Splatter...rock?

It's late at night, everyone has gone to bed and you're alone in your room with the lights off and a pair of headphones. Laying back on your cheeto stained chair you start up your console and enter a macabre world of gaming delights.

Well, that's how it is supposed to get done. But the latest trailer for Splatterhouse makes me want to mosh more than wet myself. The first games were created back in the early 90's for the 16-bit generation, but their sense of mood was nothing to laugh at. Music that bled pain into your ears, images of your girlfriend being sucked into hell, and a teddy bear that, well, let's just say I burned all the teddy bears in house after I played through the game.

How to create an eerie atmosphere in 16-bits or less Splatterhouse 3:

How to create a mosh pit in the new Splatterhouse 4:



End result - what happened to my Splatterhouse?! After watching the new trailer I don't feel like turning off the lights and huddling in the corner, I feel like cranking up the music and jumping around!

The game developers, Bottlerocket Entertainment, have a lot of work ahead of them. Their repertoire consists of a so-so teen fighting game and a poorly received translation of a cartoon series. Now they have to create a house that, well, should splatter blood and pain in all directions. (Think of holding a huge packet of ketchup in your hands, were the ketchup represents blood, and squeezing it will all your might - kind of like that)

So as much as I want to welcome a new Splatterhouse game, I'm gearing myself up for disappointment. If the latest Silent Hill and Resident Evil have shown us the future, it's that horror games have either gone bland with repetition or been replaced with buckets filled with testosterone being dumped over player a-la winning the game coach style. Mmmmm, testosterone, the thirst quencher!