Scariest game of all time?

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PhatoseAlpha

Platinum Member
Apr 10, 2005
2,131
21
81
For me, Silent Hill 1. The later games either left me with a "lay off, Sigmund, this is a game, not psychoanalysis" feeling (2) or a "thanks for over explaining" (3) or a "this was another game you tacked the name onto, isn't is?" (4) feeling. System Shock 2 just never scared me - you were way too dangerous with just a wrench for any serious fear. Resident evil is too dependent on shock to get a real scary nod.
 

AlphaNex

Senior member
Mar 13, 2001
257
0
0
System Shock 2 was truly scary, it didnt rely on just startling the player like most "scary" games. Undying was creepy too. The original Doom freaked me out pretty hardcore too. Half Life had its moments, the run from the Gargantua down the cave while it was pretty much on your heels actually made me scream IIRC. Excessive volume level probably helped . Quake unnerved me for some reason. There was just something unnatural about those almost real looking blocky folks.

But System Shock 2 takes the cake for me. The cyborg midwives alone would scare every Resident Evil encounter into a fetal, weeping, infantile nugget.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,754
599
126
Originally posted by: PhatoseAlpha
For me, Silent Hill 1. The later games either left me with a "lay off, Sigmund, this is a game, not psychoanalysis" feeling (2) or a "thanks for over explaining" (3) or a "this was another game you tacked the name onto, isn't is?" (4) feeling. System Shock 2 just never scared me - you were way too dangerous with just a wrench for any serious fear. Resident evil is too dependent on shock to get a real scary nod.

System Shock II scared the crap out of me the first time I played, since vsync was off. Just an FYI, the game runs faster if vsync is off...resulting in the hybrids running at about 200mph out of nowhere.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,754
599
126
Originally posted by: AlphaNex
System Shock 2 was truly scary, it didnt rely on just startling the player like most "scary" games. Undying was creepy too. The original Doom freaked me out pretty hardcore too. Half Life had its moments, the run from the Gargantua down the cave while it was pretty much on your heels actually made me scream IIRC. Excessive volume level probably helped . Quake unnerved me for some reason. There was just something unnatural about those almost real looking blocky folks.

But System Shock 2 takes the cake for me. The cyborg midwives alone would scare every Resident Evil encounter into a fetal, weeping, infantile nugget.

Yeah, the cyborg midwives are just genuinely creepy. I think the best part is how you hear their metal feet clanking on the floor when they come up behind you.

They don't seem to have very strong melee attacks though.
 

datalink7

Lifer
Jan 23, 2001
16,765
6
81
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
The seaside manor mission in Bloodlines. My nerves were on edge that entire time.

I agree. That was the scariest moment in any video game every for me. I kept having to say to myself "I'm a vampire, I shouldn't be scared of anything!" but I was still sweating
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
Resident evil 2: When the zombie hands crash through the windows in the RPD, and in the interrogation room where the licker smashes through the glass, those are both shock tactics though. I was pretty scared when i first came across william birkin and had to fight him, and same thing with the tyrant.

Doom 3: When the pinky (fat dog thing with metal feet) first shows up and it goes all dark. Also when the commando zombies are running around, also this onetime in the cpu lab places i got off the elevator and saw all these servers, ran forward a bit and about 3 or 4 things spawned so i ran right back to the elevator and shut the doors. They hammered at the door for ever until i quicksaved and gave up for that day
 

BladeVenom

Lifer
Jun 2, 2005
13,365
16
0
Originally posted by: datalink7
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
The seaside manor mission in Bloodlines. My nerves were on edge that entire time.

I agree. That was the scariest moment in any video game every for me. I kept having to say to myself "I'm a vampire, I shouldn't be scared of anything!" but I was still sweating

I'd also have to say that's the best one.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
350
126
Corpse retrieval in Everquest in the old days. Whatever hundreds of hours you had put into building your char's items were at risk based on your being able to get back to your body to retrieve them. Asking strangers to spend hours helping you? Iffy.

That was 'too' scary, or at least too risky, and they sensibly added protection (I'd exchanged e-mail with their CEO suggesting that as well).

