Welcome to Silent Mushroom, a T-Shirt that blends Super Mario Bros. with Pyramid Head and Silent Hill nurses

What in the world does Super Mario Bros. have to do with Silent Hill? Well, somehow they managed to get together just long enough to pose for some cool looking art. Mike Handy is a guy who literally is handy at making game worlds collide when it comes to artistry. He took both games, blending them together in not just the form of a T-Shirt, but whatever else you can think of. IPad and iPhone cases, throw pillows, laptop cases, tote bags, and even a coffee mug! Yes, you can have your cup of wake up juice in the morning while thinking of Super Mario and Silent Hill.

Mike Handy Art is his site, and he is known for art based on both games and movies. These shirt are called "Welcome to Silent Mushroom" since it blends Mario with characters like the Nurses and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. An interesting concept indeed. Also for you ladies, don't worry, there are tank tops for you too. Many sizes and colors for you to choose from will allow you to have one or more of these gems for yourself, while your friends will be stricken with envy.

Simply head over to the official site called Society6, where you can shop around right now on Black Friday. Now is the time because Mike his offering customers free shipping on their goods until Monday. So if you're thinking about what to get him or her or whoever this year, consider this. You won't regret it.

Yet another Konami game joins the realm of Minecraft, and this time it is the awesome Silent Hill 2

Creativity is a creativity does, and ever since minecraft has taken the gaming scene by storm, it has yet to let up the storm it's caused. This makes yet another Konami game that has been done in minecraft, and just like the Castlevania version this time it's in the form of the great Silent Hill 2. A game that took horror game fans and gave them a run for their money, and life, back in the Playstation 2 days has earned a place in history. Now that it has been redone in MC, what could it possibly be like in a world that looks a bit like LEGOS? Why not see for yourself, as someone has taken their precious time to make a Silent Hill 2 game using the MC world to surround it.

What about the voice acting, cinematic, and sound effects? Don't worry your sweet Pyramid Head off my friend, they are all there as the creator of this fine piece of work took the time to make sure everything you need in this classic horror title is there to boot. I have to give him a perfect 10 for his efforts, and I suggest you check it out below. You won't regret it, and then tell me what you think about his handy work in the comment section below. I'm sure you'll want to grab a copy of that gem and try it for yourself. I know I am.

The intro lasts around 2 minutes, so you if you are short on time feel free to skip just past that part.
For instructions and more info, check out the forum link here.

Peekaboo Revue salutes Silent Hill, and this live nurse cosplay video has what it takes to creep you out

Lots of people like to watch cosplay acts, but much fewer actually practice it themselves. The nurses in Silent Hill have always creeped us out. Some it might have aroused, while others were quite turned off watching them. In any case, a group by the name of Peekaboo Revue has made a salute video to the nurses of Silent Hill, with a live cosplay act and put it in the form of a video for you to check out.

Arranged by Dick Van Wailin, this is quite a show they put on, complete with dance moves, creepy sounds and whatever else you've come to expect from your favorite horror series. It was shot live at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, PA, and just in time for Halloween. It seems it's always this time of year that the horror goodies come out of the shadows to entertain us. After watching it, you can tell they took the time to rehearse their performance well, and the creepy music that goes with it fits nicely. Here is the nurse name list shown at the end.

NURSES

Cherry Bomb
Ginger Leigh
Rosalee Sweet
Sophie Sucre
Goldie Fox
Zinnia Fire

Tell me what you think of these ladies and the performance they put on for you. I give them a big thumbs up, and hope to see more videos like this in the future. Perhaps one starring Pyramid Head would be next on the list if I could make a request.

Halloween might be over, but these Pyramid Head cosplay photos based on Silent Hill are guaranteed to keep you scared

When some people love a game series like Silent Hill so much, they will do anything to keep the fire going. Even if they have to dress up like characters such as Pyramid Head. This iconic figure has dominated the world of Silent Hill since the beginning, and it's always been a bit hard to kill this guy and get rid of him. One person has seen fit to keep that idea going, and actually manufactured his own Pyramid Head outfit, and from the looks of things, he did it for various SH games. Who is this guy? His name is Andrew Howard of San Antonio, Texas.

He started working on it in September, and the material he used was common stuff you can buy at your local hardware store. The sword handle is composed of a ceder fence slat, while the sword itself is styrofoam carved with a jigsaw, wrapped in packaging tape and painted with a polyester resin.

