PSP

I wrote the headline to this story not really thinking—and only now does it dawn on me that "gets a street date" make it sound like Silent Hill: Shattered Memories went out and picked up a hooker…

That's not what happened, though. Instead, Konami has announced the release date for the title (or, the date the game will "hit the streets"). Wii owners can experience an updated version of one of Survival Horror's most revered titles on December 8th. PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable owners will have to wait longer as no date has been set for either of those platforms.

Early demos for the game have been impressive and I'm excited to check out the Wii version of the game—if for no other reason than because it will actually give me an excuse to turn on my Wii…

Jump past the break for a character breakdown from Konami's press release.

Super Heroes? More Like Pretty-okay Heroes...

HIGH Going multi with Luke Cage and Iron Fist, together again.

LOW Generally poor selection of heroes from Marvel's vast universe.

WTF What happened to the QA process?

In This Case, The Length Is A Good Thing

HIGH It's a real JRPG, except it doesn't waste your time.

LOW The Knight 30 mode could have used a little more work.

WTF Why is nobody talking about this game?

So the word is basically out, and the level that has been causing all the commotion has been revealed to be used as a scene-setting device—basically establishing some context for the player's actions in the rest of the game. That was pretty much what I expected, but… it was also relayed that wherever this scene appears in the final retail version, it will be preceded by a warning about "graphic content" and the option to simply skip it and jump right into the part where the player goes back to being a "good guy".

My favorite game to play on travel recently has been Chessmaster: The Art of Learning for the PlayStation Portable. It's not a great chess game by any means, but it was a digital download for my favorite portable system, and it's good for playing quick sessions just about anywhere.

The odd thing is, I've been playing chess almost rabidly as of late, and not just on the go or in the bathroom. I've enjoyed playing Chessmaster again so much—just sitting around on the couch or playing at my desk for hours on end—that I've encouraged my girlfriend to take part in a few real games of chess now and then, and it's quickly become one of the little joys of our living together.

Beating Down An Entire City... And Loving It

HIGH It's dripping with testosterone and has machismo to spare.

LOW Accidentally stumbling into the last battle with a sliver of health.

WTF Four words: big yellow banana suit.