Tag Archives: Halloween

Indie Alert: Noct

November 6, 2015 Alex McCumbers

Horror is a genre that relies on multiple layers of design. Designers have to know these layers inside and out, as well as study their players to see what’s working to make a game scary. Often times, the titles with residual horror tend to stand out the most, such as Silent Hill 2 or Amnesia. These games have elements that stick to the player, often with their narrative or hints at one.

The Indie scene has blown up over the past few years with titles like Five Nights At Freddy’s and Slender soaking up popularity. This, in turn, has many developers focusing on horror. Devolver Digital is helping developer C3SK bring Noct to a reality.

Noct is a top down, multiplayer shooter that mixes elements of Silent Hill and Rust with monsters of which Lovecraft would be proud. Players see and control their survivors through a satellite feed, while given directions by a mysterious being known simply as XMIT. Who XMIT is and why he is helping the player are some of the questions that make these exchanges especially unsettling. It seems that XMIT wants nothing more than to see the survivor succeed, but is just as quick to move on upon death.

The game carries many solid, uncanny elements in its visuals. According to the game’s website, Earth has been cast into perpetual darkness, plagued by monsters known as the Nocturnal. The monochrome color screen fits with the notion that the player is being watched from above, presumably by mostly XMIT. The monsters of the game are all terrifying and overwhelming, as they can kill players with a single hit. The HUD is also cryptic; players must manage ammo and supplies without any clear numbering. It’s never easy to fight off a monster when ammo is low, but it’s oppressive just knowing ammo is low in general.

In addition, monitoring data provides a good way to start a BBA course, and its recognition and prominence is now universal. rx tadalafil Action: Kamagra Polo is an empty ring like drug that holds sildenafil sildenafil super active citrate, which is been affirmed from FDA to be sheltered and viable to deal with erectile disappointment. Some of the most common side discount viagra appalachianmagazine.com are a slight headache, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth and nose Nosebleeds augmented compassion to sunshine Dry eyes Eye frustration Conjunctivitis Hair loss or tapering Impetigo Muscle and joint soreness Cataracts Corneal scar Hepatitis Blood in urine diminished pigmentation of the skin failure of bone mineral concreteness Fluid preservation Bleeding gums Rectal bleeding eminent triglyceride levels Seizures Decreased night apparition harsh skin retorts Citizens. A many health professionals recommend this treatment to a many patients who visit their clinic every day. http://appalachianmagazine.com/2017/03/27/nancy-green-the-first-aunt-jemima/ tadalafil soft tabs Playing with the objectives in mind leads players around the expansive map, gathering supplies and activating various machinery, as instructed by XMIT. Throughout the walkthrough, what’s left of humanity, vision becomes blurry as the eldritch creatures appear, just out of sight. Most of the time, when the monsters show up, its too late. Fighting them alone is futile and running from them is almost impossible. Survival is much easier when teamed up with other players, but they can also be as dangerous as the monsters. While being connected to a multiplayer server, I never ran into anyone else, but given the player patterns of Day Z, I imagine they would kill me without question.

It’s important to note that Noct has not been fully developed. It is currently under Early Access on Steam and has already gone through quite a few patches. As of now, once most objectives are cleared, it seems that players can get stuck in a loop to gather supplies. Being that many monsters can simply chase down the player, especially the little worms, there isn’t as much horror as there is frustration. The game’s framework is there, but the actual experience feels just as empty as the world its attempting to create.

Noct does carry a visual and thematic framework that could turn into something special. The monsters look great and the graphic style is oppressive, all while being accompanied by some interesting guitar songs that are reminiscent of Silent Hill. I was also hoping to get that overwhelmed feeling that comes with horror games. No matter what forced my character to say “Uh oh,” there was usually little room for avoidance or for confrontation. Most of my session included heading towards a waypoint, dying, and then continuing to the waypoint, until reaching it. It didn’t feel scary, just time consuming.

Being enclosed in a building, frantically grabbing supplies, felt unnerving, especially when the scratching of claws got closer and closer.

Let’s hope Noct continues to evolve and capitalize on those moments.

Random Giga

There’s No Place Like a Haunted House

October 30, 2015 Nathan Joseph Sitton Marchand

I love haunted houses!

No, I’m not talking about places where people believe the restless spirits of the dearly (and not-so-dearly) departed hang out. I’m talking about haunted house attractions. You know, the places where you pay money to wander around a dark labyrinth while actors in ghoul costumes chase you.

Surprisingly, this is something I’ve gotten into in the last few years. I occasionally experienced similar events growing up—like a “haunted barn” at a 4-H party or a “haunted hike” while at summer camp—but I didn’t make an effort to visit these yearly attractions despite hearing about the more popular ones in Fort Wayne, Indiana (the largest “big city” to me). Once I visited one, I instantly loved them.

Hundreds of people stand in line to visit the Haunted Jail in 2012. Photo by Nathan Marchand.

The entrance to Soul Taker's Acres in 2012. Photo by Nathan Marchand. — The entrance to Soul Taker’s Acres in 2012. Photo by Nathan Marchand.

There are two that I make sure to visit every year: Soul Taker’s Acres in Warsaw, Indiana and the Haunted Jail in Columbia City, Indiana. While quite different in many ways (and also rivals), they share one thing in common: both are small-town attractions. I love that about them. It adds a homespun, down-to-earth flavor to them. They may not have the crazy production values of places like the Indy Scream Park in Indianapolis, but they make up for it with ingenuity. Both places have volunteer actors, most of them kids or teens. The costumes, make-up and props are donated by the actors and/or organizers. Sometimes they get lucky and have some high-quality stuff, but for the most part they rely on making the best with what they have. Honestly, they’re consistently scarier than the big-budget haunted houses, like the one I went to at Cedar Point a few years ago, which was boring.

Me giving the Soul Taker himself (at least, I think it's him) a much-needed backrub in 2015. Photo by Sergio Garza. — Me giving the Soul Taker himself (at least, I think it’s him) a much-needed backrub in 2015. Photo by Sergio Garza.

My friend Sergio Garza (left) and I preparing to hunt some zombies. "We got this guys! We got it by the @$$!" — My friend Sergio Garza (left) and I preparing to hunt some zombies. “We got this, guys! We got it by the @$$!”

Men suffering from erectile failure problems use anti-ED medications such as Kamagra and find out that buy cheap levitra at a fraction of the cost If you are facing problem of erectile dysfunction, and planning to try levitra, then beware… these drugs are prescribed by doctors and it must only be taken when it is advised to be taken. Erectile dysfunction happens to be a sexual disease which males from all age groups tend to suffer from, in varying proportions. online levitra india cheap cialis They could not know what they were missing. A person may not be able to tolerate fatty foods or eating during stressful situations. levitra pharmacy purchase Soul Taker’s Acres greatest strength—besides kid actors who are freakishly good at their jobs (seriously, they once had a scary little girl in one hallway who almost made me turn back)—is the organizers’ willingness to try new things almost every year. Since it’s set up at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds, they take advantage of the location. One year they had a sideshow featuring macabre items like a vampire hunter’s kit and John Dillinger’s death mask. Another year they hung a huge white sheet in a barn, set up some chairs and a projector, and showed old public domain horror movies. It was showing George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead when I was there. This year they got even more ambitious by adding a secondary attraction that promised patrons they could “get even” after surviving the haunted house: The Zombie Hunt. For an additional charge, patrons could ride a cart pulled by a tractor and shoot “zombies” (probably 4-H kids wearing helmets and protective gear) with paintball guns. This, was genius. It offered a different kind of thrill while also tapping into the popularity of things like The Walking Dead. I’ve yet to hear of any other haunted-house attraction that does something like this.

Deimos Nosferatu, the caretaker of the Haunted Jail in 2012. Photo by Nathan Marchand.

My brother Jarod Marchand (far left) and I (far right) hanging out with one of the Haunted Jail's many inmates (who's actually my co-worker Josh Case) in 2013. — My brother Jarod Marchand (far left) and I (far right) hanging out with one of the Haunted Jail’s many inmates James “The Cutter” Johnson in 2013.

