10) Half Life 2 - Headcrabs and G-man
Aah, Half life 2. I know, I'm being THAT GUY right now, but it really was a fantastically immersive game that really put the effort in to make you feel like you were right there, you were that guy improvising your jumps over scaffolding and shitting your pants whenever some zombies popped out from inside an abandoned house. And what was up with that G-man guy? Some creep just leering at you from afar? Unsettling.
It's easy to overlook the mysterious man in black in the game. Most of his appearances are him standing in the distance, staring at you. Once you notice him, he turns around and walks away. Not much is known about the man aside from the fact that he has the ability to manipulate time, space and people. You do not know who he is, what he wants from you or what side he is on. All that is clear is that he is your puppetmaster.
9) Mario 64 - Eel/Killer Piano
The eel embodies everything you find frighting about the deep sea. Being out of your element with limited movement or oxygen creates a feeling of unease that is so hard to shake. Seeing a giant creature, that could gobble you up without chewing, charge out its hiding place would make your LETS-GET-THE-F-OUT-OF-HERE-O-METER catch on fire if you weren't underwater already.
8) Heavy Rain - Finger
WARNING: Pretty nasty video! 18+
I really can find an endless supply of things to make fun of with this game. Honestly, to me a lot of is it just wank. 'jasooon' and 'you go, girl!' spring to mind, as well as other dumb bits that try to be scary but come across as a retarded idea. But then there was this very saw-esque scene, where you are forced to make the decision as to whether you'll cut off your finger to save your son- but wait, you also have to hurriedly find a way to achieve that, as you ransack this nasty room for the least rusty sharp objects you can find! GOD DAMN. I didn't even play this scene, I watched someone else do it and I felt like I wouldn't have been able to play it through. It was so realistic and so intense.
7) Sonic the Hedgehog (series) - Underwater Levels
I don't like underwater stages in any game. They are the worst, but the Sonic series managed to find a way to make them even worse than 'worst'. It is "worster", a word invented just for special occasions such as this. The music that plays causes you to lose your concentration and panic. I have never seen such an apropos musical manifestation of the fear of drowning. When it starts playing you don't know whether you should struggle for air or prepare yourself for death's embrace. worster.
Whenever I ask people about what freaked them out most in a game, this always ALWAYS comes up. The bit in all the old sonic games where you're underwater, and you start to run out of air and this theme of pure panic begins to play. It's the jaws theme of videogames. It doesn't help that sonic is sluggish underwater, and you might have to wait for bubbles of oxygen to come up from below. Whether it's labyrinth, hydrocity, or tidal tempest zone there always seems to be one underwater level in each sonic game, and it's most people's least favourite level.
6) Pikmin 2 - Wraith
I don't know if many people will remember this enemy, but I will NEVER FORGET. So I'm playing Pikmin 2, I enter a new little dungeon and it all seems legit... Then suddenly BOOM. BOOM. Two strange distant sounding crashing noises. I continue onwards, and then I see it coming straight towards me and my precious little babies: a giant freaking steam roller monster completely filling the tunnel. It rolls right over me and massacres prettymuch my entire squad, and as a wave of whimpering ghosts float up towards the pikmin heavens, I'm there thinking WHAT THE FUCK NINTENDO? FOR SERIOUS? I hope Dr Kawashima's emotional therapy DS comes out soon.
Death on wheels that moans like a whale. Not only will it take out your entire platoon if you didn't know it was coming, it is also invincible when you first encounter it.
5) Condemned - Mannequins
Not the biggest fan of this game, but the mannequins will always stick with me. There's not a whole lot to talk about it. They are mannequins that move towards you when your back is turned. Just watch the clip.
This was a suggestion from Tobi. I haven't played this game, but he showed me the video and I thought it was BRILLIANT. Sure, we've seen a similar idea in films and in that episode of Doctor Who that everyone seems to think is scary (really guys? statues?) But this kinda shit is ten fold creepy when you pair it up with an immersive first person experience. A great idea, and well executed.
4) Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - ??
We couldn't decide what 'bit' to put in for majora's mask. There's just so many peepants scary moments, characters, songs... That gaudy little N64 cartridge is a veritable pandora's box of mindfuck. Including:
- The terrifying moon that stares at you throughout the game. Seriously, every time you look up.
- Ikana Canyon, of the screaming zombies, creepy music and of course..
- The half-man half-zombie in a closet that jumps out at you
- The alien siege on Cremia's ranch.
- The mysterious hand in the toilet
- The zora mask transformation
- The bipolar mask salesman
And many more!Majora's Mask, also known as Groundhog Day on the apocalypse, is just so uncomfortably eerie. The moon is looking down, with its piercing gaze set towards the town it is out to collide with. Since the entire game is based around this doomsday scenario, most of the NPCs are preparing for the end, while others are trying to mourn the recently deceased who they utterly depend on. The whole atmosphere of the entire thing made me really dislike playing it, but it stood to be one of the most powerful interactive experiences I had witnessed.
3) Earthbound - Giygas
Just listen to this song. It gives me goosebumps every time. In adorable-looking cult RPG earthbound, you sacrifice your lives and transfer your consciousness into a robot to fight the ultimate evil, this horrific alien incarnation that moans and groans and cries and glitches the screen. It uses thematic undertones of nothingness, insanity, rape, misery, death. Typical nintendo and their fruity kid games.
If you don't know what you are looking at, allow me explain. That thing right there is an unborn alien god and you face it in a giant space-uterus, designed to look like how the game's creator perceived a rape-scene in a movie as a child. ...Yeah.
2) Metroid Fusion - SA-X
After an encounter with a parasite on SR388, Samus' body started to blend together with the suit. After surgically removing Samus from her suit, the Galactic Federation sent the Varia Suit to a research station. It was there that the parasite slowly started to grow back the surgically-liberated body of Samus. Once fully grown, the parasite could start to roam the research station on its own. Problem is that this Varia Suit is that Samus fully equipped and powered it up from her previous mission. You on the other hand are clinging to life in a dinky suit that you require to stay alive.
This creates a very clear distinct difference in power. Whenever you would hear the heavy, metal footsteps of SA-X (Samus Aran X-parasite) echo through a corridor, you knew you had to crawl in the nearest vent like a cockroach as quickly as you could and pray it would leave. Trying to engage it meant certain death, as the game often illustrated with how it destroyed everything in its path.
Yeah, so, we play a lot of nintendo games. The fearsomeness of the SA-X is all in the gameplay. I guess that just means you'll have to take our word for it if you haven't played it. You'll be shooting enemies and running and jumping around, and then oh fuck there it is RUN AND HIDE DON'T LET IT SEE YOU. SA-X is you, but with all your upgrades that make you such an amazing killing machine. The game makes you hesitant to enter every new room, for the fear that it might be there already... just waiting to murder you good.
1) Resident Evil 4 - The Regenerators and 'Oven Man'.
So you're in this lab, horrific experiments, little too quiet, blah blah, scariest music in the game for some reason, heavy breathing, footsteps, surprise zombie right around the corner, now keep calm, don't shoot it in the head because it's semi-invulnerable, don't shoot it in the legs, that'll only make it faster, don't try to sneak past it it'll eat your face. Just scramble around running and screaming you little effeminate man, until you can find an infrared scope with which to find its weak points, of which there are many and you have to shoot them all as it ambles towards you juuust a little bit quicker than you'd like it to when you're trying to aim precisely. Oh also, we had to mention there's this bit in the game where this man on fire suddenly jumps out at you for no reason HAHAHAHAHAHAH SHIT.
So there you go everyone! Happy Oktoberfest! (That's what this was for, right?) I'm sure you guys can think of your own favourite scary moments, and I welcome you to leave these thoughts in the comments! If you disagree with our choices and condemn our lack of experience in the field of scary games, GET YOUR OWN DAMN BLOG.
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