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This time it’s Fright Night…. for Real!
By Corvus | October 30, 2007
Jay asks about our spookiest gaming moments and provides several of his own. I thought I’d chime in with mine while I wait for the coffee to brew this morning.
System Shock The soundtrack. SHODAN. The isolation. So many things about System Shock worked to unnerve me and I loved it. From trying to figure out what that electronic babbling in the music was saying to relaxing in the elevator after level one, laughing at the muzak, and having the door open o a hallway full of things trying to kill you. Listening to the voices of the dead as they fell heightened the tension as well.
X-COM: UFO Defense Alien movement turns. The Chrysalids. I would sit, hunched forward in my chair, holding my breath, listening to my crappy little speakers while the screen was black. The movement sounds often were my first hint of what I’d be fighting on this mission. Whenever an enemy unit would come into sight I’d jump and twitch, startled by the sudden movement. The first time one of my soldiers was infected by a chrysalid during an enemy turn, I screamed loudly enough that a roommate came down and asked me if I was all right.
Thief: The Dark Project The Ramirez Mansion. I’m not sure why, after making it through Cragscleft and the Bonehoard, I found this level so unnerving the first time. Perhaps it was anticipation. I probably figured that if the mansion seemed so twisted upon casual inspection that true horrors must lie within. Now, it’s probably one of my favorite levels in the game.
Hm… that’s about it, really. Perhaps I became jaded and less spookable. Perhaps I steer clear of games that are intent on spooking me. If it’s the latter, I only avoid them because they either fail to thrill or because I hate the gameplay. Still, nothing sends tingles up my spine like a well-crafted horror novel.
I’ll be on an airplane tomorrow and drinking too much Guinness at the Kells in Portland tomorrow night! Happy Halloween everybody!
Tagged:Games. | 1 Comment »
October 30th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Hands down, my scariest moment in gaming was in that first level in the original Doom, when you go around the corner, the lights go out, you hear a door open, and then through the flickering fluorescents you see the demons running towards you. I never had a game make me jump like that before.