The Haunted Jail’s greatest asset is its setting. The “jail” part isn’t a gimmick: it’s actually the old Whitley County jail. The building is 140 years old and has a scary history before becoming a Halloween attraction in 1985. Many think it is actually haunted. The old jail is the site of the one and only execution performed in Whitley County. In March 1884, a man named Charles Butler was hanged for murdering his wife, but his neck didn’t break. Instead, he suffocated for 10 minutes, dying in the front room of the old brick building. There have been ghost sightings there ever since. However, if there are spirits present, they don’t seem to mind the thousands of people who’ve explored the jail every Halloween season. While only a few rooms have extensive props and scary décor, the place’s eerie history and appearance add natural atmosphere.

Patrons can even walk through the old jail cells in the basement, which has only the barest minimum of light. The actors know every nook and cranny, allowing them to find the perfect places to hide before jumping out of the shadows. I don’t scare easily, but this year they terrified me. The final stretch this year was one of the best. A tall, skinny guy in zombie make-up shambled up to patrons, hands outstretched. Then seemingly out of nowhere, he produced a chainsaw and revved it. He chased my friend and I through a maze until we exited by the concession stand. We enjoyed ourselves so much, we went a second time.

If you have any haunted house attractions in your area, visit them. Nothing can get you in the Halloween spirit like braving ghouls and ghosts determined to make you scream like a baby. With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, it’d be a great way to enjoy the evening—

If you dare!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqBR8knRM2w]

Games and Software

Bloodborne Origin Theory: Vicar Amelia

October 29, 2015 Alex McCumbers 1 Comment

Bloodborne is one PS4 game that continues to impress me. Not only is the game brutally difficult—making victories all the sweeter—but also the world carries a narrative that could make a classic horror novel. Much of Bloodborne‘s creatures and locale, seem to take inspiration from the works of Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft, as well as modern works such as Berserk and the obscure film Brotherhood of the Wolf. While many of the game’s aspects can be traced back to these various works, one iconic beast may have inspirations from mythology as well as one history’s darker moments.

The clothing in Brotherhood of the Wolf is thought to have inspired the Bloodborne look. Weaponry used in this film are also similar to some of the weapons in the game.

It’s important to note that this connection is a theory; my basis for such is simply fun speculation. However, the points I’m about to lay out are hard to ignore.

For those who lack Bloodborne experience, or only made it to the first boss, Vicar Amelia needs an introduction.

From Bloodborne‘s lore, Vicar Amelia is a member of the Healing Church, a group who uses different types of blood to find ways to cure diseases. What the Church didn’t realize was that by discovering the blood in ancient tombs, they opened up the world to blood-induced transformations. Those closest to the Healing Church often became the most horrid of creatures during the Night of the Hunt.

Wendigo?

Amelia’s visual design has many layers, literally and metaphorically. First of all, the fact that the beast has the head of a deer, but the maw of a wolf leads me to think that inspiration was drawn from the Wendigo of Native American myth. Wendigo are beasts that were once humans, which emerged from an irresistible urge to consume human flesh. They are an abomination of natural order.

Robert Fiddler, son of Jack Fiddler — Robert Fiddler, Son of Jack Fiddler

In fact, many people were killed when it was determined they were changing into Wendigos. Jack Fiddler was a man who went from tribe to tribe killing these monsters as an act of mercy to save them from changing. The killing of a Wendigo was a practice taken quite seriously, to the point that Fiddler was legendary for his heroics. The Canadian Police, of course, found this behavior to be savage. Fiddler was later arrested for murder, but committed suicide before trial. Leaves one to wonder how many Wendigo went unscathed after his death.

Supernaturals Wendigo — A Wendigo in an early Supernatural episode.

Modern Wendigo have been recently portrayed as having the wolf-like features with the antlers of a deer or moose. They’ve also appeared as skinless, vicious, humanoids with yellow eyes. In media, Wendigo have appeared in the television shows: Supernatural, X-Files and more. Many also believe the Cleric Beast in Bloodborne to be a Wendigo as well.

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Vicar Amelia oddly shares a name with one of the most prolific serial killers of Victorian Europe, Amelia Dyer.

Those who met Dyer during the late 1800s, probably saw her as a caring, motherly figure who took in unwanted infants to give them a home. She would often appear as a nun, or a teacher, taking on the burden of caring for many children. A fee was always charged for taking such responsibility, but money had to be made to survive, so most folks obliged to pay her without much thought. Unbeknownst to her customers, there was a reason Amelia Dyer could take in so many infants. The children were killed. Their clothes were often used on the next victims or were sold at various shops.

