Konami's SAW to rival Silent Hill

Konami thinks the freshly-acquired Saw licence can become as important as Silent Hill - but focused less on psychological thrills and more on gory titillation.

"Because we have leadership in the survival horror genre we're passionate about it and wanted to find another property on par with Silent Hill," Konami marketeer David Daniels explained to Variety.

"Silent Hill is more about psychological terror, but Saw for us is more about graphic, intense horror that overwhelms you. We want players to turn away from the screen for just a moment because of the visual intensity.

"One of the big pillars of Saw is the maniacal, twister serial killer Jigsaw's very unusual traps," he added, "And you can expect that's something we'll carry forward. Some traps will even be a direct translation from the movies, particularly the iconic ones fans love."

Does he mean the pit of used syringes? Or perhaps the mechanical torture rack that slowly twists the limbs of the person (s)trapped inside?

Konami prized the Saw licence from the cold hands of dying publisher Brash Entertainment earlier this year - the company that promised tip-top film tie-ins but only ever delivered rubbish games for children.

Tobin Bell, the actor who plays Jigsaw in the films, will lend his voice to the project, and the game - for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 - will be out this autumn.