Dark corners, moody atmospheres, and crazies trying to bash in your brains. These were features that faced gamers is in both 2K games' BioShock and ZeniMax's Fallout 3 yet none of these aspects had as deep and impact as another feature that the two titles shared, and that was the eerie layer of 50's Crooner music played over the games' dark content. Theres simply something surreal about listening to Sinatra while fighting for your life in the dark.

These titles inclusion of this type of music has forever changed how I feel when I hear these oldies. Whether it be on radio or film, every time some old song from this era comes on I start looking over my shoulder, making sure that theres no ghouls lurking behind me.

Originally Posted At: Examiner.com

Many gamers where excited when news first broke about the original Two Worlds. The term "Multiplayer Oblivion" was thrown around freely. When the title actually released, however, it was received very poorly. Bad story and worse voice acting seemed to be the death of the title. Even its multiplayer was largely unplayable here in the states due to lag issues.

Reports on the game now is that many of these problems have been fixed for those who actually stuck around long enough to see them through. The voice acting, although still bad, has been redone and lag is no longer present in multiplayer sessions; and its multiplayer that has kept gamers still playing this game and that has given Topware the money to continue to release free add-ons and updates.

Apparently, the game has received enough renewed success as of late that their latest expansion,. The Temptation, has been changed from an expansion to a full on sequel due to this winter. In the press release that was sent out today, it was confirmed that Two Worlds 2 will release this winter.

Originally Posted, with full boring press release, At: Examiner.com

It seems that, anymore, when trying to browse game add-ons under new arrivals on Xbox Live I find myself drowning in a sea of track downloads for the various music-oriented titles that are on the market these days.

Even on the day of release of highly anticipated DLC for top games such as Fallout 3 and Fable 2, you will find these add-ons almost instantly pushed to the muddle of the new arrivals page on Xbox Live due to the steady stream of small add-ons for games like Guitar Hero, RockBand, or Lips.

As these music games usually only feature several, small add-ons. Perhaps they should get their own category on Xbox Live so that those looking for new songs can go straight to a section for them. More importantly, this would ensure gamers who don't have any interests in these titles wouldn't feel that their Live experience was being bogged down by this Karaoke Epidimic.

Originally Posted At: Examiner.com

Valve's zombie title, Left 4 Dead, has all the makings of a modern horror masterpiece. It features a ragtag group of survivors who find themselves grossly outnumbered as they make their way to safety through dark and treacherous territory, while facing overwhelming odds against a never-ending onslaught from the hordes of the recently risen dead. Sounds great, and as far as fun factor goes, it is. However, in the midst of all the killing and constant attacks, you find yourself wondering where the horror atmosphere went. Thats right about the time you get grabbed by a another Smoker and the realization sets in. The special units in Left 4 Dead are more like cartoon super-villains than horror monsters.

This would be fine if the rest of the game didn't try so hard to capture a horror-esque essence. Instead of fighting merely zombie hordes, Valve decided to throw in these special units to add flavor to the game. Thats understandable, but their presence completely changes the feel of the game. Instead of fighting the swarms of anonymous living dead we find ourselves becoming acquainted with sentient arch-villains. We learn the names of these enemies and begin to recognize their sounds and tactics before even seeing them. Since each special unit has only one model it feels as if you're fighting the same entity throughout the game instead of hordes of faceless undead. This causes the actual horde of zombies to become merely a back setting as your true fight is with these special units. This results in more of a comic book themed action adventure than anything close to horror.

Originally Posted: Examiner.com

I find myself fascinated by ghouls within the Fallout franchise. So much so that I've spent many hours wishing that I could change this Vaultdweller into one. Perhaps its my love for zombies and the fact that ghouls resemble the undead that pleases me, or maybe its the ghoul attitude and entire culture of underworld that does it for me. Whatever the case, I've found myself setting out to become one.

My first experience in trying to recreate a ghoul came after discovering the Ghoul Mask. This gave me the appearance of a ghoul, even fooling the ferals into not attacking me, but looking like a ghoul and actually being a ghoul are two entirely different things.

Realizing that radiation was the cause of one's "ghoulification", I stopped avoiding areas of high radiation and actually sought them out instead. This, of course, was of no use. The only effect radiation had on non-ghouls was sickness followed by death. It then hit me that I needed to train my own body to react differently to rads. So I began learning perks that lessened the effects of radiation on my, still fleshy, body such as Rad Resistance and Lead Belly. This was still a long way from the rad resistance of true ghouls (who actually are healed by radiation), but I hoped that it would be enough to allow me to expose myself to the higher levels of radiation needed to cause the change.

Still my desires for ghouldom went unfulfilled. it was then that a realization set into my head. Every ghoul that I have ever met became that was as a result of an atomic blast. This one thought would change the Capital Wasteland forever. For it was at this point that my quest to become a ghoul would no longer harm just myself as I set out to create my own atomic explosion. With my Ghoul Mask on my head and excitement within it I detonated the atomic bomb at the center of Megaton in my next attempt to be transformed. My only regret was that I couldn't be closer to the blast as I triggered the detonator. I remained unaffected.

With my "experiments" exhausted, I knew then that I would, most likely, never become a ghoul. That still doesn't stop me from trying however. Studying normal ghouls got me nowhere, so I now turn my attention to the ferals. I wander the wastes, searching for feral ghouls to study. I watch their actions and habitats in an attempt to, hopefully, learn the key to becoming one of them. I have thus shed my belongings, wearing only my Ghoul Mask in order to live amongst the ferals. I find myself going native. I've even adopted the diet of the ferals. I doubt becoming a Cannibal will actually help me become a ghoul, but it certainly won't hurt.

Originally Posted: Examiner.com