When it comes to 1980’s horror icons, Freddy Krueger will always be my favorite, but I do have to admit, that there’s a soft spot in my heart for Jason Voorhees as well. While Freddy always had the bigger stories and incredible one liners, there’s something to be said about the strong silent serial killer type and quite frankly, I’m a huge fan of the big mysteries that surrounded Jason as well. After all, to this day we know little about how he’s gained his incredible powers and well, his supernatural abilities made him one fascinating character to say the least.
 
In fact, that shroud of mystery surrounding Jason Voorhees is what I firmly believe has allowed for the character endure for decades and oddly enough, the wonder of what he is and the world that he inhabits inspired a pair of companies, Illfonic and Gun Media to team up to bring Jason’s world to life in video game form by way of Friday the 13th: The Game. Now, I am fully aware of the fact that I am late to the party when it comes to this game since it was released in May of last year, but I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of multiplayer, so I bided my time for Single Player to come around.
 
But now that I have my hands on this game, I have to be honest, I am filled with regret that I didn’t pick it up sooner, because this is a phenomenally fun time through and through. Not only do you get to experience the sheer terror of being stalked by Jason if you choose to play a counselor online, the real draw of this game for me, is assuming the role of Jason Voorhees. Because there’s something incredibly unique about getting to step into the shoes of a film icon like Jason and well, the boys at Illfonic and Gun Media have outdone themselves when it comes to the gameplay. 

​After all, you can choose which Jason you would like to become from your favorite Friday the 13th film (all but Uber Jason from Jason X, but he is on the horizon), and each iteration of Jason comes with his own set of unique and brutal kills and the fact that Kane Hodder did the motion capture for Jason in this game adds that special touch that only he brought to the role since he was the finest Voorhees of them all and really, the quality of these digital kills and the ability to do just about everything Jason can on the silver screen makes for a supremely good time.
 
Not to mention, this game also pays incredible respect to the original films. Every setting from the films is carefully and painstakingly recreated in this game, to the point where you can see exactly where iconic moments in the franchise took place and slowly but surely, characters from the films are finding their way into the game. Because you can also play as Fox and Sheldon ‘Shelly’ Finkelstein from Friday the 13th Part III since the original actors lent their likenesses and voices to this digital world and of course, what would a Friday the 13th story be without Jason’s arch nemesis Tommy Jarvis, and he’s here too, and Thom Mathews, who played the character in Part VI: Jason Lives reprises the role as well.
 
Either way, this game is just a joy to play and addicting as well because you simply crave more and who knows, this game may get me into multiplayer after all since I’ve started enjoying a few private matches with some friends, and with more patches and gameplay additions in the pipe, this is one I’m going to revisit for a long time. Now if we can just get these two companies to develop a similar game with Freddy Krueger at the helm, so we can enjoy that world and get these two to duke it out for all of digital eternity… 

​When it comes to horror and gaming, sadly there are only a few titles out there that have ever managed terrify or chill me to the bone. Don't get me wrong I've enjoyed horror gaming over the years, the early Resident Evil games were an utter joy to play, but I would love to play more games that truly scare the daylights out of me. 

However, I’m sure it has to be a difficult task to create a game that can pull all of that off, after all when it comes to horror films you're not in control, you're at the mercy of the director. But in gaming, you know the scares are supposed to come, and you know that your controller or keyboard will get you out of a jam. But there was one game I enjoyed years ago that actually managed to scare me and leave me uncomfortable, the awesome...Nocturne.

The plot to this game was simple, you played The Stranger, a mysterious man who worked for the Spookhouse; a top-secret government agency designed to keep the horrible things that go bump in the night at bay. There were four key missions that dropped you right in the thick of some terrible things and man...this game was a blast. What made Nocturne so much fun to play and quite frankly, bone chilling was the fact that you were given very little information about what kind of situation The Stranger is about to walk into. The second mission, one that features zombies and a throwback to Lovecraft is a great example of this. As since you are forced to investigate reports of zombies, and your investigation quickly falls apart of course...but the key is that the undead appear out of nowhere and are fierce and all of that managed to make me jump.  

