The Horror! Games that scare you silly, or did.
#1
Posted 16 January 2008 - 09:19 PM
The one thing which crossed my mind after playing the game for a few moments was of how much it reminded me of 7 Days and 1213, though don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re anything alike. The game follows a story inspired by the movie Aliens and other like minded flicks during the 70 and 80’s… it’s kind of an amalgam of said movies, but manages to retain an original gaming edge.
I highly recommend downloading the game and an emulator for it, (CCS64) and giving it a whirl. You’ll also need a map for the game, Google it.
The purpose of this thread is to provide a place for all of you who whish to contribute to a list of horror themed games which follow a similar vein to the Chzo mythos (an attempt to keep this thread topic relevant to the forum), or even games you feel are horror classics in themselves.
Fire away.
#2
Posted 17 January 2008 - 04:19 AM
Nothing like creepy music, horrible descriptions of your death and a grim reaper staring at you whenever you made a mistake to traumatize a 5-year old with sprite graphics. Having to depend on torches to survive didn't help to minimize a pre-existing fear of the dark as well.
Fatal Frame series
The first night had the most original scares I've seen in awhile, but sadly they kind of lost their luster on the replay/backtracking. Oh I never liked playing this series in the dark, but it was fun as hell to do so. In Dig Dug the monsters would morph into scary faces that could pass through walls and corner you. For years developers forgot about this as they focused on "survival horror" clones that had enemies obey the almighty wall. Nothing quite like having the tables turned on you and suddenly the environment is no longer your friend as you get attacked by 3 ghosts on the final night that are half-submerged in the floor and forcing you to restart your game because you saved just before it.
Which Way Adventure
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=0NFEZjZp8lY
Trilby: Art of Theft.
Thank you Yahtzee. Your retro low-rez epic that features darkness as a main gameplay element has brought a new lease to the shadowgate-fueled childhood phobia years after I thought I conquered it.
#3
Posted 17 January 2008 - 04:25 AM
Actually, more or less anything called a "mythos" or "cycle" isn't scary.
Alone in the Dark was scary at first, until you get into it, then it's a collection of "do weird thing with item" tasks.
There were a few levels in C&C Tiberian Sun which approached sci-fi horror, though they never really got there and I don't think they were trying to go for the whole horror angle.
#4
Posted 17 January 2008 - 05:52 AM
System Shock 2 had its good moments. Nothing like getting your arse handed to you by a room full of Midwives and a gun turret. And those fucking spiders - augh, I hated those eight-legged freaks.
Scariest game of all time however; just pure psychological terror...... one word.
Phantasmagoria.
#5
Posted 17 January 2008 - 06:22 AM
I suppose I would have to say System Shock 2. I actually never managed to finish this game because at some point I was so freaked out I didn't really feel like going forward anymore. This has happened twice to me now, and I'm just waiting for the time when I'll have the urge to play it again and probably stop at the same place as I did before.
I also found play as the Marine in AvP to be so hard at times it really gives you shivers. You walk trough a needlessly long and dark tunnel on some god forsaken planet and don't take your eyes out of the scanner, waiting for the moment it will bleep, meaning that in 5 to 10 seconds from then you shall die a horrible death in the hands or other organs of some alien.
#6
Posted 17 January 2008 - 07:03 AM
5 Days a Stranger and 7 Days a Sceptic - John Defoe.
Trilby’s Notes and 6 Days a Sacrifice - Cabadath.
Clock Tower 3 - Robert Morris, John Haigh, Harold Powell, Jemima and Ralph.
Clock Tower 2 - Dan Barrows.
Silent Hill 4 - Walter Sullivan.
A Writing Guild For The Clinically Retarded
I am an honorary Crogerse.
#9
Posted 17 January 2008 - 09:51 AM
A Writing Guild For The Clinically Retarded
I am an honorary Crogerse.
#10
Posted 17 January 2008 - 11:32 AM
Alone is the Dark is Cthullu themed...sort of.
#12
Posted 17 January 2008 - 12:14 PM
I don't think I could actually bring myself to play it with the lights off.
If System Shock 2 was scary, i must be resistant to fear.
That game was the most disappointing in the fear department for me, ever. Everyone is saying, "AAARG!" while im saying "hmmm."
I think System Shock 1 was scarier....
#13
Posted 17 January 2008 - 12:33 PM
#14
Posted 17 January 2008 - 02:36 PM
never played system shock 2 or 1
the first silent hill had it's creepy parts
for the most part though there aren't too many really creepy games
i post without caps to annoy sniffles. kisses ;)
#15
Posted 17 January 2008 - 02:50 PM
Anyhow, Silent Hills 1 - 3 all made me panic to varying degrees (Haven't played SH4 yet so...). And then there's my old arch nemesis, Fatal Frame. I had to quit during the final night of Fatal Frame 1. I don't suffer from claustrophobia but once I photographed "The People" down in that cavern I felt like I had to get out nownownownow. And the ghosts were harder and I didn't level up my camera enough and boo hoo...I have Fatal Frame 2 but who am I kidding, I'll never finish it either.
People have mentioned System Shock 2 which is good, because SS2 was fantastic. I'll also throw out a nod to Clive Barker's Undying. It had some cool game mechanics and was genuinely creepy, especially inside the mansion and crypt.
Oh, and the entire game wasn't marketed as horror but there was a strong horror theme throughout the whole thing - the Wheel of Time FPS. Which was actually good! The part where living mist tries to creep out of the walls and strangle you freaked me out, but then I'm easily frightened by the environment itself coming alive to kill you.
Sanitarium deserves a nod. More liable to be strange than scary, but an excellent story and if you're a fan of horror as shown through psychadelia and madness at all I'm sure you'll find something to like.
Lastly Thief 3, despite the game's problems, has the Cradle which is easily one of the most unnerving sections I've ever played. The first half is beautifully creepy and there aren't even any enemies around. The second half where there ARE monsters is actually a let-down in comparison. Still, all in all a magnificent level.
This post has been edited by Sylv: 17 January 2008 - 02:52 PM