It is believed that hundreds of children were murdered this way.

Dyer continued to run her baby farms for many years, until she was eventually caught. During the time of her trial, the Thames was searched to find more corpses, babies strangled with white tape. The white tape was typical in Dyer’s murders as she admitted to authorities that’s how they would know which bodies were of her doing. She was hung, like most criminals of the time.

Notice the bandages and ribbon-like hair, all of which are white.

Being that the game takes place in Miyazaki’s impression of that point in history as well as the general darkness of the game’s world, it’s a possibility that the designer wanted to represent the creature hiding beneath Amelia Dyer’s skin. Ironically, Miyazaki’s Amelia is covered in the white ribbons, the second visual aspect of the monster’s design.

Empathetic Mother Figure?

The third visual feature to point out is how Vicar Amelia cradles her holy symbol. She’s found sobbing over it, the beast blood finally overwhelming her, a prolific member of the Healing Church. However, when she transforms, she continues to carry the symbol, holding on to her belief that the Healing Church is doing good in the long run. The monster cradles that symbol like a baby.

Even when she becomes a beast, she holds on to that pendant.

It was this mannerism that solidified the connection between Bloodborne‘s Vicar Amelia and Amelia Dyer for me. The slaughter of infants for financial gain is definitely a trait that was monstrous and Vicar Amelia personifies these sins in history. Yet this motherly stance of the beast continues to hammer in the idea that these monsters were once normal people, proving that there are few one can truly trust. Pity conflicts with the need to hunt in Bloodborne, making encounters like this one all the more memorable.

What started as mere name association became an interesting web of details and design elements. It goes to show that the minds behind Bloodborne and their previous titles are putting tons of detail into each aspect of their games, while also leaving enough blank space for imagination to fill in the holes. Miyazaki has claimed that his games usually pull from how he approached literature as a child, reading the gist of the words and filling in the blanks with his own musings. In Bloodborne, the vagueness of the story and the dark world of Yharnham forces players to fill in these holes with dark thoughts, often leaving true, residual horror.

Film/Television/Broadcast/Radio, Movies/TV, Pop Culture

Why Old-School Horror is the Scariest

October 31, 2014 Nathan Joseph Sitton Marchand

Whenever I wander through the local Family Video, I think the shelves are walls of horror movies. Not classics like Bela Lugosi’s Dracula or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, but schlock like Silent Night, Deadly Night or a horde of wannabe George Romero zombie movies. It seems like every idiot with a camera tries to make a horror film (if he doesn’t make a porno first).

I’m not quite sure why these movies flood the market, but 99% of them suffer from the same problems as most modern horror: they’re not scary. Whether they have big budgets or small, famous actors or unknowns, these movies fail to frighten audiences or even entertain them. This is disappointing because scary stories are as old as civilization and have made great contributions to the literary and film worlds. When it comes to movies, I find classic horror films to be leaps and bounds above most new films.

What makes the classics work? There are many reasons, but I’ll focus on a few I think are most important.

1. No over-reliance on gore/shock

“Splatterfest” is practically a synonym for “horror movie” nowadays. Its a sad cliché. Now, horror—icon Stephen King did list “the Gross-Out” as one of three types of fear. The problem is the majority of modern horror seems to think its the only kind. I swear these filmmakers have a gore fetish, and so do their fans. Many of them are too desensitized to find it shocking anymore and revel in it instead. It stereotypes horror fans as sadomasochistic weirdos.

Can gore be effective? Yes, but it should be a supplement to the other types of fear King outlines: horror (something unnatural) and terror (fear of the unknown). Like an exclamation point, it can be powerful when used sparingly, but if used constantly (like it is in many an internet forum), it just looks stupid.

The original Alien (my all-time favorite horror film) has one gory part. It horrifies for many reasons, not the least of which being that it’s the one bloody scene in a fairly bloodless film.

2. Leaving some things to the imagination

A related problem is modern horror’s penchant for showing audiences everything, whether its the gruesome deaths or Jason Voorhees stalking up behind a victim. This isn’t always necessary. A person’s imagination can create more terrifying images than any filmmaker or author can conjure. Plus, as noted, the unknown is usually the scariest thing. What did the monster/killer do to that unsuspecting woman? The audience doesn’t know since it cut away when she screamed. What does the monster look like? The mystery frightens audiences.

