Best survival horror video game?

[Mannix]

I'm probably going to have to write some fantasy horror stuff soon and for inspiration, I wanted to play a good survival horror game. Recommendations?

I have a PS2 and a PC, but my PC game options are limited; 450 mhz, 356 mb RAM.

I know there's the Resident Evil series and the Silent Hill series, but are there any others? And which one's the best? I haven't played any of them.

[Magic Pink]

Fatal Frame.

It is unsurpassed.

Silent Hill is a close second.

[Living Dead Girl]

GET FATAL FRAME!!!!!!!!! OMG Scary as FUCK!


EDIT: Dammit...MP Beat me to Fatal Frame goodness...

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
Fatal Frame.

It is unsurpassed.

Silent Hill is a close second.

Fatal Frame? I've been out of the video game loop for quite some time. Can you elaborate on what makes it cool? And is it for the PS2?

[Living Dead Girl]

For the PS2 and it is the only game that made me scream and run away from the TV.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Living Dead Girl
GET FATAL FRAME!!!!!!!!! OMG Scary as FUCK!

Scary as fuck, eh? And you know, fuck can be pretty damn scary.

[Voidnaut]

I have all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings for Silent Hill. The radiator in the bedroom of my girlfriend at the time made a noise in the middle of the night like the broken radio. Nothing like waking up in pitch darkness to the sound of

*fwisssscrckrcrckrshssshs*

And thinking "Where the hell is my fire axe?"

-Voidnaut

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Voidnaut
I have all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings for Silent Hill. The radiator in the bedroom of my girlfriend at the time made a noise in the middle of the night like the broken radio. Nothing like waking up in pitch darkness to the sound of

*fwisssscrckrcrckrshssshs*

And thinking "Where the hell is my fire axe?"

-Voidnaut

How many Silent Hill games are there now? Which one is best? And finally, isn't one of them in the Greatest Hits line?

[Doc Ezra]

Originally posted by Mannix
How many Silent Hill games are there now? Which one is best? And finally, isn't one of them in the Greatest Hits line?

I'm pretty sure Silent Hill 2 is a Greatest Hit for the PS2. An excellent game, and truly creepy and disturbing in many many ways.

I also second Fatal Frame (or third it, or whatever).

[Druid]

The first Silent Hill is superb. The second one is very good, though I don't know that it is the incredible game the first one was. I guess there's a third coming out soon, but I've heard that it takes about half a day to finish tops. Anyway, play the first one. It nearly gave me a complex about static.

Druid

[NPC TheDude]

I think that Silent Hill 3 is coming out in a week or two in the states. It might already be out in Europe and reviews have been rather positive.




The Dude

[Voidnaut]

Clearly, I need to play Fatal Frame. @_@

I like the first Silent Hill best. Both are scary, but the first has the added dimension of internal horror, whereby this mild-mannered, good-natured writer turns over the course of the game into a rather scary badass. It starts to take on overtones of Mel Gibson in "Payback". :D

"Yeah, you've got some kind of mystical bullshit going on, have you? That's nice. I'll tell you what, you give me my daughter back right now and I'll shoot you in the head instead of the belly."

-Voidnaut

[Living Dead Girl]

Here's a review of Fatal Frame from X-Play.

http://www.techtv.com/xplay/reviews/story/0,24330,3374425,00.html

[Brass Monkey]

Silent Hill rocks, nothing like beating down little knife wielding zombie kids with a rusty pipe. ech. did anyone ever see the *super secret ending?*

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Monkey0574
Silent Hill rocks, nothing like beating down little knife wielding zombie kids with a rusty pipe. ech. did anyone ever see the *super secret ending?*

Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I remember someone telling me about bashing the skulls of zombie children with blunt objects.

Oh, and please warn me if you're gonna post the "super secret ending"

[Mataxes]

Seconded, thirded, and fourthed on Fatal Frame. That game is creepy as hell -- I perosnally found it even scarier than the first Silent Hill (which is pretty scary).

The first Silent Hill is good, but the second... I don't know, I didn't find it so scary. I can't think of anything else right now that's really good fodder.

[Brass Monkey]

Originally posted by Mannix
Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I remember someone telling me about bashing the skulls of zombie children with blunt objects.

Oh, and please warn me if you're gonna post the "super secret ending"

dont worry, i wont. there is one way to end that game that is just retarded. after you beat it (or if you get stuck) go to Gamefaqs.com they have all the info you need to get through silent hill and see all the endings.

[MACH RIDER]

System Shock 2.

The spiders.

[Coyraven]

Ugh, I can't believe people are suggesting Fatal Frame- the controls on the game are the scariest part of it.

Silent Hill would have been good if there had been a point/resolution to it. I felt like I was playing a horror Final Fantasy.

System Shock 2 is fun and has some creepy moments.

I think the best survival horror game I have played is the first Clock Tower. For its time- the controls and graphics were decent.
It is a little.. odd, to say the least, but you can't fight the killer in it- just run away and hope you lose him.

It was a ps1 game, so you should be able to play it on your ps2.

I have never played Clock Tower 2, but the first half of Clock Tower 3 is quite good. Just turn it off after the second chapter. heh.

