Shadows of the Damned - The Legend of Stinky Crow

Caw, Caw!

For nearly fourteen years his mind had been
soaring miles above, but Elliot Thomas was
still stuck down on Earth, in the boring town
of sinchester.

Alone in his tree house, he glued feathers to
his wingsuit, readying himself for the day he
would join the phoenixes and quetzalcoatls
in the sky.

"Dinnertime!" cried his mother from their
house across the yard.

Elliot sat at the center of the table.
A TV dinner was challenging his BO as the
the dominant smell in the room. On his left, his
mother yammered about her day at the ER.
On his right, his father was absorbed in his
smartphone.

As for Elliot, his eyes were fixed on the
ceiling fan, the most fascinating personality
within a ten-foot radius.

In homeroom the next day,
Justin Shmakovski threw a crappy paper
airplane at him.

Within seconds, Elliot had built a superior
vessel. He stood up on his chair and swiftly
launched the Papierflieger at his
unsuspecting enemy.

Zoom, splort! The marvel of paper aviation
lodged itself in Justin's tender eyeball.

"Mr. Thomas!" bellowed their teacher. "Go to
the principal's office!"

Later that day, Elliot was cooing quietly to
himself as he bought a candy bar in the
lobby.

Casey Wichtitz was smoking nearby and
sneered at him. "Why don't you go jack
off at some bird porn? I bet you do more
fapping than flapping!"

"Fuck you!" screeched Elliot, as he ran for the
door.

It was dark out by the time Elliot meandered
home. On the sidewalk, he passed a gaunt
man who stared at him intently desperately,
even.

The man opened his mout and said,
Hooveewaaah! Ooveezah!

Elliot had planed to eat his candy bar
tonight, while he finished his masterpiece,
but he instead held it out to the man.
"I know what you mean," he replied.

The schoolyard was packed the next morning
as Elliot's classmates waited for first bell.

Caw, caw! As one, the students turnedtoward the gate and saw Elliot dressed head
to toe in his wingsuit. After a moment of
shock, they burst into laughter.

But they were already far below him. He
swooped through their midst and into the
school. Caw, Caw! He bounded through the
halls, zigzagged up the stairwell...

Cawww! The school let out a collective gasp
when they saw Stinky Crow on the roof.
With a triumphant snap! he spread his
wings... and a moment later, he had leapt.

The next two seconds were the most
beautiful of elliot's entire life. He could feel
their eyes upon him; he was flying, and their
awe was keeping him aloft.

Ten minutes later, as guidance counselors
wiped bits of Elliot off sobbing students and
the police struggled to piece together
thestory you are reading now, Elliot's teacher
looked down at the wreckage of the boy on
the pavement, and never forgot what he
saw.

One bloody hand had formed a peace sign.
The other was giving him the finger.

THE END

Shadows of the Damned - The Man Who Never Had His Fill

There was a cold and snowy eve:
certainly no night for a man without a home
to be walking these grey and
endless streets.

Inside the pizza parlor, George Reed spun a
lively tune on his harmonica. The local
children giggled and pointed excitedly at the
"harmonica man" as their parents glowed
with approval.

His reward would be all the pizza he could
eat - six pies, at least - and a warm bed in
one of these folks' homes. He knew they were good for it.

But when he tucked in for the night, George
had not had his fill.

As the years and calories stacked up, most
men would have gotten older and fatter. Yet
for all he consumed, George only got thinner
as he washed from town to town.

Tonight he plied his trade with some
grannies and orderlies in a nursing home.
Hooveewaah! His harmonica filled the room
with joy.

After devouring three helpings of pork
chops and mashed potatoes, he eyed the
plate of the old woman next to him.
Juice dribbled down his chin.
"Go ahead, Georgie," she said. "You're such
a good boy; you shouldn't have to starve."

But George had not had his fill.

Early the next morning, he was already on
the freeway with his thumb in the air. "Where
ya headed?"
said the man in the truck.

"Nowhere," said George. "Anywhere."

It was a New decade, and tonight George
played to an all-but-empty bar
in the city. He had lost a lot of weight.

Afterwards, the only woman in the joint
took the stool next to him and asked him his
name.

The bartender leaned over the counter. "You
don't know this guy, Mary? George is famous.
Been all over Tri-State area." With awink, he added, "Man's insatiable."

And that night, George proved it as he
buried his face in Mary's beaver.

"Play that harmonica," she purred, but even
after five trips to heaven and back, he had
not had his fill.

The morning after was an awkward affair, as
they stared at each other over coffee. One
wanted to feel more; the other just wanted
to feel.

In his final days, George was all skin and
bones.

His... last meal had been a mistake.

It was on a sidewalk one night in a small
suburban town that he came across the boy.
Hungrily, and with an agonized grimace, he
opened his mouth to beg for help.

Hooveewaaah! Ooveezah! Out came a
cacophony of wheezes and toots. But the boy
understood.

Once he was alone, George Reed looked at
the candy bar he held in one hand, and began
to cry. Hoo... hoo...

They found George's half-eaten body in a
market the next town over.

In one hand he held a knife; in other, a
fork. Chunks of flesh had been torn from his
chest and his arms... Blood framed an eerie
smile.

