Resident Evil Vendetta

A new trailer for Resident Evil Vendetta has been released. The trailer gives us a few more glimpses into the story of Vendetta. It seems that Chris, Leon and Rebecca are working against the clock to stop Glenn Arias from activating the dormant trigger-virus which has infected everybody in New York City. The movie appears to be striking some balance between the horror of the earlier Resident Evil games - with Chris exploring a creepy old mansion (again)- and the more over the top action of the later games - Leon has some pretty slick moves on that bike - which will hopefully result in a solid movie.

Amongst other things the trailer shows off Chris' new (technically old) voice actor, Kevin Dorman, who previously voiced the character in The Umbrella Chronicles. I recently spoke with him on Twitter about his role in this movie during which he said that he and the team have worked very hard to create a new voice for Chris which will hopefully not sound too dissimilar from Roger Craig's Smiths performance and will capture the essence of the character. Watch the trailer to see for yourself how his performance fairs against Roger Craig Smith.

Short horror story

Okay, so where do I begin?
I guess I should introduce myself, my name is Paul and I make up one-half of a set of twins, my twin, John,  and I share a bond like no other. Being a twin is kind of magical especially in our case we're identical not just in appearance but in every other aspect as well. I'll give a few examples;
- We both have girlfriends named Lucy
- We both are teachers
- We both have sons called Jack, who were born on the same day

These coincidences have plagued our life but have never really bothered me I've always just assumed that it was because we were connected spiritually or something. However, recently I haven't been so sure. I found out a week ago that my twin isn't who I thought he was - I mean he is still my brother but he did something bad... really bad.

I'm not going to beat around the bush so here it is I went onto his computer last week and found a file full of sickening videos of children being raped and murdered by my brother. I'm not going to be graphic but seriously it was fucked up.  I confronted him about it and he seemed shocked and acted like he had no idea what I was talking about. I showed him the videos and he claimed it was just a prank that someone had played on him. He spent the rest of the week avoiding me. So today I took matters into my own hands.

Once again I'll get straight to the point - my brother is currently tied to a chair as I type this. I'm going to interrogate him and find out the truth. I'll document everything that is said right here on this Reddit post.

1PM - Entry #1
ME: John? You awake?
JOHN: What the fuck is going on here? Where am I? What the fuck are you doing?
ME: John, buddy, you gotta tell me the truth about those videos.
JOHN: What fucking videos?
ME: What videos do you think I am talking about? The ones where you killed those kids!
JOHN: Those videos were nothing they meant nothing.
ME: You raped and murdered children! How is that nothing?
JOHN: IF YOU THINK THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL THE COPS?
ME: Because you're my brother. I want to help you.
JOHN: Bullshit. I bet you wanted to join in. Well, the kids are mine so fuck you.

JOHN spat at me. I'll leave him alone for a while and continue this soon.

I remember one time when we were children we found a cat while we were out playing. We were stroking it and then out of nowhere John picked it up and hit its head off of a tree. The poor thing died. John then poked it in the eye with a stick... I guess I understand why he did that now. He was always like this. How could I not see it?

2PM - Entry #2
JOHN: I hate you. I always hated you.
ME: Dude, why are you saying these things?
JOHN: I bet you want me to tell you all about those tapes... you wanna know what those kids tasted like?
ME: Seriously, what the hell? How could you do this?
JOHN: How could I resist... children are just so delicious.
ME: I can't believe this. My own brother is a god-damn child murderer.
JOHN: Don't forget about the rape.
ME: Fuck you.

I had to leave the room. This was making me feel sick. Hearing my own brother talk like that, I don't know what to do. It makes it worse that he is my identical twin it is like looking into some sort of twisted mirror.
When I got my first girlfriend, when I was 16, John ended up sleeping with her. I never held it against her, he convinced her that he was me, we look identical it wasn't her fault. He always told me that he was drunk and didn't know what he was doing, I always believe him but now I'm not so sure. Has my brother always been a twisted psychopath?

3PM - Entry #3
JOHN: *giggling* I can't wait to show you what I did to those kids. I'm going to do the same to little Jack when I get out. I'm going to take your clothes and go to your house. I've done it before. I fucked your wife so many times like that. I kissed Jack goodnight too. I sometimes go into his room while he sleeps and I sneak a look at his little ass. I'm going to fuck him ---

I punched him. I kept punching him. How could even threaten Jack like that? My brother is a monster. I need to end this. I need to kill him.

4PM - Entry #4
JOHN: I'm sorry.
ME: What the fuck is wrong with you?
JOHN: I don't know. I'm sick, Paul, I need help. I need your help. Untie me.
ME: No.
JOHN: Fine. Then tonight your family fucking dies, Paul, I promise you.
ME: You're not my brother. My brother couldn't do this.
JOHN: Oh, I've always been this way. I fucking love it.
ME: I think I have to kill you.

