Rage – God of War Series

Kratos has always had his share of anger issues but on the other hand, his Rage modes throughout the series are just incredible fun. The first game is fairly straightforward – more damage dealt, less damage received. Rage of the Titans in God of War 2 upped this by allowing reduced damage from foes, immunity to knockbacks and debuffs, and up to triple the damage dealt. Then there’s Rage of Sparta in God of War 3 which manifested the Blade of Olympus while also providing increased movement, damage resistance and so on. However, we have to give it to God of War (2018)’s Spartan Rage where Kratos simply wales on enemies with his bare fists, gaining health regen and damage resistance in the process.

Four additional survival arenas for Splatterhouse are now available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 for 400 Microsoft Points and on PlayStation Network for a single low price of $4.99. Players must have the retail game in order to access the survival arena DLC content.

This latest DLC offering combines all four previously released survival arenas into a single downloadable pack, including Heart of the Mansion, House of Mirrors, Killing Room, and Lost Islands. Previously, Heart of the Mansion and House of Mirrors were only available as preorder exclusives so this is an opportune time to check them out if you missed out previously.

Splatterhouse follows college student Rick Taylor as he embarks on a mission to rescue his true love, Jennifer, who was kidnapped after they entered a mysterious run-down Mansion inhabited by an elusive scientist, Dr. West. Confronted by otherworldly horrific abominations under Dr. West’s control, Rick turns to a mystical sentient mask, which promises to give him the power to reunite with his beloved Jennifer. Full of desperation, Rick dons the “Terror Mask” and is transformed into a raging juggernaut seething with unadulterated violence and bringing destruction to anything that stands in his way.

The Lost Islands survival arena DLC pack for Splatterhouse is now out on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for 160 Microsoft Points and $1.99. Obviously, players have to own the retail version of the game to run this DLC.

Here’s some info on the downloadable pack:

“The “Lost Islands” DLC pack opens up a brand new survival arena where an ancient terror stirs. Players can take on wave after wave of increasingly difficult enemy combinations in the halls of the Thule for an adrenalin pumping gameplay experience.  Only those stern of heart will have what it takes to battle of the ultimate foe, Rick himself.”

Next up is ‘The Lost Island’ challenge room, which is much like The Killing Floor. The scenery is great with broken mirrors strewn about and stone pillars with a mountain view in the background. Wooden boxes drop in between the waves of enemies as well as boreworms to gain blood in between battles by stomping on them. Once again at the end there is a boss battle and it’s just another challenge arena if you get bored of the ones that come with the game. Same price as the other, $2/160 Microsoft Points.  These two DLC packs now available have pretty cool boss fights at the end of them which is not the case for the pre-order bonus challenge rooms that are explained below.

Time to paint.

If you pre-ordered the game from certain retailers you got additional area challenge rooms not available for purchase which are the ‘Heart of the Mansion’ and the ‘Hall of Mirrors’. In the ‘Heart of the Mansion’ challenge you start off with a chainsaw which already is a good thing. Heart of the Mansion gets its name from.. well the beating heart of the mansion in the background that you will hear through out the challenge and you will find the room familiar if you played the story as well, dare i say it again, it’s where you encounter the ‘Heart of the Mansion’ in the main game. The stage itself though is nothing special as it is just another challenge room with the same enemies that is similar to the Wickerman challenge already in the game. The other pre-order challenge room is the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ which, you guessed it takes place in the area of the main game where you fight SPOILER——– Mirror Rick only there are no Mirror Ricks to fight here. —-SPOILER END. You star off with a shotgun which is good because the difficulty of this challenge can be put up there with some of the hardest ones. Other than all that if you can live with out extra challenges, you can live with out all this DLC, but of course the pre-ordered bonus ones, you might as well play. They might even help with some achievements/trophies.

Blood and more Blood

There is also the original Splatterhouse games included in the game.  As some of you may not know this is far from the first Splatterhouse title released.  This is an AWESOME addition to the game and more games should really do this.  The games are the same as they were back in the day of SEGA Genesis and COIN-OP Arcade games.  This is really in my opinion one of the best features of the game and basically adds 3 more games to Splatterhouse.  Although they are old arcade games they are still fun and it’s nice to see how the Splatterhouse franchise started off.

You can also purchase different mask which are literally just a diferent mask to where, not giving you any actual additions other than the look and appeal.  Each cost $1/80 MSP.  There is the:

-Day of the Dead Mask (Dia de Los Muertos Mask)
-Skull Mask
-Corrupted Mask
-Retro Hockey Mask

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

The story begins with you, Rick Taylor clinging on to his last thread of life when what else could you ask for at that point?  A talking Terror mask that promises help by wearing it.  Rick is then transformed from a skinny, lifeless dude hanging onto to his guts to a muscle bound, ab toned monstrosity of a human like person dawning the talking Terror Mask.  Now unlike other hack and slashers this one has a fairly descent story to follow.  The game takes place in Dr. West’s mansion and he has taken your girlfriend Jenny hostage as you trail after him through each level to save her.  It may not be to the most complex of stories or the most intriguing of ones but enough to keep you interested in the game as well as some twists in it make it better than most hack and slash stories I have come across.

Story still not doing it for you?  How about the collectibles in each level being a piece of a picture of Jenny that when completely put together may reveal your naked girlfriend posing in a particular place you and her spent time in.  Cut scenes with glimpses of memories with Jenny randomly appear only making you want to save her more rewarding… yes I have a heart… screw you.  But let’s get down to the real essence, the meat and potatoas of Splatterhouse… which is blood.  Yes for those of you have not played the old arcade games, it’s blood, guts, gore and some more gore on the side.  This is the goriest game I have ever played… ever.  I don’t want to say gruesome because there are very gruesome games out there but as far as blood/gore, Splatterhouse takes the cake.  So far we have blood, gore and naked pictures of your girlfriend.. intrigued yet?