The wind that morning blew fierce, and as it
whistled through the hole he'd carved out of
his own neck, the harmonica man played his
last song in this world.

There were gawkers, and many knew him.
They shared stories of how he had filled them
with hope, filled them with life. They, at
least, had had their fill.

THE END

[Review] Calling Kuroki Chakushin - Un review en el 2011

Título original: CALLING～黒き着信～
Título traducido: Para nosotros sería "Llamando: Recepción/señal negra"
Año: 2009
Plataforma: Wii
Calificación general por mi: 7.9/10 (Calificación méramente subjetiva)

Calling es un juego demasiado incomprendido. Si bien lo ponen como un juego Survival, realmente no lo veo como tal. Es mas como una experiencia interactiva de lo que sería si estuvieses en una película de terror japonesa.

Precisamente el punto débil de este juego es lo que mas me agradó. Es una película japonesa hecha juego. Claro que sin saltarse las partes tediosas de exploración y resolver puzzles (No son puzzles, es mas cumplir con condiciones ambientales para acceder a un lugar o región).

El juego inicia con Suzutani Shinichi (Shin para la versión en inglés), en una habitación pequeña (Su rol en la historia es ser un inútil que acaba mal en cierto momento). Este es el capítulo tutorial donde te acostumbras a los controles. Pronto cambias a Kagura Rin, que es la principal de esta historia. Pero también existen otros dos personajes; Kishibe Chiyo que es la parte sentimental, secundaria, de esta historia y Shirae Makoto, que es el investigador que se da cuenta de todo y nos da información. Algo mas, el juego se desarrolla en una dimensión alterna o como Shirae le llama, Abismo Nemónico.

El gameplay es sencillo, los controles son intuitivos y cómodos, excepto si eres flojo y odias los controles de movimiento, en ese caso no tendrías una wii. No tienes una barra de vida, sino un medidor de miedo, que al llegar a cierto nivel de miedo es tu muerte o mas bien, quedas atrapado como un fantasma en esa dimensión. Quitando las cutscenes, todo transcurre en 1era persona.

La historia, es algo común y es lo que podrías esperar si te gusta el terror japonés, pero está bien cuidada y la disfruté mucho cuando conseguí el verdadero final (correcto, hay dos finales).

El progreso del juego es lento, tienes que tomarte tu tiempo al jugar, no porque sea muy dificil o tengas que pensar mucho, sino porque este juego no te deja ir mas rápido, porque bueno... es para disfrutar del escenario, de las apariciones de fantasmas, de las extrañas llamadas que te hacen al celular y de la historia en general. En resumen, se basa mas en la experiencia de jugarlo y la historia.

Los ítems, no son muchos y aún cambiando de personaje, casi siempre permanecen los mismos. Al inicio de cada capítulo te darán un celular, posteriormente tienes que buscar una linterna. Esos son tus items básicos y lo único que necesitas.

Los enemigos no aparecen mucho y no son muchos, puedes evitar a algunos, pero la mayoría del tiempo es un requisito de la historia que te enfrentes a ellos. Los enemigos te atacarán, pero no les volarás la cabeza con una escopeta (ya están muertos), solo forcejearás y los alejarás el tiempo suficiente para cumplir con la condición de alejarlos o avanzar al siguiente nivel.

A lo largo del juego irás descubriendo la razón de la existencia del abismo nemónico, pero la mayor información la obtendrás de la segunda vez que juegues. No solo será un replay, se agregarán capítulos, nuevas apariciones, sonidos y podrás conocer toda la verdad y el final obviamente cambiará.

Los "Collectibles" son las llamadas que te hagan, las apariciones, diarios y cartas, así como también unos códigos grabados en paredes, muebles o ventanas y unas teclas para celulares que están en japonés y cada una representa un signo del zodiaco chino. También números de teléfono, que te servirán para transportarte a través del abismo.

Los extra son fantásticos. En el segundo juego, para los capítulos de Shirae, te dan la aparición de una extraña mujer vestida de rojo, por cada aparición de esta, dama de rojo, te darán una carta en tu bandeja de Wii, las cartas son atractivas y por cada carta nueva habrá un deterioro en el papel y el sobre, haciendo notar lo dañada que está esa mujer. Me agradó mucho esta parte. También cumpliendo con ciertas condiciones, te enviarán imágenes a tu wii y puedes incluso tomar fotos con el celular y mandartelas a tu bandeja.

No quiero spoilear la historia, así que no entraré en detalles, pero es muy interesante y en conjunto con todo el juego es una experiencia muy agradable. El juego no es para todos. Es para alguien que le gusta el terror japonés, que no busca baños de sangre o que quiere salir de la rutina con algo de terror.

Sugiero que le den una oportunidad, si te gustan los juegos lentos y no te molesta no poder avanzar a tu propio ritmo, este juego es para ti. Este juego incluso puede agradar a los Casual Gamer, ya que es muy diferente a lo que son varios videojuegos, si te gusta Fatal Frame, puede que te agrade o que digas "Este es un vil intento de copiar a Fatal Frame." En fin, es a su criterio, a mi me agradó muchísimo.