CR

[Price Check]

Some lovecraftian goodness for your shitty old PC: Alone In The Dark

[Magic Pink]

Clock Tower 1 and 2 ARE really creepy. Like playing an Argento flick. 3 is a joke, avoid it.

[Brass Monkey]

Originally posted by Price Check
Some lovecraftian goodness for your shitty old PC: Alone In The Dark

good game. kinda scarey too. if you're afraid of pixels.

[Underdog]

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare had some scary moments, but it's a pretty bad game.

[reedins]

OK, this isn't a Silent Hill vs. Silent Hill 2 thread, but I wanted to throw in an opinion. I thought Silent Hill 2 was the more interesting game. In Silent Hill the horror is all external, in 2 we see that the horror is all manifested from inside the protagonist. The game itself wasn't quite as good, but the story was much more interesting to me.

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by reedins
OK, this isn't a Silent Hill vs. Silent Hill 2 thread, but I wanted to throw in an opinion. I thought Silent Hill 2 was the more interesting game. In Silent Hill the horror is all external, in 2 we see that the horror is all manifested from inside the protagonist. The game itself wasn't quite as good, but the story was much more interesting to me.

Ditto, although I thought the game was better too.

[Mannix]

Would I be missing anything if I skipped Silent Hill 1 and went straight to Silent Hill 2?

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Mannix
Would I be missing anything if I skipped Silent Hill 1 and went straight to Silent Hill 2?

No. There's some deep deep connections between the two but nothing you'd realize from just playing the games. And nothing you'd NEED to know or that would detract from the experience.

[Cynthia Celeste Miller]

Clock Tower 1 is the only game that has ever scared the living kangaroo crap out of me. It takes some getting used to, but once you do, it's allllll good.

The idea that you really can't outright fight Scissor Man (in most cases) enhances the Creep Factor for me. Some of the most tense sequences in all of horror (books, movies, etc.) occur in Clock Tower. And the mood is bone chilling.

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Cynthia Celeste Miller
Clock Tower 1 is the only game that has ever scared the living kangaroo crap out of me.

I think I'm more scared by the fact you have living kangaroo crap inside you. Or had at least.

[Mannix]

So far, I've gathered that I should stay away from the Resident Evil series.

[mathey]

Barry: Jill, here's a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by spatulalad
Barry: Jill, here's a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you.

Heh heh. I didn't get much farther than that in the RE series. I went throught the opening sequence, got past the zombie dogs that jump through the windows in the next hall, then got bitten twice by a zombie in the next room and died. Haven't started a new game since.

[Underdog]

Originally posted by Mannix
So far, I've gathered that I should stay away from the Resident Evil series.

I was going to suggest Resident Evil: Code Veronica, but you said you already knew about the series so I didn't. It's not wet yourself scary though, so it may not be very good inspiration.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Underdog
I was going to suggest Resident Evil: Code Veronica, but you said you already knew about the series so I didn't. It's not wet yourself scary though, so it may not be very good inspiration.

Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't make myself clear. What I meant was, I know the RE series and the Silent Hill series exist, but I really don't know anything about them.

[reedins]

Where's Topher, he seemed to be an obsessive Resident Evil fanatic, but I may be mis-remembering. Do you want to emphasize survival, or horror?

[Mannix]

Originally posted by reedins
Where's Topher, he seemed to be an obsessive Resident Evil fanatic, but I may be mis-remembering. Do you want to emphasize survival, or horror?

Well, I would rather play a game that's more on the survival side, but I need a good horror game.

[Underdog]

Originally posted by Mannix
Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't make myself clear. What I meant was, I know the RE series and the Silent Hill series exist, but I really don't know anything about them.

Well, like I said, Code Veronica isn't that scary. Granted, it was a year ago that I played it and I didn't get very far before the system went kaput, so it could turn mind-warping in the second half for all I know.

[Cynthia Celeste Miller]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
I think I'm more scared by the fact you have living kangaroo crap inside you. Or had at least.

Had.

Past tense.

Wait. I've said too much.

[Magic Pink]

The various Resident Evils are an ok way to pass the time but I wouldn't play any of them twice and some I never even made it all the way through cuz they were just too dull.

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Cynthia Celeste Miller
Had.

Past tense.

Wait. I've said too much.

Well, fer christ's sake, woman! Where is it now?!

WHERE IS IT NOW?!?!?!?

it could be anywhere...

[Coyraven]

Originally posted by Mannix
So far, I've gathered that I should stay away from the Resident Evil series.

The controls on all the ones I played are horrible- if they had redesigned those, then I may have had a chance to enjoy the game.

The first one has one good moment in it, but otherwise I have not seen the games as very creepy.

CR

[Andy K]

Pink is Me.

Thing is, I'm a BIG SH fan. I thought that SH1 (not 2, which was good, but not as freaky as 1) was the scariest game in the universe. It surely blew back that Biohazard/Resident Evil crap away.

So I kept hearing about this Fatal Frame game, and kept laughing to myself, "Ain't NO game scarier than Silent Hill. NO GAME."

Boy, was I fucking wrong.

In the end, I could analyze it all day. But I think the main point that makes it scarier than SH is that the horrors in SH are visceral, can be taken out with the various weapons you carry, if nothing else than the crowbar or whatever the weakest weapon is.

In Fatal Frame, none of the horrors are visceral. You can't harm them physically. There are no weapons (chainsaw, etc) other than a friggin camera. When you walk, you hobble, and when you "run", you lope.

It rocks like a terminator that looks like Chris Cornell.

-Andy

[Voidnaut]

RE-3 was mildly scary. I found Herr Nemesis pretty darn intimidating; walking into a room and hearing him bellow set my teeth on edge.

-Voidnaut

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Voidnaut
RE-3 was mildly scary. I found Herr Nemesis pretty darn intimidating; walking into a room and hearing him bellow set my teeth on edge.

-Voidnaut

Wasn't Nemesis the one where the monster was chasing you throughout the whole game? Like at some points, you'd be walking down a hallway and he'd break through the wall, yell, "HEY, COOL-AID," then start chasing you.

[Underdog]

Originally posted by Mannix
Like at some points, you'd be walking down a hallway and he'd break through the wall, yell, "HEY, COOL-AID," then start chasing you.

Laugh point.

And yes, that was the game. I'm somewhat annoyed that they did a straight port to Gamecube for that one, instead of a remake a la Resident Evil. At the very least, they could have given the graphics a slight upgrade.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Underdog
Laugh point.

And yes, that was the game. I'm somewhat annoyed that they did a straight port to Gamecube for that one, instead of a remake a la Resident Evil. At the very least, they could have given the graphics a slight upgrade.

Woo-hoo! And, yeah, I thought so.

[MACH RIDER]

By the way, System Shock II will run majestically on your PC.

Gotta pimp my game. :D

[Topher]

I like the Biohazard/RE games, but they are not really scary. It's action-horror in the vein of Aliens, where the horror bits are really just window dressing on an action movie plot.

I haven't played Fatal Frame yet, so right now I consider the Silent Hill games the pinnacle of scariness. The connections between the first and second games are, as MP said, very deep but not very apparent and have no effect on the plot or your enjoyment of the game. You could easily skip the first one and not miss anything - except for an excellent and incredibly scary experience.

The Greatest Hits version of SH2, btw, has an extra scenario - the one that was added for the X-Box version. Adds another few hours of gameplay and explains some backstory for one of the supporting characters.

SH3, soon to be released, is actually a direct sequel to the first game - but it would be a major spoiler to reveal how, so I won't.

Play the original Silent Hill alone, at night, with the lights turned out. Turn up the volume on the TV so you get the full effect of the static (and so you get the full impact of the *absolutely freaking brilliant* soundtrack).

Topher

[bv728]

I may have to pick up a copy of Silent Hill 1 again, just to scare the living shit out of myself before 3 comes out, as well as re-aquaint myself with the mythology of Samael.

[Topher]

Originally posted by bv728
I may have to pick up a copy of Silent Hill 1 again, just to scare the living shit out of myself before 3 comes out, as well as re-aquaint myself with the mythology of Samael.

Yup, the fallen angel and Dahlia's cult are both important plot elements in SH3.

Topher

[Mannix]

I went to Best Buy at lunch looking for SH1, but the bastards didn't have it. I think that's what I'll get. Thanks, guys.

[mahubrahd]

Originally posted by Mannix
I went to Best Buy at lunch looking for SH1, but the bastards didn't have it. I think that's what I'll get. Thanks, guys.

go to gamestop.com

might beable to find it there...
i dint like it much...i am a fan of the resident evil games...

[Mannix]

Originally posted by mahubrahd
go to gamestop.com

might beable to find it there...
i dint like it much...i am a fan of the resident evil games...

I saw a couple of RE games for the PS2. RE: Code Veronica, I think, and some shooter game that was new.

[Helena]

American McGee's Alice.

It's lots of fun, and pretty.

Helena

[mahubrahd]

Originally posted by Helena
American McGee's Alice.

It's lots of fun, and pretty.

Helena


funny you mentioned it i saw in for the pc on the discount rack this weekend almost picked it up.

thought it might be one of those cheap game to put out a game for the sake of putting a game out games....


should i pic it up?whats good about it?
is it one of those endless search games..(i hate those)

[Topher]

Originally posted by Mannix
I saw a couple of RE games for the PS2. RE: Code Veronica, I think, and some shooter game that was new.

That's DEAD AIM, the third in the Gun Survivor side-series. It's a cross between RE and a first-person shooter.

They're also coming out with an online eight-player version, where the players are Raccoon City townsfolk trying to survive and escape during the viral outbreak/zombie attack of RE2/3.

Topher

[Helena]

Originally posted by mahubrahd
funny you mentioned it i saw in for the pc on the discount rack this weekend almost picked it up.

thought it might be one of those cheap game to put out a game for the sake of putting a game out games....


should i pic it up?whats good about it?
is it one of those endless search games..(i hate those)

PICK IT UP!!!!!!!!!!

I am playing it for the second time on nightmare mode.

Helena

PS What's good about it? Alice in wonderland all nightmare like. It rocks. It's funny. It made me want to kill lady bugs for an entire month. The graphics, the story line, the way the characters are now. The MUSIC!

[mahubrahd]

hey you sigged the game didnt you helena?

it must be good!!!

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Helena
American McGee's Alice.

It's lots of fun, and pretty.

Helena

When that game came out, I wanted to get it, but I asked my computer if it could run it and it just got sad. Not sure if my new one can handle it, but I think so.

[mahubrahd]

Originally posted by Mannix
When that game came out, I wanted to get it, but I asked my computer if it could run it and it just got sad. Not sure if my new one can handle it, but I think so.


is your computer an abacas?
if so, its time to get a new one.

[Helena]

Originally posted by mahubrahd
hey you sigged the game didnt you helena?

it must be good!!!

I did sig it! See my edited post above. The music is composed by Chris Vreena. I baught the CD a while back and just listening to it made me want to play it again. There is a surprise around every corner. It's wonderland warped. It's fun.

Helena

[mahubrahd]

consider it bought, i hope you get a big fat commission check helena.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by mahubrahd
is your computer an abacas?
if so, its time to get a new one.

As a matter of fact, it is an abacus. Now, don't you feel dumb, mister Raging Assjacket???

[Helena]

Originally posted by mahubrahd
consider it bought, i hope you get a big fat commission check helena.

I WISH!

But more then that, I really want them to make another one...but I can't imagine how!

:)

You will enjoy it.

Helena

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Helena
I WISH!

But more then that, I really want them to make another one...but I can't imagine how!


They're making another one set in Oz.

[mahubrahd]

Originally posted by Mannix
As a matter of fact, it is an abacus. Now, don't you feel dumb, mister Raging Assjacket???


not feel...am dumb...
i am dumb.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
They're making another one set in Oz.

Woah, that would kick ass. The Tin Man, dismembering people with his axe. The Lion rending people to shreds. The Scarecrow...falling on dudes.

[Helena]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
They're making another one set in Oz.


MAGIC PINK

You will never know just how happy you have made me.

Forever grateful,

Helena

[Druid]

Originally posted by reedins
OK, this isn't a Silent Hill vs. Silent Hill 2 thread, but I wanted to throw in an opinion. I thought Silent Hill 2 was the more interesting game. In Silent Hill the horror is all external, in 2 we see that the horror is all manifested from inside the protagonist. The game itself wasn't quite as good, but the story was much more interesting to me.


I really felt a lot of empathy with the father in the first one. The need to find his daughter, and that need growing in counterpoint to the freaky crap around him really hit a nerve. Then again, I have a real problem with littler kids being put in danger and then having to watch parents agonize about it. I utterly forbade my wife to rent that Mel Gibson movie Ransom.

I agree that the second one was very spooky though, and the internal horror element was well done. It just didn't push my buttons the same way.

Spoiler Alert




















I nearly put down the controller and called my family after the father gets the panicked phone call in the school from his daughter. I have never been affected by a video game like that.

Druid

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Helena
MAGIC PINK

You will never know just how happy you have made me.

Forever grateful,

Helena


You can see some recently released action figures for it here: http://www.toysnjoys.com/americanmcgee.html

And an interview with American on it here: http://www.gamershell.com/reviews/AmericanMcGeesOZIntervie.shtml

[Topher]

Originally posted by Druid

Spoiler Alert




















I nearly put down the controller and called my family after the father gets the panicked phone call in the school from his daughter. I have never been affected by a video game like that.

Druid

Made all the creepier by the fact that it's just a toy phone, not plugged into anything, and I had examined it a dozen times trying to make it do something before attempting to leave the room and triggering the ring. *shiver*

That's one of my favorite scenes, along with the similar one where Cheryl, distorted by static, appears briefly on the TV screens at the shopping center. "Daddy...help me." Jeebus.

Topher
(and the crying in the girls' bathroom, in the school. Damn! Totally disconnected to anything else in the plot, just an atmospheric, creepy little moment)

[Magic Pink]

Meh. Cheryl's voice was so obviously done by a 30+ year old women trying to sound cute it had no affect on me at all.

[Helena]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
You can see some recently released action figures for it here: http://www.toysnjoys.com/americanmcgee.html

And an interview with American on it here: http://www.gamershell.com/reviews/AmericanMcGeesOZIntervie.shtml





*squeal!*

*thunk*

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Helena
*squeal!*

*thunk*

*pokes Helena with a stick*

Heh heh. Neat.

[Andy K]

Oh, one of the other freaky things I loved about SH was the background noise and the like. THere were often noises made for effect that didn't really lead to anything. In RE, for example, when you hear a noise you know that a zombie is on your ass. In SH, though, you just hear weird noises for no reason... just cause you're in Hell.

Moments for me, aside from the phone one:

The locker.

The bathroom where you have to get the plate. You get the plate, and on your way out theres a giant metal "SLAM!" sound. I dropped the fucking controller the first time. Funny thing was, I played that game 3 times. Dropped it each time. The third time, i knew that I was in the room that would make that noise, and reminded myself to watch out for it. Then, I got sidetracked, examining that plate, and so like 15 seconds later when I have it in my hand and I'm walking out...
"SLAM!"
I dropped the controller again.


mini-spoiler:


The scariest defining moment for me is when I'm in the elementary school: I open the clock tower, go inside, come back out, and the place seems the same but it's all creepy, rusted, nasty, and dark. I knew that my character had effectively slipped into Hell.

That REALLY fucked me up. I'm really touchy about the whole "being lost forever in a place where no one will ever find you". The movie "They" kicked my ass.