I left the room again. He needs to die, right? I mean someone that fucked up needs to die. People like him are the reason the death penalty exists.  Once when we were twelve I caught him masturbating and he pinned to the ground forcing me to lick his cum. Am I blind? Why am I only remembering all this shit now?

5PM - Entry #5
ME: You need to die.
JOHN: You don't have the guts to kill me.
ME: No, I don't. Instead, I think I'll just leave you here to rot.
JOHN: What if I get out? What if I come for you tonight?
ME: You won't.

I'm going to leave him. He is a monster. This dark, decaying basement in the middle of nowhere is a fitting resting place for a piece of shit like him. I hate him.

5:30PM - Entry #6 - Final Entry
ME: Goodbye, John.
JOHN: See you soon.

You know John and I didn't always fight. One of my happiest memories is from when we were both 20. We decided to go on a road trip together. We threw together a mixtape of some of our favorite songs including Living On A Prayer, Bad Moon Rising and Renegade. We ate fast food every day and took a whole bunch of photos. When we reached our destination John hugged me and told me that he loved me no matter what. I'm gonna miss him.

Now, I ask you, the reader, at what point did I kill Paul and take over writing this piece of shit?
Much love,
John.

Haven't posted in a while

I haven't been able to post in a while but I'll have some new stuff soon including a post  about something that happened two weeks ago.

Batman Return Of The Caped Crusader

Wow.  This movie was so much better than I was expecting. When I heard that the 66' Batman was being continued in animated movie form I was, like most people, quite wary of the idea - I felt as though it would do more harm than good as modern audiences would not react positively to the campy format of the classic series.  However, this movie used the campiness to its advantage which led to some of the funniest moments in any movie I have seen this year. Honestly, I still do not believe that this movie if for everyone but people who are willing to open their minds to a very silly take on the dark knight will be in for a treat.

Most of the comedy in this movie came from making light of the profound weirdness of the classic series by taking things like Robins seemingly super-human deductive reasoning to the extreme. The movie is much more light-hearted than any other batman product we have gotten this year due to the fact that this movie is front and foremost a comedy. The movie manages to feel like a direct sequel to the classic series while being original enough to not alienate new viewers. This is great as fans of the original will be able to enjoy many of the old call-backs while newer viewers will just be able to laugh at The Dark Knight doing such ludicrous things - at one point he refuses to jaywalk because he must never break the law. The first half of the movie feels very much like the classic series with the Dynamic Duo facing off with their greatest foes, however, it is the second half in which the movie really becomes interesting by introducing a new and very unexpected villain. As the plot progresses Batman slowly becomes more and more like newer interpretations of the character by being dark and brooding. Trust me when I say hearing Adam West quote Frank Millers Dark Knight Returns is one of the most amazing things you will ever hear in a movie.

The actors give amazing performances with any living member of the classic series cast reprising their roles, sadly, this only includes Batman, Robin, and Catwoman. Robin, hilariously, is voiced by a senior citizen but is still portrayed as a teenager which, in some instances, really shows and yet manages to add to the campy charm of it all. The rest of the cast are voiced by sound-alikes who all give brilliant takes on the classic characters. In particular, The Riddler stood out as his actor sounds nearly identical to the original.

The movie is not without its flaws, however, as some moments did feel like they dragged on as the plot moves at a rather slow pace. Most of the time it is fine but around the third act I did find myself wondering when it was going to end. Another little flaw is the animation could have been a little bit smoother - this is more a fault of the films budget and does not really detract from the overall experience.

I very much enjoyed this movie and all I can say is bring on BATMAN VS TWO-FACE!

8.5/10
Pros
Funny
Interesting take on classic show
Great performances
Cons
Some bits did feel like they dragged on
Animation could have been a little smoother

RESIDENT EVIL 7 NEWS

CAPCOM have temporarily broken their silence regarding Resident Evil 7: Biohazard once again. In an interview with  Yugatech (via PlayStation Universe) producer Masochika Kawata shed some light on the specifics of the new save system for Resident Evil 7. 

The game has done away with the chapter based saving of the last few installments and instead features autosaves as well as manual saving. 

“The game is a linear experience, meaning not that there’s only one way through, rather it takes place in a linear timeline, so it’s not divided into chapters,” Kawata told Yugatech. “However, as far as saving is concerned, there’s an auto-save system, so if you die you can restart not as far back. There will also be rooms to act as manual save points. Just to note, depending on the difficulty situation that you choose, the saving system also varies. If you choose a harder difficulty, the saving system won’t be so nice to you.”

