Trash Talk VS Hate Speech

  Hate speech is a topic I've seen recurring in competitive online multiplayer gaming for a while. However, I'm seeing more people who confuse hate speech with good, ole fashioned shit talking. I'm going to attempt to write this blog without doing any research, and just give you my general opinion on the subject altogether.

  I have dealt with trash talking in multiplayer gaming long before online multiplayer was an established medium. Going back to the days of split screen multiplayer on Golden Eye: 007, I distinctly remember me, and my friends gloating over each victory we obtained. At one point I displayed my dominance as alpha male of the group by dry-humping my friend's N64. This type of behavior is what I have seen described as hate speech. None of us hated each other, and, even though we've drifted apart over the years, we remain friends to this day.

  Trash talking is something that, in my opinion, is acceptable in competitive gaming...hell competitive anything. Most people that play competitive multiplayer games aren't being paid to do so, and bragging rights are usually the main reward for victory. Also, you have to keep in mind that most of these gamers are teenage males. According to most of them my mother is into some pretty dark shit, and has been lying to me for years about her fetish for 15 to 19 year old boys. Teenagers say dumb shit. I could fill an encyclopedia with all the dumb shit I said, and did when I was a teenager.

I'm sure this is how all of Xbox Live views my mother...which is just wildly inaccurate.

  Now we get to the darker side of competitive multiplayer gaming; hate speech. Hate speech is usually lead, and/or followed by an ad hominem. An ad hominem, simply put, is an informal fallacy in debates that is intended to vilify, and/or discriminate a person in order to draw attention away from the subject at hand (ie: the gamer losing the match, session, etc). Some examples of this can be the use of racial/derogatory terms to insult a player that is assumed to be doing something undesirable. These "terms" do not necessarily define hate speech, as most are not proper words to begin with, but the context in which they're used do.

  Let's dissect the phrase "hate speech", or, more importantly, the word "hate". I'm sure most of you reading this have a pretty firm grasp of the word "hate". It's the ill contempt reserved for others. So, by that definition, hate speech is the verbal expression of ill feelings, or the desire of ill will to come  to another player. Now, while I do agree that free speech should not be hindered, it should also be noted that this type of behavior can effect to mood of the game, and break away from any desire to play it for anyone involved. So, I do praise developers that ban players using hate speech towards others.


  In short, if you aren't having fun in an online multiplayer setting stop playing; as you are not experiencing the core purpose of playing to begin with. We've all been there before. You feel frustrated because maybe you're on a losing streak, you're not getting the K/D spread you'd desire, or whatever reasons you'd have. That's completely understandable. What's not acceptable, though, is being a complete douchebag, and ruining the experience for everyone else involved. My advice is to you would be to take a break from the game. Also, start a blog. I find that helps me vent my frustrations.

Fanboys VS Fanboys

  This is something that has been plaguing my mind for quite some time. It's only been reinforced by the upcoming console generation. The Xbox One, and Playstation 4 haven't even released yet, and the plethora of fanboy armies have flocked to the forums of the interwebs, and began an all-out assault on one another. No one's gotten their hands on either console (aside from the lucky bastards that actually got into E3), and yet I'm reminded every time I visit certain gaming sites/forums/videos which one is the best. I'm not going to go into the futility of that argument. I may touch on it in another blog. Instead I want to attempt an analysis of what makes a "fanboy" a fanboy. Bear with me, folks.

  First, let's take a look at the word "fanboy". In my research I originated the word to have popped up sometime around the mid-70's when two fans of Mavel Comics created their own magazine dedicated to their comic book obsession. Conjuring a pseudonym of the word "funboy" (the early metamorphosis of the term "metrosexual") they dubbed their magazine Fanboy, the name of the fictional character featured in the magazine. Fanboy combines the words fan, short for fanatic, and boy, the description applied to an adolescent male. That seems to be a pretty fair generalization of those it applies to. Fanboys tend to be overly passionate about their favorite forms of entertainment; almost to the point of evangelicalism.

