and System Shock 2 through to BioShock and Batman - some games are far better at scaring than others!
Warning: there are some major spoilers ahead.
So, lets begin, with a Nintendo classic.
This was clearly the boss room.
I waited, but nothing happened.
I ran back to the door to see if I could get out no joy.
Was this a glitch?
Was I supposed to be in the midst of a fight, and had something instead gone wrong?
Then, all of a sudden, a chill ran through my body I hadnt looked up.
Sure enough, on casting my gaze up using the first person camera, there is was.
So, picture the scene.
Im in the midst of reviewing the game for a publication late one night.
Im sat there in the dark with headphones on to get the full, atmospheric experience.
My wife grabs me on the shoulder, and I very nearly require a new pair of pants.
Such fun, and this would never have happened ifThiefs Shalebridge Cradles wasnt so brilliantly crafted.
Ive always preferred more suggestive horror, the kind that leaves a lot to your imagination.
That said, Im not immune to jump scares, far from it.
TakeBioShock,for example.
In fact, thats what youre led to believe.
In reality, you always knew something was going to happen, though.
Nothing does happen, though, at least not in the way you expect.
Ohhh-kay then, you think, as you notice a Fontaine Futuristics weapon upgrade machine.
It then starts to attack you, revealing the statues true nature, as a camouflaged crazy.
Although PC players may have horror stories of their own with this title, mine revolves around the Joker.
This is used brilliantly to bring the now deceased Joker back as a figment of Batmans fractured mind.
This change also happens to some statues, which is where my incident came in.
I looked at it again, and without even realising why, saw something was wrong.
I looked away, and back.
Did it again, and was unsettled to see Jokers evil grin smiling back at me.
Creepy, to say the least.
The thing that made this so scary was how subtle the change was.
Wow, where to even begin?
Id certainly struggle to argue against it.
What of my major moment, though?
Instead youve been doing the bidding of psychotic and megalomaniac AI, Shodan.
This was a plot twist echoed later inBioShock.
As youre expecting to finally meet Polito you enter her office only to find her dead.
Surely, youve not been talking to a dead person, or even a ghost, have you?
Its more a case of two equally evil forces, and you stuck in the middle.
Yes, it was awesome.
Im going to finish with one of my all-time favourite survival horror games, the originalSilent Hill.
For me, its the audio, especially in the school.
In particular, theres the phone call from Harrys daughter, Cheryl, a chilling effect to be sure.
Then theres my favourite, which comes whilst exploring the many hellish halls of the alternate world.
You enter a room thats totally empty.
There are no foes or any threats, nothing, save for random banging noises.
Thats all there is, noise, and its scary.
Any fans of the originalThe Hauntingwill know what I mean here.