I assume this means that if you choose to play on hard / professional then perhaps the save system will be entirely manual - much like the classic games. Honestly, I think this is great news as it will give new players an easier time with Resident Evil's difficulty and will allow veteran players to feel like they are in a classic Resident Evil game. Auto-saving is mostly a welcome addition as, I think I speak for everyone, it is the worst feeling ever when you die and end up going back three hours in the game because you forgot to save. However, I do wish auto-saving was an option because the fear of losing your progress is what made the classic games scary in my opinion. 

I'm personally hoping that manual saving comes in the form of typewriters and ink ribbons because if it does then I will be absolutely in love with CAPCOM and Resident Evil 7. With every new bit of information, I get more and more hyped for this game. I'll be getting my PSVR soon and cannot wait to try out the 'Lantern' demo.

RESIDENT EVIL 7: BIOHAZARD releases on January 24th, 2017 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Outlast 2 Demo Impressions

I got a chance to play the Outlast 2 Demo yesterday and I found it to be a very pleasant surprise. Honestly, I wasn't too big a fan of the original Outlast, don't get me wrong the game was an effective horror game which managed to create a legitimately unnerving atmosphere but the game completely fell apart in its final act which spoiled the experience for me. Obviously, the demo for Outlast 2 didn't confirm whether or not the game will suffer from that same problem but it did manage to fully immerse me within its twisted world in just a few minutes.

The demo was not anything I was expecting due mainly to the increased focus on supernatural and psychological horror compared its predecessor. This new focus resulted in a much more solid and frightening experience than anything that you would find in the first game. A particularly creepy moment was very early into the demo as I stepped into a small house and noticed that the door ahead of me was slightly open. The further I got away from the door the further it opened and the closer I got the more it closed. I was expecting a jump scare as soon as I went near the door to open it but alternatively, the game took the path less traveled by in recent horror movies and games - it decided to go for subtlety. This resulted in a highly effective scare because the mere implication that someone had been standing behind that door combined with the gentle creak of the hinges as I slowly opened it managed to keep me on edge for the next few minutes. I was anxiously anticipating my demise yet the game made me feel safe as there was no  stereotypical creepy music and nothing jumped out to startle me. This strange sense of security only made the sudden appearance what I can only assume was a large tongue all the more shocking and actually resulted in me frantically exclaiming 'What in the hell?'.

The demo did lack the difficulty that I had expected from Outlast as hiding/ escaping from my pursuers did not prove a challenge in the slightest. This was unfortunate and I hope that the full game will be much more difficult. But the brilliant atmosphere engaged me to the extent that I wanted to play the demo a second time. The derelict buildings and pitch-black exteriors combined with the occasional animal noise and the ever so faint sound of footsteps around you are enough to unease even the most experienced horror fanatic.

I very much enjoyed my time with Outlast 2 and I cannot wait to play the full game when it releases.

Walk with James

I went on a relaxing long walk with James yesterday.

 Recently James and I have been going on walks together as it gives us something to do while we talk instead of just sitting around but usually these walks are quite short - which I think is a shame because I am the kind of person who will happily go on an 8-hour trek. However, yesterday I convinced James to walk with me from his house to a place called Coombe Abbey. It doesn't matter if you don't know what Coombe Abbey is because all you need to know is that it takes about 45 minutes to walk there from James' house.

We set off on our journey and began speaking about our interests. We were mostly talking about Resident Evil as James has recently become more interested in that series. James was also speaking about his fan-fiction story that he is writing - a story that encompasses everything James likes. He was asking me for my opinions and ideas on what could happen in the Resident Evil section of the story. Little did he know that he was inspiring me at that very moment, I wanted to draw a picture based on the ideas he was saying. As we are about half way to the Abbey James was starting to feel a little tired but we decided that we had gone too far to go back. We came across a sign - it appeared to be a welcome board. We were foolish enough to think that it was to signify an entrance to Coombe Abbey Park. We approached the sign 'Coombe Fishing and erm something that I can't remember' is what I believe it said. We realised our mistake and continued our journey. Near the start of our adventure, we had noticed two rainbows in the sky and as we walked along the road to Coombe we actually saw the start of the rainbow which was on a farm. It was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen - the rainbow was in front of some trees and they appeared to be multi-colored as they sat behind the colorful spectacle. Seeing that made the journey worth it.

We eventually arrived at Coombe Abbey and James touched the entrance building which signified that the mission was complete. We spent a little time in the park and admired the ducks and ,in James case, hid from the dogs. It was a very enjoyable walk and I hope to do it again.

A triumphant James poses for his victory portrait