Bring in the 09′ with a NEW Old School Game of the Month

That’s right kids, there’s a new Old School Game of the Month up, just in time for your New Year’s Eve festivities!

Click here to check it out!

2008: Top 10

Top 10 games of 08

1. NHL 09: This game has easily stolen more hours away from me than any other game this year. The improved hitting, additions of Be a Pro and EASHL, and above average online community made this the best sports game I’ve ever come across. NHL 09 is for Hockey fans what The Bible is for Christians.

2. Fallout 3: Just when Fable (and every other RPG from this year) had let me down, Fallout 3 was released, and changed everything. When was the last time you could explore such a vast world, customize your character to no end, and play a game that was different every time you loaded it up? Some would say Oblivion (made by the same developers, Bethesda), and that’s all good and well, but then I’m forced to ask… Where’s the Cannibalism? GNS has run a good amount of articles on the enjoyments of Fallout 3, so if you’re still not sure if it rules, read up.

3. Gears of War 2: Take what worked in Gears of War, add the best multiplayer game mode of the year (Horde), step the campaign up to epic proportions, add online photo capabilities, and you get an improvement on one of Microsoft’s best exclusives. The online versus modes are still a little awkward for my tastes, but the Horde and Co-op modes are flawless. Chainsaw duels were another fun addition, as were tons of different executions. Few games roll over this much greatness, and still bring this many improvements to the table, but Epic Games pulled it off.

4. Grand Theft Auto IV: Rockstar took their series from campy, b-movie ground, and stepped it up to an Oscar contender as far as story/atmosphere/voice acting all goes. Niko’s story is the deepest, and most intriguing in the series. The new engine surpasses anything the last gen of GTA’s did, with a lack of load times between islands, the best physics of any sandbox game to date, and the addition of a cover system make this a must play title.

5. PIXELJUNK Monsters: Co-op Tower Defense on a console for less than fifteen bucks? Yes, please. This game takes the RTS genre for consoles, and turns it on its head. The music is catchy, the gameplay is straightforward, and the addiction is hard to kick. Few strategy games have more replay value than Monsters, and any PS3 fan with an internet connection, is doing themselves a disservice if they don’t have this on their HD.

6. Left 4 Dead: An FPS that is more focused on running than it is on gunning, and that’s the perfect arcade format for a zombie shooter. You may have heard “what’s the button to aim down the sight,” many times whilst taking on zombies with L4D noobs, but rarely did the complaint linger long enough to annoy. This is another in a list of great co-op games released this year, which is a giant upgrade from previous years, and I’m hoping to see some extra content released for this down the road. Don’t let us down Valve!

7. Devil May Cry 4: Perhaps the forgotten game of 2008, Devil May Cry 4 started 08 off with a bang. Capcom brought the best horror/action franchise back for a next-gen iteration, and the results were above average. At first, players may have been a little thrown off by starting as Nero, but after seeing his vast array of attacks, grew to enjoy the character. The first place I ever saw two gun-fighting characters shoot each other’s bullets away like a sword fight, and here (unlike in the film Wanted) it actually fit the action. Devil May Cry 4 brought the boss battles, post-game unlockables, and and non-stop monster slaying, that fans of the series come to expect.

8. Braid: I’ve yet to play all the way through this game, but it’s been on my mind more as of late, than any XBox Live Arcade game I’ve ever played. I’m sure half of my interest came with the hype train that caused me to download the game, but the puzzle solving is too much fun not to want more after each session. The gameplay isn’t as deep as some of the games on the list, but the story can hang with any game on this list, when it comes to quality. The same can be said for the Music and Art direction.

9. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix: It’s been a long while since a fighting game (especially 2D) held my interest, but since downloading SSFIITHDR, I’ve found nothing few things more enjoyable than a quick one on one session in Street Fighter. The art has been stepped up from the arcade version, and so have a lot of the characters it seems. I can’t recall a fighting game with as many enjoyable characters to play as, but in SSFIITHDR it’s harder for me to find a player I don’t enjoy. If you’re looking for a game to fit in between other games, or you own an arcade stick that needs to get some use, download this game right away.

