"All Hallows Eve" (aka the day of the dead) is today, upfront I should let everyone know that this is probably one of my favorite holidays out of the entire year. Not just because of the candy or the fact that girls dress up in ridiculously scandalous costumes, but because it is the one month out of the entire year where we all, especially gamers, want to be scared out of their minds. Sweaty palms, adrenaline pumping through our veins on the way to a pounding heart slamming against our rib cage as we sit in a dark room with a game paused debating whether or not we should go on or just save, turn all the lights on and call it quits. While there are some exceptional titles out on the 360 for people who want to feel that shudder of fear, I decided to spin some of my beloved nostalgia into the mix. So I went back through my old collection and decided what titles, if it were up to me, would be remade and mastered. I hope you enjoy the list ghosts and ghouls.
10. The Suffering – (Originally made for Xbox, PS2, PC): So you blacked out, supposedly murdered your entire family and got sent to prison for it. Okay, that’s pretty bad, but when you show up there is an earthquake and not just a little quake, but one that releases monsters. I think that’s far, far worse. So now, you have to escape the prison and try to make sense of everything that has happened along with what happened the night you supposedly stuck it to your family in the worst kind of way. Filling the shoes of the aptly named Torque, you venture through Abbott State Penitentiary compelled forward by the ghosts of Dr. Killjoy, former executioner Mr. Haight and ex-inmate Horace, catchy eh? You discover that you can release your inner demon to combat the monsters that have seized control of the island prison and slaughter your way through them. While the ambient atmosphere and creepy environments have stood up well to the test of time, I believe a next-gen remake could probably get closer to a more realized vision, but this is hypothetical anyway. While not the scariest game ever made, I think it is definitely worth a go by anyone willing to give it a shot.
9. Clock Tower 3 – (Originally made for the PS2): The Clock Tower series has always been one of my favorites. The scary ambience and sweat inducing fear of being trapped are one of the greatest hallmarks of any given title that a gamer can choose to play. After all, what could be worse that being confined in a small space or a large building? Why being chased by someone or something that wants to kill you while being confined in a small space or a large building. Taking advantage of that claustrophobic feeling in Clock Tower 3, players assume the role of Alyssa and basically investigate ways to placate various ghosts who linger on unable to find peace. There is a slight time travel element to it, but the bottom line is that there is always something chasing you extremely intent on trying to kill you. A man carrying a sledgehammer, a man who pushed his relatives in a vat of sulfuric acid and a pair of homicidal twins wielding giant sets of scissors are probably enough to keep you awake at night for a few days after playing. But add the various ghosts to the mix and that’s just icing on the cake. While I confess that the game looked good on the PS2, it would knock people dead on the 360 and while it is a pipe dream to hope, this is a scary game that shouldn’t be missed by anyone.
8. System Shock 2 – (Originally made for the PC): So, you loved Bioshock, right? Well before that came one of the granddaddies of the fps survival horror and that was System Shock 2. In the same vein as Half-Life and Half-Life 2, I like to refer to this type of title as the “thinking man’s shooter” and making you think it did. Imagine Bioshock, except scarier. If they did remake this for the 360, you would notice a great deal of familiar elements here, but a lot of it was watered down for Bioshock. Choosing to specialize in the Marines, Navy or OSA dictates marksmanship, engineering or psionic powers respectively while giving here to the decidedly sci-fi elements of the game. Where Bioshock was underwater Sci-fi, almost Steampunk in genre, System Shock 2 was Science Fiction to the core. But the creepy elements and the feeling of being misled by the person you’re supposed to be trusting is ever presence. Coupled with the fact that deeper plot points are told via audio logs and ghostly apparitions only makes the game stand apart from its contemporaries without overshadowing its descendent. And while I’m happy with what Bioshock presents, I think that the potential for fear is just a lot higher with System Shock 2 and would ultimately love to see a remake come to the 360 one way or another.
This feature list continues on the next page, please click below to continue to numbers 5-7.
