HST’s Best of 2011: Video Games

Last but not least, here is HST’s list of favorite video games from the past year.  And what a year it was, with huge titles coming out and an epic fall season to cap off the year.  Plenty of sequels and a few new IPs to boot, so there are plenty of games to mention even without the honorable title and seat on high as the crowned favorite. [Read more...]

HST’s Best of 2011: Music

Whether we like it or not, the year is coming to a close. And now, it is time to reflect on what came out in music. Below, the writers for HST have come up with their favorite albums and songs of the year. We hope that you enjoy our selections, and comment on what songs or albums made your 2011 memorable. Enjoy!!! [Read more...]

Open Thread – Games: A Scarier Format Than Film?

condemnedLauren: With Halloween coming up just around the corner, now is the time to up your yearly dose of horror infused entertainment.  Personally I love the genre, but films are one thing, while video games are something else.  They are the killer sharpening his blade in my closet while he softly, albeit menacingly, whispers my name in a promise that the covers I hide under provide no protection from what is to come.  That may seem like quite the elaboration on the terror level provided by games, but anyone who has played these games can tell you that there is just something about them that will haunt you hours after you have set the controller down. [Read more...]

Delayed Gaming Response – Dead Space 2

When it comes to science fiction, space is always presented as a pretty action oriented place, from space battles to asteroid fields to roaming cannibals (you thought I was going to get through that without a Firefly reference? Silly you, you thought wrong).  But from way down here where the majority of us are standing it is nothing but a whole bunch of blackness with a twinkle here and there.  Nothing but calm.  That same calm usually works its way into these space adventures, but it is in games like Dead Space 2 that this calm is something that should be feared the most, because it is in these moments that something is most likely about to go terribly wrong.

Years following the events of the first game, we find protagonist Isaac Clark wrapped tightly in a straight jacket in a hospital on one of Saturn’s moons.  Suffering from the mental degradation of dementia, he is still tormented by the loss of his girlfriend who likes to come to him in rather disturbing hallucinations.  But she is not alone as a constant memory of the past because somewhere in this city is another Marker, bringing with it yet another onslaught of the reanimated corpses that have been changed into necromorphs, violent creatures who are out to spread the love. [Read more...]

Suggestion Box – Special E3 Edition

If you aren’t a nerd then you probably had no idea that a major gaming and electronic convention was going on during the beginning of this week.  Then again, you probably aren’t reading this post either because of that same reason… Hm… Well then, since no introductions are in order, let me just dive right in.

This year’s main events at E3 can be more or less summed up by what the three big hitters (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) had to show off at their conferences.  To sum up, everyone thinks they are the best in the biz, the one to do it first, the one to bring the best and newest technology to the masses… Blah blah blah.  Tooting their horns aside, all three can be summed up as follows: motion controls, exercise, sports, 3D, and a new 250 gb XBOX 360 (I write that last bit glaring at the 360 I have now, which is the result of 3 separate red ring incidents).  Now you know everything you need to! …  Just kidding.  Well, partially.  If you want to get a full break down of the press conferences of the big three then be sure to check out Zac’s write up here.  As for me, well, I am all about the gaming aspect of the show.  Which brings about this glorified Suggestion Box.  Here is what I was excited by: