Sure, it's horribly (HORRIBLY I SAY) out of date- last updated June 2009- but it's still a terrific resource for those of us who dig it when horror and video games hang out together.I've played most everything on there that's not a PC title, although I'm still a bit desperate to get my mitts on a copy of Rule of Rose.
How many have you played? What's your favorite title on there? Aren't video games the best?
They oughta put the original Aliens versus Predator up there at least. The facehuggers in that one could actually scare the crap out of me, though the game in general was kind of meh. The sequel was a better game, but not really scary.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's quite an impressive list. I always check out top scary video games, but rarely find anything new or noteworthy anymore. This list definitely added some more games on my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteI played a little bit of Silent Hill 2, but dropped it after a while because I didn't have enough time for it. I also played Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth almost to the end, but had to erase everything on my hard drive so I never got the chance to actually finish it. I recently finished Dead Space, though, and it turned out quite a good game - looking forward to the sequel. I played a bit of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and the demo to Scratches. I pretty much played the entire Doom series, though I never got to finish Doom 3. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is one of my favourite RPGs (plus, that part in the haunted mansion is beyond scary). I'm actually playing through the Penumbra series as we speak (I'm at Black Plague now) and will also do an article on the series after I finish all of it.
On a side note, I can't freakin' wait to make some time and play the F.E.A.R. games, everyone keeps recommending them to me but I keep postponing them, unfortunately. One more thing worth mentioning is that I did not play the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni game (reason is that I can't bloody find it anywhere!), though I have seen the anime series. They're awesome, totally worth checking out if you have not seen them.
Whew, that was long. Anyways, that's about it for me. Oh, and I feel that the list missed one quite important game: Clive Barker's Undying. Man, that shit creeped me out way too much.
I've not played a lot of computer games. BUT for some reason I got Resident Evil for the Wii for Christmas. You have to use the controllers (I told you I'm not a gamer) to hit the zombies just like you're hitting them for real and it was really scary. Right, I'm going to shut up now.
ReplyDeleteoh man, 7th Guest and Phantasmagoria hold such great memories. I remember sitting in my dorm room with friends trudging our way through them on my roommate's old Acer PC. The acting in Phantasmagoria is deliciously awful.
ReplyDeleteCondemned was very effective with scares. To the point of being slightly underrated.
I'm kinda surprised they left off Bioshock. (especially after listing System Shock 2) I thought that game had some great scares and was a bit of a mind fuck.
I played the first F.E.A.R. and...I don't know. It had some nice creepy moments, but it's MUCH more actiony-FPS than horror to me. It's got horror flavorings, but it's very combat heavy. It was okay, but I sold it and never picked up the sequel.
ReplyDeleteI haven't played Bioshock 2 yet, but I loved the first one and I think it definitely belongs on the list.
I don't know why Doom 3 gets such a bad rap. I really liked it.
And Dead Space 2- yes, can't wait!
I'd put the Metroid series in there! Especially Super Metroid on SNES. And also Metroid Fusion on GBA. That Samus clone freaked me the f u c k out every time.
ReplyDeleteBioShock was awesome and the first few levels were actually scary as hell. I loved the whole story arc with Dr. Steinman and how he used to do these crazy plastic surgeries on the citizens of Rapture. That was one creepy bastard.
ReplyDeleteI actually hated BioShock 2. It just didn't have the same spark that BioShock did, plus the story isn't very interesting and less thrilling than the one in the first game was.
As for Doom 3, it really is quite an underrated game. Some stuff in there really creeped me out, especially the jump scares and the lack of decent visibility at times.
I like horror movies, and I like video games... but I don’t really dig horror video games. Oh, the irony.
ReplyDeleteResident Evil: Code Veronica (Dreamcast) was probably the first (and last) horror video game I tried to get into. It received rave reviews, but I was just bored by it.
Shadowman (N64) was probably about the closest I got to a "horror" video game that I actually liked, and I nearly gave that away in the early stages too.
Oooh, Dark Seed! I never progressed very far in the game but it was always fun to explore because so much great Giger art was laced into the story. In fact, the art was kinda the reward of the game.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried Limbo yet, Stacie? It's a fun little game and you can get it on XBL Arcade.
ReplyDeleteSome of my friends were obsessed Yume Nikki for a while there. As for me, I'm glad to see Eternal Darkness on the list. That was one of my personal favorites for the Gamecube.
Off with Monica and Jennifer's head I say...
ReplyDeleteAnd then I will some fun BOWLING....
I played the LIMBO demo and it was really fun...SO atmospheric, creepy, and beautiful! I just haven't made myself cough up the 1200 points for it yet...
ReplyDeleteI am not "hip" to the current games that the kids with the sideways caps are into, but my first horror video game was Forbidden Forest for C64...on cassette! I mean, like an audio cassette. That's old skkoool, with an extra O and an extra K. There was actual gore when you would shoot arrows at monsters, and especially when they would rip you apart if you failed in your quest, as it were.
ReplyDeleteHey, Forbidden Forest was my first horror game, too :-) I've played most psx/ps2-games on this list, but I've only managed to finish these:
ReplyDeleteMost of the Silent Hills
Most of the Resident Evils
The Suffering
Doom 1-2
Fear Effect 1
Rule of Rose
My favourite is Rule of Rose, despite the frustrating "just walk around for an hour" beginning and clumsy gameplay. It's like Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Lord of The Flies meets Haunting Ground (and then they all start to whisper whisper whisper, and even though you can't quite hear what they're saying, you're pretty sure some of the words are naughty).
Okay, so I coughed up the 1200 for LIMBO. It's so good! The first...I don't even know how long I've been playing- an hour or so?- is worth the price alone. I've never had so much fun dying. I wish it kept count of the number of times the little dude bites it!
ReplyDeleteSome great titles on that list, and a few I've never heard of.
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago, I completed the Ghost List for Fatal Frame 2. My right index finger is STILL stiff and twitchy.
Also, my love for the Parasite Eve games knows no bounds. (I swear they use some of PE's incidental music on Project Runway.)
I played the first Parasite Eve yeeeears ago, but I don't remember a thing about it beyond the cover and that I really liked it...which...doesn't add much to the conversation, but there you go. :D
ReplyDeleteYay, System Shock 2. I have to agree that Clive Barker's Undying is a big omission. There's also a videogame of The Thing that's very good, but I like to wait for cold weather to play it. Now that I'm back in Miami, I won't get much opportunity.
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