trivard676Halloween holds a special place in our hearts. It’s not just all of the candy that we were able to accumulate as kids, or the fact that most of us as adults can still dress up and go out without fear of public humiliation. The end of October is a time where it seems everyone is as in to the horror-themed stuff that we are. That comes right down to video games as well.
While the kids might be pounding at our doors come October 31, you can bet that we’ll be playing, wishing we were playing, or reminenscing about a few good titles out there. Below you’ll find RoH’s Halloween Hit List, in no particular order.
Splatterhouse
Siren Blood Curse
Siren – Blood Curse is definitely one of the few good horror games on the Playstation 3. It isn’t your typical survival-horror game, as you get to play different characters in different chapters as the story unfolds. The “sightjack” system is a welcome concept. It adds to the scare factor as you get to see what the enemies are looking at, and where they are headed (that includes straight towards you, by the way). Using sightjack, the game encourages you to go stealth to avoid confrontations.
From the dark rainy forests, hospitals and traditional Japanese houses, the game’s atmosphere screams horror and dread. Blood Curse features zombie-like entities known as “Shibitos,” and unlike zombies, Shibitos can only be knocked over for a few minutes. After that, they’re back up and ready to come at you again. Weapons range from things around you such as cameras, bottles, ashtrays, kitchen knives and even a mattress beater! The game limits your weapons so you’re never over-powered in any way and in some areas of the game you even go without. Scariest moments include playing as Bella Monroe in the Hospital Level.
Unfortunately, Siren is a pretty under-rated game, but if you’re looking for a good survival-horror go for the Ps3, you should definitely give this one a try! Siren – Blood Curse is available through the Playstation Store, and available on blu-ray disc in Europe, Japan and Australia.
Silent Hill
A survival-horror classic, nothing beats romping around the demented little town as Harry Mason. Limited ammo, limited supplies, complicated puzzles and a more than f*ed up story, we just can’t get over this masterpiece. You might be afraid of the dark, but how many of us after picking this one up were afraid of the fog? While often compared to it, Silent Hill sure as hell wasn’t Resident Evil! Some might jump to Silent Hill 2 as being the best in the series, but a certain charm about Silent Hill 1 that does the trick when it comes to getting us scared. The devs behind it really understood the fact that it’s not just what you can see that can scare you, but what you ‘can’t see. Maybe it’s because some of us were 12 years old when we first played it? Our minds running a mile a minute, never really knowing when something was going to jump out, but always being on edge, as most Silent Hill fans are familiar with.
With a storyline that has spread across the majority of the games, a film and several graphical novels, there’s no denying that Silent Hill is a tourist town that a lot of us would enjoy taking a visit to.
“Silent Hill – the original of course. I was younger and the game freaked me out from beginning to end. Feared it, but loved it!”
–Admin
Resident Evil – REmake
“I got into the Resident Evil series relatively late in the game, having mastering RE2 before even picking up RE1. I’d gone into the first game figuring it’d be easy-breezy, I’d already beaten the second one, right? Well, I took comfort in the fact that it was on the PSX, and there was really nothing to be afraid of. I was certainly above being scared by a bunch of blocky-characters on the screen and shuffling moaners you could hear from across the room, right? Enter REmake.”
–jeeves86
In 2002, Resident Evil REmake was released for the Nintendo Gamecube. Picking up the awkward-at-the-time GC controller and firing up the REmake was like taking a trip into the nightmares that had plagued some of us for so long. Let’s admit it–the original was fantastic, but there was no covering up the fact that some of the things said (ahem~Jill Sandwich~) totally broke the immersion. REmake, with its REdone script gets rid of a lot of those hiccups and gets the job done with more skilled voice-actors this time around. The near photo-realistic visuals (that game is still pretty!), the new soundtrack and the fact that you were still using archaic ‘survival-horror controls’ (oddly enough) put this game on the list, hands down.
And then there are the Crimson Heads…
Amnesia – The Dark Descent
If the Frictional Games’ Penumbra series is any indication, anyone who plays Amnesia is in for a real treat. The game puts you into the role of Daniel – a poor bloke who wakes up in a castle with absolutely no idea what he’s doing there or how he got there. The ‘I have amnesia’ lead-in is a bit of a tired cliche, but it works here. It’s a pretty game with your standard FPS controls, with a twist.
Like Silent Hill – Shattered Memories, there’s no combat here. You have to use your head to get yourself through this one. Knowing that the only thing that you can do is run and hide makes finding enemies all the more frightening. Amnesia then goes one step further and takes the element of control away from you too – it’s bad enough not to be able to ‘fight’ the atrocities that await, you have to mind your sanity meter too. Bugs crawling on your face, footsteps just behind you, blurred vision and monsters hunting you down? It would be enough to make any of us want to run and hide in the dark corner. But wait…that just makes it worse! Normally this would just seem so campy, but Frictional Games has done an amazing job with this.
And at just over $10 on Steam, it’s one of the best survival-horror games to grace the PC for a damned good price!
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 happens to have been released at the right time to be some of our editors’ first survival horror game. Considering that they’re here now writing for the site is no coincidence. Like how Final Fantasy 7 got many people into JRPGs, Resident Evil 2 got many people hooked onto survival horror. Introducing Leon Kennedy (on the worst first day of a new job EVER) and Claire Redfield to the immersive RE storyline, the two characters continue to be among the series’ most popular (and least featured). The game was challenging a decent length, a haunting storyline and had everything that survival horror fans love. Plus, the files…so many files! RE2 dug deep into the psychological impact of the zombie outbreak on civilians with the files scattered around the game. “4 itchy tasty?” anyone?
“Incredible soundtrack, good graphics, intriguing story, [challenging] puzzles and grotesque creations. What more could you as for in a good survival horror game? And not to mention the surprise effect of Mr. X bumping in our of nowhere, along with the [hissing] of the Lickers. Both remarkable ‘and’ traumatizing!”
–ShadowOne 333
Alan Wake
So maybe the whole thing stinks of a Stephen King ripoff? It’s a good one, and for Halloween there’s nothing better. If you’ve followed RoH for any amount of time, you’d know that Alan Wake holds a special place in our hearts. The game that we never thought would ever see the light of day is a definite contender for 2010’s GOTY. Since the game is touted as a psychological thriller more than a survival-horror, the game stays true to those conventions. It offers up plenty of twists and turns in its deep and engrossing storyline. The game screams atmosphere, putting you often
in the deep and dark forests or occasionally climbing up the cliffside with The Dark Presence always hounding you down. While some of us might hate the fact that it’s a bit of a cliffhanger, Remedy always keeps us coming back for more.
Alan Wake might not be the most frightening entry on our list, but it’s still a riot to play through when you’re in the mood for some spooky fun. And who can resist Barry’s flaming eye of Mordor?
“The presentation of Alan Wake makes it feel like Bright Falls is a real place. Akin to something one can read about in ‘Weird NJ.” Yeah, not a place that a great number of people would feel calm in visiting.”
–JBoc
So come Halloween, if you’re not out scrounging around for candy, what do you plan on doing? Have you been delegated to hand out candy? Headed to a party? Sound off in the comments section or in our forums!
