Paper Mario Sticker Star 3DS Trailer October 26, 2012

The Paper Mario series has been a long-standing tradition since the Nintendo 64 days.  In fact, the original game’s commercial made it into my Top 10 Video Game Commercials video a while ago.  Well, the series is back and it will be continuing on the 3DS, in fact its presentation during this year’s E3 3DS show gave me another reason to pick up the 3DS XL.

Well, here is the latest trailer for Paper Mario Sticker Star.  Enjoy!

Paper Mario Sticker Star is coming November 11th, 2012 exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS.  The game is coming to retail and will be downloadable through the Nintendo eShop.

Silent Hill Day – Linkara’s Reviews October 25, 2012

As we wrap up Silent Hill Day here on gamexcess.net lets take a quick assessment of everything we’ve talked about.  We’ve talked about the movies.  We’ve talked about the games.  We’ve even talked about the theme park attractions.  Now, lets talk about the comics!

Lewis Lovhaug, better known to the internet as Linkara, is the creator of Atop the Fourth Wall, a comic review site which is a staple of That Guy with the Glasses.  He is probably one of the greatest comic book reviewers on the internet.  His ability to point out inconsistencies and mistakes in the story, mostly due to bad writers, is the best that I’ve ever seen, and it keeps me coming back to his site each and every week.

Lets start with he beginning shall we?  The first Silent Hill related comic book review he had done was for Silent Hill: Dying Inside.  A comic miniseries where a story was explored that had nothing to do with the games and was completely inconsistent with the town we all knew and loved, well, except for the appearances of some of the monsters.

The videos are arranged in three-part series.  In the first part he reviews the first two issues and you can watch it here, in the second part he reviews parts three and four and you can watch that here, and in the final part he reviews the fifth and final issue and you can watch that here.  If  you’re interested in seeing any alternate endings to the video series you can watch them here for some laughs.

I watched his review very shortly after completing Silent Hill 2 for the first time and thought the opening bit he did for the second part where he perfectly parodied the SH2 opening cinematic needed to be seen by anyone who played that game.  I’ve been told that some of the issues from Dying Inside have been digitized and are included in The Silent Hill Experience UMD Video for the PSP in case you’re interested in checking out the series for yourself, or you can just look for the graphic novel.

The Silent Hill series quickly became a Halloween staple of his site.  The next Halloween, he reviewed the direct sequel series to Silent Hill: Dying Inside, Silent Hill: Dead/Alive.  Like with the previous review he reviewed the miniseries in three parts.  Part 1 included issues 1 and 2 and you can watch it here, Part 2 reviewed issues 3 and 4 and you can watch it here, and finally Part 3 reviewed issue 5 and you can watch that here.  Yes, there are alternate endings to this series as well and you can watch them here.

However, that wasn’t the end of Silent Hill comics.  In fact, Silent Hill: Dead/Alive referenced several other Silent Hill comic series we hadn’t seen yet.  Last October, Linkara reviewed the other Silent Hill comics that took place between Dying Inside and Dead/Alive.  They were smaller in length, so only one video was devoted to each individual story.  Silent Hill: Paint it Black is reviewed here,  Silent Hill: Among The Damned is reviewed here, and Silent Hill: The Grinning Man is reviewed here.

But don’t think that Linkara hated all of the Silent Hill comics.  There actually was a series that he liked a lot, and that was Silent Hill: Sinner’s Reward.  You can check out his review of Sinner’s Reward here.  Since it is a good comic, it didn’t merit an entire review (he usually reserves reviews for bad comics) but what is interesting about the video is he talks about just why this series worked where the other ones failed so badly.

Unfortunately  Linkara has decided not to review any Silent Hill comics this Halloween and is instead focusing on The Thing.  However, he did check out Silent Hill: Past Life in a new series he’s been doing on his site, Long Box of the Damned.  You can watch that video here.

And that just about wraps up Silent Hill Day today on gamexcess.net!  Hope you’ve all enjoyed it, be it if you’re just a casual fan, a new fan, or a fan of the series since the beginning.  And even if you’re not a fan or someone you has never played or even heard of Silent Hill, I hope you’ve found something you’ve enjoyed!  Have a wonderful day!