10. Rock Band 2: I don’t usually like to support games that just port over last year’s version, but Rock Band 2 stepped it up in the places it matters most, song selection, and instrumentation. Improved equipment is a big plus, but being able to grab all the songs of the Rock Band 1 disc is pretty revolutionary. If more sequels found a way to integrate the original’s content (Gears 2 did this also), there’d be less gamers screaming rape any time a new sequel was announced a year after the original.

There’s my 10 favorite of the year. Mostly games for both systems, with some downloadable games thrown in there. I’m glad to see the year brought tons of co-op experiences, which I think are usually my favorite gaming experiences. Be back before New Year with my most anticipated of 09… MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Campaigning 08: Braid

Braid: I was gifted Microsoft points from Souvenir City’s own PostersRise, and I decided to go with a game that has a strong single player experience. I heard great things about Braid over the last few months, and figured now was as good a time as any to jump in. The music is great, sets a good tone for the game, and the time mechanics are fun, yet simple to play with. Controls nice, strong score, and interesting art direction, so far so good.

I open the game to my shadowy character running down some shadowy platform. At the end of this platform I reach a machine with “World 2″ projecting from it. I press the B button next to the machine, and enter W2. Upon my arrival six stalls are in front of me, standing next to each reveals a bit of the story, and apparently I’m off to find a Princess. The reason she’s not around is because the main character, Tim, “made a mistake.”

So onto finding that Princess. The first door leads to “3 Easy Pieces,” which is just as it says it is. I grab all three puzzle pieces, as the ground acts as a tutorial by showing you pictures to illustrate what to do. Next I’m onto “The Cloud Bridge.” First grabbed the key to unlock the gate to the Cloud Bridges, grabbed another two easy puzzle pieces, but could not grab the next two. There’s a puzzle solving area in the middle of this stage, but I did not have all the pieces needed for the puzzle. I moved onto the next room.

“Hunt!” Another easy room. Avoided killing the second monster at first, which led to me using it as a jump boost to get to the platform with the ladder. After killing off all the monsters I opened the door to the puzzle piece. Moved onto the next room, “Leap of Faith,” which was tricky. I grabbed the first puzzle piece by using a movable platform to move a monster towards the piece, then I used that monster for a jump boost. The second piece I grabbed from the Leap of faith jump between the two spiked platforms, a third I grabbed on my way up a ladder. I didn’t grab the fourth one, but found World 2’s castle, a dinosaur came out and told me the Princess was somewhere else, and sent me back to the beginning of the game.

World 2’s “Leap of Faith”

A screen next to World 2’s screen turned on, and said World 3, but I had to go back for the last three puzzle pieces I skipped. I went back to “The Cloud Bridge,” and used two certain puzzle pieces to make a bridge. I used the bridge to get me across to the highest puzzle piece, and then used the bridge to trick the Monster, who walked out onto the bride, and then I moved it away from him, causing him to drop. Another jump boost for the last puzzle piece here, and I went back to “Leap of Faith.” Here I found that I needed to jump boost a monster, who was being shot out of a canon, to get the final puzzle piece. Timing was everything, and the time reversal skill came into play more here than any other part of the World for me. After about ten minutes I acquired the puzzle piece, and went back to “The Cloud Bridge” to finish off the World 2 Puzzle.

Achievements unlocked: Traverse World 2, Solved World 2

Grand Theft Auto meets Sons of Anarchy?

The only mission I recall with a possible “Lost” member.

Grand Theft Auto IV: Recently there’s been announcements that Grand Theft Auto IV’s new expansion would be known as Lost and the Damned, and its release would exclusively be on XBOX live, the date being February 17, 2009. Apparently you take on the role of a Motorcycle Club member of “The Lost.” Apparently this is an MC we’ve come across in the GTA IV campaign, but not to the extent that I recall (another playthru is imminent). The Gang now has a story all of it’s own, or do they?

The second the trailer for the Lost and the Damned expansion started, the first thing I thought was, Sons of Anarcy. I’m not sure how many people reading this are familiar with the show, which premiered on FX earlier this year, but I can tell you that some of the people at Rockstar Games caught episodes of the series. I know Grand Theft Auto is famous for just ripping off movies (Vice City was basically 2 parts Scarface, one part Miami Vice), so I guess this could be an obvious homage, I just think it should be pointed out to fans of both series. With both having characters named Clay, tons of variations of the word “Brother,” being bandied about, and the club house looking pretty similar, I’m just shocked they didn’t just bring FX in to call it “The Sons and the Damned.”

