Horror

This is York Morgan—he'll be our Agent Dale Cooper for the remainder of the running time. That's not to say he's entirely derivative of Twin Peaks' hero—while it's true that the basic idea of the character (lone FBI Agent sent to solve a brutal crime who's unafraid of using metaphysical reasoning when faced with mysteries) owes its existence to Twin Peaks, his specifics, and the degree to which he embraces the bizarre demonstrate clearly that the game's writer was also a fan of the X-Files. Over the course of the game we'll definitely bear witness to some of Fox Mulder's characteristic glibness in the face of the bizarre and obscene, as well as Albert Rosenfeld's famous lack of social niceties.

My first encounter with Deadly Premonition came when I spotted it on the shelves of a local video store. Suffice to say, the cover art stood out from the crowd. In a field of sports games, militaristic shooters, space marines, and the occasional swordsman v. dragon, a hooded person screaming as blood runs down their face counts as something of an anomaly. The axeman, naturally, sealed the deal. I rented the game immediately, and started playing it later that night. Just two hours in I'd already decided that I had to purchase my own copy, which I proceeded to do the next day.

It's not all in your Head

HIGH The tantalizing feeling of almost understanding what's going on.

LOW Fighting a monster in darkness because my weapon requires two hands.

WTF Who the hell keeps sending me these postcards?

Game Description: Dementium II is an exciting horror adventure that places you inside a secret asylum for the criminally insane in the role of William Redmoor. Arm yourself with revolvers, shotguns, daggers, sledgehammers and bonesaws to defend yourself against more than 16 horrifying creatures. Walk down the foreboding corridors and see the blood-strewn walls designed to immerse you in this nightmarish environment. Overpower and kill guards to fight your way to The Doctor and free yourself from the horror that has enslaved your mind.

Chi hits the Vegas Strip to throw down with some of MMA's biggest stars and gets an early look at UFC Undisputed 2010. Brad takes on Alan Wake and in the process enrages the entire Internet...again. And we open up the mailbag to answer your burning questions about game manuals, Final Fantasy XIV, and Microsoft Game Room. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Pitfall is So Worth Three Dollars" Spaeth.

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Topics discussed:

• UFC Undisputed 2010
• Alan Wake
• Final Fantasy XIV

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

My Coffee Warned Me About It

HIGH Running desperately from the Raincoat Killer.

LOW Driving around town with my car constantly trying to take off to the left.

WTF "F K... In the coffee!"

You were Always on my Mind...

HIGH A great game-ending twist.

LOW Almost every nightmare sequence is perfectly awful.

WTF It seems this therapist is a session drinker.

I'm not sure why anyone would feel the urge to make a sequel to one of the worst films in recent history (Uwe Boll's Alone in the Dark), but that's exactly what's happening and I've got the trailer to prove it (Thanks to the mighty Dread Central).

What's even more puzzling is why you'd make a sequel to a terrible film that is essentially universally despised, change the actors and story, and yet keep the title. Christian Slater and Tara Reid are gone and the only real tie to the original movie (which was based on a video game series) is that Edward Carnby is still the main character. If that's your only real tie to the original series, you'd probably be better off just doing a brand new standalone film. I guess this proves that even bad publicity is better than no publicity at all. I can see no other reason to tie yourself to anything directed by Uwe Boll.

Anyway, I'm probably gonna wind up watching this thing (and hating myself as soon as it starts) because it's got Bill Moseley, Danny Trejo, and Lance Henriksen in it. Those three guys are cool enough to get me to watch just about anything and I don't see that changing any time soon. Donald Pleasence had the same affect on me—and while I was burned by many a bad flick with Dr. Loomis skulking around in it, I kept going back for more.

We'll all find out how bad Alone in the Dark II is when it debuts on DVD this January 26th.