Survival Horror and Horror Genre Video Games for Halloween – Article

We thought we’d take a look at some new and old scary video games you might want to try this Halloween season. There’s been a few horror genre games released this year and some great scary games still to come later this year and early next, so we’re going to look at the big releases in the scary video game genre.

If you like your games with a little gore, loud jumpy noises and things that go bump in the dark, look no further as Lesbian Gamers takes you into the ooky spooky world of the scary video game.

Survival Horror and Horror Genre Video Games for Halloween

It’s Halloween 2008 and we’re taking a look at some of the spooky games you can get over various formats. Feel free to pop your own views and suggestions into the comments and have a Happy Halloween 2008!

“Dead Space” (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Gay Girls Who Game covered this in their Halloween Special, but let’s just say “Dead Space” is a cool game to play this Halloween. It’s got scary noises, creepy shadows and mutated monsters out for your blood. If you like atmosphere and scares in a sci-fi setting, “Dead Space” could be for you. It’s just a shame the female character in it stars off as a whiney pain (she gets much cooler though).

“Left 4 Dead” (Xbox 360, PC) Released late November
“Left 4 Dead” is zombietastic title from Valve that got big buzz prior to release and the buzz was right. The cool thing about “Left 4 Dead” is it’s a 4 player co-op game (players or AI), that pits you against “infected” foes. This one sounds a little like “Hunter: The Reckoning” that appeared on the original Xbox back in 2002, which is cool with us as that was fun. Left 4 Dead though is an amazing co-op title and one everyone should own.

“Alone in the Dark: Inferno” (PS3) Released late November
Prior to the release of “Alone in the Dark” (Xbox 360, PC, PS2) hype was big and gamers expected big things. Sadly a wonky camera and dodgy controls meant lackluster reviews for the title. Atari has tried to remedy some of these issues when the game launches for PS3 in November, newly tweaked and named “Alone in the Dark: Inferno”. Who knows if it will be any better.

“Resident Evil 4″ (PS3, Xbox 360) Released March 2009
There’s big hype surrounding “Resident Evil 5″ (“Biohazard 5″ in Japan), with its beautiful graphics, creepy premise and cool female sidekick (Sheva Alomar). We’re hoping big things for this title when it releases March 13. This is one to definitely have on your gaming radars.

“Silent Hill: Homecoming” (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
The “Silent Hill” universe has always been fantastic at getting across the creep factor. It even spawned a movie with a hot female cast (Radha Mitchell and Laurie Holden). Sadly “Silent Hill: Homecoming”, despite being one to watch, has had less than favorable reviews overall. Whilst the graphics and overall ambiance of the title were applauded, the gameplay itself was called into scrutiny. It doesn’t release in Europe until February 2009.

“Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop” (Wii)
A Wii version of “Dead Rising” (which released on Xbox 360 back in 2006) didn’t seem possible, but Capcom thought it was a great idea and media hype would tend to agree… people like the thought of hacking zombies on the Wii. The issues that plagued the Xbox 360 original are said to have been dealt with and Capcom expect the game to sell bucket loads when it’s released in February 2009.

“The Calling” (working title by Hudson – Wii)
If you missed the recent “previews” edition of Gay Girls Who Game, you might want to check it out for “The Calling” a new horror game from Hudson. It looks like the title will harken back to more creep less gore and it’s all the more creepy / scary for it. Here’s hoping “The Calling” gets a release for the Wii.

Older horror video games
There are so many older horror genre video games we thought we’d just highlight a few we thought stood out from the zombie infested crowd! We’ll give others a short honorable mention… because we’re nice like that.

“Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” (GameCube)
Falling into the genre of ‘psychological horror’, “Eternal Darnkess: Sanity’s Requiem” released back in 2002 on the Nintendo GameCube. With its female protagonist (Alexandra Roivas) and a storyline that spanned centuries, “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” was a stunning and captivating game. If you have a Wii, this is one old title worth getting.

