Halloween 2006: Gaming's Best Scares
Oct 23, 2006
Looking for some chills this Halloween? We can't guarantee this entire collection of modern video games will have you hiding behind the couch, but these horror/thriller-themed titles are sure to excite, amuse, and entertain. Turn the lights off, the sound up, and dig in.
Dead Rising
Pubisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
If you've ever wanted to star in a George Romero movie, here's your chance. Dead Rising is essentially Dawn of the Dead in video game form, taking place in a shopping mall crammed with zombies. Your task is simply to survive for three days, and save as many survivors as you can. Or let them get eaten by zombies while you snap pictures. It's really up to you.
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We gave this Xbox 360 stunner a perfect 5 stars, and Halloween's the perfect time for you to find out why. Just don't be tempted if you're stuck with a standard-definition TV -- the small text can be tough to read. Or if you want to experience real terror, put this game and a new HDTV on your credit card, and wait for the bill to come. It's up to you.
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F.E.A.R.
Publisher: Vivendi Universal
Developer: Monolith
Why is it that creepy little girls are so terrifying? Maybe if you were a kindergarten teacher you'd be able to tell us. F.E.A.R. taps into this primal terror with its villain, Alma, whose habit of appearing out of nowhere and scaring the pee out of you is nothing if not endearing.
More to the point, F.E.A.R. serves up these thrills with some of the most adrenaline-pumping first-person shooter combat we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Make no mistake about it, this game is as exciting as it is frightening -- grab it on PC, or hold out for the upcoming Xbox 360 version, it's up to you.
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Also Available: F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
Doom 3
Publisher: Activision
Developer: iD Software
Boo! Frightened yet? What do you mean, no? Although this id-developed FPS classic relies a little too heavily on the jump-out-and-say-boo formula, it's a superb play nevertheless. Set in the future on Mars, where demons (quite literally) from the depths of Hell are attacking Martian settlers, it's a graphical tour de force as well as a carefully paced and well crafted shooter.
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Also Available: Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Silent Hill 4
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Many of the games in this list are more "horror-themed" than genuinely frightening. This is not one of them. Every game in the Silent Hill series ranks among the most disturbing experiences the video games world has to offer, and the fourth (subtitled The Room) is no exception.
Here's how it starts: you wake up from a nightmare, only to find the words "Don't leave" scrawled on your door, locked shut with an asymmetrical set of black chains. From the inside, naturally. If that doesn't cause the hairs to stand up on the back of your neck, you're a better man than we are. Play this horror classic and find out just how much you can take.
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Alternate Choice: Fatal Frame 3
DefCon
Publisher: Introversion
Developer: Introversion
What could be scarier than the end of the world? Nuclear war strategy game DefCon has by far the biggest bodycount of any of our recommendations -- some six-and-a-half billion, at last count. Yes, everybody dies. Your job is simply to make sure you kill the most people while losing as few as possible of your own.
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With stylish, simple graphics reminiscent of classic '80s geek-flick War Games, DefCon was an instant hit at its release last month. Check out the demo, and if you like the game you can get it delivered straight to your desktop in minutes.
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Condemned: Criminal Origins
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Monolith Productions
Are you the hunter or the hunted? In Condemned, you'll be both, Se7en-style, as you try to chase down a violent serial killer through an atmospheric series of urban levels. Brilliant graphics and eerily effective sound both bring this horrific scenario straight into your living room -- perfect for a quiet Halloween night in.
Although it may have the look of a shooter, rely on its guns and you'll end up dead, fast. Instead, you'll have to improvise your own hand-to-hand weapons from your surroundings. Electrical conduit, two-by-fours, crowbars; they're all fair game. But, as if you hadn't guessed, this gruesome, violent thriller isn't one for the kids.
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Resident Evil 4
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
A real departure for the series, the fourth Resident Evil game turned out to be one of the best of all. It ditched the zombies, sure, but replaced them with equally creepy and anonymous European villagers. It also ditched the traditional cheesy Resident Evil puzzles, making up for it with piles and piles of delightful gunplay and atmospheric boss battles.
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Tipped by many as the best game of 2005, this survival horror treat shouldn't be missed -- but if it all sounds a little too different from the Resident Evil games you remember, try the authentically horrifying DS release of the original PlayStation Resident Evil game, too.
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Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Publisher: Fishtank Interactive
Developer: Headfirst Productions
Aficionados of horror fiction will know there is no author more spine-chilling than the celebrated H.P. Lovecraft. Undaunted by having the kind of name better suited for writers of naughty self-help books, Lovecraft created perhaps the most otherworldly series of horror books ever penned before his death in 1937.
Dark Corners of the Earth gives you the chance for an atmosphere-packed first-person stroll through this mythos. Unusually, it doesn't have any kind of heads-up display, communicating game conventions like health and ammo with sound and visuals instead -- and if you witness too many horrors, your character will gradually go insane. If nothing else, it'll give you all kinds of ideas for Lovecraftian things to shout to put the wind up unwanted trick-or-treaters. Ia! Ia! Cthulhu ftagn!
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The Movies
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Lionhead Studios
OK, so this isn't exactly scary. What's it doing here, then? It's less of a game and more of a complete toolkit for making your own movies, complete with virtual sets, computer-generated actors and scripts you write yourself. You can share the ensuing product, complete with recorded voices if desired, for the world to see.
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So if you think you've got what it takes to outdo Wes Craven or John Carpenter, grab a copy of The Movies, and put your money where your mouse is. For the best experience, start with the game set in the 50s and enjoy a gentle progression from Plan 9 slapstick horror comedy to present-day special effects thrillers.
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