Konami

You'll have to forgive me for the unimaginative headline on this post. There are only so many inventive ways to title a story on zombies and I think after covering the undead for over a decade I've run out of cool ones.

Konami's Zombie Apocalypse is now available for download and was the most downloaded title on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. You'd think that would be good enough for Konami, but it's not. They think there are still some of you out there who haven't splurged for a copy of the game and indulged in its Smash TV-esque wholesale zombie genocide. To entice you to pay your money and take the ride, they've released a new trailer for the game–one that basks in the gory glory of the experience of taking out hordes of flesh eating monsters in satisfyingly violent ways.

Can you survive the zombie apocalypse for 55 days, spread over seven different environments? It'll cost you $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points to find out.

Konami’s announced the official release date for their downloadable zombie slaughterfest, Zombie Apocalypse. Anyone with a hankering for killing hordes of the walking dead will want to mark September 23rd and 24th down on their calendars. Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the title one day earlier than their PS3-owning brethren for some reason. When I last saw the game, it looked a lot like Smash TV with zombies. Since I happen to love Smash TV, this got me very excited.

It's been a few years since the first Silent Hill movie came out—and while it wasn't as good as many of us hoped, there's so much potential in the franchise that most of us hoped Hollywood would take a second crack at it.

There have been rumors of a sequel for quite awhile, but invariably they've turned out to be false—until last night. THR brings us news that a new Silent Hill film is indeed in the works and will begin filming next year.

According to the site, screenwriters Roger Avary and producer Samuel Hadida will be returning to the project. No word yet on a director (Christophe Gans helmed the original), or any plot details, but you'll read about it here when those details start to emerge.

Ah Sunday, a day for rest and relaxation–and apparently a day for no horror news.

I saved this clip of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for a day just like today. The Wii-updating (I'm hesitant to call it a remake—it is technically a remaking of the first game, but it's bringing a lot of new elements to the table as well) of the classic survival horror game is looking pretty good. Don’t take my word for it, though, have a look at this new trailer for the title that appeared at GamesCom earlier this month.

Expect Silent Hill to hit retailers on October 13th for the Wii, PS2, and PSP—just in time to creep you out for Halloween.

I posted a developer's demo for Konami's Saw videogame a few days ago, but it didn't have any actual combat footage in it. Here's a different clip from GameTrailers, complete with a look at how you'll be fighting your way through and a very unpleasant surprise.

Gamers will be able to decide if they want to live or die this October.

I'll be brutally honest—I didn't expect much from a videogame tie-in to the Saw movies. You know the drill…movie tie-ins suck, blah blah blah. Even news of the project winding up in the capable hands of Konami (who seem to have a pretty keen understanding of horror games) wasn't enough to sell me on the idea that navigating an avatar through a maze of Jigsaw traps would actually be fun.

I'm not sure what it is (maybe the lowered expectations, or maybe that game actually looks decent), but I'm warming up to the idea of a Saw game after viewing this demo footage of the title in action at E3. One of the game's associate producers took GameTrailers on a guided tour and things seem to be shaping up nicely.

Oh Konami, when will you learn? How many times have you guys tried to take Castlevania from its classic 2D origins and bring it into the 3D realm now? I've seriously lost count. It never works. That doesn't stop them from trying, though.

Yesterday, at the company's press conference, they unveiled the latest attempt: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows. I get the feeling this is probably Konami's most serious attempt to finally branch out beyond the successful Nintendo DS "Metroid-Vania" styled games. They've lined up an impressive voice cast (Patrick Stewart, Robert Carlyle, Natasha McElhone) and the real kicker is that the project is being overseen by Konami's golden boy Hideo Kojima (and it should be noted that he's overseeing—Kojima Productions is not producing the actual game).

It's good to see that movies aren't the only art form where the whole remake/reboot phenomenon is running wild. Game companies have been on the bandwagon for quite awhile now, too. The difference is that game remakes are generally more interesting because technological advances make them at least appear to be new experiences. Take, for instance, Konami's re-imagining of the original Silent Hill.

In the video demo below, Tom Hulett (an associate producer at Konami) is quick to assert that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories isn't a reboot or remake of Silent Hill. Whether you agree with that sentiment or find it more an issue of semantics is mostly irrelevant. Sure, the game brings back the characters and story from the original game, but it becomes clear early on in this demo that Shattered Memories isn't the same Silent Hill we played back in the PlayStation era.

West Virginia was the first school system in the United States to incorporate a video game (Konami's Dance Dance Revolution) into its physical education curriculum. Now, West Virginia University, ResCare Home Care and the Special Olympics are conducting a study to see if the series has benefits for people with disabilities. According to the very small blurb I was able to find, "Participants will play the game three days a week, for eight weeks. If it is successful, the Special Olympics may consider making 'DDR' a competitive event during its annual games."

Game Description: Elebits is a revolutionary game of hide and seek. What are Elebits? They're mischievous little creatures who provide the world's power. Use the innovative Wii controller to push, pull, lift and throw anything in the environment as you attempt to track down these playful little creatures. As they capture Elebits, players will be able to further interact with the environment, using them to provide power to different implements that will help them in their search.