Spooky Halloween Post (BOO!)

Hey guys hows it going? Well today is the big day, and if you are reading this later than Halloween then I'm speaking to you from the spooky past! OooOooooOooooo Yeah pretty scary I know. Anywho, as today is the spookiest day of the year I thought I would talk about some spooky stuff. Enter if you dare. OoOoOoooooOooo

Horrifying 

So what did you guys do to prepare for Halloween? Ever since I became too old to continue trick or treating without getting looks from terrified parents, I have made it my goal to celebrate in my own personal way. This year I finally finished playing Symphony of the Night for example, I also watched The Creature from the Black Lagoon for the first time! Awesome stuff like that.

But perhaps one of my favorite Halloween activities this year was seeing Paranormal 3 in theaters. Now I know I just recently went on a rant about stupid people who talk throughout films, but I have to say if you have the chance to watch Paranormal 3 in theaters, the louder the better. Insightful comments like "OH DEY AINT NOBODY UNDER THERE!" or perhaps "OH THAT'S THE GHOST!", really helped me appreciate the film more, as it wasn't a normal moviegoing experience but rather a thrill ride of people screaming and freaking out in the theater itself.

See the thing I've always liked about the Paranormal Activity series (except for 2 which was boring as all hell.), is that the villain or evil force is somewhat ambiguous and hidden. The idea of spirits or demons is far more scary to me than the slasher villains or monster movies. Sure, not everyone believes in ghosts, but the real world setting and believable characters genuinely scare me. It's not super realistic, and yet not so over the top that you can't invision yourself in the situation. Although the endings of all three movies are absolute garbage (and three doesn't change that legacy), the point of the film is to experience the ride, rather than worry about the continuity or mythology.

Don't worry, this one is a total hoax.

So what else did I do to prepare for Halloween? Well as always I am here to slowly lure you into my post, and then surprise you with a VIDEO GAME REVIEW. DUN DUN DUN Well not a full game review, but Infamous 2 :Festival of Blood came out this week, and seeing as how I reviewed the full game, I couldn't help but be dragged into this Halloween themed downloadable content.

This is a really hot scene.

So what exactly is Infamous 2: Festival of Blood? Well capitalizing on the success of last year's Undead Nightmare for Red Dead Redemption, Sucker Punch has created a stand alone game expansion that plays like a Halloween special in the Infamous Universe.

The game starts off with a really cool premise of Zeke telling a fireside story about vampires, in order to impress a lady friend of his. You are then thrown back into the midst of New Marais, however this time the townsfolk are having a big old halloween shindig. (Well they call it something else, but it's essentially a big spooky mardy gras) This opening sequence was so awesome, and accompanied by the same musical cues from the end of Infamous 2. It really reminded me why I liked that game's ending as much as I did.

So Cole is bitten by the leader of the Vampires, and now has one night to seek out a holy crucifix and put an end to the Vampires! This premise really lets the developers have fun with the potential powers that may come from being bitten by one of the eternally undead. Now Cole has the ability to fly through the city by turning himself into a cloud of bats. Flying is really fun, although a bit hard to control at first.

Somebody is a hungry boy. 

The downside to these powers is that they are not unlimited, and in order to recharge, Cole must now feed on the blood of the innocent. This is probably the biggest change in Festival of Blood, as there are no decisions in this game. Cole is a vampire, vampires need blood, you must drink their blood. Once you finish the story, there is no reason to go back and play through again, as there are no extra choices. However, I didn't really mind the lack of choices, as the story and character interactions made sense and felt really streamlined.

The gameplay of Festival of Blood is almost identical to the original game. You still have your electric powers, and this allows for some interesting combinations of your conduit skills There are a multitude of collectables, from upgradable blood jars (blast shards), to story collectables strewn throughout the game.  Also your melee weapon is replaced with a cross, for banishing demons of course. However, most of my gameplay gripes from the first game return in Festival of Blood. You will still get tossed around a lot, and find yourself in situations where you are being juggled like a basketball, but the length of the story is such that it never overstays it's welcome.

The User Generated Content returns again, and although I don't personally care the presentation is a bit more compelling now that you can add your own comic style cutscenes before each action sequence. It was really flashy and caught my eye more than the original presentation of the User Generated Content did. Hey if the UGC is something you enjoy, then this ten dollar product is almost invaluable as far as replay value goes.

The story is great, the characters and voice acting is great, and most importantly the game is a ton of fun. It's only about 3 hours if you collect everything in the game, but its a fun break from the norm, and really helps you get into that Halloween spirit. I highly recommend this game, and hope to see more Halloween themed games in the future!

So heres hoping everyone has a great Halloween! Stay safe and junk, and ummm what are some other cliche things I could say? Don't eat too much candy guys. Well I'll see you next time. (Hopefully before Thanksgiving)