ifirit

Seconded. Although the series is short (only 22 episodes), TEXHNOLYZE is dense and compact. Every scene counts and it wastes no time with filler. The pacing is very odd though, since it can be incredibly slow at points, but tremendously fast at others. It really keeps you on your toes and going back to verify what you just saw. The English dub isn't bad either and I particularly like the voice actor for Ohnishi. Plus, the voice outakes add a little humor to the very heavy and pensive drama. In addition to this, I've been hearing lots of good things about Zipang. It's adapted from the manga, pretty faithfully from what I understand.

Although, I've never meet, spoken to, or had any sort of contact with Israfel, I respect the hell out of him. Happy birthday, dude!

It sounds like it would be a great show, but it also sounds like the kind of event attended mostly by vapid, egotistical model wannabes. Despite that, I'd still like to hear how the show went down.

If you like Horror games, here's my suggested list: Silent Hill 2: Greatest Hits (Although already mentioned, this director's cut is just more complete.) Silent Hill 3 Resident Evil 4 (Already mentioned) The Fatal Frame series The Suffering Siren (I suggest that you get a strategy guide or walk-through as well.) Half-Life Killer 7 (Not a PS2 exclusive, but definitely a unique title.) Indigo Prophecy (Although the story breaks down about half-way through, still a great game.) Extermination (An often overlooked third-person shooter that was a little more ahead of it's time than it should have been.) I also suggest playing the Hitman series if you like stealth games.

I work at a retail store after having worked in a restuarant for a long time, so I know the feeling. While they are both very different for both good and bad reasons, they are pretty much the same in terms of customer interaction. All in all, it just comes down to whether or not you have the personality for it and who you work with. If you're the kind of person that likes to get along with people in general no matter the type, you'll thrive in any retail job. If you're more the "yes-sir"/"no-sir" kind of person, you'll get by but don't expect more than that, either pay or otherwise. People who are more impulsive tend to be targets for hostility from both customers and management, so they make good shields if you need one. If you work in a big store on the sales floor, make sure that they have staff to match. And if you think standing for eight hours sucks, try walking it, or worse running. Our store has 28 different departments and usually only seven people on a shift. Coverage gets to be a problem all the time, but being busy does help pass the time quickly. If you do decide to stay with the restuarant side, go to any place that serves alcohol, regardless of whether or not you can serve it. People automatically tip more generously if they have the option of getting a drink. Having tits will get you even more, but regardless you have fewer complaints and better money. The only problems are the hours. Some places will usually stay open late (1pm or later) and on weekends you might only get home in time to see the sun rise. Still, some places will only stay open until 11pm, which is ideal. As far as perks for working in a restuarant/sports bar, you can get cheap/free alcohol. (I don't drink at all really, so offers for free booze came pouring at me all the time.) Personally, restuarant/bar work is a lot more fun than retail, but the hours almost have you center your life around it, which wears on you after a while serving to the same drunken business men or large group of 21-year-olds.

Silent Hill Cage of Cradle Update Masahiro Ito Leaks Information Regarding International Release: A post on Silent Hill: Origins has an email response from Masahiro Ito about the English translated version of Silent Hill Cage of Cradle. In the email, Ito states that there will be a translation of the comic available in English to be published sometime between May and July of 2007. However, he stated that the release will not be published by Konami but by another major third party publisher. As it stands, the manga, which was released in Japan via digital distribution, is still not available in print form. Although Masahiro Ito did not say so, it is believed that the manga will be published in print form for the international release. No other details are available at the moment, but I'll keep you guys updated in the future. Silent Hill Cage of Cradle was written by Hiroyuki Owaku and illustrated by Masahiro Ito, two original members of Team Silent. The manga follows the story of Lisa Garland during her residence at Alchemilla Hospital. Silent Hill: Origins (part of Next-Gen-Network) Image copy of Email sent by Masahiro Ito Silent Hill Fan Projects Update: SHINSPA Nearing Completion, Website Launched: For anyone that's been keeping their eye on the DeviantArt Silent Hill scene, you're probably already aware of this project. Yet, if you are not, it not a bad one to check out, though there is not a plethera of material available online. SHINSPA, originally a fan project, is an original novel (soon to be published) that is inspired by the Silent Hill visual asthetic. It's an odd concept to consider (a novel based on a game's graphics), but beyond the novel (and to tie back to the inspiration) are plans to release a supplement called the "Art of SHINSPA" which creates a visual and audio representation of what the novel in trying to create. The novel is written by DorianWildeGray and will be a 10 chapter paperback described by the author as an experimental writing piece to see how well [he] can cram as much surreal storytelling [and] symbolic situations with as much emotional detail of things most people don't realize. (Or more accurately, "a expremental writing peice to see how well i can cram as much as sureal story telling in with symoblic situtations with as much emotiaonl detail of things most people dont even realize"). The plot itself focuses on an Unknown Journalist who details her mental breakdown while inexplicably traveling to an alternate dimension of personified manifeastations. The writing style is focused on getting into the frame of mind of the Unknown Journalist. As such, it places predominance on the unraveling of the character's emotions and sentiments over grammatical structure or correct spelling, thus the experimental part. While a skeptical point-of-view might suggest that the writing resembles a fifth-grader's English skills, DorianWildeGray has a reputation of creating some pretty great stuff; the sketches for the novel itself should be proof enough. The supplemental material, "Art of SHINSPA," is basically a complilation of the artwork used to create the basis of the story and is just plain ol' nice-to-look-at. Released so far are the sketches by the Unknown Journalist, the book covers and a two short music videos. While the music is created by Jillian Ann, she is not officially affliated with the author or the project. Currently, the project is running off a MySpace.com webpage, but will move to it's own page in the future. (10% Complete) MySpace.com - SHINSPA MySpace.com - SHINSPA - FAQ Page MySpace.com - SHINSPA - Art of SHINSPA - Main Theme DeviantArt.com - SHINSPA Gallery (Contains all material for "Art of SHINSPA") Silent Hill Skit - "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life": The Instrument of GAWD will probably kill me for posting this, but I found this little piece of sunshine on YouTube.com. This fan video is a musical parody of the Silent Hill series performed by Gomu-Gomu no Cosplay, Sakura Mochi and company, who apparently like the shell-shocking effects of the Silent Hill series and the happy-go-lucky stylings of showtunes. The video, created for the Pacific Media Expo (later reprised at other conventions, such as Anime LA, Fanime, Anime Expo, and the San Diego Comic Convention), is a montage of the four main titles in the series set to the music of Monty Python's from the film Life of Brian with some appropriate lyrical adaptation. Cheese is the name of the game here and these cosplayers provide the nachos. The video file runs for 4 minutes and 5 seconds, but the skit itself ends around the 3'14" mark.While I will admit that the video is a mix of bad lighting, off-tune notes and midi greatness, the overall charm, fun and accuracy of parody make the piece more than enjoyable. Check it out to add a little fun to your day.