  Now, why is this? Why do some fans become frothingly angered, and defensive when their passion is questioned, or offered a different point of opinion. Well, to find out we only need to turn to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 

  For those that didn't click the link (lazy bastards), a psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow proposed the hierarchy of human needs around 1943. Designed much like the food guide pyramid, the hierarchy of human needs outlines the fundamental, psychological needs of all humans. At the bottom are the basic essentials; breathing, food, water, etc. However, the further up the pyramid goes the more complicated the needs become. The drive of passion that a "fanboy" emits can be found within the esteem column of the pyramid. Having faith in a product, or service can boost the self esteem; confidence in the medium shows confidence of self; "fanboys" do tend to respect those in their own circles; likewise, "fanboys" are respected by others of said circles. However, they do not seem to have many of the qualities of the top of the pyramid. To discuss this flaw we will need to slightly change topic.

  Cognitive dissonance is a term used to describe the discomfort felt when one holds two or more conflicting ideas, values, opinions, etc. Symptoms of cognitive dissonance are frustration, anger, anxiety, embarrassment, etc. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements. People want their expectations to meet reality, creating a sense of equilibrium. Does this sound familiar with today's topic?

  Personally, I don't care if you are, or are not a "fanboy". Do whatever makes you happy. It's not my place to stop you. However, the purpose of this blog was for me to try interpreting the subject, and give my own personal opinion on the matter. And what is my opinion?

  In my opinion, "fanboyism" is sort of self detrimental. Don't get me wrong, passion can be a good thing. It gives us that drive to do what we love, and allows us to attempt a level of prestige at them. However, passion is like a drug; it should be consumed in moderation. Passion left unchecked can cause us to just stay in the comfortable norm, and to never attempt anything outside of our own perception of what is necessary. It has the ability to close minds, and raise voices against what, in most cases, is a subjective topic anyway. That is my opinion on the subject, and why I do not associate with being a "fanboy". I have been playing video games since around the mid-90's. I got my first console, an NES, when I was 5. You could say that I'm passionate about gaming. But that's where my passion ends. I don't belittle anyone who doesn't play video games (though I do get pretty vocal about people who try to blame video games for tragedies covered in the media). 

 

  As I said before, however, do what makes you happy. If raising your banner for your favorite console (not to leave PC gamers out of the conversation), video game, comic book, movie, etc makes you feel better then do it. It's not my place to say you're any less of a person for doing so. I say live, and let live. It's just not my bag, man.

Top 10 Gaming Urban Legends

  Most of you who know me personally know that I have an affinity for anything weird, and especially for urban legends, creepypasta, etc. So, it would only seem natural to follow up my top ten favorite gaming urban legends. Now, after this I may do a weekly, or bi-weekly blog where I disect different gaming urban legends/creepypastas, and give my personal opinions on them. Here it is, folks. BS's top ten gaming urban legends.


10) Pokemon: Green- Lavender Town Syndrome 

 

  The area of Lavender Town in the Pokemon Red, Green, and Blue games has to be the creepiest thing in a children's game I've ever encountered. Lavender Town is literally a town of death. The whole town revolves around a Pokemon graveyard. Understand that in the 90's, especially in Nintendo games, death wasn't something frequently encountered in games. Especially a children's game. Hell, Nintendo went out of their way to censor blood, and death out of the SNES port of Mortal Kombat. Everything in Nintendo games was either knocked out, or fainted. So, when players reached the area known as Lavender Town they were shocked, and horrified to find out these cute, adorable creatures have an expiration date. The chilling tale of how Team Rocket MURDERED a Cubone's mother was just salt in the wound. However, Lavender Town may have a more sinister story behind it. 

No, it has nothing to do with the fucked up Pokemon fan fiction out there. 

  Now, it's no secret that Game Freak had experimented using binaural beats in the Lavender Town section's music. Binaural beats are a type of auditory illusion in which a different frequency is heard in one ear than in the other: causing a phenomenon in the brain known as"frequency following responce". This response can cause a range of psychological effects ranging from changes in mood, loss of awareness, and even physical ailments such as headaches/migraines. 

