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BLOG OF POOTENHEIMER... Fear it, Love it
20031002
 
Gaming goodness
So I've been playing for the first time in a while. The THING for the X-Box, one of my birthday goodies, which I have to say I like very much. It's an older game (a year old, which by tech standards is ancient), but it's still good. I was pleased to find out that although the title and movie sequences are not, the gameplay IS widescreen. Which is good stuff. It looks to be an interesting game, a possible scary game.

Speaking of scary games, let me give you the list here really quick. Of all games that I know of that have scare possibilities, there are only a few that you should really consider, if you want real scariness. First off, there's DOOM. Yeah, that's right. A very, very old game, but there have been times for almost everyone where they turned a corner to see a cacodemon or something similar and almost wet their pants. I know I jumped more than once while playing that game. Also, another one that must be considered, but is also quite old - System Shock 2. Oddly enough, I never played this. But I've read enough on it to trust that it is, indeed, quite creepalicious. I still want to try it.

Going further, to console-land - we have, of course, Resident Evil. Now this is more of a movie horror thing. Great for lots of people to watch and go ooh and aah, but nothing's really scary. You're more scared you're going to die because you ran out of ammo AGAIN than you are of the fifty-eighth zombie that ambles towards you. I'll give props to the GameCube remake of the original Resident Evil, which had uber-zombies. The first time I saw them it startled me a bit. Let's just say... they're not standard zombies. They don't give you as much time to be prepared.

One that most people don't know about for consoles - on the original PSX, Clock Tower. It's not that great of a game, but the panic it can instill in you after you figure out what you're doing (and get past the pretty poor point-and-click conversational pain) is amazing. Rent it, if you can find it, just to try it out. Give it a chance, and make sure you understand HOW to play in the side-scrolling sections, to give you your best chance at survival. The way they set up the atmosphere for your impending doom is still near the top in my book.

I do have to mention Eternal Darkness. On GameCube - not totally scary, more of a psychological attack approach. Excellent, excellent game. I recommend it highly. There are a few moments that might spook you, but the big stuff is all magic it performs inside your head. I'll simply say this: there's an insanity meter in this game. For the sake of the game possibilities, please let yourself go at least a little insane throughout the game. There are "methods" to sane-itize yourself, but it's worth it to let a couple go by. Trust me.

And finally, the ultimate in what I think is scary-scary-scary gaming... Silent Hill. Try playing this by yourself, late at night, for the first time. Either 1, 2, or 3, although I still think 2 ranks up there near the top for just freaky ambiance. This thing gave me a headache it freaked me out so much. I really had to stop playing after going so long by myself, at night. Even better with a window cracked, maybe a storm outside. Mainly well done for the stuff you see (moreso for stuff you think you see), and definitely for stuff you hear. Sounds add SO much to horror, a lot of people don't realize it. If you play with a bunch of people around, your braveness is boosted substantially. Do yourself a favor. Try it by yourself, one you haven't played yet, so you don't know what's coming. Even if only once.

Anyhoo, I'm getting sleepy, so it's time for bed. Hopefully no dreams of Silent Hill tonight.
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as of 10/23/03

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