-Andy

[Topher]

I was right there with ya, Andy. Every time things went pitch black and the metal got rusty and that damned hellish music/noise started up, my pulse just skyrocketed.

Topher

[adamsmith]

To be completely contrary, I still enjoy the first Dino Crisis .
But I don't like reptiles...

[Topher]

Originally posted by adamsmith
To be completely contrary, I still enjoy the first Dino Crisis .
But I don't like reptiles...

That's another one that I would call "Action Horror." Even more towards the "Action" end of the spectrum than the RE games.

Topher

[J Arcane]

THANKS. I really needed to be reminded of the phone.

*shaky voice* "Daddy . . . "

And the little fucking blue babies. God the babies. With their evil cackling. FUCKING DIE!

So yah. Pick up Silent Hill. I wasn't too impressed the first time I saw it, just seemed like stupid gore-fest. Then I played it. It makes the baby Jesus cry.

I also recommend some Aliens related games. Go get yourself some DOOM, and download the Aliens TC mod. That was the first game to ever scare the mortal fucking piss outta me.

And Half-Life.

Actually, with your computers stats, if you just popped in a good 3D card, like a GeForce or something, it would actually handle a lot of stuff quite well. GeForce 4's should be getting cheap, what with both nVidia and ATi having new cards out now.

These days, a good 3d card has way more effect on performance than processor and RAM. Even the more recent stuff will run great on a 350mhz, so long as you've got a good 3d card.

Hell, I can Unreal Tournament on my 200mhz Powermac, if I turn all the graphics settings all the way down. :)

[Balthazor]

I'm one of those who much preferred SH2 to SH1. Not that SH1 was at all bad, it was great. But they are very different games, and it's really up to one's individual taste as to which style trips their triggers.

What I liked about SH2 was that it made a much more subtle use of it's settings and situations. What I mean is, in SH1 there's a blatant shift from Silent Hill to Dark Silent Hill. You can't miss it, particularly since it's always announced by a piercing siren. It has an effect like "whoa, I've just stepped into HELL here!"

Whereas, in SH2, the transitions to and from Dark Silent Hill are much more subtle, so much so that you often don't really realize at first that you've made this transition. It's effect is more like "hmm...there's something very wrong about this place..."

Also, I liked the more psychological nature of the second game. It bends the mind a bit trying to figure it all out, but once you do it's really rather amazing.

As far as the RE series goes, I think both the GameCube RE remake and RE: 0 are excellent games. What's noteworthy about these games, aside from their jaw-dropping visuals, is that they really try to reinsert horror into the genre, something which the RE crew seemed to have forgotten after RE2. The GameCube RE remake was one of the scarier horror games I've played.

Like someone said before, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare is so-so. It has some really, really scary bits, but it just doesn't hold through until the end. It's like they switched designs midway through, and changed it from a RE-style horror game to a Doom-style shooter. It's a letdown. But, it would be worth playing if you can pick it up cheap. I got the Dreamcast version for $20 new, and it's probably worth that much, anyhow.

Fatal Frame is, frankly, beyond my ability to deal with. I've played virtually every survival horror game out there, and this is the first one that I simply lack the balls to continue playing.

Finally, I just recently finished Clock Tower 3, and it's really a disappointing game. In many ways, this could have been a fantastic game. The graphics are gorgeous, the voice acting is top-notch, and the concept is really quite interesting. It seems to me to be a game that's so close to being good, but the way that the whole minions thing was done is truly miserable, and makes the game a tedious experience. It becomes a matter of dashing out from a hiding spot, quickly grabbing an item or solving a puzzle before the minion reappears, then dashing back to the hiding spot until the minion disappears again. And, considering the overall quality of the dialogue and voice acting, couldn't they have given these minions more than one single line of dialogue? I swear, if I had to hear those costumed freaks at the end say "slice and dice" one more time, I'd pour molten lead into my ears.

So basically, my overall picks for best survival horror games would be SH2, RE GameCube, and Fatal Frame.

[PyroGod]

I skipped pages two and three, but I can't give enough praise for System Shock 2. Its an awesome space survival horror. And it has "best villian evah!" Shodan is so awesome. And you can assuredly find it for 9.99 US or less.

[the village idiot again..]

Evil Dead: Fistfull of Boomsticks. Best Survival Horror videogame ever.

[Wakshaani]

Eternal Darkness for teh Gamecube.

Crawls into your head, nests, then lays eggs, so that a few days later, you'll hear the phone ring and *freak*.

Evil, evil game. I love it so!

-- Wak

[delor]

As has been said, System Shock 2!!! Although I 'm not sure how well it'd run on your computer; I don't remember the specs anymore. But if it does run well, it's awesome.

Another PC game with some nice touches is Clive Barker's Undying, although again I'm not sure about the requirements. It has nothing on System Shock, but it still has some great moments and goes through a wide variety of good horror tropes.

Eternal Darkness is great for atmosphere and has a pretty cool story, although the gameplay and puzzles are mostly lame. Still, definately worth playing. I'm actually working on an Eternal Darkness campaign right now, using the same plot (ancients trying to take over!) but replacing all the charachters and events except for the protagonist. It'll open with the players as detectives investigating her murder; they'll find her corpse with the Tome of Eternal Darkness by it open to the page that reads "Thier eyes now fall upon my daughter, humanity's last hope." The leaping between decade to decade will give me a nice way to slaughter most of the PCs each session to make them fearful without screwing up the plot.