  It's hard to pinpoint exactly when the first mention of the Lavender Town Syndrome was posted, but versions of it can be found back as early as March of 2010 on 4chan's /x/ board. The rumor, in essence, states that Nintendo had to recall the beta releases of Pokemon Green because the music for the area of Lavender Town was causing peculiar side effects in children, especially those  who wore headphones while listening, which ranged from depression, nausea, headaches, anxiety to more sinister effects such as bleeding from the eyes/nose/ears, suicidal thoughts/tendencies, and even a few cases of suicide itself. This urban legend has been thrown around the internet so much that if you've never heard of it I would assume you never used the internet until now. 

  Now, this one is low on my list because as unsettling as it is this rumor is also the easiest to refute. Even in experiments specifically for testing binaural beats no one has ever attempted suicide. In a worst case scenario someone may experience mild hallucinations, headaches, and/or night terrors. Also, there has been no news coverage of any of this. Not even in American media, which pretty much demonized Pokemon from day one. 

  I've refuted this rumor before, and don't really want to get into it again. Maybe some other time. All in all, though, this one still interests me. 

9) Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask- Ben Drowned 

  On September 7th, 2010, 4chan user Jadusable posted a thread about his experiences with a haunted Majora’s Mask cartridge for the N64. He explained that after receiving a suspicious looking Majora’s Mask cartridge from an old man, he went to his dorm-room to play it and noticed it had a save file named “BEN” on it. He decided to ignore it and created a new file, but during the course of the game characters would refer to him as “BEN” at various moments. Figuring it would help the problem, Jadusable deleted the “BEN” save file, but this caused characters to not refer to his name at all. He then attempted to perform the “4th day glitch”, a hack that allows players to get an entire extra day to the game, and was ported to the Majora boss battle at the end of the game. He noticed that text was being displayed incorrectly, and the music being played was a reversed version of the game’s “Song of Healing” before being ported back to Clock Town. At Clocktown he discovered that the textures were missing, the music was distorted and the town was empty of the normal characters. 

  This particular creepypasta interests me for two reasons. The first is that the creator, Jadusable, actually started to make YouTube videos about his supposed findings in the game. Now that's dedication. The second being, despite Jadusable admitting that this is all a fictionalized story, many people still take it as fact. Just type "ben drowned cleverbot" into Google Images, and watch the madness unfold. This just goes to show the power of good story telling. 

8) Killswitch 

   Killswitch is a game that was supposedly created by Soviet gaming company Karvina Corporation in 1989. Only limited copies of the game were produced (between 5,000 to 10,000 copies) and it was very popular among Soviet gamers. The game itself was a pioneer in the survival horror genre. You had to choose between two characters, a girl or an invisible demon. The goal of the game was to navigate through an abandoned coal mine while battling demons and coal monsters. As it was hard to navigate the game with an invisible character people choose to complete the game with the girl character. Unfortunately, No one ever completed the game with the demon, because upon beating the game all trace of it would be erased from your hard drive. 

  This creepypasta is interesting because none of it has ever been officially verified. Evidently this game has deleted all trace of its existence from any official source. It can neither be confirmed, nor denied. It also raises a question. Why? Why would developers, and publishers go out of their way to delete from existence a game they've worked on. There are several theories spun out of this. The most popular being that the game was some sort of experiment by the Soviet government. 

  Supposedly, in 2005, an unopened copy of the self-deleting game surfaced on Ebay where it was promptly bought for $733,000 by a man from Japan named Yamamoto Ryuichi. Ryichi had planned to document his play through of the game on YouTube. The only video Ryuchi posted was of him staring at his computer screen and crying. I have yet to find any video of this recording by Yamamoto, or any evidence that the game was sold on Ebay. I guess that was deleted as well. 

7) Final Fantasy VIII- Squall is dead 

  Final Fantasy VIII is probably the most polarized of the series. Final Fantasy fans either love it, or hate it. There seems to be no middle ground. The game was very much ahead of it's time in graphics, narrative, gameplay, and characterization. The hero of this game is named Squall. Squall is very typical in the sense of Final Fantasy heroes (especially after VII). He's a lone wolf, rogue-like bad ass with a shady history. What's even more shady, though, is what his fate was according to popular fan speculation. That being that Squall is dead for over half of the game.