Splatterhouse has the most horrific gory moves I have every seen.  You can rip enemies limbs off of them and then kill enemies with that limb (netting you and Achievement/Trophy)  You can impale, sodomize rip enemies hearts out (Mortal Kombat style) and when an enemy is glowing (usually red), you can grab that enemy to enter a quick-time event requiring the right button to push(very, very simple) to pull off almost a ‘Fatality’ type of kill in the style of Mortal Kombat, one for example, crushing an enemies skull inward with both hands for a relieving splat!  You will gain the ability to purchase more skills as you progress through the game which mostly consist of more brutal and efficient ways of killing enemies that can be bought using, you guessed it.. blood.  Yes you collect blood as you kill enemies walk over maggots defeat mini bosses, all stored in your little jar of blood (blood=money/spending point).

The game can get a bit repetitive at times but the boss battles are fun, just not over the top like it seems they were aiming for.  It’s like they tried to take the classic movie horror genre and bring it into the game which was semi successful but not in anyway breathtaking or jaw dropping which is as I mentioned what I think they were aiming for, especially with the boss battles.  The level design is not top notch and besides from some twists in the story the game is great if you are A) a fan of the old arcade games B) If you love blood, guts, gore and boobs but otherwise this game is not for the squimish and not for people that are really looking for a very in depth game.  I think other reviews circulating the internet have given the game bad rep because it can be  compared to some of those underground, never heard of it, single player, basic mechanic games but that is not Splatterhouse.  Splatterhouse is way above those type of game especially with its previous arcade releases.  While on that subject the game includes all three original Splatterhouse game that you have to unlock which is awesome and I think more games should include this feature.

On top of the inclusion of Splatterhouse 1, 2 and 3 in the game you can view your statistics in depth, which is cool to see how many heads you have ripped off to kill an enemy with.  The game mechanics are fairly basic and do kind of have that almost Ninja Gaiden feel, when it’s like don’t get hit at all or your’e fucked.  I can annihilate a room of the generic bony looking enemies that are mostly all you’ll see through the game aside from bosses, but as soon as I get hit, it’s a very quick path to death even with full health.  That is not always the case but, it is the gist of it, while there are combos and progressing through the game unlocks new combos to purchase as well as new skills that are very helpful as well as brutally gory.  At times the controls do seem like they are a bit laggy and a little too basic for a next gen game, especially while going through the 2D platforming sections.  This does not hurt the gameplay in my opinion, I just expected more.

You have the Terror Mask voice by Jim Cummings who has done voices in many games including Mass Effect 2, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Spiderman: Shattered dimensions, Alpha Protocol and best yet the voice of Winnie the Pooh Bear.  The Terror Mask speaks to rick taunting him and spewing out some semi humorous lines.  The game really only fails in its mediocre graphics (which while ripping someones face in two doesn’t matter all that much) and it’s gameplay mechanics that have not really evolved from the original 80’s arcade games.  Like jump during platforming sections might actually be  worse than the originals.  But with everything done and said I could not really ask for much more when it comes to a remake of the original games besides the aforementioned flaws.  If Splatterhouse was let’s say an XBLA/PSN Game, it would be the best of the best, but it’s not so if blood, gore and boobs does it for you check it out, if you are looking for anything else try going a different direction.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Complete this brilliant game, Splatterhouse , with the help of GamingBolt’s video walkthrough.

The walkthrough works for the XBox 360/PS3 versions of the game.

Special thanks to YouTube user TheMediaCows and MahaloSplatterhouse

So, let us begin!

Splatterhouse Walkthrough Guide Hints Cheats Tips

Splatterhouse Walkthrough – Phase 1

Splatterhouse Walkthrough – Phase 2: The Doll That Bled

Note: Please click the image to see it in a pop up and use back-next button to navigate through the images.

Boasting tracks from many of the top names in metal, the Splatterhouse soundtrack fits perfectly with the game’s brutal gameplay and over-the-top gore. The full track list follows:

• The Accused – “Pounding Nails”
• ASG – “Dream Song”
• Cavalera Conspiracy – “Must Kill”
• 5 Finger Death Punch – “Dying Breed”
• Goatwhore – “Apocalyptic Havok”
• The Haunted – “Hollow Ground”
• High On Fire – “Fire, Flood & Plague”
• Mastodon – “Blood and Thunder”
• Municipal Waste – “Rigorous Vengeance”
• Mutant Supremacy – “Morbid Dismemberment”
• Terrorizer – “Dead Shall Rise”
• WolfShirt – “Headlong Into Monsters”

Splatterhouse follows college student Rick Taylor as he embarks on a mission to rescue his girlfriend, Jennifer, who has disappeared after entering a mysterious, run-down mansion inhabited by the elusive scientist, Dr. West.
Confronted by horrific, otherworldly abominations under Dr. West’s control, Rick turns to a mystical sentient mask that promises to give him the power to reunite him with his beloved Jennifer. Fraught with desperation, Rick dons the “Mayan Terror Mask” and is transformed into a raging juggernaut, unleashing unadulterated violence and destruction upon anything that stands in his way.
Splatterhouse will be available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 system on November 26, 2010.

With an Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Trailer to go along with it, Namco Bandai have also revealed the trailer for Splatterhouse. And oh my! it looks bloody awesome- as in, “bloody” awesome.

The trailer shows the backstory of the game- how Rick’s girlfriend gets kidnapped, and what happens when he puts on the badass mask.

Be warned- what happens in the trailer is oh-so-red and violent. The game looks great. I personally can’t wait for it to be released.

More on this matter as it builds.