More on this when it’s released, maybe I’m totally off base… Maybe.

Campaigning 08: Gears of War 2 (Hardcore)

Gears of War 2: Until now, the Gears of War 2 campaign had remained relatively untouched by me. I couldn’t bring myself to play another boring campaign like the one in Gears of War. Constantly I’d hear friends telling me how “awesome,” “bad ass,” and “epic,” the new campaign was. They’d tell me how everything had been improved. The story this, and boss battles that, but little did I care what they had to say, as I just kept plugging away, ignoring the story mode of the sequel to one of my favorite all time games. That is, until last night…

PostersRise and I decided to embark on the journey through the center of Seram, after a few lackluster late night Horde sessions with random kids on our team. Posters had already beaten the game on Hardcore, but was willing to run through “one mo’ gen,” as I hosted up a match. I had finished the first three parts of Act I or Chapter I, whichever one is the biggest subcategory, so we jumped in right after the part where you must protect Betty, as you ride it to victory. We did work on the Troika/Gas station part, owned the Matrix rip-offs that were called Reavers (I think), and went on to me acquiring four achievements.

1. Collector: Acquire 5 of 41 collectibles
Posters kept walking me up to collectibles as we marched through the chapter. I’d say we missed a few, but I’ll get them on the next playthru (if there is one).

2. Girl About Town: Seen the sights with Betty
I believe I got this right when we finished the second defend Betty Mission. I also acquired Dizzy as a playable character in online modes at this time.

3. That sinking Feeling: Watched Ilma sink
The last story progression achievement I got.

4. Open relationship: Finish 10 chapters on Co-Op
Between what I did with GodhartsYankees whenever it was that we played, and the parts Posters and I finished, I’m on my way.

So far this campaign has reminded me a bit of The Matrix meets Lord of the Rings. I’m not sure if they consciously mean to rip off both movies (and Terminator a bit also) like Mortal Kombat ripped off Big Trouble in Little China, but I think they did. Fought some Kantus’ for the first time in campaign (instead of Horde), and they were even more annoying audibly. I’m not all that impressed with the campaign so far, but it’s also not the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, so I’m sure I’ll finish it up.

Souvenir City

Come join the discussion on the forums… Souvenir City

2008: The Games

Army of Two (played on: Xbox 360): A decent co-op game at first, but as the game went along, and nothing new happened, it became redundant.

Call of Duty: World at War (played on: Xbox 360): Just can’t get back into the WWII scene. Been there, done that, Pacific or otherwise. Bring on Call of Duty: Nam already.

Castle Crashers (played on: Xbox 360): A great Xbox Live experience the first bunch of times through, but a complete version of this game, with tons of maps to battle through, would have been much more ideal to anyone looking to level their characters up.

The Club (played on: Xbox 360): The least common denominator of shooters. “Let’s go kill a bunch of people in a warehouse for no reason whatsoever!” No thanks.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot (played on: Xbox 360): A first person game that asks for more than shooting, and while the puzzle portions are a bit of fun, and the atmosphere is creepy, the replayability and combat are lacking too much to warrant a purchase.

Devil May Cry 4 (played on: Xbox 360): A great installment into one of the great on-going action series. Dante returns halfway through the game, but the real star is Nero (Virgil’s son/clone?). Non-stop monster battling fun in this great next-gen sequel.

Fable 2 (played on: Xbox 360): If you like a game holding your hand through everything, and only having to tap the A button anytime your character is supposed to be doing something different, then this game is for you!

Facebreaker (played on: Xbox 360): What didn’t everyone learn from Ready 2 Rumble boxing? Boxing games built towards the arcade and not simulation equals fail… Unless it’s Punchout!

Fallout 3 (played on: Xbox 360): Experiencing Fallout 3 for the first time this year was a lot like experiencing No Country For Old Men in theaters for the first time last year. Few experiences in my life standout as more enjoyable. Fallout 3 is everything I could want in a post apocalyptic shooter/rpg.

