when they tried to raise the alarm earlier. That night, they were both interviewed on the news.

On the third day, the police located the missing bus in a water reservoir about 100Kms away from Fragrant Hills. Inside the bus were 3 very badly decomposed corpses. Mysteries surround this finding include:

 The bus did NOT have enough petrol for it to keep going that far after a whole day's worth of travel.

 The police found that the petrol tank was filled with fresh blood instead of petrol.

 The corpses found were too decomposed for just 48 hours, even if it was summer the process of decomposition would not be this quick. Autopsy confirmed that there has been no intentional meddling with the bodies.

 The police went through all the security camera tapes set up for the various entrances to access the reservoir but has found nothing out of ordinary.

This is the most popular version of the urban legend. Another variation states that the 'ghost' which came on to the bus was a pale girl wearing a red dress and the old lady noted that she was 'floating' rather than walking. The route number for the bus also varies a lot.

Here's another haunted location. Perhaps not as famous as the Tower of London, but haunted and locally famous nonetheless.

Originally built in 1908 and named The Government Hostel, it opened to the public in 1919 and got renovated in 1928. This hotel is near the famous Waitomo Caves tourist attraction. The caves are home to many glow worms besides being a breath taking cave system all by itself.

Hauntings:

- Very frequently, doors open or close by themselves.

- Figures seen in the old ball room/now a dining room.

- A Maori princess seen in corridors.

- Multiple suicides, one in a back corridor and one in a hotel room in bath tub.

The place is quite a famous haunted location. Below are links to the episode of TV series Ghost Hunt (paranormal investigations taking places across New Zealand - my ex-fav show) for this location. Don't mind the corny intro music.

This is a supposed 'game'/ritual which I heard about quite some time ago. I was told by a friend about it because a Japanese horror movie based on it has already come out in 2009: ひとりかくれんぼ/Hitori kakurenbo/Hide and go kill/Creepy Hide and Seek.

See trailer here.

So I did some digging around on the internet and found a blog which explains this ritual quite well here.

Very brief summary of the whole thing:

- You're attempting a quite possibly hide and seek game with a spirit which you have basically trapped into a doll.

- Your one goal throughout the game is: DON'T get caught (when the doll is 'it') and but DO catch the doll when it is your turn to find it.

There are very limited materials on this ritual and despite reading about one or two scary experiences on this ritual, I'm very skeptical about it.

I've also read from somewhere that it is basically a cut-modified version of another ritual originating somewhere in Europe which is used to contact the dead for information. (I'd love to put a link to the source however I couldn't find the website after like...years.) The Japanese version seen here is the other ritual cut-off in the middle because apparently in the original ritual, once you have 'won' the game of Hide and Seek, the spirit will answer any questions you have. So really, the original goal of the game is to grill the spirit for next week's maths exam answers or something like that.

Follow up of the previous post, this book/manga series from China is also about grave robbery. However a notable difference is that it has enough fan-base to actually make it to at least 2 forms of English adaptation/translation. A comic series (which alters minor but keeps major events and characters) and a translated book series ( which seems to follow the original Chinese novels faithfully, I have only found 2 volumes on Amazon.com). The translated books seems to have too much vulgar language (as seen in the reader's reviews on Amazon) so it's not for minors however I have to say the whole setting of the book is really only for mature readers...

The artwork in the English version of the comic (since there's a Chinese version too) is in my opinion very good. The details are just amazing! Have to say the artist of the Chinese version (black and white colour only) simply cannot compare in terms of drawing skills.

Here's a link to Daomu stuff on Amazon.

Originally just a fiction book series, the plot is more elaborate and sometimes confusing (until the author clears some of it up). This book is more of a thriller than horror because the main character is drawn into a man-made plot and encounters not much the paranormal but more of monsters born out of ancient cults. The relationships between the characters are entertaining and believe me when I say none of the characters in the book are as they appear, even the main character (spoilers?). This book is also narrated in first person point of view (what's with horror books and first person POV?). There are swearing, back-stabbings and deceptions galore and slightly above average humor.

The Chinese main book series has finished (8 volumes) and now the sequel 藏海花/(for the live of me I can't translate it because I have problems grasping even the intended meaning of this title)

Ok now this is a semi personal post (only because now you know where I'm born and what languages I am fluent in, full stop). 鬼吹灯 is a Chinese fiction book series about a group of grave robbers written by 天下霸唱/Tian Xia Ba Chang (pen name). The title literally translates to 'Ghost blowing out the candle' and in Chinese grave robbing tradition, if that happens while you're trying to rob a grave, then you're neck deep in excretion (if the candle goes out when there's a breeze or not enough oxygen then that's a no brainer, but this is when there is no breeze and the candle simply goes out by itself). Hence the unofficial English title I gave it (I need to slap a copyright on it since it took me a while to be this creative). As someone who was very excited with the stories regarding the Pharaoh's Curse in Egypt, when I read these books my reaction was: the Pharaoh's dinky curse has NOTHING on what these guys encountered!