But it was more than simple jump scares for this game, often times the mood was set with things moving in the shadows that may or may not appear in front of you. As an added bonus, there was plenty of gore and plenty of monsters from every sub-genre of horror but what made the game work so well was the tension that it built every step of the way. Each mission was its own mini movie and minute by minute the story became all the more intense and it made the surprises all that much more shocking. But the game was not without its fun, since the third segment resembles more of a black comedy wherein the Stranger is forced to do battle with Al Capone's Frankenstein-esque mobsters. 

Truly Nocturne was another one of those golden era of gaming gems that sadly has all but disappeared, which is a shame since the game ended with an incredible cliffhanger. So, here's to hoping a sequel shows up at some point down the line, but if you can find a copy of this and a compatible computer, you won't be disappointed as the horror begins to unfold… 

Dear sports video games,
 
I’m really sorry to do this. I promise it’s not you, it’s me. I just...feel as though we’ve grown apart and I wonder if maybe we’re not the best fit anymore. I think I need some time to explore new things.
 
Trust me; this is really hard to do. Especially with our history. I mean, we go back about 20 years! I remember when I first met you…my neighbor had a copy of Madden 94 for the Super Nintendo, a few years old at that point but still amazing. I fell in love instantly. I loved how real everything felt. I loved that I could call the plays and run them. I was captivated. The best was yet to come!
 
We took it to the next stage when you moved in with me. NFL Quarterback Club 99 on the Nintendo 64. The first sports video game of my very own. There was always room for you on my shelf. Add Ken Griffey Jr’s Slugfest, NFL Blitz, and NHL 99...you and I have had so many great memories.
 
The fun seemed like it would never stop. I moved on from the N64 to the PlayStation 2 and then the Xbox 360. You were there with me every step of the way. NHL Hitz, ESPN 2K Football, FIFA, sooooo many entries in the Madden series (SO many), NCAA Football, NCAA March Madness, Triple Play Baseball, NBA Live, wrestling games...even Arena Football and NASCAR at one point! I could go on and on about the fun we had.
 
But lately, things have started to get a little…stale. I bought the Batman special edition PS4 when Arkham Knight came out. That was incredible! Yet, I made sure to share that joy with you. More Madden. More EA NHL. More NBA 2K. More MLB: The Show. More FIFA. I tried to give us space by not buying every single sports game every year, leaving myself gaps between each. But it didn’t help. More of the same has gotten tiring - even frustrating - after a while. 

Over the last few years, people have mocked each new release, calling them glorified roster updates. I held out. I defended you. I believed there would always be a spark. That was especially true this year when I broke my rule about giving us space and bought the newest copies of each of the Big Four games. Yet, with every new game, I found myself doing the things I’d always done.
 
My created character and I march through the same old seasons. As a GM, I make the same old front office moves. I can’t keep doing it. I can’t commit to the long haul anymore. The NHL and NBA both play 81 game seasons; I’ve shamelessly played the entirety - in virtual form - several times each. That’s not including countless baseball and football seasons, too. I’m burned out.
 
But really, it’s not just about you. Maybe a lot of this is on me. Maybe you’ve changed more than I have. You became so worldly, yet I’m hesitant to go all-in on online modes, afraid of the challenges that lie within. You wanted a richer lifestyle, yet I was cheap and refused to buy in-game packs.
 
The gaming universe is so expansive and - to be frank - I feel like I’ve limited myself by putting so much emphasis on us. Some of my all-time favorite games came when I branched out. Games like Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire and any of the Batman games, just to name a few. I’ve recently been trying Dragon Age: Inquisition and other RPGs. I just picked up Monster Hunter: World. I’m on to new things.
 
This isn’t goodbye. I just need a break. I’ll still try and make some time for you, but life is too short to fail to be adventurous.
 
Yours Truly,
Zeke