Far Cry 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Cliche’, Cliche’, unbalanced gunfight, take medicine, drive forever. Rinse. Repeat.

FIFA Street 3 (played on: Xbox 360): Street games just don’t have the longevity of regular sports games because of the lack of players in the games, and no franchise features. FIFA Street 3 has gameplay at a pretty fun level, now to load up on the roster and features.

Jman and Friends debate the existence of Gold Flamethrowers

Gears of War 2 (played on: Xbox 360): An upgraded campaign, an online mode that doesn’t involve playing against a team of cry babies, but a weakened online versus. It’s hard to call Gears of War 2 a downgrade on the first Gears, but the ridiculousness in EPIC removing the stun on people holding their chainsaw in an attacking position, has made online versus broken at best. Still a fun game, but hardly the GOTY candidate I was hoping for.

Geometry Wars: Retro evoled 2 (played on: Xbox 360): The sequel to possibly the most addictive game on the XBLA. Sorely lacking in Online multiplayer, and hard to warrant a purchase for anyone who already owns the original. The added game modes are merely just dressed up training missions for the real game (Evolved).

Grand Theft Auto IV (played on: Xbox 360): This game stepped the GTA free roaming up with no loading different areas of the map, rag doll physics, and cab services. The lack of weapons, different kinds of vehicles, and doing the same missions over and over keeps this game from being perfect, but it’s still leaps and bounds ahead of games like Saints Row 2 (which after viewing at length, I avoided a playthru of).

Guitar Hero: World Tour (played on: Xbox 360): Activision further robs Harmonix of all the greatness it creates. There are a good number of bands on here that I enjoy, that Rock Band doesn’t have (The Mars Volta!), but the presentation here is too dull to keep me coming back.

Left 4 Dead (played on: Xbox 360): Zombies everywhere! I can’t think of a shooter that lived up to the hype better than Valve’s Left 4 Dead. It brought everything it promised (Director A.I., Online multiplayer fun, tons of zombies to kill), which is more than I can say for pretty much any other game this year. If you like a quick pace with your shooting, look no further.

Lego Batman (played on: Xbox 360): A fine installment in the LEGO series, but still not a great game. These games are as face value as they come, and while I love the Batman license more than most any other, this game still didn’t do it for me. A lot of characters in this one to play as, but since they all feel pretty much the same, they’re more like re-skins. Play if you enjoy the Lego series, avoid otherwise.

MLB 08: The Show (played on: PS3): The best baseball game to come out in ages. Next step is getting the Road to the Show mode online. If they did that, MLB 09: The Show could be a system seller for Sony.

Madden NFL 09 (played on: Xbox 360): See: Last decade of Madden games…

Mario Kart WII (played on: Wii): Mario Kart proves to be one of the greatest video gaming series of all time again by re-inventing the wheel, so to speak. Possibly the only game on the Wii that I truly enjoy besides Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii is an upgrade in the franchise. The implementation of the Wheel controller is perfect for the system and series.

Mirror’s Edge (played on: Xbox 360): Free running the game. If that interests you, that’s cool, but I found nothing redeemable about it. The action stinks, there aren’t enough colors I feel like a lot of the time, and don’t even try getting into the story.

Jman checks on Salcido’s victim

NHL 09 (played on: Xbox 360): NHL 08 + Be a Pro Mode + Stick lifting + way “crunchier” checking animations + EASHL = The best sports game ever released… By far.

Ninja Gaiden 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Some of the least fun you’ll ever have partaking in Boss battles. Ninja Gaiden brings a good bit of fun through the platforming and fighting off other ninja, but when it comes down to the Boss Fights, instead of being fun like DMC 4, they’re quite tedious. Not a better game than Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox.

PixelJunk Monsters (played on: PS3): The sleeper of 08. Released in late January, this game is the only reason I could ever understand for owning a PS3. If you enjoy a good game of Tower Defense, this game is just for you. The only console TD game I’ve ever played (still haven’t tried Lock’s Quest on DS), and I hope this leads to more releases in the genre.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Rainbow Six: Vegas with a sprint button, and a sweet leveling system. An upgrade for sure, but nothing worth an extra 60 dollars.

Rock Band 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Practically the exact same game as far as in song play goes. The new music store option is pretty sweet, and makes purchasing DLC a lot clearer (no more sitting in the XBL Marketplace waiting for the sidebar to scroll up so you can see the name of the band whose song you’re looking at). The ability to port over the majority of Rock Band’s songs makes this game a pretty perfect sequel.

Soul Caliber IV (played on: Xbox 360): I’ve never enjoyed games about character wielding dull swords, axes, and the like, and Soul Caliber IV is no different. If I’m going to play a sword fighting game it’ll start with Bushido and end with Blade.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (played on: Xbox 360): This has the same problem as Soul Caliber IV to me, a dull Lightsaber is not a Lightsaber at all, and taking more than one strike to down an enemy goon makes these some dull ass Lightsabers. The story is kind of cool if you are still down with ignoring George Lucas-sized plot holes, and wielding to force to smash TIE Fighters into each other rules, but that’s about it.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (played on: Xbox 360): I eagerly awaited this one, and was not let down by the results. I was mad that you can only play the demo with another person, but a demo isn’t really needed when it comes to this classic series. The gameplay is great, but the XBOX 360 remote still blows when it comes to fighting games, so getting lucky and finding an arcade stick would greatly improve gameplay.

Too Human (played on: Xbox 360): Silicon Knights can sue Epic Games all they want, and blame the Unreal Engine for this game’s failures, but none of it takes away from the fact that this game isn’t good. Some people can look past Too Human’s flaws like those who enjoyed Two Worlds last year, but like that, it’s a lost cause. Fallout 3 came along and showed everyone how Action/RPG’s are to be done, but this game probably stole sixty bucks from a lot of people.

That’s it as far as I can tell. I missed out on some big games due to not owning a Wii, PS3, PSP, or PS2. Hopefully next year I can double the amount of this list, but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll get Gamefly or something like that. Be back with GNS’s, the Gaming Never Sleeps 08 awards, within the week.

Instrumental Games Saving the Music Business?

Remember when Napster came out in 1999? It was the summer of seventh grade for me, a year into my America Online subscription, and around the time I was getting into Rage Against the Machine. At the time no fuss was being made about the music “sharing” that was going on, but that didn’t last for too long. By 2000 the pop band Metallica decided to throw a childish tantrum, and try to ruin what Shawn Fanning had spent his time trying to create, Napster (not that the RIAA weren’t ahead of them). Fall of 2001 saw Napster’s free music program turn into profit-based program due to enormous debt. Did this stop the world from acquiring Metallica’s, or anyone else’s music? No, no it didn’t.

With time came more music downloading programs. Everything from Kazaa to Limewire added to the alleged problem between the internet, and music creators, who were getting their music to more pirates than ever (apparently not the Industry’s favorite demographic). People were still doing their best to avoid paying upwards of ten dollars for albums they only wanted a song or two from. Music sharing would not stop anytime soon, so what would the next big trend be? Apple, a bit before Napster began doing the same, started charging a fee per song on a little program known as ITunes.

5+ billion songs later, and we can see that people are willing to pay for music, especially when they can choose track by track in the comfort of their own living room. Like Alfred Molina said in Boogie Nights, we don’t need record companies telling us what order songs need to be listened to. Itunes is currently at version 8.0.2, and has handled the online music market quite well. Where do the video games come in?

Games like Dance Dance Revolution have always been about the music, and games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater was all about providing a good soundtrack, but before Guitar hero, there was nothing on the consoles (in America) that provided such a deep look into the music we were hearing. Note patterns played out in a generally realistic way, and people could hear parts of songs their ears had never been trained to listen to before experiencing GH:1.

The year was 2005, Dubya had started his second term, Cowboys and Colts opened new stadiums, and Playstation 2 owners were smacked in the face with the future of gaming. A Gibson Sg-like guitar controller was the portal into the rock this time. The game featured tracks from a wide array of musicians, from many different eras, and for a lot of gamers, it introduced songs they had been missing their whole lives. Exposure is the key word here because instrument games bring gamers music from generations other than their own, which in a lot of cases wasn’t a usual thing before Guitar Hero. The younger kids getting a chance to jam Stevie Ray Vaughn or Bowie, while the older generation were introduced to Queen’s of the Stone Age and Freezepop. Does this directly affect music purchases? I think it does.

With Guitar hero 2 gamers were given a bit more of the same, but this time on a much wider array of consoles, this time reaching as far as next-gen system Xbox 360. Months later, November 20th, 2007 to be exact, rhythm/instrument games changed forever with the release of Rock Band. Now players could take on the drums and vocals, as well as the already popular guitar and bass playing parts. A year later, here we are, playing Guitar Hero: World Tour (4 instruments like Rock Band), Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Rock Revolution (well it’s out, not sure anyone is playing), and bands like Metallica (yeah THAT Metallica) and Guns n Roses are finding ways to release their newest albums on these games.

If nothing else shows that these games are good for the music industry, Metallica jumping on board with the first Rock Band, and following heavily with Guitar Hero: World Tour has to be a sign. They were the number one adversary to the music and technology sharing that was going on, and no they’re one of the biggest advocates of the online music listening community. Did they flip-flop? A bit, but everything has evolved so much since that fateful 1999, that it would be impossible for them not to. With the Beatles getting their own game created by the Rock Band crew, it looks like less and less acts (Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin I’m looking at you) are keeping their music out of games these days.

Demo’n: Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 5: Just got back from Tokyo where I had the chance to try out the Resident Evil 5 demo, which was released over XBox live there. Was the game everything I imagined? Not exactly, but it sure does seem to improve on the greatness that was Resident Evil 4 (all 27 times it was released). Of course there will be the usual haters with their “Resident Evil 4.5″ reviews, but this game is certainly looking to take the Biohazard series to the next level.

Capcom has brought the series a long way since it’s inception on the original Playstation. Albert Wesker has become the most popular character among the masses, the series has shifted from survival horror to campy 80’s action, and there have been cries of racism for months due to the game being set in Africa. Has the series improved over time? Gameplay-wise I’d have to say yes, but as far as atmosphere goes, the first two games in this series will probably never be topped by a mere sequel. Would I sacrifice the great atmosphere for clearer camera angles? Probably not, but Capcom did, so here we are.

The Resident Evil 5 demo starts you out with the option of choosing to play the demo singularly, with a friend offline, and with a friend online. If you play co-op you will have the chance to play as Chris Redfield, and a new character to the Resident Evil series, Sheva Alomar. Next you get to choose which of the two parts of the demo you’d like to play, “Public Assembly,” or “Shanty Town,” which each provide you with enough monster (human?) slaughter, a chainsawing boss battle, and a pretty decent difficulty level. You won’t see too many differences between controlling Chris and Sheva compared to controlling Leon S. Kennedy, but accessing the inventory can only be done in real time now, which is a son of a bitch when you’re fighting a horde of bad dudes.

Overall this demo lives up to expectations for the most part, although I am bummed to find that there is no cover system implemented, which I heard rumored. A player still cannot walk and shoot, and though it’s said to be scarier that way, it’s really just annoying that you can’t. The shotgun in this demo rules (just like all shotguns should). At this point, I’m really just excited to get into the full game, and see where this outrageous story leads us next. The waiting game starts now, and doesn’t end till March 13th for us Americans, unless you go to Tokyo after March 5th which is their release date.

Rating: Go all the way to Japan, and Download now!

Fun with Avatars 2: Electric Boogalo

Here are a few more NXE Avatars I’ve concocted to resemble some possibly famous People/Characters…

Elias Koteas from such great films as Zodiac and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Spirit of Jazz from the 2nd Series of The Mighty Boosh. Big ups to Laparkea for the contributions on this one.

Just isn’t what I wanted out of a Roy Munson.

Finally Microsoft has released a snowboarding outfit that I allowed my Elias Koteas avatar to rock for the purpose of this posting. I’m pretty excited that they released a whole outfit (and a recolor of the brown dress shoes [black]). I hope MS continues to release these updates.

no new pants

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: A friend of mine just showed me that you can summon ghosts at the altar in the Northwest part of the Castle. If you sit on the left side you summon a royal ghost that shuts the curtain, and attempts to barrage you with many medieval weapons. If you sit on the right side, a lady ghost shuts the curtain, and attempts a single spear to the heart.