Gothic 4: ArcaniA

I've not yet played any of the other Gothic games, so I don't know if G4 is like any of the other games. I'll find out eventually, since I got a deal for all four. I figured I would play the newest one first, since I'd played the demo and it seemed interesting and fun, and not terribly tied in to the previous titles. Well, I'm thirteen hours in, now, and I'm pretty comfortable in saying that unless you're a big fan of the Gothic series, or you're starved for an actiony RPG, you can safely skip this game.

Paranormal Activity

Most "these are real people having real things happen to them" movies tend to have a short shelf life. I watched The Blair Witch Project for the first time, recently, and found it a laughable tale of a bunch of morons doing stupid stuff and getting themselves in trouble that they deserved. Even beyond the marketing hype having a short shelf-life, these movies are generally best viewed in theatres, since it's dark, and it's easier to buy in to these things when it's a whole group reinforcing each other. I just picked up Paranormal Activity for cheap from the local rental shop, since for the price of buying it, I could have had it for 3 days. Wow. This movie.

Alan Wake

I'm not much one for suspense/thriller/horror games. I hate jump scares. I find them cheap, and usually greatly telegraphed. They still work for a quick burst of adrenaline though, because there's always a great burst of noise/motion to accompany them. I'm pretty much of the same opinion of horror movies, too. Over-reliance on jump scares dilutes their effectiveness eventually, rendering the game not-scary, and generally just annoys and angers me, to boot. That said, so far, I've really enjoyed Alan Wake. It does have some moments that could be jump scares, if they were pushed a little harder, but not many as far as I've played. Instead, it's done a great job of building the mood, setting the stage, and ramping the tension. I'm not going to discuss plot except as it relates directly to mechanics. Partly so I don't spoil anything, partly because since I'm not finished, I don't think I could really talk intelligently about it without making some wild, and probably incorrect guesses. So with that said...

Resident Evil: Afterlife

People say a movie like Twilight is review-proof. Well, I`d assume a Resident Evil movie was as well, and I almost didn't bother. Then I got to thinking, Extinction was pretty bad. Bad to the point where some people may have just say "Forget it, I'm not going to bother." And I think that'd be a terrible shame. Afterlife is a great Resident Evil movie. 

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

I never played the first Dead Rising. I'm not really sure why. I have recently watched a Let's Play of it, though, so I've got a good grasp of what it was like. Playing Case Zero, if this is what the full game of Dead Rising 2 will be like, it'll be what a sequel should be, the same, but better.

I'll admit now, I apparently suck at this game, so take anything I say with that in mind.