[Jack]

Eternal Darkness and Fatal Frame are both scary and games don't scare me.

[Rurouni Shimada]

I never play survival horror games because I'm wimpy like that. I watch horror movies and be okay about them, but horror video games are something else.

However, while I worked for Electronics Boutique a.k.a. Game, I used my employee discount to get Eternal Darkness, because I'd heard many good things about it.

Brought it home, couldn't sleep, decided to test drive the game at 2 a.m.

Eek.

One hour and twenty minutes later I put the game away, very carefully, and went to bed with the bedside lamp on.

It didn't help that my house is one of those houses that creaks and pops and whooshes every now and again.

The bathroom scene I eventually got to actually made me scream.

Geh. Thank God I don't own a PS2. Someone woulda made me try out Silent Hill, and that would have really fucked me up.


Shimada - wimp

[Leif]

Originally posted by PyroGod
I skipped pages two and three, but I can't give enough praise for System Shock 2. Its an awesome space survival horror. And it has "best villian evah!" Shodan is so awesome. And you can assuredly find it for 9.99 US or less.

"We are, we are, we are, we are..."

Speaking of which, how about Thief? Should run on most surviving computers. Play it in the dark with headphones. I did. First time that fly-blown corpse got up and started moaning I nearly soiled my pants.

[Rurouni Shimada]

I've also been told with great enthusiasm that Alien Vs. Predator (I can't remember which one) should be played with surround speakers in complete darkness.

It can get scary, I've been informed. Especially when the buggers sneak up on you and you cna almost feel them breathing down your back because you hear them there.

Shimada - no nerve for such gaming

[Front Toward Everybody]

Eternal Darkness.

It really got to me when the fucking Nintendo started playing tricks on me.

-Andrew

[Ghoest Police]

Originally posted by Andrew
Eternal Darkness.

It really got to me when the fucking Nintendo started playing tricks on me.

-Andrew

I watched my friend finish Solid Snake for the PS2. Patriot something or other.

That was scary.

[Underdog]

Originally posted by Rurouni Shimada
I've also been told with great enthusiasm that Alien Vs. Predator (I can't remember which one) should be played with surround speakers in complete darkness.

It can get scary, I've been informed.

You've been informed correctly. I almost jumped out of my seat when the aliens first decided to make an appearance. It's also so damned hard that I'm never going to get past that part. Bah.

[KingDobbs]

I can't believe we got five pages into this discussion before even mentioning Eternal Darkness.

The thing that makes it most scary is the unpredictability of when wonky shit is going to happen.

[Vic]

Originally posted by Voidnaut
I have all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings for Silent Hill. The radiator in the bedroom of my girlfriend at the time made a noise in the middle of the night like the broken radio. Nothing like waking up in pitch darkness to the sound of

*fwisssscrckrcrckrshssshs*

And thinking "Where the hell is my fire axe?"

-Voidnaut

Bwa-ha-ha!

Thanks for that one!

[delor]

Oh yeah- AvP. How could I forget it? AvP2's not nearly as good, sadly.

AvP's co-op mode is also kind of fun, if not as scary; you and your friends play together as marines and/or predators and the aliens come in endless waves. The funnest map is this map where you're in this canyon with a bunker at the end. My brother and I would play that game all the time and try to get to and hold the bunker for as long as possible. Usually, as long as possible wasn't all that long.

[Magic Pink]

Eternal Darkness is way cool but it really isn't scary at all. There's some ickly scenes but it takes a lot more then gore to make something scary.

[Mannix]

Two games that weren't exactly scary, but were good for the jump factor were Serious Sam 1 and 2. Usually, when I played, it was at night with my headphones on and the sound turned up. I guess you'd get the same effect with any FPS, though.

[MACH RIDER]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
Eternal Darkness is way cool but it really isn't scary at all. There's some ickly scenes but it takes a lot more then gore to make something scary.

And more than freaky creatures ambushing you. Surprise can be quite different from fear.

Alone, on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere, with talking shotgun zombies, and two AIs battling for control of your ship...

I love that game.

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by the village idiot again..
Evil Dead: Fistfull of Boomsticks. Best Survival Horror videogame ever.

Game Rankings says you're wrong.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
Game Rankings says you're wrong.

Yeah. I've heard that game sucks ass. And not in a good way.

[MACH RIDER]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
Game Rankings says you're wrong.

And everyone else I've heard from. :)

[Haecceity]

Resident Evil: Spooky, creepy fun. None of the sequels come close to being as good as the original.

Eternal Darkness: Yay for Lovecraftian horror! The game psychically raped me and made me it's bitch. More games should have a sanity bar.

Clocktower 3: The survival horror is mostly the first two levels, but it's a good, solid game thats fun to play. And hell. Who doesn't love a busty, redheaded English school girl who fights evil? *drools* It's like Sailor Moon meets Call of Cthulhu!

Silent Hill: It was nicely spooky and had an interesting plot. Eh.

Oh, and Fatal Frame was silly. It gave me a headache too.

[Wakshaani]

Originally posted by Rurouni Shimada
The bathroom scene I eventually got to actually made me scream.

