Remember last year around this time when Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy was dubbed Gaming Today’s unofficial “Idiot of the Day” due to her outdated list of violent videogames for parents to avoid purchasing for their kids at Christmas? Well, it looks like all the internet bashing she received across the board taught her (and her assistants) a valuable lesson because the list she has issued this year is pretty much up to date–even if it was culled from the National Institute on Media and the Family’s 2008 Annual Video Game Report Card.

Here is the list she has complied for parents who are wishing to avoid the inevitable reality of their children becoming sociopaths after playing these games.

• Blitz the League II
• Dead Space
• Fallout 3
• Far Cry 2
• Gears of War 2
• Left 4 Dead
• Legendary
• Resistance 2
• Saints Row 2
• Silent Hill: Homecoming

All joking aside, these are all mature games that kids should not be playing. Kym should really be encouraging parents to read the ratings on the packaging just like they would on a DVD or Music disc before buying it. All forms of media bought by parents should be age and maturity level appropriate. However, be that as it may, I think one commenter over on the Detroit Free Press website where this was originally posted said it best when they commented:

“And for those who say “lets go back to early American principles” what principles would that be? Before violent games, for entertainment, parents would take their children to lynchings, beheadings, drawing and quartering, hangings, cross burnings, stonings, and for that special evening, the colosseum to see a man get devoured by animals. Make no bones about it, humans have always been a violent animal that has shown their children how to be violent animals.”

Thanks: (GamePolitics)

The Australian Classification Board has refused to grant a rating to F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin. Come on now. Tell me you didn’t see this one coming.

Project Origin is the fifth game effectively banned from Australia in 2008. While Fallout 3 and Dark Sector modified and resubmitted to eventually win approval, renegades Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, and Silent Hill: Homecoming are still MIA Down Under.

I think “Banned in Australia” could eventually become a recommendation for survival horror titles. I really can’t imagine Project Origin neutered enough to be given a rating in AU would be much fun no matter what the specific complaints against it are. Check out Games On Net for the official announcement.

In the horror genre — whether it’s books, movies, or video games — there’s usually one persistent rule: never trust the kids. They’re always either going to do something stupid to get people killed or turn out to be the ones doing the actual killing. Nowhere does this ring more true though than in the Silent Hill series. This new trailer for the upcoming Silent Hill Homecoming centers around one kid, Josh, who is apparently linked to all the evil in Silent Hill somehow. I don’t know how that will play out, but considering he just stands there shaking while his father falls into a pit, I still wouldn’t trust him.

There’s been some confusion over the past day regarding the release date of Silent Hill: Homecoming, the next installment of Konami’s survival-horror series. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, the game has in fact not been delayed until November — that release date applies only to Europe. Homecoming producer Tomm Hulett contacted 1UP confirming that the reports are false and the game’s release date of September 30 in North America hasn’t changed. This is what you get when listening to release dates talked about at an event held in Europe.

Konami did, though, announce that the game will be available for the PC via Valve’s digital distribution service Steam as well as the PS3 and Xbox 360. No pricepoint or a more concrete release date have been announced.

Are you curious to see how the American developers are handling the very Japanese series? Check out some 1UP previews of the game, including the one from E3 where they found the new redesigned attack system to have a bit of a learning curve.

Konami Digital Entertainment has sent out the good word that Silent Hill: Homecoming will soon be available the PC. Players can look forward to an enhanced combat system and a new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka.

Silent Hill Homecoming marks the fifth story in the Silent Hill mythos, and introduces a new protagonist to the mysterious town. The story follows Alex Shepherd, who returns to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother and the strange occurrences taking place around town. Shepherd unravels a tale that takes him from his boyhood home to the fog-shrouded streets of Silent Hill, as he faces the darkest horrors of his soul to find his missing brother.

Gamers with Steam accounts will be able to download Silent Hill: Homecoming in September. Visit the Konami website for more information on the Silent Hill series.

One of my favorite things about the Silent Hill series is the soundtracks that very effectually enhance the surreal atmosphere of the games. I also admire the use of psychological horror rather than reliance on cheap thrills and gross out tactics.

Pendulum’s AlterEgo facial performance division is trying to break through the uncanny valley effect with it’s CGI human and humanoid animation. The uncanny valley is a phenomena where the closer to life like a robotic or CGI representation of a human is the more it bothers us.

The company, which is handling animation for Silent Hill: Homecoming (you can read my iE3 impressions of Silent Hill 5 on Gaming Today), has added some new videos of their work to its site. The motion capture is stunning but some of the models are very plastic in appearance. Check out the new Retargeting videos to judge for yourself. In my opinion, they are still a little creepy, but their closer than anything I’ve seen before.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.. if anyone ever invites you to visit a sleepy little lake town called Silent Hill, run  screaming in the other direction because you’re probably dead or have some serious baggage in your past that will soon come back to bite you.

While from the initial impressions I can’t give you an overall sense of the story in this latest version of Silent Hill, I can talk about some of the changes that Konami and its development partner Double Helix Games are making to freshen up the long running horror series.

Silent Hill: Homecoming features a bit of a different protagonist for the series. Previous games always focused on the “everyman” characters in horrible situations, a staple of the survival horror genre. This time out the main character, Alex Shepherd is a former Airborne Ranger who is returning home and apparently is looking to discover the fate of his younger brother Jacob.
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Silent Hill: Homecoming is the latest entry into the Silent Hill franchise. The story follows Alex Shepherd, returning to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother. From Shepherd’s Glen to the foggy streets of Silent Hill, Alex must face the darkest of horrors in order to find his brother. Struggling with his own grip on reality, Alex must unravel the mystery behind his nightmares, discover the truth behind his brother’s and father’s disappearances, and confront the evil that has taken hold of his own flesh and blood.

Have not heard much about the game recently, but just in case you forgot, here is what to expect from it:

• Enter the next chapter of Silent Hill as you delve deeper in the tormenter history of the town and learn of the evil that surrounds Toluca Lake
• Silent Hill: Homecoming is the 1st Silent Hill game on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• From the murky fog to the ominous shadows, all-new next-gen graphics bring Silent Hill to life like never before
• Survive the denizens of Silent Hill with an all-new enhanced combat system that gives you a wide array of attacks and counters
• Solve the treacherous and deadly puzzles of Silent Hill to discover its darkest secrets
• Silent Hill: Homecoming will feature an all-new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka

Silent Hill: Homecoming is expected to land on the PS3 and  Xbox 360 this September. More E3 screens are posted after the jump, and I have to say, that dog thing is pretty evil looking.

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Destrucoid posted this interesting and creepy little gem over on their site today, and while I am a huge Silent Hill fan - I can’t say that I would ever take it this far. Not only would I not want to be trapped in that suit, but if I was that lady I would have felt a bit silly giving people crotch shots all day - plus I am sure both the people in the suit had severe backaches afterwards.

Cosplay is a bit strange to begin with, but this Twoback suit just takes the cake. A cake chock full of win, but strange nonetheless.

Thanks for creeping me out: Destructoid

The new Silent Hill: Homecoming screens from Konami that popped up this morning reveal about just as much as we already knew. It is dark, it is creepy, and terror awaits you around every corner. The surprising thing that I noticed with these shots though, is that the nurses from the previous games, which to be honest with you made my soul freeze inside my body and stick to my ribcage like your tongue would on a frosty swing set, look very different. This time, they are extremely busty, and while they are still walking horrors, they are busty nonetheless with curves and the like. Looks like if a young guy were to get a hold of this game, he would no longer have to sneak a peak at his Mother’s Cosmo that he has hidden under the mattress.