“Cold Fear” by Darkworks (original Xbox, PC, PS2)
Released back in 2005, “Cold Fear” was a survival horror with a difference, it was set on a boat. Quite similar to the “Resident Evil” games in gameplay mechanic, “Cold Fear” added the dimension of claustrophobia to proceedings, making it even more creepy. This one is worth a look if you missed it, sadly it’s not on the Xbox 360 backward compatible list (a travesty!).

“ObsCure” by Hydravision (Xbox, PC, PS2)
“ObsCure” released back in 2004 and was essentially a high school setting hack and slash where you played students. The cool thing about “ObsCure” is you could jump in and out of co-op play. This was a pretty good title and it warranted a sequel – “ObsCure II” – in 2007 / 2008 that was set two years later when the same kids are in college or working. The sequel released on Wii, PS2 and PC.

“Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth” (Xbox, PC)
The H. P. Lovecraft world of the Cthulhu Mythos is a great setting for a horror game and Headfirst Productions (with Bethesda) did their best to bring the original Xbox and PC a cool Cthulhu game with “Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth”. Trouble was, though it was beautiful, it was a bit slow and has some bugs. That said, it was still a good title and is on the Xbox 360 compatibility list.

The “Fatal Frame” series (PS2, Xbox, Wii)
The “Fatal Frame” series (also known as “Project Zero”) has spawned numerous titles over various formats and is thought to be one of the creepiest horror gaming series due to its lack of traditional survival horror weaponry. The protagonist in “Fatal Frame” is armed only with a camera (Camera Obscura) and the story is generally Japanese horror folklore. If you haven’t played any “Fatal Frame” titles they’re well worth a look. “Fatal Frame” and “Fatal Frame II” are both backwards compatible for Xbox 360.

“Clocktower 3″ (PS2)
Released back in 2003 “Clock Tower 3″ is actually the fourth installment in the “Clock Tower” game series by Capcom. The game features female protagonist “Alyssa Hamilton” who goes on a journey to find her mother. The scary thing about “Clock Tower 3″ is the protagonist will panic when scared and this affects gameplay. Trying to flee when you’re running in a blind panic and you’re running into walls because you’re so terrified certainly adds to the fear factor of the game, sadly it also adds to the frustration. Still it’s one worth checking out if you like your horror. If you like Milla Jovovich she’ll be playing Alyssa in an upcoming film.

Honorable mentions of survival horror games:
“Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” and “Chaos Bleeds”
We loved the Buffy games, why wouldn’t we, they’re Buffy! Both titles are backwards compatible for Xbox 360. Check out our reviews section for more info.

“Condemned” and “Condemned 2″:
We liked “Condemned” which was a launch title for the Xbox 360. Its creepy premise and lovely graphics, mixed with moving mannequins was uber creepy.

The whole “Resident Evil” series
Too many to mention separately, but they are essentially thought of by many as the ‘mommy’ of the survival horror genre, so it would be bad to not have mentioned them all.

“Doom 3″ and the “Doom” series
Is “Doom” survival horror or a sci-fi shooter? Hmm, we’re not sure, but one thing is for sure “Doom 3″ had plenty of horror scares.

“Gregory Horror Show”
A quirky game released back in 2003 in Europe and Japan, “Gregory Horror Show” isn’t really your average survival horror game, but it’s definitely one to try.

“Clive Barker’s Jericho”
It’s Clive Barker, so you know it’s going to be uber gruesome. It also features a couple of cool female characters who were documented in a Lesbian Tryst.

One Response to “Survival Horror and Horror Genre Video Games for Halloween – Article”

1. Tee says:

   November 17, 2008 at 6:36 pm

   I have never commented before, but I must say that “Obscure” for the PS2 is a great title to play. I thought it definitely had enough “jumpy” moments to enjoy. Also, try “Ghosthunter” for the PS2. Not necessarily scary, but a fun title nonetheless.