Another technical note: in ancient days, grave robbers in China not only use candles as means of lighting the way but also as a means of detecting lack of oxygen/bad air which is another very danger while entering old tombs. Another technique is the usage of small living animals (eg. sparrows in a bird cage). After creating an opening to the tomb interior, the animal gets lowered into the tomb for some time before been pulled out to see if they are ok. If there's a real lack of oxygen, the animal obviously will not be very lively (read: about to kick or already has kicked the bucket) and gives the robbers a heads up on the situation within the tomb.

The book itself is written in first person point of view, language used in it isn't very hard for the most part but there are points in the book where it becomes difficult to decipher old sayings or philosophical literature stuff should the reader's Chinese reading and comprehension get's stuck on third year elementary school level (harhar I made a joke about my rusty Chinese).

The author is very good at describing specific scenes and the characters presented are diverse, believable and likeable. If you're thinking this might be China's answer to say... Tomb Raider then you're about 1/4 right. The grave robbery business started with the main character's ancestors so it's a bit of a family business (which they quit but then not-so-happily jumped back into) and the similarities stop there. This book's charm is that the settings are quite real, the timeline is pre-modern but not too far back so the government is more relaxed and usually don't give a sh*t what happens in out-of-the-way locations.

The dangers encountered during each adventure are a mixture of both physical and paranormal kind. There are countless traps and barriers designed by crafty people of ancient times to protect the tombs (my favorite example of this is when the group get's trapped on a staircase which apparently loops itself infinitely, aka you can go either up or down the staircase but you can never reach the end either way) and then there are things that are completely unexplainable so they fall under the category of paranormal. The author quite clearly knows human body limit, so you will not see a super human taking on wild animals (like Lara Croft) and leaving without substantial bodily harm. Use of firearms are limited (because come on, not everyone has access to decent shot guns or any proper guns back then) and when faced with paranormal phenomenons or monsters beyond this world, it is wit instead of strength which saves them.

The adventures are fast-paced and fascinating. The plot flow is smooth and so far I have yet to remember a plot hole ('remember' because I read the whole thing a while ago). The diverse environments which the author throws us into for each part of the story is breath taking and is probably one of the very few reasons I want to go to various locations depicted in the books.

In fact the books got so popular in China, a comic series has been released which follows the same basic plot with minor changes to characters.

Every now and then I will pick a haunted location in the world and very very briefly list the notable ghost/spirits related to that place. To find more extensive history regarding each ghost, Google is your friend. The list serves as basic guide on their most likely identity and the location of their usual haunt (pun so intended).

Ghost: Henry VI Died: 21st May 1471 Location: Wakefield Tower

Ghost: White Lady Died:??? Location: White Tower

Ghost: Henry Walpole Died: ~1593 Location: Salt Tower

Ghost: Margaret Pole Died: 27th May 1541 Location: Site of the scaffold (marked by plaque)

Ghost: Lady Jane Grey Died: 12th February 1554 Location: Around the tower green or along the battlements

Ghost: Anne Boleyn Died:19th May 1536 Location: Queen's House

Ghost: Sir Walter Raleigh Died: 29th October 1618 Location: The Bloody Tower

My personal go-to game for Camera vs Ghosts game. Not only has the Project Zero series delivered intriguing plot lines in each game but it does that in a classy, scares-the-sh*t-out-of-you style that horror genre video game fans adore.

The recurring theme of each game (but differs slightly due to character changes) is that the main character has some how gotten trapped in a haunted location (be it a mansion/village/island/dream) while looking for someone/plain got lost/journey of self discovery(ain't that a bummer if your one leads you to one of these locations). The protagonist(s) waste no time in making themselves acquainted with the nearest antique-looking camera which somehow has the power to exorcise spirits (I always thought it's a plot hole that the camera doesn't somehow KILL any LIVING person you turn your lenses to).

That is unless you're a male protagonist at which point you either have to run laps around the mansion and hide to avoid hostile ghosts until the game finally feels like passing you the rather critical weapon which afterwards you realize you're pretty sh*t at using, your other choice is to get your mitts on some magical spirit exorcising torch (hahah I know it's silly too) because the game is most obviously not sexist in any way and even if it is, it nicely balances out all the other sexist games out there which tips the OTHER way.