Silent Hill Day – The Game Den October 25, 2012

Dena Natali, who goes by the internet alias Cyborcat, has a fantastic channel where she reviews all kinds of movies and video games for quite some time.  She is a HUGE Silent Hill fan, and has done some amazing reviews of the games.

One of the first game reviews of her that I had seen was her review for Silent Hill 4: The Room, a game that I have not yet had the pleasure to play or even own yet.  I remember seeing it previewed at E3 2004, and hearing that the reviews of it had been mixed, but not much else about the game’s content or story, other than it was about a guy…trapped in a room.

Just be aware, there’s going to be spoilers in these reviews, but she is pretty good about saying exactly when in the videos the spoilers are coming.

For the purposes of space, here’s the first part of that review.  Her entire Silent Hill 4 review ran a whopping FIVE parts.

If you’re interested in watching the other parts of her Silent Hill 4: The Room review, you can watch Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5 here.

Silent Hill 4: The Room was not her only Silent Hill game review.  In fact, we barely scratched the surface.  So lets turn back the clock and show the first Silent Hill game released for the Playstation 2.  This has been considered by many to be the finest Silent Hill game ever made and I’ve been playing it non stop for weeks now.  Of course I’m talking about Silent Hill 2.

If you want to watch the rest of the review.  Part 2 is here.  Part 3 is here.  And you can watch Part 4a here and Part 4b here.  Just take a note when you’re watching Part 4a on a non computer device as I had problems watching it on my mobile phone.

There’s also a review for Silent Hill 3, and for someone who hasn’t played that game yet, it hits every single reason why I should be playing it.  Here’s Part 1.

You can also check out Part 2 here.  Part 3 is here.  Part 4 is here.  Part 5 is here.

Her Silent Hill reviews weren’t just restricted to the to the original four.  She has also reviewed some of the more recent Silent Hill games made by American development houses.

If you’re interested in watching her review of Silent Hill: 0rigins, you can check it out here.

She has also done a Let’s Play of Silent Hill: Shattered Dimensions.  If you’re interested in checking that out, you can view the entire playlist here.  If you prefer something shorter, you can check out her review below.

And finally, here’s a review of Silent Hill: Homecoming, the first Silent Hill game made for this generation of consoles.  It’s had a…mixed reception, but the review is fantastic.

Wow, that’s a lot of videos isn’t it?  You can check out more of Dena Natali’s reviews on That Guy with the Glasses, or her YouTube Channel.

Keep tuned to gamexcess.net for more content on Silent Hill Day!

Silent Hill Day – Halloween Horror Nights Walkthrough October 25, 2012

As the site reported on earlier, Universal Studios is doing a special Halloween Horror Nights promotion in the days leading up to October 31st.  They are offering all kinds of special haunted trails which guests can explore to their terrorfied delight.  Each trail has its own theme and they range from the classic monsters from the early Universal Pictures, to trails themed from AMC’s show The Walking Dead.

Well, there is also a Silent Hill themed trail in the parks, and they look fantastic.  Modeled not just after the games but also the movies and graphic novels, both Universal Orlando and Universal Hollywood have their own unique trail that you can explore.  Well, since they’re not going to be up forever, take a look at them for yourselves!

Here’s a highly detailed look at the Universal Orlando Silent Hill trail, taken when the lights are turned on.

And here’s a look at the Universal Hollywood trail, taken during live conditions.

Fantastic works of craftsmanship, Universal.  You really went all out.  Now if only you’ll sell those Silent Hill t-shirts online.

If you would like tickets or special VIP access to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights while the event is still going on, you can buy them on the official site.

Silent Hill Day – Silent Hill Revelation 3D October 25, 2012

Tonight, the second Silent Hill movie is going to be released to theaters and IMAX in 3D, Silent Hill Revelation 3D.  From the looks of it, the movie appears to be a direct adaptation, both in story and in art style to Silent Hill 3.  It even shares the music from the games.

I really don’t know what more to say about it other than to show this trailer.

Silent Hill Revelation 3D is premiering midnight tonight in theatres and IMAX.