Shimada - wimp

Not to worry ... *everybody* panics at teh bathroom scene. It just catches you TOTALLY flatfooted.

The bust upstairs that follows you when you walk by has Teh Creepay, too. Brr.

-- Wak

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by TheSpacePope


Clocktower 3: The survival horror is mostly the first two levels, but it's a good, solid game thats fun to play. And hell. Who doesn't love a busty, redheaded English school girl who fights evil? *drools* It's like Sailor Moon meets Call of Cthulhu!

Oh, and Fatal Frame was silly. It gave me a headache too.

If you actually PREFERRED CT3 to Fatal Frame you have no business being in this thread. You need to find the thread called "What's the best game that sucks a lot and has some chubby english/japanese chick in it who flashes her panties everytime she falls over?"

[reedins]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
If you actually PREFERRED CT3 to Fatal Frame you have no business being in this thread. You need to find the thread called "What's the best game that sucks a lot and has some chubby english/japanese chick in it who flashes her panties everytime she falls over?"

MP, I'm thinking that you and he get different things out of your survival horror games. :D

I haven't played either of those, so I can't weigh in.

[Balthazor]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
You need to find the thread called "What's the best game that sucks a lot and has some chubby english/japanese chick in it who flashes her panties everytime she falls over?"

And now you've touched upon one of the better qualities of Clock Tower 3...

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Balthazor
And now you've touched upon one of the pathetic, fucktard qualities of Clock Tower 3...

You misspelled that a bit. I fixed it for you.

[Mannix]

Hey MP, do you think I should buy Clock Tower 3?

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Mannix
Hey MP, do you think I should buy Clock Tower 3?

Lemme get back to you on that.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
Lemme get back to you on that.

Cool. Thanks. Heh heh.

[Haecceity]

Ooo.. Verbally spanked by Magic Pink. I feel special now.

As for Clocktower vs. Fatal Frame..

I found Fatal Frame rather dull. The camera as a weapon was just silly and killed the sense of horror/tension that had been building up. Plus, having to deal with that freaking flashlight in the dark rooms was annoying and gave me a headache.

Clocktower: Eh. It wasn't the best of games, but it was entertaining. Thats the best that can said for it.

[This Guy]

I say CoC: Dark Corners of the Earth. I have not played it. Haven't even touched it. I don't know if it's even out yet. But dammit, someone had to mention it.

And if I'm right and it does manage to 0wn all the other horror games, so much the better!

[Mannix]

It only took three weeks, but I finally got around to buying the first Silent Hill game. I played a little of it last night; just up until you go back into the alley and find the note indicating that your daughter is at the school.

Freaked me the FUCK out. Not the letter, but the whole damn thing. As I said before, I'm new to the survival horror games. When I found that wheelchair overturned in the alley with the wheels still spinning...I was hooked. So far, I'm very impressed.

I have a question. I'm playing through first on the Easy difficulty. How precious is the ammo for your pistol? Should I be using melee weapons as much as possible, or will I find enough ammo to be able to use the gun as my primary weapon.

Also, I've fought a couple of those weird flying things that are out on the streets. Is there any way to kill those without using the gun? I tried to whack one with the pipe, but I wasn't having much luck. Maybe I was going about it wrong. The dogs, however, I am able to take down with the pipe.

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Mannix

I have a question. I'm playing through first on the Easy difficulty. How precious is the ammo for your pistol? Should I be using melee weapons as much as possible, or will I find enough ammo to be able to use the gun as my primary weapon.

Also, I've fought a couple of those weird flying things that are out on the streets. Is there any way to kill those without using the gun? I tried to whack one with the pipe, but I wasn't having much luck. Maybe I was going about it wrong. The dogs, however, I am able to take down with the pipe.

I never used the pistol much. Blast away; I'm sure there's plenty of ammo in Easy.

As for fighting, don't. Especially in Misty Silent Hill. Just run past the monsters.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Magic Pink
I never used the pistol much. Blast away; I'm sure there's plenty of ammo in Easy.

As for fighting, don't. Especially in Misty Silent Hill. Just run past the monsters.
Sounds like sound advice to me. As far as I can tell, so far, I haven't actually gotten anything for killing the monsters.

[Magic Pink]

Originally posted by Mannix
As far as I can tell, so far, I haven't actually gotten anything for killing the monsters.

Well, they don't gnaw on your spleen when they're dead but no, you don't get items or anything. Just a warm feeling somewhere around the groin as you mash your loafer into it's face.

[Rikimaru]

I was kind of puzzled by a few things in this thread.

I'd never heard of Fatal Frame but it sounded familiar. Turns out that it's called "Project Zero" in Europe. I did see it on sale here, and now I may just have to pick it up given the glowing recommendations it's gotten here.

Also, the blue babies in Silent Hill 1? Never seen them. I think that they got edited out and replaced with small generic demonic thingies in the European release. Shame, since they sound really scary.

I thought I'd chip in with a few comments on Silent Hill 3. You definitely should play Silent Hill 1 first. Having played Silent Hill 2 is a bonus, but not required. It's good but not as good as the first one I think in terms of how scary it is. It has it's moments though. I keep meaning to get around to replaying it to unlock the second ending and more of it's secrets but I've gotten sidetracked with other games too much I guess.

