SCANNER
PLAYSTATION Silent Hill (Konami) £39.99
Suffer little children: Silent Hill
Forget the wooden shack in the forest or the asylum for the criminally insane, the scariest place on earth is the tourist resort. Just ask anyone who has spent a week in Blackpool. And Konami have created the scariest of scary resorts in Silent Hill. Wonderwest World in Ayr doesn't get a look in.
Anyone who has played Resident Evil will immediately feel at home with Silent Hill. The three-dimensional, camera-to-camera graphics and key- collecting, weapon-wielding exploration is almost identical and, without Resident Evil, it is hard to imagine Silent Hill ever existing. However, in almost every area Silent Hill proves the superior of the two.
For starters, the story is infinitely better. The game starts with the main character, Harry Mason, gaining consciousness after a car crash, only to see his daughter Cheryl disappear into the mist of Silent Hill. As he tries to retrieve his errant offspring, he becomes involved in a bizarre and unsettling story involving occult practices, freakish monsters and a town which slides between reality and some He/lraiser dark world.
The majority of the game's puzzles are fiendishly cryptic, provoking much chin-stroking and floor-pacing before they are solved. Thankfully, every solution brings its own reward and progress is very satisfying. The multitude of cut-away scenes alternate between being horrific, startling, poignant and downright creepy, giving the game a depth it might otherwise miss. Be warned. This is definitely not a game for the faint hearted. If Rosemary’s Baby or Evil Dead had you reaching for the cushion, Silent Hill will force you behind the couch altogether.
There are five endings to the game, as well as a number of bonus items available after completion, so Silent Hill warrants repeat visits. It will also take a few goes before you catch all the references in the game — Bachman Street for example (Stephen King's pen name). Silent Hill is, in the best possible sense of the word, a nightmare. (lain Davidson)
Bloody Roar 2
(Virgin Interactive) £34.99
Remember the Joke in Young Frankenstein -- 'Werewolf? There wolf!’ Well slap Bloody Roar 2 in your Playstation and yOu’ll be shouting it for weeks to come.
FolIOWing the style of the first title, Bloody Roar 2 is a lycanthropic beat- em-up in three dimensions. Where normal punch-kick experiences reach a limit break and explode into a kaleidoscopic frenzy of hyper-super- speCial slicmg and dicing, the Bloody Roar games transform yOur character into a beast. Each fighter has his or her own animalistic alter-ego, including bats, tigers, chameleons and rabbits. Yes, even rabbits. While human, the combat is very similar to Sega's Fighting Vipers With ioypad-iiggling producmg pugilism of the acrobatic kind; but when the character transformation OCCUrS, the game
changes radically. Each were-creature exhibits the traits of its smaller cousins The leopard is fast, the insect is powerful and the wolf is a good all- rounder. Utilising these strengths is a must.
The game is fast and responsive, With the biggest annoyance being the overly complicated character moves. The rota of fighters is also a tad short, a few more w0uld have been more than welcome. That said, Bloody Roar 2 is a tasty slice of combat With an interesting tWist. Release the beast. (ID)
REVIEWER THIS ISSUE: lain DaVIdson
STAR RATINGS
Unmissable
Very ood
Wort i a shot
Below average You've been warned
Totally wired
The weird world of the Web.
David Coleman http://wwwnetcomuk.co.uk/~thefoxes/coleman.html
A ’Colemanball' is practically integrated into the language With his mixed metaphors and malapropisms, there have been few people about to abuse the English language as much as this sports commentator This site holds a collection of belters that Will leave you feeling good about your education
Murray Walkerisms http://www.userszetnet.co.uk/petef/racing/walkerisinshtml
but then there is this man How do you explain 'The beak of Ayrton Seniia’s chicken is pulling ahead"? Or ’He's Obvrously gone in for a wheel change I say "()bViously" because I can’t see it'7 No further commentary necessary a man born to talk
Famous Insults
http://membersaolcom/WordPlays/insultfp.html
To stick With quotes, an entire site dedicated to the bitchiness of showbiz Celebrities slagging off fellow celebs It was once said of Joan Collins, ’She looks like she combs her hair With an eggbeater' Also John Gielgud on lngi'icl Bergman, 'She speaks five languages and can't act iii any of them ' Ouch'
Bulls Eye Art
http:/iwwwbullseyeartcom
A favourite in The List office. This New York site offers a heavin surreal ii'iteractive Journey into the likes of ‘The Woodcutter' - an animation that some may find disturbing (espeCIally if you consider 'disturbing’ a Fire-Shaped Being cutting off its own log arm with a flame hand, and a revolvrng spiral eye, set to music). Honestly, officer, I haven't touched a drop
Urban Myths
http://www.snopes.com
Full of tales you’ve preViOusly heard from preViously 'reliable’ SOUTCCS. Find out which friend has been stringing you aIOng With an 'honestly true’ story. The ’Sex Stories Page’ will no docibt grab most peoples' attention Not that it did mine or anything. Besides, it all happened to a friend of mine anyway . .
Are You A Real Jedi?
http://imacu-parisZ.fr/~charbit/v2/swv0.htm A French Jedi quiz in which yOU get 30 questions that determine which grade of Jedi you are. Obi-Wan only scored 250 out of 300. ’The Force is a dose of power, With a (sic) uncredible luck.’ Yoda French he obViously wasn't.
Tack-'y' Mail http://wwwtackymail.com/
One of the best things about the Internet is communication. It’s never been easier to talk to a friend across the world, which means it's never been easier to insult a friend across the world. Dreadfully tacky postcards can be sent anywhere for nothing Without the embarrassment of buying them in the first place. And so it’s never been easier to lose friends by the dozen.
(Steve Blair)
22 Jul—S Aug i999 THE usr