It's hard to find good survival horror games these days. Sure there are exceptions, but in the end almost everything labeled as "horror" is overloaded with action, giant health bars, and plenty of weapons at your disposal.

Condemned: Criminal Origins however shows how exactly survival horror should be done on so many levels.

The game itself is presented as a modern psychological crime thriller. Now imagine that fused together in a Silent Hill like setting, and you got Condemned: Criminal Origins.

When it comes to combat, Condemned is straight-up and brutal. Mostly relying on blunt objects like pipes, and nail boards. Though along the way you'll pick up more convenient weapons such as fire axes and sledge hammers. Guns are rare, and have close to no ammo. So when you run out of bullets, then that's it. No reloading or ammo pick-ups.

This style of combat not only makes things challenging, but terrifying as well. As enemies will relentlessly charge at you and attack. All it takes is just a few hits, and you're done.

Your forensic gadgets that you use to analyze and collect evidence on the other hand are surprisingly underwhelming and not that fun to use. For starters the game will tell you when to use them, so there's not much puzzle solving involved. Although it is very helpful that when you do need to use them, the game automatically selects the right gadget for investigation, so you don't have to cycle through them all.

The music of course is creepy and eerie, along with the sound effects. This in return will leave you literally checking every corner and playing the game slow and steady on high alert for any enemies hiding in the dark.

Overall Condemned: Criminal Origins I would say is a must have for any survival horror fan, or for someone like me who needs a break from a typical first-person game. I'm already looking forward to getting Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

The big game's here. The New England Patriots and the New York Giants are once again going to go at it for the championship. Not really rooting for anyone this time, if that makes sense. I just hope it's a great game like the last time they met a few years ago. Best of luck to both teams, and once again here's hoping that it's a great game. :)

Normally American adaptations of foreign films feel like different movies altogether. Certain elements like dialogue and scenarios are revised or completely changed leaving the viewer thinking, "Why did they change that? I like the original better."

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo however proves that an adaptation can be good when the right people work on it. In this case it was director David Fincher, who has made some of the greatest movies I've ever seen, and it didn't surprise me that this movie turned out the way it did.

In return the acting was great too. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara deliver great performances when they're together on screen, and when they go solo in their own scenes. Rooney Mara especially was really good, portraying a more softer and admirable version of the character Lisbeth Salander than in the Swedish version.

Another great thing about this movie was the music. Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor along with Atticus Ross return and deliver a fantastic original score the sets and captures the mood throughout the course of the film. The movie also contains a remix of the classic Led Zeppelin song "Immigrant Song" which is also fantastic as well.

That's not to say there are flaws of course. The pacing of the film felt a bit rushed at times. Other times it felt out of synch, whereas in the Swedish version everything was in a bit more in detail and well put together.

Overall this is a pretty good movie, in fact it's one of the better movies I've seen in a long time. Like I mentioned before, it's a good adaptation. But I still kind of prefer the Swedish version by just a little more.

Either way, I recommend you see it.

Another year gone. I know I'm probably repeating myself, but I swear time is flying faster as each year goes by.

Compared to most years, 2011 was personally a good year for me. Here's hoping for an even better year when 2012 rolls around. Of course if the world ends then that could be a problem. :P

Also just for the hell of it, here are my top five games of the year.

1. Portal 2.

2. Metal Gear Solid Collection.

3. Dead Space 2.

4. Gears of War 3.

5. Crysis 2.

Hope everyone has a great New Year. :)

I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I'm not going to be around for the rest of the day or tomorrow because I have to go see my relatives. Because of this, me and family opened our gifts early. Lucky me. :P Lots of good stuff this year.

Battlefield 3

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Pixies - "Doolittle"

R.E.M. - "Out Of Time"

Smashing Pumpkins - "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness"

I also got some new shirts, head phones, and guitar chords.

Merry Christmas once again. :)

Probably one of the few times I've stayed home for Thanksgiving. Usually me and my family travel, but I'm glad this year is different.

My sister came home from Chicago to be with us today, and it's sure nice to her again. My neighbors across the street even joined us today. I wasn't too thrilled about that, but there wasn't anything I could. :P

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving. :)

The ultimate in alien terror returns.

This is not a re-make, but a prequel to the original 1982 film by John Carpenter.

The story of an Antarctic research team that discovers the remains of an alien and its space craft buried under the ice for 100,000 years. The research team soon discovers that the alien isn't dead, and that it has the ability to assimilate and imitate anyone it attacks. Not knowing who's human and who's an imitation, terror and paranoia takes control of the research team as they try and fight off and survive the horrifying creature from space.

This is probably by far one of my favorite movies this year. The Thing is scary, suspenseful, and gory just like the original. It will definitely remind you of the original, but it's an entirely new film that's completely unpredictable and will leave you wondering who is human, and who is not throughout the film. It also does a great job being a prequel, it ties in perfectly to the original Thing, leaving no gaps or errors in the story.

If there's one horror film to see this year, it's definitely The Thing.

Man things have been more hectic than usual, I thought college was supposed to be crazy and fun. :P Fortunately I've been able to catch a few breaks recently. One them was going out and purchasing Rage.

Rage may look like Fallout, which in terms of setting, yes that is true. But once you get into the game, it plays more like BioShock. Many BioShock similarities include utilizing and creating many different types of ammo, collecting or buying various items to build mechanical wonders such as gun turrets or remote controlled RC bomb cars. Another distinct feature is the car combat, which in turn leaves you satisfied and reminded of the Twisted Metal games.

There are more role-playing elements than usual, making this id Software's most unique game yet. Once you get through the role-playing elements (selecting missions, travelling to locations) the game instantly throws into classic id Software combat, a bombardment of enemies, tons guns, and a bloody mess left in your wake.

The game is the most spectacular looking I've ever seen, visual design and animation are so fluent that it's definitely one of the best looking games on consoles. The sound in return is also very good too.

Despite all the positive attributes to Rage, it feels as though something is missing.

I'm glad that id Software kept to their roots of basic level design, but at the same time it feels that there's so much to do and explore in the wasteland setting, unfortunately exploration is almost non-existent.

Overall, Rage is a great game, it's a bunch of neat ideas fused together to make itself an entirely new kind of shooter. But like I said, I feel it could've been better.

The final chapter in Epic Game's celebrated shooter. It was well worth the money and wait.

The game delivers outstanding visual, sound, and level design. The series continues to retain it's classic game play, along with a lengthy campaign that includes new weapons, enemies, and characters that you'll get to know and like throughout the game.

Not much else to say since it's universal agreed that Gears Of War 3 is a terrific game, and is a must have for any fan, or 360 owner.

Oh man, the last day of summer vacation.

This will be my first year at college, and boy I don't know if I should be looking forward to it or not. In a way it's another fresh start, which is always a good thing.

Then again I'm not looking forward to the long class hours, and the gauntlet of work that's assigned to you.

If you must know, it's a community college I'm going to. It's actually about ten minutes away from home which is really convenient. I plan to go there for a few years and get a transfer to a university, hopefully to Ohio State.