When you think of Hudson, your mind probably immediately goes to their kid-friendly, family-oriented games with a more casual bent. That's understandable, after all, this is the company that recently brought out Help Wanted on the Wii and is currently working on an XBLA version of Diner Dash. Don't call them a one-trick pony though, as the company known for cute and cuddly characters is about to release something a whole lot darker and infinitely more sinister with Calling.

This M rated game, something nearly unheard of for Hudson, is the latest entry into the survival horror genre. Rather than relying on blood and guts ala Dead Space or Resident Evil, the title will lean more toward Japanese-style horror, with lots of tense moments and psychological tricks. The game takes a lot of cues from films like The Ring and The Grudge, complete with terrifying Japanese girls that appear out of nowhere and chill you right to your very soul.

We don't know a lot about the game's plot yet, other than the fact that the story centers on "The Black Page," a website which allows people to communicate with the dead, but at the same time drags them into a realm between the living and dead haunted by the memories of malicious spirits. Each chapter of the game will feature a new character, so viewpoints will be constantly shifting and the storytelling emerging from many different angles. The conventional approach would find all the characters converging at the end of the game, but a much more interesting approach might be to kill off some characters while leaving others alive, thus keeping players off-balance about what will happen next. Still, that's just wishful thinking; obviously Hudson isn't willing to spoil the ending for us before the game even comes out.

Calling has been announced as a Wii exclusive, and as such it's planning to make full use of the Wii-mote's unique abilities. First off, there will be plenty of motion controlled elements, with the controller fundamentally functioning as a flashlight, allowing you to illuminate certain areas of a room simply by pointing at them. We also saw some moments where waggle will come into play, thrashing the remote around when grabbed by a ghost or during examination of certain objects. One thing about Hudson's previous games is that they've utilized the Wii-mote to its full extent so the company has a solid grip on what makes for good motion-controlled gaming and what is just superfluous junk.

Perhaps the most unique feature though is the fact that the controller will often be used as a phone with calls being broadcast through the speakers. While other games have utilized the Wii-mote speaker from time to time, it's very rarely been such a heavy gameplay focus. The calls you receive will play a major role in the game, both providing you with clues for what to do next as well as plenty of scares and shocks. In a game that looks to provide a constant sense of dread and unease, players will likely be answering each call with trepidation, steadying themselves for a few moments before picking up the receiver. If done right, this mechanic could prove absolutely masterful in delivering a genuinely scary experience.

Sadly we haven't been able to get any hands-on time with the game yet but the trailers we've seen have looked promising. When Hudson unveiled the title to us at E3, we were genuinely shocked to see such a title coming out of a publisher known for games of a vastly different style, but we appreciate their willingness to take a risk. The title is currently scheduled to launch in early 2010, and we'll be sure to keep you in the loop on all the terrifying happenings on The Black Page and in the Calling universe. Prepare yourselves, next year Hudson is going to try their best to scare you to death.