Diablo II could be a little scary too when you had been killed too many times on a boss, your items were lyijng splattered on the ground, some unrecoverable unless you got back to them, and you were out of gold to keep hiring back your mercenary for any help - and then add in the sporadic connection problems that could kill your connection.

For that matter, the same sporadic connection issue as you would mule items between characters - your oh so important item left on the ground, you exit and try to get back in on another char... 'Game Does Not Exist'.
 

TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
24,254
4,092
136
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: datalink7
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
The seaside manor mission in Bloodlines. My nerves were on edge that entire time.

I agree. That was the scariest moment in any video game every for me. I kept having to say to myself "I'm a vampire, I shouldn't be scared of anything!" but I was still sweating

I'd also have to say that's the best one.

That was actually pretty freakin spooky. Best part of that game IMHO.
 

James Bond

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2005
6,023
0
0
Originally posted by: Craig234

For that matter, the same sporadic connection issue as you would mule items between characters - your oh so important item left on the ground, you exit and try to get back in on another char... 'Game Does Not Exist'.

That happened to me *too* many times.
 

PorscheMaD911

Member
Feb 7, 2005
128
0
71
Originally posted by: Thorny
This might have been because of my age at the time, but the original Doom, and even Doom II scared the piss outta me. I would play all night in the old farm house I grew up in, out in the country. Most times I couldn't sleep when I was done because I would jump and freak out at every little sound the house would make.

I'll second that. I remember playing the original Doom shareware in the dark and being *so* scared!
 

CP5670

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
5,657
760
126
Originally posted by: PorscheMaD911
Originally posted by: Thorny
This might have been because of my age at the time, but the original Doom, and even Doom II scared the piss outta me. I would play all night in the old farm house I grew up in, out in the country. Most times I couldn't sleep when I was done because I would jump and freak out at every little sound the house would make.

I'll second that. I remember playing the original Doom shareware in the dark and being *so* scared!

I don't know, I first played it when I was 9 or something and always found it funny how the monsters often attacked each other and the faces your guy made when he picked up a new weapon.
 
Oct 4, 2004
10,515
6
81
Originally posted by: 40sTheme
FEAR, solely because of the atmosphere and audio. I'm very sensitive to sound.

I will second that.

I remember playing the original Half-Life (mostly with headphones). The headcrab popping out of nowhere while crawling in a vent never got old. It would jolt me every single time. Those things sounded...just too damn good.

Condemned: Criminal Origins also had great atmosphere - but not scary. Spooky/unsettling is the right word, I think.

I have a feeling BioShock won't disappoint. The gore/atmosphere seems just right. And this trailer has OMG written all over it.
 

IEC

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jun 10, 2004
14,572
5,971
136
SS2, though HL2 headcrabs can make me jump... heck, even a random guy blasting me out of nowhere with a Galil in CS: Source will cause me to jump sometimes.
 

gregor7777

Platinum Member
Nov 16, 2001
2,758
0
71
Aliens vs Predator 2...the Human campaign. You're up against two enemies, both of which are WAY more powerfull than you and they love to hide and seek.
 

bookster

Member
Sep 17, 2001
47
0
0
Voted SS2. That game scared the crap outta me, I still think about those monkeys. Doom 3 a close second. I could only play for an hour at a time. I'd have to stop cause my hands were shakin.
 

tboo

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2000
7,626
1
81
Those spider things that inject toxin into you in HL2 scare the crap out of me, not to mention the walking corpse that they hang onto.
 

StinkyMojo

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2004
1,283
0
71
Playing Half-Life 1 when I was 13 back in the day ('98) was pretty scary. Heh I remember that lightning bolt spewing snowman thing from quake 1 gave me the chills as well.

Lately though, FEAR and Doom 3 do a great job of scaring me at times.
 

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,252
403
126
I voted Doom 3, but would've voted Alien vs. Predator had that been a choice. Playing as a Marine and hearing that motion sensor go off and being in the dark was pretty ****** scary.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,337
10,854
136
Originally posted by: MTDEW
I say System Shock 2.
Wife says Undying.

I was debating between these two myself, but I think I agree ... although I really liked Undying.

(1) System Shock 2

(2) Undying

 
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