The helmet? Cardboard, cheesecloth hot glued for the eyes, along with a bicycle helmet inside so it can be worn easily. The apron part of the cosplay outfit was a trip to Wal-Mart and a few wood stains to boot. Andrew, that is what I call dedication. If you want to see more of where those images below came from, check out this page for more details. 

Source article from ScreenCrush

Keiichiro Toyama talks about how he would like to continue making horror games like Silent Hill, even though it's difficult and costly

What comes to mind when you think of Silent Hill? Sure, horror and creepy monsters trying to kill you come to every one's mind, but there is another factor. Money, and lots of it. It takes millions to produce a great horror title, and Silent Hill is certainly no exception to the matter. Keiichiro Toyama worked on the original title, and has a fellow fan of horror games, he knows quite a bit about what it takes to produce a great game like SH. Not just in terms of effort, but cost wise. Recently in an interview with Famitsu, he talked about his work in the industry, and how he would like to get back to making great titles like SH.

“I’ve worked on horror for a long time. Whenever I work on something different, I can’t help but come up with new horror-oriented ideas. So I’d like to make another horror game someday, but the thing is, unlike in the past, I think it’s become kind of hard to make horror games. To some extent, horror is a good match for the ‘B’ genre, in terms of taking advantage of low budgets for the maximum return and maximum quality. However, we’re now in an environment where B-grade titles are simply being priced out of the retail-software market. I think making a pure horror AAA console title is going to be really difficult going into the future. Instead, if I have a chance to make something like Journey that you can complete in two or three hours, but still offers an intense horror experience, I’d love to try that.”

Toyama worked at Konami, but it wasn't too long before he moved on to Sony around 1999. His transition was made from a personal standpoint.

"I felt like I had taken the director job a little too quickly, and I lost some of my confidence in the process. We had a lot of talented people on the staff, like "creature designer" Masahiro Ito, cut scene director Takayoshi Sato and "musician and later series producer" Akira Yamaoka, and to some extent, I felt like my design work was more getting in the way of their talents than anything else. So I moved to SCE with the intention of re-learning my job from the ground up."

If Toyama makes a second comeback to the horror scene, let's hope it will give Silent Hill the spice it so richly needs. In recent years it seems the series has lost the momentum it once had. Perhaps a second examination of SH2 would give some insight as to how to bring the series back where it belongs.

Source - Famitsu
Translation - Polygon

Happy Halloween, as we take a look back at what is likely the most terrifying Silent Hill game of all time

When the word Silent Hill is mentioned, many a fan will think about one word. Horror. The series has come a long way over the years, starting way back on the Playstation 1 system back in the late 90s. Since then it has spawned sequel after sequel, but not necessarily each one getting more creepy and intense in the process. Some have made the fans satisfied, while others not so much. One mentionable title has not only stood the test of time, the soundtrack to it has kept us coming back for more year after year.

Silent Hill 2 is the focus this Halloween, as the most terrifying of the series to boot. A first in the sage for the Playstation 2, SH2 has stood the test of time, and still continues to haunt our nightmares to this day. Recently, I've also done a post about a small town called Centralia, Pennsylvania, a town that was the inspiration for the first Silent Hill movie. You should really check it out, as it will give you an indication of what a real life town in the series would be like. Oh, and by the way, check out the full length game play movie someone made below. Paying homage to the hit horror game never looked so good. Harry would be proud, and yet scared to death. Welcome to Silent Hill.

Want to see a real live Silent Hill based town?, Centralia, Pennsylvania is now a ghost area since the air has become toxic

If you are a fan of the Silent Hill game series, you might have wondered at one time or another what a real life town of Silent Hill would be like. Well look no further, as the pour souls of Centralia, Pennsylvania have had to evacuate their homes and properties to seek shelter and home somewhere else. Centralia is the town that not only inspired Roger Avary to write the screenplay for the 2006 movie for Silent Hill, but the town itself has become somewhat like the series in itself. The air has become somewhat toxic in nature, and here is why.

Over 40 years ago, a mine fire struck, threatening sinkholes and poisonous gases to spew into the air, which in turn threatened the lives of the residents of Centralia. Most have fled their town, seeking elsewhere to spend their life, while a precious few residents have decided to fight condemnation proceedings in order to stay in their homes. They won that right to do so in the end, being able to stay in their homes until the day they die.  But was that the best decision? You can decide for yourself.