  At the end of disc one, Squall is impaled by an ice shard while fighting one of the games main bosses, Edea. Squall awakens at the beginning of disc two with no wounds at all from the battle and no one ever brings up that Squall was killed. It is also at this point when the game goes from being a fairly realistic fantasy game to being an over the top, fantasy where all realism goes out the window. I mean a good portion of the plot takes place in outer space. It is believed that Squall actually dies from his wounds that he suffers during his fight with Edea at the end of disc one. The rest of the game is simply a dream Squall is having as he passes away. 

  Now, this would explain why the game has such a surrealist tone after disc one. It would also explain the collage of images we see at the end of the game as Squall’s life flashes before his eyes. Among those images is a shot of Squall without a face which just screams "Sleep is for pussies!". 

 

Good luck with that dreaming thing you had planned on. 

6) Minecraft- Herobrine 

   Minecraft is one of my all time favorite games. This is a game that has proven something I've been preaching for just shy over a decade now. It proves that you don't need cutting edge graphics, or even convoluted mechanics to make a game great. The paramount feature that any game needs to be amazing is simply fun. Minecraft has fun by the bucket loads (a little pun for all you Minecraft fans out there). However, like with any popular game, it is not without it's mystery. This mystery comes in the form of a mysterious player known as Herobrine. 

   Herobrine first appeared in a single image detailing an encounter. It was posted on the 4chan's /v/ board (I can't find the original post for the life of me), and gained very little attention. It stated how Herobrine had appeared in someone's single-player game, littering the map with various pyramids and tunnels. It is the first media to name him as Herobrine. 

  So, who is Herobrine? There are many fan theories spanning from a hacker that was good enough at coding to hack into single-player games, to, and probably the most bizzare, that Herobrine is the ghost of Minecraft founder Markus Persson's (aka Notch) brother. Notch later shot down this theory with a tweet stating that he has no brother. Only a half brother. The only logical explanation I can find is that this is all an elaborate hoax. 

5) Super Mario Galaxy 2- Hell Valley Sky Trees 

  Super Mario Galaxy is considered to be the greatest title in the Super Mario series since Super Mario 64. It's the only Super Mario game to actually warrant a sequel (before the flame wars start Super Mario Bros is considered an entirely different series). So, what could be creepy in a Mario game (there have been a lot of creepy easter eggs in previous titles, btw)? How about a trio of mysterious creatures stalking you from atop a cliff. 

  In Shiverburn Galaxy, if you look up to your left in first person view, you'll see an odd trio of creatures looking down at you. Since they aren't actually NPC's in the game, but rather part of the the level's backdrop, they seem to follow you around wherever you go. 

  Here's where things take a sharp left turn into WTFville. A user of Go Nintendo by the username Girrrtacos hacked the game disc, and found out the name of the sky model for Shiverburn Galaxy is called  "BeyondHellValley Sky", and the model for those mysterious creatures is called "HellValleySkyTree". 

  There are many fan theories as to what these things are. The two most popular theories are that they're either a race of nomad aliens that inhabit Shiverburn Galaxy, or that they are Kodamas; spirits of Japanese folklore that are said to live in trees. Regardless of what they are, the Hell Valley Sky Trees have taken the internet by storm, and aren't leaving anytime soon. 

4) Luigi's Mansion- Luigi's Suicide 

Luigi's Mansion for the Game Cube has to be, in my opinion, the most underrated title in the Mario game series. In Luigi's mansion you play the role of the lesser known of the Mario Bros, Luigi who has just inherited a creepy mansion only to find out that his brother, Mario, has been kidnapped somewhere inside said mansion. It is up to Luigi to save his brother by sucking up ghosts in a vacuum cleaner straight up Ghost Busters style. 

  Remember earlier when I said in parenthesis that there are plenty of creepy easter eggs in the Mario universe. Well, according to rumor, if you stand near the telephone on the third floor of the mansion, and wait for lightning to strike, you will see the shadow of what appears to be Luigi hanging from his neck as if he just committed suicide. Creepy shadows in a game about a haunted mansion. Crazy talk, right? 

I know some people consider Luigi to be annoying, but isn't this taking it a bit far? 

  There are several videos on theories as to what this shadow actually is. The most common is that its a glitch that was overlooked in the testing process. Still, its circulated a lot of discussion around the internet. 

3) Earthbound- Giygas is a fetus 

  Earthbound is one of my all time favorite RPGs. I could write an entire blog about how great this game is. Also, I could write an entire blog about all the creepy, fucked up easter eggs/references in this game. For a game that is outwardly full of cutesy monsters and towns Earthbound goes to some pretty dark places. Since I don't have time to list all of my favorite rumors/urban legends I'll just name my top one. 

  As I mentioned before, Earthbound isn't known for having intimidating enemies. Hell, even the bosses look like something from a Saturday morning cartoon special. So, when reaching Giygas we expected the same. A cartoony, cutesy creature with some sort of pun from his name. Boy, we couldn't have been more wrong. 

In one fell swoop millions of childhoods were tarnished forever. 

  Now, as if that sight wasn't disturbing enough, there's an ever more unsettling theory behind Giygas' final form.  Many have speculated that the final form of Giygas is, in fact, a fetus. 

Defeating Giygas essentialy meant practicing your first abortion. 

 

    But that's just fan speculation, right? I mean, Nintendo would never allow something like that to be put in their game. Right? Well, unfortunately, no. In an interview with Earthbound creator, Shigesato Itoi, said that he based the final battle with Giygas on a traumatic experience when he accidentally walked in to the wrong movie, The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty, during a rape scene (which wasn't actually a rape scene...but a chick does get murdered). He stated that the battle with Giygas was supposed to represent a "loss of childhood innocence". So, there you have it. Anyone who has beaten Earthbound is a baby murderer. 

2) Polybius 

  You all probably saw this one coming. For those that don't know, Polybius is a supposed arcade cabinet that appeared in a handful of arcade cabinets in Portland Oregon during 1981. Polybius was said to be similar to the arcade classic Tempest with the exception of logic puzzles, and mazes. Oh, and causing teenagers to absolutely lose their fucking minds. The cabinets were pulled from arcades after a few months. Some arcade owners reported that men in black suits would frequently visit the cabinet, and collect data from it. 

  Any research on this game would be futile as literally thousands of people have been recreating the game based on it's description. Some people speculate that Polybius was part of the MKUltra project. Most generally agree that it's a hoax. A very elaborate hoax, but a hoax nonetheless. I mean, it is kinda strange that the earliest reports of a game that supposedly came out in 1981 have only surfaced in the last decade or so. 

  Still, Polybius goes down in urban legend infamy. It has all the classics of a great urban legend. Mystery, creepiness, and dead teenagers. Hell, Polybius once made an appearance in The Simpsons.

1) Super Mario Universe- Mario is the villain 

  I think I can justifiably say that Mario is the most recognized video game character of all time. Our mushroom popping plumber is loved, and revered by gamers all over the world. But, is Mario really the hero we think he is. 

  There is a theory tossed around the internet that Mario isn't a hero at all, but in fact a sociopathic lunatic with an insatiable blood lust. This urban legend is at the number one spot because it is the hardest to refute. Let us begin with Mario's humble beginnings. 

  In the arcade classic Donkey Kong you play as a plumber named Mario, originally named jump man, who is trying to save our damsel in distress, Pauline, from a mad ape hurling barrels. Or are you? According to the game's manual, Donkey Kong was actually Mario's pet ape. The reason Donkey Kong escaped in the first place was only because Mario was abusing him. That's not just some crazy theory, either. That's the actual story. In the game Donkey Kong Jr, Mario is actually the title's villain. 

  But how does that tie into his exploits in the Mushroom Kingdom? Well, according to several theories, Peach and Bowser are actually a couple. This was halfway confirmed in Super Mario Sunshine when Bowser Jr tells Princess Peach that she's his mom, and she doesn't deny it. So why does Bowser Kidnap her? Maybe he's not. Follow me on this one. There is some speculation that this is all some form of schizophrenia Mario suffers from, and he only sees the situation as he's the hero saving a princess; when in actuality he's doing more harm than good. 

  There's even a hack that sort of plays off that theory. In this hack you the game of Super Mario World has several distinct changes. For example, the intro clearly pitting Mario as the villain. There are several texts through out the game that say things like "I hate you", a message suggesting that Mario trapped the Yoshis, and this creepy message. There's also some garbled code that came with the hack that can be scripted to a picture which looks like this: 

Hey there, sugar lips! 

  So, is Mario the villain? Maybe, maybe not. I don't like to think so. I mean there was that thing with the two original Donkey Kong games, but they were based on a completely different character, and back stories were kinda glossed over back then. So, they didn't recieve that much attention 

My closing statement is this: We as gamers have created for ourselves our own culture. With the inclusion of the internet in more and more households that culture is expanding faster than any of us could imagine. With that expansion comes the introduction of ideas, and theories about our favorite past time. And with more people turning on to gaming than ever before that bubble of ideas keeps growing. There's plenty of neat stuff out there if you look hard enough.  

 

  

 

BS Top Ten Horror Survival Games

  I have a confession to make, everyone. I am completely infatuated with Naughty Dog's latest PS3 exclusive, "The Last of Us". I have been playing this game nearly nonstop (a girlfriend, and full time job kinda keeps me from it momentarily). I have talked about it with my friends to the point that they're sick of hearing about it.

  Why do I love this game? Is it the gripping story, or the empathetic characters? Well, "The Last of Us" has that in spades, but no. No, the reason I love this game so much is that it reminds me of everything I've been missing from horror survival games. The creepy atmosphere, the pants soiling suspense, the feeling that one gets when they are only seconds away from having their throat ripped out, and their corpse turned into a human fudge-pop. The so-called "horror survival" games that come out today seem more like action/adventure mixed with some horror elements.

So, in the spirit of "The Last of Us", I have put together a top ten list of my favorite horror survival games. Enjoy!

#10: Alone in the Dark

  This one is more of an honorable mention. I personally didn't really care for it. Granted I was introduced to "Alone in the Dark" at a very young age, and it couldn't really hold my attention for that long. However, "Alone in the Dark" is considered the forefather of horror survival games, and is the inspiration for the next title in my list. 

#9: Resident Evil 

  There are many titles in the "Resident Evil" series, but none will hold a place as near to my heart as the first. This was the very first survival horror game I ever played, and that's a fact I'm damn proud of. The year was 1997, I was 9 years old, Notorious BIG was gunned down in a drive-by shooting (respect), and that god-awful Batman & Robin movie was made (seriously, George Clooney, wtf). 1997 was also the year I discovered Resident Evil. 

 Now, I was a horror nut from a young age for the simple reason that my parents didn't want me around it. I wasn't into zombies that much, though. I was still pretty well entertained with vampires, and werewolves... especially werewolves. However, a friend of mine had just gotten this "sweet ass game" from his brother called "Resident Evil", and, being the tragic social train wreck I was (and pretty much still am), I jumped at the opportunity to play it at his house. 

  We played that game for probably 12 hours solid, alternating turns nearly every half hour. That game frightened the ever loving fuck-nuts off us. We played for that long because, after having our throat ripped out by zombies for about an hour, sleep was impossible. We even resorted to urinating in an empty milk jug to avoid the bathroom. The creepy atmosphere, music, and camera angles haunted our nightmares for weeks. 

#8: Silent Hill 

  Silent Hill will forever remain infamous for making me frightened whenever I'm anywhere near a baby. The creepy, surrealism of Japanese horror was something still very alien to western audiences, and when Silent Hill hit the shelves it was bound to be the subject on a lot of people's minds, and sometimes not in a very good light. Keep in mind, this is before "The Ring" introduced Japan's unique style of horror to a mainstream, western audience. Given also that the main character's daughter was missing, and possibly hurt and/or dead through out the game didn't settle the player's minds at all. Keep in mind that in 1999 the JonBenét Ramsey case was still a very big deal. 

