PIXEL TIMEOUT: HALLOWEEN HORROR SPECIAL
|
Yep, it's that time of year again. Halloween is just around the corner and so The Pixel Empire's writers thought it was best to give our readers something to sink their teeth into (groan).
We've a treat for you as, every couple of days running up to Halloween, we've got a review from each of our writers on a horror-themed game. It represents a broad mix of styles throughout different eras; charting arcade shock-jocks of the early nineties, survival-horror's heyday in the latter half of the nineties, right up to the more recent games that are attempting to carry forward the scary-game baton in the new millennium. |
The writers:
Alan Passingham Chris Weatherley Shane Battams Tom Clare Posted: 23rd October 2012 |
|
...But first we reckoned we'd have a timeout. The four of us thought it would be interesting to discuss our experiences of horror games in a little more detail. Each set the same devilishly simple but infinitely-discussable five questions, we share our thoughts on our favourite scary games, foes, shocking scenes, and also discuss how we feel horror-themed games have evolved, and where we feel it's heading. Despite sharing very different gaming upbringings, it's interesting to see certain titles making an impact with all of our writers. What horror can be so all-encompassing I hear you ask? Well, you'll have to read to find out... So hide behind the sofa, curl up under your blanket, or just scroll down and enjoy our fright-fest! - Tom Clare
|
Ninja Gaiden. Admit it: you're scared already
|
|
FAVOURITE SCARY GAME:
The 7th Guest (PC)
1993’s PC puzzler gets my vote. It’s still one of the first genuinely scary games I ever played. Not overly gory or surprisingly gruesome like Splatterhouse or Manhunt, but more of a psychological scare-fest. The combination of the chilling voices, the ghostly apparitions and original 3D rendering make it an absorbing and a startling tale played out in front of you. The twist at the end is straight out of an M. Night Shyamalan script too! |
The 7th Guest (1993, PC)
|
SCARIEST FOE: Psycho Mantis - Metal Gear Solid
Again, this is more about the initial shock and unseen threat that I found scary. R-Type’s Dobkeratops freaked me out the very first time I played it, because of its similarity to Giger’s Alien design, and Thanatos’s change into the Dark Lich in Secret of Mana was quite creepy too. These pale in comparison to the disturbing, gas-mask wearing antics of Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid. A chilling figure and an even more astonishing boss fight sequence. He reads your thoughts and moves the controller people!
|
SCARIEST SCENE/MOMENT: Opening - Silent Hill
It’s either a choice between the MGS moment I have just mentioned, or the first steps you take as Harry Mason in Silent Hill. I think it goes to the latter; as I found this rather unnerving, and so did my mate whom I was with at the time. Sitting in the dark, half-cut watching yourself walking blindly through the fog, shadows moving and eerie sounds, it definitely stuck in my memory. On a purely shock level of gore anticipation, the continue screen from Shadow Warriors/Ninja Gaiden arcade version is also a standout moment. |
|
ARE GAMES SCARIER THAN TEN YEARS AGO? I wouldn’t say modern games are scarier, but certainly gorier and more violent, with many games liberally splashing the claret around like its going out of fashion. I say this because I feel that the game playing audience have become desensitised to genuine frights. The amount of horror films, shock tactic advertising and so on we have in the modern world have contributed to this considerably. It seems that people are not easily scared by video games much, especially teenagers, and so the developers feel the need to open more veins and smash more skulls to get attention. In 2000, the horror genre of gaming was reaching its peak, and the stylised and slick crime games had started to take over. For me, the mid-nineties had a great crop of original scary games. Alone in the Dark and D being authentically frightening. Sure, there are some scenes in new titles that still produce a jump or two, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been seen before in some other guise.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? I think the amount of horror based games released may lessen as the years go by, with more games focusing on interactive fun and thrills instead. There will still be a circle of titles that will be hugely gory, both realistic and slapstick, but I believe their overall popularity will dwindle. One thing which may happen however is the increase of movie tie-in games, that’s if the current frequency of endless Hollywood horror films continues. These will undoubtedly be rather poor too, as many movie tie-ins are. I would hope that the developers would not cash in on the movies though and create some original titles with fresh ideas. I say this with caution and a degree of uncertainty, as my present knowledge of modern titles is not extensive. Who knows, I may pick up a game next month and be hiding under the bed sheets in a nonsensical terrified stupor, but I sincerely doubt it.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? I think the amount of horror based games released may lessen as the years go by, with more games focusing on interactive fun and thrills instead. There will still be a circle of titles that will be hugely gory, both realistic and slapstick, but I believe their overall popularity will dwindle. One thing which may happen however is the increase of movie tie-in games, that’s if the current frequency of endless Hollywood horror films continues. These will undoubtedly be rather poor too, as many movie tie-ins are. I would hope that the developers would not cash in on the movies though and create some original titles with fresh ideas. I say this with caution and a degree of uncertainty, as my present knowledge of modern titles is not extensive. Who knows, I may pick up a game next month and be hiding under the bed sheets in a nonsensical terrified stupor, but I sincerely doubt it.
Resident Evil (2002, GC)
|
FAVOURITE SCARY GAME: Resident Evil (GC)
The original horror scare-fest is fully realised on Nintendo’s console with stunning graphics and the same great gameplay with some minor tweaks. And it’s still bloody scary, especially those crimson heads! I truly think that, if Capcom were to reboot Resident Evil after the atrocious RE6, they should look to this and Zero for inspiration – both great, modern instalments which stick to their roots but refine. |
|
SCARIEST FOE: Necromorphs - Dead Space
Not only are these creatures visually unpleasant, especially the more disgusting mutations such as the Infector, sickeningly making more necromorphs for you to kill, but the fear comes from actually killing them, requiring an accuracy largely unheard of in modern horror games. And, much like RE4, nailing a headshot scarily brought more challenge with violent mutations to the original necromorphs.
|
SCARIEST SCENE/MOMENT: First zombie - Resident Evil Something about this scene always sends chills down my spine. Maybe it’s the sound of flesh being eaten, or maybe it’s the look of the zombie itself (particularly on the GameCube version). The first one is successful because of the gruesome decapitated head, but also the tense music that comes in at just the right moment. The remake benefits, of course, from more realistic graphics, but also the same tense music from the first game. |
|
ARE GAMES SCARIER THAN TEN YEARS AGO? I think a combination of more action-focused experiences, appealing to the current market of gamers, as well as the fact that our society is far less prone to shocks, means that the horror games of the past ten years have simply not been as scary. Weirdly, too, perhaps the tendency towards more sanitised controls in comparison to games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil suck out some of the tension. Perhaps a last relic of the old survival horror was Resident Evil 4, a successful mix of modern shooting mechanics and survival-horror traits – sparse ammo and dire situations.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? I think horror games not only need to reboot to their roots, instilling a primary focus on scarce ammo and plentiful foes as well as limited saves, but also push the boundaries. With so much violence and mature content being mostly typical in this gaming age, some real taboos are going to have to be broken in order to shock gamers once again. If the genre fails to somehow hark back to the ways of the late 90s and early 2000s, or succeed in creating terrifying new scares, it will probably become either extinct entirely, or something of a parody – a topic mocked by gamers much like modern horror films are now.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? I think horror games not only need to reboot to their roots, instilling a primary focus on scarce ammo and plentiful foes as well as limited saves, but also push the boundaries. With so much violence and mature content being mostly typical in this gaming age, some real taboos are going to have to be broken in order to shock gamers once again. If the genre fails to somehow hark back to the ways of the late 90s and early 2000s, or succeed in creating terrifying new scares, it will probably become either extinct entirely, or something of a parody – a topic mocked by gamers much like modern horror films are now.
|
FAVOURITE SCARY GAME: Silent Hill (PS)
Resident Evil taught us games could make you jump; Silent Hill taught us games could leave you constantly, and genuinely, frightened for prolonged periods. Every fibre of the game’s fiendishly sadistic design was crafted as a means of scaring the player. And boy did it work. You’d dread what was coming next, but at the same time, would struggle to resist the urge to see what horrors lurked, just out of view. |
Silent Hill (1999, PS)
|
SCARIEST FOE: Pyramid Head - Silent Hill 2
Nothing scarier than a foe that can’t be put down. A sinister bogeyman who pops up periodically hulking a giant, grating sword, Pyramid Head was not only freakishly threatening, but also symbolically meaningful to the mythos of Silent Hill 2. For many of those unfortunate enough to end up there, the town of Silent Hill has an uncanny means of exposing them to the sins of their pasts, with Pyramid Head seemingly a representation of mounting negative emotion and an inability to deal with the truth. Ultimate failure to accept or reconcile with their pasts would culminate in them being faced with their own bogeyman. "He's coming!"
|
SCARIEST SCENE/MOMENT:
2nd Appearance of the Nemesis - Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Alien Resurrection deserves a mention for its entire opening level, as well as the first time you set foot in Silent Hill's 'Otherworld', but the single scariest moment for me has to be super-antagonist Nemesis launching himself unexpectedly through the window of an innocuous Police Station hallway in RE3. The speedy, powerful monstrosity then proceeds to chase you hell-for-leather through the station until you find the exit (there's trouble if you take the wrong door and find a dead end). From this moment on, you knew you were never safe in RE3. |
|
ARE GAMES SCARIER THAN TEN YEARS AGO? No, but then there doesn’t appear to be the same enthusiasm towards survival-horror right now sadly. Dead Space is spooky and in some ways inherited the horror crown that Resident Evil voluntarily relinquished as it transitioned towards third-person shoot ‘em up territory, Silent Hill is in the midst of a discouraging cycle of trying to recreate past glories, bandied as it has been around various unproven western development houses in recent years. At least the likes of Project Zero and Forbidden Siren offer hope, even if they are likely to remain at the more niche end of the market.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? The optimist in me knows that the current gen of consoles have al the necessary tools at their disposal to make truly scary games; lighting, sound, and the scope for visually trickery have never been so advanced. The pessimist however points at a general decline in the interest in horror-themed games, and continual failures to reboot the once-great horror series of the past. Horror will likely tail off to further diminishing returns, until something new, shocking and innovative turns up to remind us why we loved them in the first place.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? The optimist in me knows that the current gen of consoles have al the necessary tools at their disposal to make truly scary games; lighting, sound, and the scope for visually trickery have never been so advanced. The pessimist however points at a general decline in the interest in horror-themed games, and continual failures to reboot the once-great horror series of the past. Horror will likely tail off to further diminishing returns, until something new, shocking and innovative turns up to remind us why we loved them in the first place.
|
FAVOURITE SCARY GAME: Resident Evil 2 (PS)
Perfect pacing, atmosphere and scenario, the Racoon City Police Station is just as highly memorable now as Romero’s shopping mall in Dawn of the Dead. And whilst some of the scares are fairly obvious horror clichés, there is still very little that can prepare your underwear for the murder of crows crashing through windows and pecking away at Leon’s nicely groomed hair. The low moans of zombies just round the corner, blinking huge hairy spiders in the sewers, a massive threat in the T-Virus and the notion that Racoon City has been completely desolated all add to the oppressive air of the game. Resident Evil 2 is a totally barnstorming survival horror. Turn up the volume, dim the lights and enjoy! |
|
Resident Evil 2 (1998, PS)
|
SCARIEST FOE: Spider - Limbo
It’s animated far too well and moves far too quickly for my frayed nerves, utterly terrifying. That it out-sizes the tiny little protagonist by quite a way just makes it even more associated with squeaky bum time. Jump little boy, jump. Faster, the flipping spider is gaining. Argh, mistimed jump. Splat! The boy’s haunting, piercing eyes when you restart after breaking his tiny neck (the death animations are marvellously grim in Limbo) make you feel totally guilty, although his death rarely has anything to do with your platforming ineptitude. It’s that fecking spiders fault. SCARIEST SCENE/MOMENT: Mall/Losing Jason - Heavy Rain Dead Space almost topped this one after just missing out on favourite scary game and scariest creature (any of the Necromorph’s bar the Hive Mind which is just plain shit). But again it’s been piped to the post by next-gen psychological murder mystery adventure Heavy Rain. And no, it’s not the tortuously tense scenes of finger slicing, belly crawling on glass or executing drug dealers that will terrify your moral sense of well-being. It’s a simple sequence near the beginning where you lose your son in a shopping mall crowd, and no matter how hard you search you can never quite find him or get close enough to him through the mingling crowd until it’s too late. The scene, like most of the rest of the game, is absolutely nerve-jangling and all the more terrifying because of it. Maybe it’s because I’m a dad, but I can’t think of anything worse than losing a child in a mass crowd of people. Scary, scary stuff. |
ARE GAMES SCARIER THAN TEN YEARS AGO? No. Resident Evil and Silent Hill were at their peak at the turn of the century. I’d defy anyone to suggest that whilst games have become more stylish, those titles still hold their own against more modern horror games, particularly with regards to atmosphere. Dead Space, if anything, is from the exact same breed, and still does not better them despite the awesome setting, scenes of mild peril and cack-inducing encounters with Necromorphs. Also, is there a modern equivalent for Pyramid Head? No. There isn’t.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? Hopefully not the route that Resident Evil 5 and (seemingly) Dead Space 3 travel; irritating A.I. co-op. It takes away from the pivotal factor that makes horror gaming successful. The player is, for the most part, on their lonesome. It’s their resourcefulness and courage in the face of oppressive odds that generates a truly marvellous horror atmosphere. Having some annoying cheese-eating dick-monkey constantly yapping on in your ear-hole takes away from the atmosphere somewhat. No longer does every small noise as you creep along a corridor make your skin crawl. Mostly because you can’t hear such things over inane chatter!
Instead, let’s pray that designers remember what made the early Resident Evil’s and Silent Hill’s so impressive. An interactive adventure that was challenging, atmospheric and not for the faint-hearted! If Dead Space was not so easy (far too many save points for its own good) it would be held in far higher regard than it already is. This is what we need in the future. Not RE6. Alternatively, more games like Heavy Rain. The horror here is more psychological than gore-laden, and involves more aspects where you truly have your moral integrity questioned. Perhaps there is little more challenging than that; perhaps that is the way forward.
WHERE DO YOU SEE HORROR GAMES GOING IN THE FUTURE? Hopefully not the route that Resident Evil 5 and (seemingly) Dead Space 3 travel; irritating A.I. co-op. It takes away from the pivotal factor that makes horror gaming successful. The player is, for the most part, on their lonesome. It’s their resourcefulness and courage in the face of oppressive odds that generates a truly marvellous horror atmosphere. Having some annoying cheese-eating dick-monkey constantly yapping on in your ear-hole takes away from the atmosphere somewhat. No longer does every small noise as you creep along a corridor make your skin crawl. Mostly because you can’t hear such things over inane chatter!
Instead, let’s pray that designers remember what made the early Resident Evil’s and Silent Hill’s so impressive. An interactive adventure that was challenging, atmospheric and not for the faint-hearted! If Dead Space was not so easy (far too many save points for its own good) it would be held in far higher regard than it already is. This is what we need in the future. Not RE6. Alternatively, more games like Heavy Rain. The horror here is more psychological than gore-laden, and involves more aspects where you truly have your moral integrity questioned. Perhaps there is little more challenging than that; perhaps that is the way forward.
|
|
|