Aww, man. I just wrote a poem to submit for this competition, and then I read that this month is only for short-stories. That blows. Maybe I'll write a short-story tomorrow. Maybe.

I really like the PSP's internet capability. In fact, I'm posting from my PSP right now. That's pretty sweet!

Evil is such a relative term.

I might not be the first to say it, but Kingdom Hearts II hit a $20 price drop to $29.99.

Standby - FFVIII - Desperados If your heart doesn't explode trying to keep with the beat, you don't need the exercise.

Silent Hill Weekly(?) Update: Konami Gamers' Day 2007 Event and List of Releases for 2007: Konami Digital Entertainment of America sent out their monthly newsletter on Friday, February 2, 2007 announcing that their annual Konami Gamers' Day 2007 was held at [EDIT]: club Mighty (119 Utah St.) in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California.[/EDIT] The newsletter mentioned briefly what the event was about and what games were announced so far. Although the newsletter listed all the officially announced games so far for 2007, no mention of anything relating to the Silent Hill series appeared. It wouldn't be until the following Monday when the official KDE announcement would be made that information about the series was given. In Konami's Official Press Release Statement, the corporation officially announced it's line-up for the year 2007, which included not only the list of video games to be released, but other items as well, such as toys, mobile games and other media. Under the digital media/mobile games section is listed a new title for Silent Hill to be released on mobile devices, such as cellular phones. The only information listed is that it will be an Action title created by Team Silent itself to be available sometime in 2007. While the information does suggest some interesting prospects, no real information has been given such as content, story, style of gameplay or even an exact release date, which leads me to believe something else.* The announcement made no mention of Silent Hill 0rigins nor Silent Hill 5. However, due to a lack of information about the corporation's other big series, it's possible that more information is to be released later. *Personal Note: Because of the information about the title given suggests that it has something to do with the original title in the Silent Hill series and because Konami already released a mobile game of Silent Hill in Japan last year for mobile gaming devices, I'm inclined to believe that they are just going to be releasing "Silent Hill DX" in other regions outside Japan (which was previously exclusive to the region). However, it is also possible that they could be releasing "Silent Hill Cage of Cradle" to mobile devices outside of Japan, but that probably wouldn't be listed under the games section. "Silent Hill DX" was the re-released version of the Silent Hill Play Novel (originally on the GameBoy Advance) made for mobile gaming devices. Read my earlier post for more information on "Silent Hill DX." EDIT: Because of new information regarding "Silent Hill DX" as not being a remake of the Play Novel Silent Hill, please disregard the end of my personal note. "Silent Hill DX" is a recreation of the original Silent Hill game for mobile gaming devices. Konami Digital Entertainment of America - Konami News - February 2007 (Page 1) Konami Digital Entertainment of America - Konami News - February 2007 (Page 2) Konami Digital Entertainment of America - Press Releases - Konami Announces Blockbuster 2007 Line-up (.pdf file / 62 KB) Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Imbedded Streaming / Broadband / Japanese) Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Direct Streaming / Broadband / Japanese) Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Imbedded Streaming / Dial-Up / Japanese) Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Direct Streaming / Dial-Up / Japanese)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (SNES) This film-to-game title had something like 10 different releases on separate consoles. The controls weren't very reponsive, the levels weren't cohesive, the action was cheap, the platforming was frustrating and the ending completely sucked. But, for some reason I love this title. Really great music, especially on the later levels. Rule of Rose Game magazines absolutely hated this game! Their ratings were almost as bad as those for Superman 64. Problem is that I don't agree with them one bit. Sure, the fighting was terrible, but that was just from a poorly-designed collision-detection program. Great story, awesome music by Yutaka Minobe (Panzer Dragoon, Skies of Arcadia), beautiful character designs and FMVs. I love it.

