Konami

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.

While I can't say that shooting cute little animals will revolutionize gaming as we know it, Nintendo has definitely made the first-person shooter to someone as clumsy as me.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Cartoon Violence

Game Description: Metal Gear 3: Subsistence is a PS2 exclusive that redefines the classic stealth gaming experience. It's got all-new game modes, including a new online game mode. Choose "Team Battle" or "Snake vs. Enemies" and carry out missions cooperatively or competitively. The new 3rd-person camera controls gives a controllable, low-angle view of the action for a more intense stealth-action experience.

'd intended to review Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (MGS3) when it originally came out. A longtime fan of the series, I was interested to see what Kojima would do with a prequel. I found myself oddly underwhelmed by the game. As attractive as the graphics were, and no matter how polished the mechanics, playing the game left me cold. It wasn't any mystery why, either—frankly, half a decade after certain camera problems presented themselves in Metal Gear Solid (MGS), I didn't understand why I still had to spend ten hours worth of gameplay fighting to see what was going on around me.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes