Best Scary Games

[Alan Stock]

I did find some bits of System Shock 2 a bit scary (the living quarters mostly), but I can't say I actually found it terrifying like some of the other games mentioned here. It had a kind of bleak atmosphere but I definitely wouldn't class it as one of the most scary games.

People's talk of Thief 3 has reminded me of Thief 1 and 2. In Thief one there were some bloody scary levels with those evil ghost/demon things. The noises they made were terrifying. And in Thief 2 you had these bloody evil mechanical robot things with faces, they were disturbing and made horrible noises, and they kicked your ass which made them even scary. Then later on you went into all these demonic style levels, the atmosphere was excellent. Of course this is from the same guys who made System Shock 2.

I never found Eternal Darkness scary in the slightest either - I think I only jumped once from a shock tactic. I just didn't find the atmosphere very unsettling except in the house.

[Alan Stock]

And another vote for the Ravenholme bit in Half Life 2 here,

the rest of the game wasn't scary but when you first encounter the spider head crabs and those freaky running zombies I was crapping it!

And although Resident Evil games usually just have a general air of dread and ambient nastiness, sometimes they do have moments of sheer horror or terror. Like in Resident Evil remake with the new section and new enemy..... brrr.... And Resi 4 in the sewers, and probably worst of all being chased by that horrible bastard Nemesis in Resi 3.

I've heard Condemned is pretty scary - what kind of scary is it? Like Resident Evil scary, Silent Hill scary, Alien games scary?

Also Siren is supposed to be pretty horrible (scarywise) but is it in the same league as the top scares?

[Judgement]

Alone in the Dark 4: The New Nightmare was pretty shocking... shockingly bad, that is.

Seriously, if you're going to make a Resi ripoff, at least make it with likable characters, a plot people will actually care to uncover, and more inspired puzzles than that old tripe had. 

Ahem, yes.

Proper answer: Dino Crisis.

When you saw a dead body in an upstairs office with a gleaming key next to him, walked over, and had a T-Rex smash through the window. 

Shit me up completely. Sitting on the sofa next to my mate, I almost jumped in fright right onto his lap. 

I mean, I like him... but not thatmuch... 

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how did you think alone in the dark was a rip off of resident evil

[Judgement]

And another vote for the Ravenholme bit in Half Life 2 here,

the rest of the game wasn't scary but when you first encounter the spider head crabs and those freaky running zombies I was crapping it!

And although Resident Evil games usually just have a general air of dread and ambient nastiness, sometimes they do have moments of sheer horror or terror. Like in Resident Evil remake with the new section and new enemy..... brrr.... And Resi 4 in the sewers, and probably worst of all being chased by that horrible bastard Nemesis in Resi 3.

I've heard Condemned is pretty scary - what kind of scary is it? Like Resident Evil scary, Silent Hill scary, Alien games scary?

Also Siren is supposed to be pretty horrible (scarywise) but is it in the same league as the top scares?

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put it this way, its abit like 28 days later with everyone going crazy and trying to kill you, Forbidden Siren, dear god, don't play that in the dark, it is paints filling terror plus there is another on the works and a film to

[d'artagnan]

Eternal Darkness. Just a load of gradual creeping unease, then you examine the bathtub - BAM! One of the most effective jump-shocks in gaming ever. I actually shuddered with fear.

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Hmmm... The bathroom didn't really get me. Far, far nastier was the hanging body in the room later on. I'm going to have to go back and play that because, as I recall, you entered the room and immediately clocked that something was 'off' but couldn't tell what. You were then progressed in such a way that you suddenly realise that there is a body hanging from the ceiling. You're then pushed again and when you look back... The body is gone. Nasty.

However, for sheer unadulterated terror in a game... the opening of Aliens Vs. Predator. Play it in the dark with the surround sound on and it is the most terrfiying experience imaginable. Particularly as nothing actually happens. However, the lighting is flickering on and off on an irregular cycle, your motion detector is occasionally going haywire and bits of the ventilation system are blowing out...

The old hotel in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines had some nice touches as well.

[Garibaldi]

Also Siren is supposed to be pretty horrible (scarywise) but is it in the same league as the top scares?

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I found parts of it very unsettling, some of the later levels so much so that I had to stop playing because my nerves were shot. If you can endure the awful voiceovers then it's well worth a look, the atmospheric, music, and facing foes that can't really be 'killed' make it a winner in my book.

Hopefully the sequel will address the few problems it had.

[AG Systems]

I found the Res Remake on Cube to have a very unsettling atmosphere, which I loved.

But for screw-with-yer-brain terror it has to be Silent Hill 2. Too many bits to mention, but the standouts for me would be that bit in the toilets, plus the very embarassing moment for me when I turned to the wife and asked her if she heard the whispering in the room too...

I swore blind for days I'd heard it.....was in the hotel I think.......

Also hiding in the cupboard after seeing Pyramid Head get it on with the nurse was pretty much up there too......

Fingers crossed for a 360 iteration then........

[Tofu]

I played project Zero 2 and I was hoping for this mega bad ass scary game but its dull, dull, dull. There are some good moments but I was tired of going back and forth.

[Norante]

Silent Hill 1 and 2 made me shit my trousers.