Same could be said of a lot of horror and psychological media that has occult tendencies. Personally, I think that the genre itself has reached somewhat of a plateau and needs a good innovator to push things along a bit. I like to see stories of a much more mundane nature, but not any less complicated. Too many stories aren't complicated enough. For the most part things are pretty much cut-n'-dry. Too one-sided. (Anyway, I hope Siren 2 gets released in the US.) True, but does a personal conflict necessarily need to involve ones sins? Right now, I'm intregued by the idea of potential and shared guilt. Fear of having to do something, because you fear its outcome and the fear of taking action because of what others have done or are capable of. Problem is though that these are concepts more commonly attributed to feminine perspectives than masculine ones, which have generally dominated the Silent Hill series. Also, though they probably make good stories, these ideas have trouble with translation to an interactive medium since they utilize inactive roles. Somehow, I feel that things need to go back to the whole isolation concept, where people have to deal with being alone. Have you played Siren? Twelve characters and only one survivor. ---- The Silent Hill Experience Update: The Silent Hill Experience on Sale for $9.99: Konami Digital Entertainment of America has placed the UMD on sale for $9.99 USD, half of the original $19.99 USD. While the shipping costs from Konami tend to negate any and all savings from their store, the price drop means that it may carry over to other merchants as well, if they have not already dropped the price. In fact, CompUSA.com has already dropped the price to $7.99 USD The Silent Hill Experience is an interactive media disk that runs on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming system. It includes digital comics, film director and producer interviews, composer-selected custom soundtrack, game and film trailers, and original music videos. While the main attraction is the digital comics, I tend to go back to the UMD for the original music videos and custom soundtrack. Not to mention, it has a really great user interface and animations. For $9.99, it makes those of us who paid $29.99 for it muttering under our breath. Konami Digital Entertainment of America - The Silent Hill Experience CompUSA.com - The Silent Hill Experience Silent Hill Merchandise Update: KonamiStyle of Europe Re-Opened; Merchandise Back In Stock: KonamiStyle of Europe has completed its online remodeling and is now back online. With a better overall structure set-up than the previous website (or more accurately, websites), the stores make it easier to shop and find merchandise relating to all the popular Konami brands, including Silent Hill. Which brings me to the point, as some of the limited edition merchandise exclusive to KonamiStyle of Europe are now back in stock. The official Silent Hill 3 Radio is again available at KonamiStyle of Europe, but this time at the Germany Branch rather than the former France Branch. The radio which costs 24.95 Euros (~$32.28 USD) is your standard AM/FM radio placed in a very sleek, slim metallic casing, silver color with black lettering. Like I've said before, you're not really a Silent Hill fan until you own an official Silent Hill Radio. The Scandinavian Branches of KonamiStyle of Europe have also now extended the availability of the Silent Hill 2 Statuette from the Sweden Branch to Norway and Suomi. However, in the last twenty-four hours since I've spotted the item, quantities have sold out. While it was available, the statuette retailed at 42.95 Euros (~$55.56 USD). Well, if the quantities are restocked, I'll let you guys know. KonamiStyle of Europe - Main Site KonamiStyle of Europe - Germany Branch - Silent Hill 3 Radio KonamiStyle of Europe - Suomi Branch - Silent Hill 2 Statuette

Actually, based on that post, RE5 & SH5 are the same game environment. However, I do get the point that they just seem to be following the Resident Evil series rather than blazing their own trail anymore. I'm beginning to have doubts about Team Silent's ability to really touch on the human experience further. The last string of luke-warm releases since 2004 hasn't helped to restore any of that faith back either. Without the original members involved anymore, there just seems to be something lacking in the series right now. I don't really know if it's just personal or if it's from over-exposure, but the series seems to be lacking in some intellectual sense of wanting to find something deeper amidst the random chaos and decay that exist in the game world: a philosophical curiousity, if you will, the essense of artistic desire. I'm really hoping that Team Climax can bring that back to the series with SH0. If not, then who knows if it will ever return.

Streaming audio and sequencers don't have to be directly in competition. Certain game makers use a combination of the two to impliment "dynamic music" in computer and console games. The best case-in-point that I can use is the original soundtrack for Halo. The composers, "Total Audio" (Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori), used both live sections of music with sequenced synths and sounds. From reading the linear notes from the OST, you'll notice that many of the tracks are suites, made into a structured composition from the various parts and pieces used to construct the dynamic music program. As such, the composers didn't really create the soundtrack in the game as a set piece of music, with the exception to FMV music and other programmatic sections. This was created by having numerous different sections of music composed of individual streaming audio "tracks" and the sequenced pieces. So many that a set piece of music had to be arranged post-production for the original soundtrack, which in itself is oxy-moronic. But, again, this deals more with the issue of composer ability versus sound design decisions. When creating a dynamic music program, a game developer really has to look at the degrees of freedom in a game in order to place the system into effective use. If the game is fast-paced and requires a fast number of shifts in player activity within a short amount of time, sequenced music becomes a better mode of adapting the music programming, as the individual sections of the music can be much more easily controlled by the engine with less invasiveness. But in games that can be long and steady in pace, because they require greater levels of concentration and attention, a streaming audio approach would be better suited for the game, like the Hitman series which impliments a streaming audio design. Still, no game falls under a single catagory of gameplay anymore and would be difficult to impliment a single design for the entire game, which many developers tend to do anyway, since it keeps engine sizes small. However, this can often range from having an okay music system with minor bumps and hiccups to just being awful sound design. (We all know at least one game like that.) Anyway, as games become more interactive, sound design systems need to be able to keep up and using a hybrid of the streaming audio and sequenced music designs will likely produce better results. Music becomes more adaptive to the gamers interactions and more creative music designs can arise, especially for the music game genre. Still another factor that should be considered is the genre of the music itself. For the most part, the majority of the music under discussion here is orchestral and orchestral-hybrids. For this type of genre, greater care has to be taken into the music programming because of the familiarity of the material. Yet, there are other genres that can get away with using purely sequenced music sound designs because of the uncommonality of their usage in games. Obiviously, electronica and its subgenres can use entirely sequenced sound designs, because of the nature of the genre itself. Games like Syphon Filter and the Splinter Cell series have a more synthetic edge than other games and it works to great effect because of the sequencing. Ambient music is another genre in which dynamic music programs can be purely sequenced music because much of the atmosphere isn't really music, but sound recreation. The original Silent Hill uses completely sequenced music to develop the ambience in a dynamic music system to create an atmosphere of increasing psychological terror. As such, the way game developers write music is going to change for games that use a dynamic sound design system. Tempo shifts and time signature changes will be handled as individual sections of music. Key changes can be made more organic in the context of an active environment. The implimentation of dynamic music system can be beneficial, but only when proper design choices are made to do so. Ultimately, it comes down to the designer's decision as to which system works better for a game, as this is a matter of personal opinion. But, there are some decisions that are more appropriate than others. Personally, I'd like to see more innovation in sound design than the tradition orchestral set-ups in games.

If anyone hasn't checked out Avenged Sevenfold's last album City of Evil, I highly recommend it. Although, there is no definitive storyline to follow, the entire album as a whole unfolds like an epic. Subsequently, I learned about it by reading Akira Yamaoka's blog.

Ahh, I see you've uncovered the infamous Trip Hop version of Theme of Laura. Yet, it seems that this is completely new to you, so I'll offer a little explanation, though I've only got a partial origins of this version of the song. Also, I'll have to work backwards, as I wasn't there in the beginning. The video above is an official trailer for Silent Hill 2, which was used to promote the game in Europe before it's release on November 23, 2001. It was first shown at a press release at the French Juillet Event by Konami Computer Entertainment of Europe (KCEE), now KDEE. It was a special treat for the European market to make up for the delayed release of the sequel. The trailer was officially released on the second disc of the PAL version (Catalogue No.: SLES 50382), Silent Hill 2 Special Version. The music from the trailer was available (in .mp3 format) from Nursery Cryme (Dead Link) in two parts, labeled as "Theme of Laura (Trip Hop Remix Part 1)" and "Theme of Laura (Trip Hop Remix Part 2)." The mp3 in the first part originally did not contain the lyrics from the trailer. The trailer itself was later released by Letter From Silent Heaven on their rarities page, though copies of the actual video file did float around the forums beforehand, ripped from the second disc DVD. For some reason, the video was not included in the Art of Silent Hill DVD, suggesting that the trailer was not created/owned by Konami, as was the "Making of" documentary. The video was commissioned by Konami from Mook Productions, but here's where it gets a little hard to trace. I can't determine whether the Mook Productions listed as the makers of the trailer are the same trio (formerly quartet) of professional slap-stick artists, The Mook Brothers. Looking into the background of the trio, I found that the Mook Brothers ("mook" being slang for moron) had formed Mook Productions back in 2001, when it's initial members Bobby Timothy and Peter Timothy joined with Rob Pedini and Truman Clark McCasland. The company was developed to produce shorts and other video recordings for the group and to take on commissions. So, the timing seems right, but I have doubts because of the difference in artistic consistency between the trailer and the group's slapstick origins. As it is, there is no record of this group though having made the trailer. Also, because of the doubt I have about the creation of the trailer, I also have doubts that the music was remixed by Akira Yamaoka. Before the release of Silent Hill 2 in Europe, Konami of Europe commissioned (or maybe received) remixes from other prevolent musicians in the music industry. The artist that comes to mind is Skeewif who created the music for the Caramel Mix video. (If your site has this song attributed to Akira Yamaoka, please edit your text.) As such, I cannot verify currently whether or not this was remixed by Akira Yamaoka. Anyway, if you'd like to download either the trailer or it's music you can do so from your friendly neighborhood Silent Hill Media. Silent Hill Media - Silent Hill 2 Movies & Trailers (.wmv format / 13.9MB) Silent Hill Media - Silent Hill 2 Music (.mp3 format / 6.39MB) It's likely that the interviews given by Akira Yamaoka for The Silent Hill Experience are the same interviews that appear on the third disc of the DVD set, but the rest of the media on both The Silent Hill Experience and the Silent Hill Premium Edition are different from each other. The Silent Hill Experience contains media such as interactive comics, selected music, music videos and game trailers. The extra material from Silent Hill contains an interactive map, film and game comparions, and game backgrounds. Likely, the only possible shared material from either are the interviews and trailers, but there were multiple trailers and interviews released in Japan and North America. In short, The Silent Hill Experience is NOT the Silent Hill Premium Edition / Ultimate Box Set

I usually lurk in the Silent Hill Forum mostly to hear about what's new or what cool project someone is cooking up next. I used to look up Silent Hill Resort for info on the film before it's release, and also to check out the podcast, but recently they've become a little too side-tracked by other non-SH related news to stay relevent. Recently, I've been trying to build up a relationship with Silent Hill: Origins to make the information here a little more accessible to the public, but there are a number of kinks that I've still got to work out. Silent Hill Heaven's Forums had quite a long dry spell, especially with the main site closing and all, but recently with the revived interest in the series and it's subsequent publications, I'm finding myself reading more and more from that site.

Finally, I've got some official news to post. Silent Hill 2 Update: Silent Hill 2: The Novel: Konami has just released the novelization of the second main game in the Silent Hill series. This adaptation of the second game's story was released on November 22, 2006 on Konami's online store. Silent Hill 2, as a novel, is written by Sadamu Yamashita and is illustrated by Masahiro Ito (Warning: Site Contains Non-Safe Work Material). Similar to the first book, the novel is printed in paperback with a glossy sleeve covering the book. It is written in the same Japanese format as the first book (sentences written vertically from top to bottom, running from right to left). The novel also contains CG images interlaced within the novel to accompany the writing at a certain point in the story, though the majority of the novel is still text. And, just like the first novel, this one contains new images reinterpreting the monsters from Silent Hill 2 by Masahiro Ito. Unfortunately, Konami has yet to post a preview of the novel on the order page, so it is yet unknown what the images are and of which monsters. (I suspect though that there will just be the classics: The Red Pyramid Thing & Mannequins, Lying Figure, Abstract Daddy, Marya, et al.) This second novelization comes as quite a surprise considering that the film only covers the story of the first game. Likely, this was one of the number of "projects" that Konami had been working on, as hinted by William Oertel. One has to now wonder if there will be a third novelization in the series. However, I really don't think there will be a novelization through or beyond the fourth game, since it is still a part of the current season.* The novel serves to promote the release of the Premium Edition of Silent Hill, released on the same day. (See below for details.) The novel retails at 933 yen (980 yen with sales tax, ~9 USD) and has the ISBN (catalogue number): 4-86155-832-8. If Konami does not place a preview of this novelization on their site, I will provide one here when my copy arrives. *Footnote: Team Silent has broken up the series into seasons, where the first season of the series included influences from the original creators and that the second (current) season is noted by the influence of new members and heads-of-staff. Each season will reflect the style and direction of the current members of staff. Personal feelings aside, the current season has a very different presentation than the first. Konami Digital Entertainment - Items of Silent Hill 2 (Main Page) Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミノベルス「サイレントヒル」 (Order Page) EDIT: I've received my copy of the novel yesterday and it is very similar to the first novel, except that this one is dedicated to Mary (where the first was dedicated to Cheryl). The novel, however, only contains four full page illustrations by Masahiro Ito, where as the first contained eight. The drawings are in color and feature the Red Pyramid Thing Duo (on a two page spread) and two images of Marya. I'll try to have a preview available by tomorrow, including the full page illustrations. Silent Hill Film Update: Silent Hill Premium Edition Released; Silent Hill Ultimate Box Edition Release Revised: As previously reported, the Silent Hill Premium Edition was release in Japanese retail stores on November 22, 2006 by Shochiku Home Video. The set, which was originally stated to be a 2-disc set, is actually a 3-disc set. The set contains the feature film (on the first disc), the "making of" documentary Path of Darkness (on the second disc), the game-to-film comparison created by the development team at Konami (on the third disc) and additional cast and crew commentaries and interviews (on the second and third discs). The DVD also includes a large number of additions that are not available to the North American (Region 1) release, which include film trailers, game trailers (SH0, TSHE, novels, etc.), TV spots and English & Japanese subtitles. The first disc included in the Premium Edition of Silent Hill has the main feature with 5.1 Surround Sound in either English or Japanese dub. The subtitles can be displayed in either English or Japanese. The credits montage at the end of the film features the Japanese version only (being that it uses the song "Lovin' You" performed by Anna Tsuchiya [written by Anna Tsuchiya, Joey Carbone, Anthony Mazza and Ron Harris] instead of "You're Not Here" performed by Mary Elizabeth Mc Glynn [written by Akira Yamaoka, Joe Romersa and Hiroyuki Owaku]). Additionally, more trailers were added (for other films) than was featured on the original (regular) DVD version. The second disc contains "Path of Darkness: Making of Silent Hill," broken up into it's individual chapters: Origins, Casting, Set-Design, Stars and Stunts, Creatures Unleased, and Creature Choreography. Like the regular edition, it also features a "Play All" feature for the documentary. Also, there is a "Behind the Scenes" interview with Radha Mitchell, which runs at 14 minutes. The last features on the second disc are the promotional material for the film, which includes the North American theatrical trailer, 2 North American TV spots, 3 Japanese TV spots and 4 Japanese theatrical trailers. The third disc* contains the game-to-film featurette called "The Truth of Silent Hill." This includes a number of game materials provided by Konami. The first is an interactive town map of Silent Hill. The next features are a backstory of the original Silent Hill game, broken down into sub-sections: Story (text only; Japanese), Characters (text only; Japanese), Opening Movie and Alternate Opening Movie, and Ending Movie. There is also a backstory available for Silent Hill 2, also broken down into sub-sections: Story (text only; Japanese), Characters (text only; Japanese), and Opening Movie. Next, is the direct game-to-film comparison, which is separated into sections: Scene Comparison, Character Comparison, and Creature Comparison. The Scene Comparision compares 15 scenes from the film with 15 scenes from the games. The Characters section compares 10 characters from the game with the film cast. And, the Creature Comparison looks at 6 different monsters from the games to the film's menagerie. The disc also contains interviews with Akira Yamaoka about both the game and the film (Japanese dialogue only, no subtitles available). The disc rounds itself out with promotional material for other related products: trailers for Silent Hill 0rigins, The Silent Hill Experience, Silent Hill 3 and the Silent Hill novels. In addition to the three disc set, with the limited production of the first printing of the DVD set, you'll get a custom case to fit all three discs and a booklet entitled "Silent Hill - Guide to Chaotic Town." *Footnote: Some users have had problems with the first printing on the third disc, citing both skipping issues and and video errors. No idication was given as to whether this was a problem with the Region 2 encoding or player decoding. The Ultimate Box Edition of Silent Hill is set to release on December 13, 2006 in Japanese retail stores. The Ultimate Box Edition will include all the features of the Premium Edition with the addition of a special Blu-Ray disc which will contain only the contents of the first two discs. The custom case and booklet "Silent Hill - Guide to Chaotic Town" will be available with the limited printing of this set. Play-Asia - Movies - Silent Hill Premium Edition CD Japan - Movies - Silent Hill Premium Edition YesAsia.com - Movies - Silent Hill Premium Edition (3 Discs Edition) (Japan Version) Other Japanese online retailers and importers are available, but these are the most prominent sites in English. Silent Hill Premium Edition Contents: Disc One - Main Feature (125 minutes) - End Credits (with alternate music) - Subtitles - Previews (Other Films) Disc Two - "Path of Darkness: Making Of Silent Hill" Documentary (59 mintues) ++++ Origins ++++ Casting Silent Hill ++++ Set-Design ++++ Stars and Stunts ++++ Creatures Unleased ++++ Creature Choreography - "Behind the Scenes" interview with Radha Mitchell (14 minutes) - Promotional Material ++++ North American Theatrical Trailer ++++ North American TV Spots (2) ++++ Japanese Theatrical Trailers (4) ++++ Japanese TV Spots (3) Disc Three "The Truth of Silent Hill" - Silent Hill Town Map - Original Game ++++ Silent Hill --------- Story (Text Only; Japanese) --------- Characters (Text Only; Japanese) --------- Opening Movie --------- Alternate Opening Movie --------- Ending Movie ++++ Silent Hill 2 --------- Story (Text Only; Japanese) --------- Characters (Text Only; Japanese) --------- Opening Movie - Game Vs. Movie ++++ Scene Comparison ++++ Character Comparison ++++ Creature Comparison - Akira Yamaoka Interview ++++ About the Game (Japanese; No Subtitles) ++++ About the Movie (Japanese; No Subtitles) - Related Products ++++ Trailer for Silent Hill 0rigins ++++ Trailer for The Silent Hill Experience ++++ Trailer for Silent Hill Novels ++++ Trailer for Silent Hill 3 (PS2) Subtitles: English, Japanese (Optional) Picture Format: 2.40:1 Anamorphic NTSC Sound: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Case & Extras (First Printing ONLY): Amaray (Keep) case with plastic slipcase Booklet - "Silent Hill - Guide to Chaotic Town" Personal Note: I'm interested in the trailer for the Silent Hill novels, because I'm interested in seeing if a novel for Silent Hill 3 will be coming out. If so, I wonder which date it will be: December 13th or January 22. The first date corresponses to the release of the Ultimate Box set, the last of the releases for the film, but the second date could be more interesting, since it is both the exact two month period between the previous novel releases, but also the same day as another major release.

If you're not much into those, maybe I'll have to pull out some big guns.Silent Hill Weekly Update: Silent Hill the Fxxxen Movie: Although the origins this video have never been clearly known, this video has gained a sort of popularity from the YouTube crowd. There's not much to explain about the film, as the title can give you a clue as to the film's dialogue. Essentially, it tells the story of a psuedo-James (hence forth refered to as Fxxxen James) as he wanders around his house, just so happened to be filled with monsters and Silent Hill style puzzles. One gains the impression that this was conceptualized as a response to if a more proactive person was cast as James (particularly a college student with a very foul mouth). So, for the most part every other word spoken is "fxxx" (with the rest of the dialogue rounded out with "shxx"). The concept is essentially so simple that it works. But, when you include the mannerisms and expressions of Fxxxen James, it brings the idea to greater life. Add in some decent camera work and good music, and you've got yourself the makings of a classic. You'll have to forgive the number of amateurish touches in the first film (camera operators and actors laughing, added extras on set, unsteady camera shifts and ad lib remarks). But, it's important to have a background grasp on the first film to really appreciate the second and to understand where it comes from a little better. Warning: Links Contain Strong Language (Not Work Appropriate) YouTube.com - Silent Hill the Fxxxen Movie Silent Hill: The Fxxxen Movie [MegaUpload Mirror] (.mpg file / 41.2 MB) Silent Hill the Fxxxen Movie 2: As was with the first film, this sequel has unknown origins, but was also placed onto YouTube by the same user, suggesting either that their friend was either well caught-up on the creators, or was directly connected to them. Either way, we get to see a much better film. This film picks right up where the last one left off as Fxxxen James wakes up trying to recall the last few moments on consciousness. After recalling the previous events, he makes his way through the house to find a way out. Everything about the original has been well polished and made much cleaner and more refined. The continued use of profanity now serves a greater role in the story and is used toward more logical and thus funnier results. The lighting and camera direction is better adjusted to resemble the games. There is greater variation in the flow and pace of the film, making all the more compelling to watch. Like their counterparts, the Fxxxen Movie 2 is a much improved successor. Enjoy. Warning: Links Contain Strong Language (Not Work Appropriate) YouTube.com - Silent Hill the Fxxxen Movie 2 Silent Hill the Fxxxen Movie 2 [MegaUpload Mirror] (.mpg file / 52.24 MB) Silent Hill Rumor Control: Silent Hill 5 Test #3???: In a previous post, I had found a video showing what was supposed to be test footage from the as yet unannounced Silent Hill 5. I had claimed that this footage was just a rumor and probably not connected to anything made by Team Silent. However, I have now come across another video posted by the same user claiming that this is new footage from the game. While the video itself does contain what looks to be more computer animated imagery, I'm still somewhat unconvinced that this is connected to the same project as SH5. However, with this turn of events, I feel inclined to at least let you guys be aware that there is a rumor floating around. William Oertel has confirmed that Team Silent is working on a new project, though declined to suggest that it was part of the Silent Hill series, so if this is real and the project is nearing completion, then it could be very likely that we hear about it at Konami's Gamer's Day 2007 in San Fransico, California. As I'm sure you're wondering, where is SH5_Test2? Well, I'm currently looking into it, but I feel that if it was posted, it was also removed by the same user. Hopefully, if it was posted, I can track down a copy. SH5_Test3 [MegaUpload Mirror] (.mpg file / 2.28 MB)

This incident occurred just up the street from where I work, in Lexington, KY. And, to say the least, the incident was more than likely one of the many college students trying to ruffle some feathers for a brief moment of superiority. Incidents of this nature have been increasing this year as earlier today, a rapist who escaped police custody this morning in his underwear was recaptured in the same area as this shooting. Also, John O'Hurley appeared at a bookstore in the same area to sign his new book. Nick Griffin is also performing tonight at a comedy club across the street. This place is a hellhole.

Silent Hill Weekly Update: Jimmy Kimmel Live Silent Hill Parody: After the first week release of Silent Hill in theaters in the US, the film reached the No. 1 spot on the Box Office list, promting Jimmy Kimmel's show to do a parody. (This is the only mainstream reference to Silent Hill in parody form, to my knowledge.) Although it's a bit on the bland side, it does explain a lot weird references on some Silent Hill forums. Jimmy Kimmel Live - Silent Hill Parody Silent Hill Parody - Silent Hill 2?: It's not a unusual thing for popular series to see parodies made on the internet. As such, here's an interesting take on the film by Shadow Circus, a group of marionette street-performers. Their take looks at a possible Silent Hill sequel. In this possible sequel, Rose DeSilva has lost Sharon in the deserted town of Silent Hill, AGAIN! Oh, what terrors could possibly in the depths of the fog this time? Evil dogs? Puppet doctors? Red Pyramid menage-troi? Watch and find out! The Shadow Circus - Silent Hill 2: Exclusive First Look!