I am not making fun my favorite game series. Let's move on to game play etc. This game series allows you to see through the camera to fight ghosts in first person POV and in any horror game, using first person POV really amps up the atmosphere. Also I found it interesting to see just normal items in the game from a different angle as opposed to the normal point of view, some scares in the game are only found in this mode which is a nice plus for the curious kitties.

The battle mechanics do work (not counting the wii games) quite well after getting used to it. Timing and aiming do take practice but the thrill of seeing well rendered (game 2 onwards) ghosts right in your face makes everything worth the while. Some items are scattered throughout the game to help you upgrade your only means of defense/camera obscura or health items. Others collectables are notes/tapes/etc to help build more back story into both the plot and the ghosts that you have been/will be fighting.

I have to say I enjoyed the battle system much more on the Playstation 2 games since you actually have to aim/direct the bloody camera, on the wii (and don't get me wrong, I love the wii, God bless Wii Sport) you only ever have to hold down the 'Z' button to lock on to the ghost after first getting it in your view finder. Also let's face it, aiming with the wii-mote is impossible (which is probably WHY they had the lock-on button) so it does take half the fun out of ghost battles (for me at least).

The creepy ambient music in the games are excellent, they are not loud at all and blends into the scenery very successfully to create the whole feeling of both oppressing and eerie. The only music with lyrics in the game serve as credits (like any horror game should be) and Tsukiko Amano does a fine job with the songs second game onwards (first game didn't have a credits song with lyrics, just awesome music).

A 2D Horror/pick-your-own-adventure RPG. Trust Japan to come up with something so delightfully twisted such as this. Corpse Party is a rarity in that it is actually a 2D horror game but due to the lack of 3D/HD/In-your-face realism graphics, it relies on gruesome/creepy/twisted story, atmosphere and music to fully immerse and scare the sh*t out of the player. Now when I said 'pick-your-own-adventure' it merely meant 'you get to choose what to do at certain parts of the game and if you pick the wrong choice you will most likely kill yourself before the end of the story or pick off one of the other survivors before the end of the story'.

There is really only one true/good (as in some people actually survive) ending and a bunch of bad endings for each chapter should you pick the wrong choice or do something that you're never meant to do.

All right I think I've got to do a bit of explaining for this series (yes it is a series because it has been made and remade about 4 times with 2 manga series and I believe a fan-made game for a prequel so I do believe this game has quite the cult following). The first game in the series was made in 1996 by an individual named Makoto Kedouin. I would go in to details as to why he did it but we would never see the end of this post so I will keep my focus on the game itself. In 2006 the game saw a remake which was designed for the mobile phone and then got ported to the PC. This then got upgraded/remade for the PSP, now named Corpse Party Blood Covered (picture below). A new game called Corpse Party Book of Shadows which does into depth of non-main characters in Corpse Party Blood Covered will be out quite soon and personally I cannot wait.

Game play is pretty linear, in true Japanese fashion ghost stories, you don't fight with any of the ghost, in fact you will probably live longer if you manage to avoid them when you can. With no combat system, the game relies on simple puzzle-solving and item-fetching activities as way of progressing the story along. There are a couple of time-limited sequences (which I'm horrible at) and a few chase scenes (which I'm equally horrible at until I realized speed wasn't really an issue, then I just felt like a retard for dying the first few times mainly due to panicking).

For a 2D game, there was a lot of attention paid to the graphic details. The music fades in/out at specific places, limited view of surrounding also occurs in specific places/times. As previously stated, creating a desolate/horrific atmosphere is the key element of this game.

Now then, a brief mention of the manga titles: Corpse Party Blood Covered and Corpse Party: Musume are the 2 that I can find. While Corpse Party Blood Covered is a relatively faithful adaptation of the actual game except with a few events/character personalities altered (read: Shige-nii is f*cking creepy in this one) the other manga Corpse Party: Musume is something I can only understand as an alternate universe re-telling of the story? There are minor character changes, major events changes and this manga I feel should be inside some porn magazines for paranormal (guy or lesbian) nerds. I wish I was wrong but the constant up-skirt/panties shot along with tentacle rape and various girls doing indecent exposure to the n-th degree really doesn't help. I like creepy, I don't mind creepy-gore, but when you get to the stage of creepy-gore-bad-taste-porn then you have lost me.

To summarize my opinions on the mangas: Corpse Party Blood Covered is good but since the game itself plays like an interactive manga adventure I don't see why there's still a need for this, Corpse Party: Musume (or as I'd like to call it: Everybody Loves Satoshi) is for the acquired taste for horror and gore and porn to go hand in hand like some terrible threesome on board a train which is about to derail and fall off a cliff yet you cannot tear your eyes away from it.

Edit: I have found the website which details the ritual/ceremony that is used as a method of transport to the cursed Heavenly Host Elementary school:

http://www.corpsepartypsp.com/secret.html#