Hyper-Bolic Game Chamber

This week, we return to the world of survival horror with the recently re-released 2002 prequel, Resident Evil Zero!

Have you ever wondered what happened the night BEFORE that fateful night in the Spencer Mansion? Well, good news! Rebecca Chambers returns and her journey from the crashed Bravo Team helicopter to the dreaded Spencer Mansion was far more complex and dangerous than previously thought.

Rebecca, assisted by an escaped convict with a heart of gold(?), must brave a legion of undead ghouls and grotesque leeches as she ventures through a spooky train, a second spooky mansion in the forest, subterranean laboratories, and also...a sewer. All the while, the dark past of the Umbrella Corporation unravels around her. Special cameo appearance by everyone's favorite traitorous cad, Albert Wesker!

In this episode, the boys take a trip to a galaxy far far away and venture into the late, great Star Wars Expanded Universe! Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a 2008 action game based around the idea of turning everything up to 11 with a bunch of Force Gokus.

The Force Unleashed follows the story of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice as he attempts to bridge the Prequel Trilogy with the OG Trilogy. Rocking the codename STARKILLER, the secret apprentice follows his dark master's commands and hunts down Jedi survivors of Order 66. But the Force moves in mysterious ways, and Starkiller soon finds himself walking a lighter path than he expected.

Bonus: Jared recounts iconic Expanded Universe moments as he reflects on his wasted youth.

This week we take a trek back to foggy old London town in 1899 to find out what's been happening with the cast of Bram Stoker's Dracula in DRACULA UNLEASHED.

Serving as an unofficial sequel to the classic horror novel, Dracula Unleashed follows the journey of Alexander Morris as he ventures to London to find the truth behind the death of his brother, Quincey. Spoilers: turns out Dracula was involved. And now he's been Unleashed, somehow? Hopefully Alexander can solve this mystery before vampire-related badness befalls his beautiful fiancee. Huh, y'know that sounds kinda familiar...

In this episode, we venture into the realm of point and click adventure with the deranged cult classic Harvester from 1996.

Harvester is the story of Steve, a plaid-wearing amnesiac who awakens in the bizarre town of Harvest. Despite the thin sheen of 50's wholesomeness, Harvest is clearly not what it appears, and Steve finds himself desperate not only for answers, but for an escape. His only lead? The mysterious Lodge of the Order of the Harvest Moon. For Steve, joining the Lodge may be a matter of life and death.

Harvester is an infamous game that really works to earn its blood-soaked reputation. It is also a game with a lot to say, but does it know exactly how to say it? Let's find out.

Assassin’s Creed has been one of the biggest franchises in video games in the last decade. As such, it has lots of ups and downs which makes it an easy target for quick jokes and jabs. Since we’ve taken shots at the series in the past, we figured it prudent to actually take a real look at where it all began, with the original game back in 2007.

AssCreed 1 follows the stories of two men: Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, a member of the Assassin Order in 1191, and Desmond Miles, Altair’s distant descendant in the year 2012. Desmond has been kidnapped by a mysterious corporation and is forced to relive his genetic memories of Altair during the Crusades via a device called the Animus. Both men stumble across a vast conspiracy that threatens the world in both time periods and must race to unravel it, largely through violence.

A special bonus episode where we talk about the latest "event" in gaming, this year's VGAs!

Episode 35 - Ninja Gaiden II

Who’s ready for some ultra-violence? It’s time to delve into the bloodsoaked high-intensity world of Ninja Gaiden with arguably the craziest entry in this extremely crazy series.

Ninja Gaiden follows the story of Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja who specializes in dispatching supernatural foes. Contacted by a CIA agent named Sonia, Ryu learns that a rival ninja clan seeks the cursed Demon Statue to revive the dreaded Archfiend. So, Ryu must travel the world battling both the sinister Black Spider Clan ninjas and the demonic minions of the Archfiend. Luckily, Ryu very skilled at murdering both of those things.

Episode 34 - Call of Duty: Black Ops

This week, we return to the front lines of ridiculousness with everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, Call of Duty. The Black Ops sub-series tends to be a bit riskier, and a bit less traditional CoD Shootmans, and Black Ops 1 is still one of the more interesting narratives in the series. Please note that we’re talking about Call of Duty here, so it’s still hoorah AMERICAAAA action movie stuff, but we’re talking relatively here.

The first annual Hyperbolic SPOOK Chamber wraps up with a look at one of the biggest horror hits of the last 5 years. Outlast, a first person horror game released in 2013, is perhaps best known for inspiring a legion of nigh unwatchable Youtube videos, but it was also a massive critical and financial success, particularly for the indie game scene.

Outlast follows Miles “Tails” Upsure, a freelance reporter following up on an insider tip about illegal and sinister experiments being performed at the Mount Massive Mental Health Facility. Upon arriving, Miles finds the building littered with mangled bodies and crawling with dangerous and deranged patients. Trapped in the spook house, Miles must fight to survive against a threat so edgy, no one else has managed to escape it.

How did we feel about Outlast? Er…let’s just say this is probably going to be a controversial episode.

Episode 32 - Silent Hill: Homecoming

This week we take a look at the doofy cousin of the Silent Hill family tree, Homecoming. Every series has ups and downs, but few have such drastic differences between the two as the Silent Hill series, and buddy, we’re riding this slope to the bottom.

SH: Homecoming follows Alex Shepard, a young soldier, as he returns home to find his sleepy town of Shepard’s Glen plagued by a strange fog, mysterious disappearances, and dark secrets. But he doesn’t care, cuz he’s gotta find his brother Josh!

Join us as we attempt to navigate this mess of rusty grating and worthless references in the third installment of Hyperbolic SPOOK Chamber!