A rescue from the heart of darkness. Silent Hill Fan Projects Update: Silent Hill Oneiro Mini-series Completed: Unfortunately, not much has been happening in the official Silent Hill scene, so I'm taking this time to highlight a recently completed fan project that I found to be very well made. So, we turn our focus onto Silent Hill Oniero, a live-action mini-series creating an original story around the Silent Hill videogames. The project originated on MySpace as part of the director's (Tim Connery) blog, but later moved to YouTube, due to file size issues. The team has been releasing the episodes one at a time over the course of this year. What makes the mini-series worth mentioning is that unlike many live-action fan films, which tend to be very amatuer, this project has a similance of professionalism. Everything is taken into consideration from set locations and props, from the narrative and flow, to the cinematography and filming perspective. The level of attention to detail is so prevelent in the episodes that it is often overlooked due to its non-invasiveness. This alone is a sign of a creative mind. The mini-series itself is character-driven as are most of the games, with this chapter focusing on our protagonist, Edward Bauer. Edward was heading to Silent Hill in order to join a therapy support group, but wakes up in the Paleville area on the shores of Lake Toluca. However, after a chance meeting with Trevor Brachman, things begin to take the traditional (and somewhat cliche') turn for the worst as strange things start to appear. The word oneiro itself is derived from greek and means "dream." The title is fitting for this mini-series as the character has an inherent fear of nightmares and will often avoid sleeping for extended periods of time or sometimes altogether just to avoid dreaming. (Additional movies, books and music use the word oneiro in their titles, but I've found no particular significance with this project.) As for characters, our protagonist, Edward, is your average sloppy-joe, who doesn't really mind being by himself, which could account for his lack of social graces. He doesn't usually raise objections and generally tends to go-with-the-flow of things. As such, after waking up in Silent Hill without reason or purpose, rather than searching for signs of life or a way out, he takes a smoke break. As such, you really won't see him raising too many eyebrows at the occasional dead body or out-of-place object. Yet, despite of this, Edward's saving grace is that he manages to maintain his focus on the bigger picture at hand. He questions the reasons for the current state of things and helps to focus the audience's attention on what's important in the midst of his series of mundane tasks and actions. One really has to appreciate the effort that went into creating the narrative of this story, because not only does it remain faithful to the general writing style of the game series, but it also incorporates many of the major characteristics of the franchise. What I found great were the incorporations of the games' HUI into the live-action elements, giving it a familiar feel and allowing a progression in the narrative without relying on vocal dialogue. I'm most particularly pleased with the use of an actual loop in the story, which so many fan projects tend to overlook. Plus, there's even a toilet reference. Definitely check this one out. Silent Hill Oneiro: / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary / Director's Commentary (Good Ending) (Normal Ending) (Bad Ending)I managed to rip and convert the flash files into .mpg format. Unfortunately, in order to maintain the visual clarity and screen size,the files required a large amount of memory, so expect large files and long download times. If you can find, create or help me make reduced-sized files, please do so. Silent Hill Oneiro - Trailer + Parts 1-3 + Puzzle [MegaUpload Mirror] (.zip file / .mpg format / 227 MB) Silent Hill Oneiro - Parts 4 - 6 [MegaUpload Mirror] (.zip file / .mpg format / 219 MB) Silent Hill Oneiro - Endings 1-3 [MegaUpload Mirror] (.zip file / .mpg format / 49.3 MB) Crew and Cast: Directed by Tim Connery Written by Tim Connery & Raleigh Moon Music by Akira Yamaoka; Encomiast Edward Bauer............. Raleigh Moon Trevor Brachman......... Sean Hulburt Steven....................... Tim Connery The Second Foci......... Ian Scheideberg The Third Foci............. Tina Heer Basement Monster...... Drew Bissell Dead Body In Park...... Chris Metcalf

