Konami

CHICAGO – A decade or so ago, “Metal Gear Solid” came out and accomplished two things. First, it invented the stealth action genre for consoles. Sneaking behind enemies, choking them out, and making it through a particularly grueling area undetected achieved a cycle of stress, relief, triumph, and joy.

CHICAGO – With “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D” sucking rotten eggs in theaters both critically and at the box office while “Silent Hill HD Collection” gets more quality gameplay out of old titles remastered than the new “Silent Hill: Downpour” does out of a brand-new experience, it’s an odd time for this legendary franchise. Into the questions about the vitality of its future comes “Silent Hill: Book of Memories,” the first PlayStation Vita game in the series and, technically, the 9th game overall.

CHICAGO – 2012 marks the first time in three years I haven’t played the new “FIFA” game with my annoying wannabe-European roommate. Like clockwork, each year he’d bound into our apartment with the world’s premier soccer title, unwrap it, pack the hookah (making me guess the flavor even though I could never tell the difference - and told him this every time) and we’d proceed to play until I beat him, at which point he’d lose interest in playing me, and instead move to his bedroom to play on the easiest mode with the best team and I presume drink creme de menthe and listen to The Smiths.

CHICAGO – In our latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 pairs of guaranteed, anytime movie passes up for grabs for the new horror film “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”!

CHICAGO – The trend of packaging already-available games in HD collections has finally reached the most terrifying location in the history of gaming — Silent Hill. Interestingly, Konami chose to just take the peaks of the franchise, the brilliant “Silent Hill 2” and “Silent Hill 3,” the two games that really made this mega-franchise what it is today.

CHICAGO – Gaijin Entertainment is a gaming company known for their car racing games and flight simulators. With releases like “Adrenaline,” “Anarchy: Rush Hour,” “Apache: Air Assault,” and “Death Track: Resurrection,” it was interesting when they brought out “X-Blades” (a hack and slash adventure game) back in 2009. Now, three years later, Gaijin is back with a spiritual sequel to “X-Blades” called “Blades of Time;” a confused and convoluted adventure that will make you wish Gaijin had stuck to cars and planes.

CHICAGO – I was annoyed more often than entertained by “NeverDead,” Konami’s admirable attempt at undead humor action that misses its mark by virtue of repetitive action and poor mechanics. I was hoping for a clever, fun ride with a zombie hero, a relative of the surprisingly-fun “Shadows of the Damned” perhaps. Instead I got a game closer to “Duke Nukem Forever” with bad gameplay, awful writing, and uninteresting storytelling. This is a major disappointment.

CHICAGO - In 1987, Hideo Kojima brought “Metal Gear” to the video game world. 14 years and over 12 games later, the “Metal Gear” series is one of the most beloved and respected video game franchises ever. A major player in defining the world of stealth video games, Konami has created a bundle pack that brings three classic releases back to players everywhere.

CHICAGO – Konami Digital Entertainment made news yesterday when announcing one of its top selling franchises was returning to gamers not once, not twice, but thrice in 2012. The survival/horror series “Silent Hill,” which first premiered in 1999 on Sony PlayStation, will have its eighth and ninth installments released in the coming months, as well as a re-release of two of its classic tales.

CHICAGO – “Frogger 3D” should have been a slam dunk. Take a beloved, nostalgic franchise and upgrade it for an exciting new console.