As for that kind of horror in movies, if you like Silent Hill I can definitely recommend Jacob's Ladder. Clearly one of the major influences on the Silent Hill team. I just picked it up on DVD recently and it rocks.

[H.P]

Dino Crisis is also a survival horror game but Dino´s arnt´ that scary, but it´s a good one anyway and puzzling too. Resident evil is a bit scary too and a good play but Silent Hill is really kinda scary and very good play, Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhgggggggg it´s scary! The Silent Hill original version had small zombie babies in it but that got censored.

[Garry G]

Necromancy, awful spelling and annoying grammar. Welcome to Tangency I'm sure you'll love it here.

G's always wanted to post something like this.:D

[Son of Kirk]

I've nothing to add here, I'm just stalking Garry across the forums.

[Wakshaani]

Well, since it *was* dug up, I might as well beat on it a bit.

Try Fatal Frame II, now out (And available at a certain store for $49.96) ... and really keen. Teh graphics are all in a weird sepia-state, with the main characters done in eblack and white and grey, then some BLAZING RED on them that really stands out.

The doors and backgrounds blend really badly, due to teh sepia thing, but, otherwise, it seem sneta.

-- Wak, the Electronics Guy.

PS: In teh game, call your sister 'Gimpee McGee'. Everyone does.

[Levi_Q_Dragon]

Dreamworks is doing a Fatal Frame movie.
Spielburg has put it on the "fast track" list, (don't worry, he's not directing.)

Did anyone mention Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for the GameCube? You can pick it up for about $15, and its certainly worth it.

[Qusoor]

Originally posted by Mannix
Would I be missing anything if I skipped Silent Hill 1 and went straight to Silent Hill 2?
I did, and it didn't seem to detract from the experience. Of course, at the end of Silent Hill 2, I started to cry and went over to hold my wife for a very very long time.

[Mannix]

Originally posted by Qusoor
I did, and it didn't seem to detract from the experience. Of course, at the end of Silent Hill 2, I started to cry and went over to hold my wife for a very very long time.
If I make my way through Silent Hill 2 and I start to cry, can I come over and hold your wife, too? ;)

[This Guy]

I put the still-unavailable CoC game up earlier, but I take that back, because I just recently rented Fatal Frame.

Holy shit. I fear all blind people now. All of them.

[Rurouni Shimada]

Apparently there's another super-scary video game coming out soon or is already out in the States called White Day.

Japanese Valentine's Day. Your girlfriend goes missing. Your school is not what it seems.

Supposed to be the scariest game yet....

... available on PC, s'far as I'm aware.


Shimada - just hearing things

[Cailano]

After reading this thread I went to the local video store to rent Fatal Frame... they didn't have it. So I rented Silent Hill 2 instead since I am one of those pagans who owns both an Xbox and PS2.

Silent Hill great mood music and sounds. Played it with the lights off on a rainy day with a 60" screen and an awesome sound system turned up till the bass shook the floor.

Walked for a long time. Got to a grave yard. Talked to some chick. Walked some more. Got to town. Found out my avatar in the game can't cross a tape police line. Found this annoying. Walked some more. Found out my avatar was scared of the dark and wouldn't walk down an alley because he "didn't like the shadow there". Walked some more. Finally found the street that you are SUPPOSED to walk down (there is no indication of this in the game, you have to find it by trial and error). Fought my first zombie thing. I must say, the appearance of the first zombie was suitably scary. Despite the frustration of having to walk over gods creation to find this beastie I was still into the game.

Now this was a rented game and didn't have a manual so I had to play with the buttons to figure out how to hit the zombie with a big stick. The zombie threw up on me a couple of times while I figured it out. I then beat the zombie into oblivion.

To my horror I found out that I could not proceed past the zombie... I had to go back the way I came. Was the game designer smoking crack? What the hell is this? My NWN mods have better area design and I am no professional.

I go back to town and find that the police line is now down. Oh good I can cross it now. I find two more zombies and beat them down. Both throw up on me a couple of times while I am doing this. One then crawls over after I beat it down and bites me on the ankle. I die. What?

The game tells me I now need a new game. Understand, I invested about 20 minutes into getting as far as I did and you can't save the game. This sucks. However, the game had potential so I gave it another try.

This time I found health potions! Since I knew where to go the opening went faster, but was no longer scary. I got farther but I found the combat controls clumsy. It was very hard to hit the crawling zombies after I beat them down. Tired of getting bit in the ankle I just started walking away from them after hitting them with the stick. I walked and fought zombies and drank my health potions. I played for about 30 minutes this time but eventually I got bit in the ankle again and died. Once again the game told me I'd need to start over from the beginning.

No...fucking...way. I will not play this game again.

I still have high hopes for Fatal Frame though.

- Cailano

[Protip]

Well, just to try and help out, you can save the game. It'd be an exercise in frustration, as it seems to be for you, if you couldn't.

The trick is, when you're on your way to that first beastie, passing through the alleyway, there'll be a chain link fence on your right with what looks like an open area on the other side. If you press the action/investigation button around the doors of that fence, you'll open it and walk inside. If you examine the red plaque-thingie in there, which should stand out, you can save your game. The plaques are scattered throughout the game, and act as your save points.

Also, to get you on your way, try to find 'Bar Neely's' when you have the radio and such. There are clues in there to where you need to go next.