Also, playing Aliens vs Predator 2 on PC with the Colonial Marine can be totally overwhelming. It's pitch dark, noises everywhere and you can literally feel the Aliens breathing down on your neck ALL the time.

[Blue Owl]

Playing F.E.A.R. at 2am has given me several heart attacks.

[Guest henofdoom]

Take all of them add them together, and they still won't be as scary as System Shock 2

For sheer atmosphere, perhaps System Shock 1 is even better, but it is let down graphically.

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System Shock 2 is hardly a graphical gem, is it? But still, every time I set off an alarm I still get the chills at the respawning hordes that'll come and get me...

[BloOd Red]

Condemned

[Meh]

I played project Zero 2 and I was hoping for this mega bad ass scary game but its dull, dull, dull. There are some good moments but I was tired of going back and forth.

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Sometimes it does fall apart a bit compared to the first one, but the house where one of the pairs of twins lived was just fucking horrible. Like, "OH FUCK!" horrible.

The notes about the doll of one of the dead twins made to keep the still-living other twin happy were URGHHH.

[daveodeth]

System shock 2! the monkeys, the fuckin monkeys.

[Ben]

The old hotel in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines had some nice touches as well.

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There was a bit in that where loads of plates went flying around, I hid my character in a cupboard and didn't come out. I don't think I've played it since, I'm such a wimp.

Condemned is the best I've played recently, very good at instilling a feeling of dread within you.

[pauc]

Space Hulk on the 3DO. That was pretty scary.

[Guitar Heroine]

How scary is SH2? Ive just bought this and Im told I will be scared shitless, is this true? I also want Project zero too, the game cover itself for eeery enough for me. Either way Im looking forward to playing them both.

[Judgement]

How scary is SH2? Ive just bought this and Im told I will be scared shitless, is this true? I also want Project zero too, the game cover itself for eeery enough for me. Either way Im looking forward to playing them both.

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*shudder* one thing i warn you about project dark is the attic, i will say no more

[Guitar Heroine]

*shudder* one thing i warn you about project dark is the attic, i will say no more

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I'm actually getting a bit worried now. I have to play them when my son isnt around, but if I play them alone Im going to be doing so from behind the sofa cacking it.

Tbh I scared myself a bit doing the half life training, the bit when you're in the dark. Stupid really I was playing it mid afternoon on a bright sunny day.

[Dark_soldier]

No scarier game than the original Alien Vs Predator on PC.

I could never play past the 1st level. 

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omg at least i am not alone with this one.

[Tofu]

Exactly when its good its really good, however, I can understand why they have the running back and forth to build tension and all, but man it was so tedious in places.

[Popo]

Fatal Frame/Project Zero was very unsettling. Had to stop playing the thing because I just wasn't enjoying it.

It's also bloody scary.

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Totally agree with that. Project Zero was way scarier than it had any right to be, shame the game wasn`t very fun to play.

I`d also like to say, I found the original Dino Crisis to be quite scary. The bit when the T-Rex first pops his head in did it for me, but also the fact that the raptors were pretty bad ass meant it was a pretty tense game to play, on top of the jump moments.

[baby middle finger]

Playing resi 4 properly for the first time last weekend, some people who'd completed the game were there with me.

"Start the game again, man- it's well scary at the beginning."

OK, I though- let's get the full resi4 experience. Started again.

The next ten minutes or so consisted of:

"OK, walk forward and there'll be a zombie here. Shoot him quick, no not with that gun, use this one. Oh, here's a cutscene, skip it- its boring. Your locked in the house, dont stay there. Zombies spawn through that door, go upstairs. Thats right, jump out the window- no, it's A, not B you idiot. Run that way,there's a guy over there. Once you get here you'll see your trucks dead... scared yet?"

Worst atmosphere eva.

[Popo]

No scarier game than the original Alien Vs Predator on PC.

I could never play past the 1st level. 

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No, I just found that game annoying - the fact that you were always under attack from respawning enemies... there was never a break in pace and the aliens were REALLY hard to hit because they moved so fast, just irritated me.

[DarhkFox]

Sh2 is a very scary game. It just freaked me out when playing it.

I dont think there really is many games that scare me..

Also Alone in the Dark: A new nightmare i thought was actually pretty good. It must have been because i actually completed it. I remember those monsters that appear from nowhere shit me up a lot of the time.

[mogawoods]

Ah yes. AvP. The face-huggers. Brr.

[Popo]

Can System Shock 2 still be bought? I`ve had a poke about, but not come up with any results.

Also do you have to play the first one, or is it like Silent Hill 2?

Would love to play that particular game.

[Crisp_Rapper]

No, I just found that game annoying - the fact that you were always under attack from respawning enemies... there was never a break in pace and the aliens were REALLY hard to hit because they moved so fast, just irritated me.

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enemies didn't respawn (unless you were on that crazy gametype where they did 'survival' or something) so you weren't under constant attack meaning there were breaks in pace. aliens moved fast and were hard to hit as they're supposed to be... not much of a game if they were slow.

ffs.

[Popo]

god forbid!

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Wha?

[emps]

Can System Shock 2 still be bought?  I`ve had a poke about, but not come up with any results.

Also do you have to play the first one, or is it like Silent Hill 2?

Would love to play that particular game.

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You don't have to play the first one, everything you need to know is explained early on. But try and get the instruction manual with the game, it gives you the full backstory.