#7: Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth 

Oh, Cthulhu. Always driving people insane, and trying to end the world. When will you ever stop? Now, it should be noted that this game is not based on the H.P. Lovecraft story "The Call of Cthulhu", but rather the table-top roleplaying game of the same name. The atmosphere, and element of imminent danger is really on the same level as H.P. Lovecraft's "weird fiction". This, topped with a sanity factor that could cause the game to actually glitch on purpose really fucked with you. Also, conditions like broken limbs, and injuries actually effects the gameplay, making this game really intense as you progress. 

6: The Blair Witch Project Volume 1: Rustin Parr 

  I know the movies are sub-par at best, but the trilogy of games that spawned from them were actually pretty good; especially "Rustin Parr". This game is a sequel to the game "Nocturnal" (also the namesake of the engine used to develop the game), and a prequel to the film itself. Take a creepy, foreboding atmosphere, mix that with some detective work through out the gameplay, and you got yourself a suspense souffle ready to pop at just the slightest jarring motion, and send you into a confused panic. This game truly deserves to be up there with the greats. 

#5: Siren 

  "Siren" is, simply put, a wonderfully balanced symphony of both horror, and narrative. The plot twists in this game make "Bioshock: Infinitie" look like a Dr. Seuss book in comparison. Take two parts "Resident Evil", and two parts "The Butterfly Effect", and you get "Siren". The fact that you can "sight jack", and see from the monster's (Shibito) perspective makes this game even more unsettling. 

#4: The Suffering 

  

  This game is placed at number 4 purely because of the monsters. What good is a horror survival game without monsters? Well, "The Suffering" has some of the most disturbing creatures I've ever seen put in a video game. Imagine if Clive Barker decided to make a video game. Also, Midway put the technology of the time to good use. For example, before in a horror survival game if a monster was ramming into a glass window it was because of programming, and wouldn't go any further than that. In "The Suffering" if that happened the creature, eventually, would break through. This released screams from me that I never before thought possible. 

#3: Dead Space 

  Remember what I said earlier about horror survival games feeling more like action/adventure? Well, Dead Space is both. While I usually fall under the impression that jump scares are cheap, and too practical, Dead Space pulls it off by just being unpredictable. Couple this with an overall vibe of hopelessness, and dread, and Dead Space makes number 3 of my list. 

#2: Amnesia: The Dark Descent 

  "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" is the very spirit of horror survival, putting strong emphasis on the survival part. Given that the only useful tool you carry through out the game is a lamp you are forced with no other option but to run, and hide from imminent danger. Also, this guy really creeps me out. 

#1: Fatal Frame 

  Now, it's really hard to sell me on a ghost story. Especially one labeled "based on a true story". However, Fatal Frame did that, and more. Now, not only is your camera the only weapon in the game, but you have to focus it in on the spirits, and let them get close before you can snap a picture, ultimately destroying them. So, not only do you have Ghosty McGhostfuck more than willing to do god-knows-what to you, but you have to wait till he gets just close enough to kill you. If that's not sadistic then I don't know what is 

*note: This list is based on games I've actually played, and odds are it will not match completely with anyone else's.

Welcome to the warm embrace of BS!

  Hello, everyone! Welcome to the world of BS! I embrace you all humbly, and hope you enjoy your stay. This is a blog I've created to funnel all my reviews, rants, and top x lists I post in forums around the internet about gaming, or nerd culture in general. After all, what is the internet good for if not getting your opinion out there (and all that jazz about connecting communities, and such).

  Now, before it's addressed, let me explain the name of this blog. Bleeping sickness is a term coined from the old arcade gaming days that described dreams, or nightmares brought on by playing too many video games. Being a short, portly kid who could tell you the exact issue of The Amazing Spider Man that featured The Punisher (#129) I've experienced bleeping sickness on many occasions. 

  So, with that out of the way, welcome! I should have my first blog up shortly.