ShareThisBy JUSTIN HOEGER
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Demons! Vampires! Zombies! Firestarters! These are the stuff of scary movies, but they're also packed into all manner of frightening video games - titles just perfect for playing late at night with the sound turned up and the lights turned down.
So in the spirit of Halloween, we offer a sampling of scary games to play in the dark. Given the subject matter, most of them are rated Mature, for players 17 and older. Many are also older titles, so prices may vary, but it shouldn't be hard to find most of them new or used for $20 to $50.
"Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow"
PUBLISHER: Konami
SYSTEM: Nintendo DS
AGE RATING: Teen
Most "Castlevania" games have you hunting down Dracula, but in this one, you're trying to prevent yourself from becoming his reincarnation. The game takes Soma Cruz through a bizarre castle full of skeletons, zombies, werewolves, mummies, demons and other creepy creatures.
"Darkwatch"
PUBLISHER: Capcom
SYSTEM: Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation 2
AGE RATING: Mature
People love the Old West. People love vampires. Why not put the two together? That's what happens in the first-person shooter "Darkwatch" when outlaw Jericho Cross gets bitten by a resurrected vampire lord and starts gaining nocturnal powers. You can decide whether he ends up good or evil, and there are lots of ghouls, ghosts and other nasties to blast along the way.
"Dead Rising"
PUBLISHER: Capcom
SYSTEM: Microsoft Xbox 360
AGE RATING: Mature
Splice George Romero's zombie mall-romp "Dawn of the Dead" with Peter Jackson's zombie gore-fest "Dead Alive" and you get "Dead Rising." As a photojournalist, you have to survive three days in a zombie-infested mall while trying to rescue trapped citizens, fend off hungry undead and get pictures of all the juiciest action. Not for the squeamish.
"Doom 3/Resurrection of Evil"
PUBLISHER: Activision
SYSTEM: PC, Xbox
AGE RATING: Mature
"Doom 3" and its expansion, "Resurrection of Evil," aren't on the cutting edge of graphics or game play anymore, but they both have spine-tingling atmosphere, copious gore and tons of cheap scares. What more could you want for Halloween?
"First Encounter Assault Recon"
PUBLISHER: VU Games
SYSTEM: PC
AGE RATING: Mature
"F.E.A.R." features the winning pair of a cannibal psychic in charge of a cadre of mindless clone troopers and a creepy ghost girl who combines all the worst aspects of "The Ring's" Samara and the title character of "Carrie." The shooting action is intense and bloody, and the scares are genuine. The game will be available on the Xbox 360 on Halloween day, and an expansion for the PC version was released this week (Oct. 24).
"The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge"
PUBLISHER: Buena Vista Interactive
SYSTEM: PS2
AGE RATING: Everyone 10-plus
Jack Skellington's back in this video-game sequel to Tim Burton's stop-motion film. The title gives away the plot _ Oogie Boogie has returned and is itchin' for some payback. Jack calls on spooky powers and dresses once again as the Pumpkin King and Santa Jack to win the day. What Halloween would be complete without a visit to Halloweentown?
"Resident Evil 4"
PUBLISHER: Capcom
SYSTEM: Nintendo GameCube, PS2
AGE RATING: Mature
The latest in the long-running series has you searching for the president's daughter in a Spanish town full of unfriendly townsfolk armed with pitchforks and axes - and these are the nicer folks. "RE4" takes a side trip from the usual zombies that populate the rest of the series in favor of a parasitic something worse.
"Silent Hill 2"
PUBLISHER: Konami
SYSTEM: PS2, Xbox, PC
AGE RATING: Mature
The "Silent Hill" games are tops when it comes to twisted narratives and shivery atmosphere, but installment No. 2 wins the creepiness competition.
Remember the "Silent Hill" movie last spring? Remember the horrifying Pyramid Head monster? He was from this game, which has a plot that stands apart from the cultish leanings of the first and third games and the existential weirdness of the fourth. You'll never listen to radio static the same way again.
"Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse"
PUBLISHER: Aspyr Media
SYSTEM: Xbox, PC, Macintosh
AGE RATING: Mature
This gory but silly zombie game has you control Stanley Stubblefield, a misbegotten undead man with a shotgun hole in his belly and a wandering hand _ and head, and organs. Stubbs is on a mission _ a mission to eat brains and find love. There's a cheeky sense of humor at play in this one, which takes place in a not-what-it-seems retro city of the future. And let's not forget the zany zombie disco dance-off against the chief of police.
"The Suffering"
PUBLISHER: Midway
SYSTEM: Xbox, PS2, PC
AGE RATING: Mature
An island prison has come under attack by demons bearing forms related to different methods of execution in this dark, disturbing game. Your actions as antihero Torque determine whether he really was responsible for the murder of his family, and whether his dark, demonic side takes him over. The sequel continues the story with Torque reaching the Maryland mainland.