Silent Hill 1 Update: "Making of Silent Hill" Featurette Rediscovered and Translated: While searching around the net, I came across an SH website called Night's Hell Hole, a freesite based on lots of media for Silent Hill, most of which is obtained personally by the webmaster. While searching through the site, I found some rather curious information on a video showing an interview with director Keiichiro Toyama about the first Silent Hill game. While the video turned out to be a commercial promoting the game in Japan prior to it's release in 1999, it contains some behind the scenes footage, featuring Takayoshi Sato and Masahiro Ito, showing how the characters were designed for the game. The interview itself is fairly dated, as it refers to groundbreaking techniques and effects that are not only in common practice these days, but have been surpassed. Still, you have to appreciate the amount of thought that went into the design of the game and how the creators wanted to create a truly open-world style for a horror game. This becomes increasingly important if one then considers that Keiichiro Toyama went on to create Siren (Forbidden Siren) and Siren 2 (Forbidden Siren 2), which are truly open-world horror games. In addition, seeing Takayoshi Sato explain in his own words what is important in character design helps in understanding how his style is so unique and interesting. So, for all intents and purposes, this is a "making of" documentary, which means that every game in the series has now had a "Making Of..." film to accompany the game. In spite of this product that just seemingly comes out of nowhere, one has to show one's appreciation for all the hard work that actually went into translating the feature into English as is documented on the site and in the thread where this project began. The process to get the feature to appear with English subtitles wasn't directly from the original Japanese. In fact, the dialogue was originally transcribed and translated into Chinese and then translated into English. Although this may raise doubts about the accuracy of the translation, it remains very clear and coherent. However, if you feel that the translation is lacking in any way, please feel free to inform the translators on the Memory of Alessa forums. The Silent Hill feature is currently available off of Night's Hell Hole, though the file is actually located on FileFront's servers. However, it's best that if you cannot read any of the subtitles, you use the directed site as a reference. The video is encoded in DivX and requires that you have a DivX player or DivX codec for your video player. I'm also providing a link to the YouTube page for those who are unable (or too lazy) to install a DivX program. (Please note that the quality of the YouTube video is much lower than the DivX file, so you may have some trouble reading the subtitles.) Night's Hell Hole - Translated Media FileFront - Silent Hill Feature (.divx file / 10.5 MB) Memory of Alessa - SH1 - Feature! (Translation Discussion Thread) -------- The Silent Hill Experience Update: Creating the Experience - The Silent Hill Experience "Making Of" Featurette: Well, it seems that we have another Silent Hill documentary film to add to the collection, this time for The Silent Hill Experience. This video was originally released as an extra disc featured with the DVD release of Silent Hill on August 22, 2006 from Best Buy retailers in the US. (Alternatively, Circuit City stores offered a Silent Hill comic with their purchases of the DVD, which turned out to be just IDW's Silent Hill: Among the Damned. Not the best offer, but the better of the comics released.) The special disc, which retailed at $19.99, appeared in only participating Best Buy stores and was marked on the front with a special yellow sticker. The disc itself was wrapped in a paper and cellophane envelope placed inside the film's DVD case. In addition to containing the featurette "Creating the Experience," the disc also contained two trailers for The Silent Hill Experience and the first official trailer for Silent Hill 0rigins. The DVD featurette on the Silent Hill Experience basically explains what the UMD disc is and why it was brought to the PSP UMD format as opposed to DVD format. (Ironic.) Anyway, it turns out that the creators for the Silent Hill Experience were no other than William Oertel and his team. [cue organ music] He explains in greater detail how the experience of the Silent Hill franchise is important and how it allows North American audiences to view material that would have otherwise been lost. He also explains a little bit more behind the original comic featured on the UMD, "The Hunger." For those who have not played the UMD, "The Hunger" is an original comic created by Oertel's team as a precursor to the other comics and to reveal a little more about the origins of Silent Hill. (Odd, that sounds really familiar...) In the featurette, William Oertel explains the art design behind the comic and how it changes from the beginning to end. This featurette really makes you want to pick up the UMD to see what exactly is on the disc (or just to watch it over again). Check it out if you haven't already. If you can still find the special disc on sale at your local Best Buy store, I suggest that you get it before it costs $100+ on ebay. If not, you can view "Creating the Experience" from your friendly-neighborhood Silent Hill Media. (Please note that bandwidth has been exceeded for the month, but will be restored at the beginning of October, except for those who joined the Silent Hill Media Club, who have unlimited access to all the files and more.) However, I'm made the video available by mirroring it on MegaUpload. Silent Hill Media - The Silent Hill Experience Page (.wmv file / 24.4 MB) Creating the Experience [MegaUpload Mirror] (.wmv file / 24.4 MB) -------- Silent Hill Comics Update: Silent Hill Cage of Cradle Preview Images Available: Recently, Konami Digital Entertainment featured the digital comic, Silent Hill Cage of Cradle, on their weekly promotional website. The site featured three selected pages from the comic featured in black and white. Although, Masahiro Ito has not said much about it in English, there seems to be quite a bit of discussion on it in Japanese on his BBS channel. All that he has revealed is that it is written by Hiroyuki Owaku and will feature Lisa Garland, Alessa Gillespie, Dahlia Gillespie and a fourth, male character. From the images I obtained, it appears that the male character is featured on the pages. Unfortunately, due to an unexpected system crash at home, I've only got the second page available for viewing. Also, Konami has since taken down the images and replaced them with this week's flavor, so unless you've also downloaded the pages, this is the best I can offer. Yet, there is some good news, a few japanese sites have managed to get some other exclusive images from the digital comic. Check out the sites below to get a sample. Konami Digital Entertainment - Converting Games to Manga to Distribute on Mobile Phones (Japanese Page) Konami Digital Entertainment - Converting Games to Manga to Distribute on Mobile Phones (English Page) Konami Digital Entertainment - Converting Games to Manga to Distribute on Mobile Phones (Streaming Video Announcement / Japanese) GPara.com - 『ランブルローズ』『幻想水滸伝』がケータイ漫画に！ / Image Famitsu.com - ゲーム、映画に続いて『サイレントヒル』が漫画化！ (Contains 4 new images) Cage of Cradle - Preview Page 02 (ifirit's Mirror) I did manage to find a translation for the images featured on the weekly promotional page for the comic on Silent Hill Heaven's Forums, provided by "Burning Man." EDIT: Konami Digital Entertainment Mobile has released an official preview of the Silent Hill Digital Manga/Comic on their main page. The pages shown in this preview differ from the initial weekly promotion that they listed before. These pages will likely not be previewed for very long so grab them while you can. Konami Digital Entertainment Mobile - Silent Hill Cage of Cradle Preview IDW's Angela In Ashes Character Design Leaked: In addition to finding images for Silent Hill's Cage of Cradle, I've also obtained the exclusive character designs for IDW's Angela In Ashes, announced for next year. For those who may not be aware, Angela In Ashes is a comic that will feature Angela Orosco's version of the story from Silent Hill 2. For many fans, this is stepping into dangerous territory, as Silent Hill 2 is the most covetted story of the series and IDW hasn't exactly shown that they can handle the material from the games well. In spite of that, IDW still holds the licencing agreement for the US rights to the graphical novels, so they can do whatever they want, especially considering that none of the core members of Team Silent are even supervising the project. (Man, I wish Konami and ComX would get their Silent Hill Comic deal finalized and published.) Anyway, according to a member of the Silent Hill Heaven's forums, Oliver Dark, he/she managed to obtain an image from the artist of the character design for Angela. Although originally he/she posted some of the artist's original works, claiming that they were for Angela In Ashes, and after the artist agreed to allow the image to stay online, we were treated to the exclusive character design. Enjoy. Silent Hill Heaven Forums - "Angela In Ashes" new comic from IDW / Post to Image Angela Character Design (ifirit's Mirror) -------- In other news, I have joined the team at Silent Hill: Origins and will be posting information about the Silent Hill series there in the future. Although, I will not be abandoning this thread, this move does benefit the community, because it now allows me to sort and filter topics by type. This, in turn, benefits you guys because, you'll now be able to easily search for posted information about the series that has been previously found here. Over the next few weeks, I will be logging in all the information and links I've posted over the years (has it been years already?) on Furin's website. I'll also be providing Silent Hill: Origins with material that has since been pulled from other sites and will archive some of the rarest information around. I guess William Oertel was right, "it's never been a better time to be a Silent Hill fan."