In the video below, you can see the devastation that took place in Centralia, splitting roads down the middle, while toxic gas spews up from the ground. In fact, the ground itself is so hot in some places, you can light a match with it just by contact alone. The area is certainly no option for a vacation resort to say the least.

The seven who decided to remain their, will receive $218,000 for their properties thanks to their fight to keep living in their homes. The "Silent Hill movie" inspired town of Centralia, which starred actor Sean Bean, is now like a ghost town and being the least populated municipality in all of Pennsylvania. It seem to fit the bill for the horror game series doesn't it? Let's hope the few who decided to remain there, find no more horror in their future for their sakes. Welcome to Centralia, Pennsylvania.

The Silent Hill game series has been hailed as on of the top 10 horror titles for Halloween this year

It had to happen sooner or later. The Silent Hill game series has always driven us to the edge of our seat, and for good reason too. Since the first one launched on the PS1 back in the 1990s, it certainly turned quite a few heads. Not just with its horrific setting, but creepy game soundtrack, which made us come back for more, and is still to this day hailed as on of the best horror soundtracks ever. Then came the second in the series, Silent Hill 2, which to many is regarded as the best one of all.

Unlike Resident Evil, Silent Hill represents more of a challenge in terms of the role your character plays in the game. Not much gun action like RE, and the mood of the game is quite different as well. It's also nice how they change the characters from Harry, to Heather later in the series and bringing the infamous Pyramid Head into the horror action, a personal favorite among Silent Hill fans. The series has had its controversial moments too, like when Australia banned Silent Hill Homecoming due to some drug use noted in the game, but then later on lifted its ban on Homecoming, adding a MA15+ rating to the game and making a few modifications, for the kids sake.

Still, when it comes to a great horror series, you can rely on Silent Hill to give you the creepy chills you need and horror fix this Halloween. After all, that day isn't all about how much candy you can get, it's also about how scared you can be without losing your lunch.

Adam Tierney of WayForward shows you what a Silent Hill game for Nintendo DS might have appeared like

The developer of Silent Hill: Book of Memories for the PSVita shows the world how a Silent Hill game might have appeared on the Nintendo DS. Recently WayForward's Adam Tierney stated that back in 2006, they created an actual demo which utilizes elements from one their personal favorite in the series, Silent Hill 2. That particular one might be the favorite of most of you out there. The video below released by WayForward recently shows a bit of a rough draft demo footage of how it might have seemed on the DS had they actually followed through with it.

Let me make things faster for you, in the beginning they are basically talking and laughing at various things, so the game play footage actually starts at about 7:20. It shows James Sunderland himself wondering around a creepy area, trying to solve a puzzle. Such is the case with just about all Silent Hill games. Another demo is also shown later in the video, which they used as a means to land the job of doing Book of Memories. It too shows exploration of a creepy looking area.

According to Adam Tierney in the video, the concept of their demo was to try and develop a game that made use of zooming in for combat, and out again for puzzle solving. The idea didn't fan out too well, and was "problematic", he said. Adding that it was "just not feasible to support all assets in two different perspectives". Watch the video and let me know what you think about it in the comment section below.

Twitch Source

What do you want to see in the next Silent Hill game?, one site weighs in with a few ins and outs for another horror title

Silent Hill has come a long way, so far in fact that perhaps it's been done too long. Ever since the first title came out on the Playstation back in the 90's, it has kept us on the edge of our seat and wanting to come back for more. With the last horror game, Silent Hill Downpour pushing the max on an engine to keep the series still shining, it had its list of glitches and problems. Last year however, Hideo Kojima had toyed with the idea of using the Fox Engine for the next Silent Hill game. Although the Fox Engine is actually meant for an outdoor environment, it still could be used for the indoor horror scenario.

Giving the series a new makeover has become a must, as I believe it has gone as far as it can. Castlevania has reinvented itself with Lords of Shadow, Metal Gear Solid is doing the same with Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain. Could Silent Hill be next? It's starting to lean that way, and one site which is dedicated to covering horror games and movies to boot has weighed in on what they would like to see in the next iteration of Silent Hill. You may have heard of them, Bloody Disgusting has a 3 page article showcasing what they would like to see for the future of the series. Hardly disgusting, very bloody, and yet informative.