For those of you interested in watching the original movie, you can find it on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc.  If you prefer to stream it, it is being offered on Crackle and through Crackle supported devices, but I have not been able to get it to stream properly on my Xbox 360 for some reason.

Halo 4 Launch Gameplay Trailer October 24, 2012

The trailer that premiered last night during the commercials of Sons of Anarchy has been posted on the official Halo Waypoint Channel.  Showing a pretty decent amount of in-game footage and cutscenes, Halo 4’s Launch trailer probably gives us the deepest look into the game’s story that we’ve seen up to this point.  Check it out for yourselves!

Halo 4 is coming November 6th, 2012 exclusive to the Xbox 360.

Playstation 3 Firmware 4.30 Patch Notes October 24, 2012

PS3 Firmware version 4.30 has been released today.  The list of changes is quite small, and says only that version 4.30 will add the ability to view Playstation Vita Trophies on the PS3.  To view Vita trophies on your PS3 you will need to have a Playstation Vita and a supported game, as well as use the same Playstation Network account for the Vita that you use with the Playstation 3.

Firmware 4.30 is required to continue to use the Playstation Network.  You can download the Firmware by selecting the Network Update option, which is the top option in your PS3 settings menu.

Xbox SmartGlass Supported Launch Titles October 23, 2012

Xbox SmartGlass isn’t out yet, but a lot of people, myself included, have been looking forward to it since it was announced at E3 2012.  Microsoft promises that it will allow a major expansion of the Xbox 360 by offering an interactive second screen interface to a wide range of common devices.  It will tremendously increase a game’s capabilities and should add a wide range of playability to whatever games are going to make use of it.

With the release of the Fall 2012 update today, the Xbox 360 is now SmartGlass compliant.  The program has not yet been released but it will be soon and here are the initial games and apps that will be ready to make use of it.

Games:

• Ascend
• Dance Central 3
• Forza Horizon
• Halo Waypoint
• Home Run Stars
• Karaoke
• Kinect Sesame Street TV
• Prima Games

Sports:

• ESPN
• NBA Game Time
• UFC

Entertainment Apps:

• Elections 2012
• HBO GO
• MSN
• NBC News
• NOW TV
• Slacker Radio
• TODAY
• Univision

SmartGlass is coming to Android, iOS and Windows 8 devices.  Windows 8 launches October 26th, 2012.

iPad Mini Announced October 23, 2012

Well it has happened.  Apple has announced today that a new iPad will be coming to the consumer market…and its smaller.

From the looks of it, this new device is going to have all the capabilities of the full-sized iPad, only at a smaller size.  It has a 7.9″ display, making it smaller than an iPad but larger than an iPhone screen.  That makes it thinner and lighter than a current iPad.  The new iPad Mini will feature the A5 processor, full Siri support, a 1080p rear video camera and 720p front face camera.  It is also expected to be compatible with the incredibly wide range of iPhone and iPad apps.

Apple promises the iPad Mini will have 10 hours of battery life on a single charge.  The iPad Mini will make use of the Lightning Port to charge itself, which is the same adapter that shipped with the iPhone 5.  You can read all the specific details of the new device here.

iPad Mini WiFi Edition is coming November 2nd, 2012.  Cellular LTE-Equipped iPad Minis are coming Mid-November 2012.

Xbox 360 Fall 2012 Update is Live October 23, 2012

Those of you who are logging your 360s into Xbox Live starting today will probably be noticing a prompt upon login.  The highly anticipated Fall 2012 Update for the Xbox 360 has been released.  The changes are too wide to post here but I will try to post the most important changes.

The Xbox 360 dashboard has been completely revamped once more with an improved interface and better Kinect integration.  Internet Explorer 9 has been added.  Facebook and Twitter apps have been removed.  Zune Music and Zune Video have been changed to Xbox Music and Xbox Video.

The update will also bring support for Xbox Smartglass, which was originally announced at E3 2012.  Smartglass is not out yet, but it is coming to a wide array of Tablets, Smartphones and Windows PCs.

The Fall 2012 update is required for Xbox Live access.