This is why films like The Blair Witch Project—arguably a modern classic—are effective. It scares people with ideas. Some say the infamous witch is a decrepit old woman; some say she’s a hairy half-human/half-beast creature. Since she’s never revealed, the audience is terrified by both the mystery and the image of the monster in their heads.

3. Better protagonists

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Now, should senseless/despicable characters be nixed from stories? No. I’m not opposed to idiot characters or having them move plots along, but the story shouldn’t be dependent on them. As for reprehensible characters, there’s something to be said about watching them get their comeuppance; however, variety is the spice of life, so it’s refreshing to see likable heroes.

John Carpenter’s The Thing is noteworthy because it has no stupid characters. All of them react in smart, rational ways until paranoia drives them insane. The first Fright Night has some of the most entertaining heroes in a horror film: a teenage boy and an out-of-work horror movie actor. The original Nightmare on Elm Street has the wonderfully strong and clever heroine Nancy, who refuses to become Freddy Krueger’s next victim. She’s a breath of fresh air in a genre that typically relegates women to hapless victims.

4. Better antagonists

Heroes are often only as good as their villains. In that case, most modern horror flicks have forgettable and boring heroes and villains. Some may look cool, but they’re presented as these nigh-invincible monsters who relentlessly pursue/torture people. It makes the victims and heroes look like powerless pawns, mere tools to give gorehounds a cheap thrill. Such villains are one-dimensional caricatures.

Classic horror villains are powerful but they also have weaknesses. Dracula has the classic vampire vulnerabilites. Zombies cease to function if their brains are destroyed. Giving villains such vulnerabilities doesn’t undermine them, instead it gives the heroes a fighting chance to stop them, increasing the tension.

5. Multilayered fears/ideas

As I said before, modern horror tends to fixate on the “gross-out” scares, but fear is an often nuanced emotion. There’s psychological horror, where the fear comes from frightening ideas, and cosmic horror, which scares people by making them feel small and insignificant. Not only that, but the monsters in good horror stories, whether they are human or not, are often metaphors for real-life fears, adding depth to them and allowing them to work on multiple levels.

Going back to Alien, that film works because it touches upon many types of fears: the unknown, shadows, body mutilation, isolation, unnaturalness and even rape. Add to that the corporation which values a scientific find over human lives, and what could’ve been another B-grade creature, feature is elevated to a classic award-winning film. It goes beyond just showing audiences horrific things.

So this Halloween, after the kids finish trick-or-treating, have a marathon of classic horror films until the witching hour passes.

Sidenote: If you’d like to hear me talk more about this, check out “But I Digress . . . , Episode 2: Horrible Horror,” a video I made a few years ago for my YouTube show.

Game File, Games and Software

Alex’s Top 5 Horror Games

October 20, 2014 Alex McCumbers

For the past month or so, I have been on a huge horror-game kick. I’ve been seeking out all the titles I missed out on, simply because either I was too scared to play them or too confused by the control schemes. This has led me to buy some of the classics: Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Silent Hill 2, and Dino Crisis. Even though I haven’t beaten any of these yet, I’m having the best time playing them.

Playing this genre piqued my interest in the history of survival horror games. Turns out, much of the survival horror genre can be accredited to Shinji Mikami, one of the minds behind the original Resident Evil. This guy defined a whole genre. Soon after Resident Evil’s success, not only were there sequels, but other games followed that style and control scheme. Developers started pushing the genre, creating terrifying games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame.

Now Mikami is back with a vengeance. With Tango Gameworks and Bethesda, he has probably created another masterpiece known as Evil Within. Judging by the trailers, screenshots, and what little I have played of the game, I can already tell that this game is going to be awesome.

In honor of this release (but mostly because I’m on this kick), let me share with you my personal Top 5 Horror Games. Know that I haven’t played everything and that I’ve avoided the genre for a while now, but these are the titles that stand out to me.

Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)

Don’t question it, just follow me on this. As a child, I was afraid of most horror monsters, mostly vampires. However, there is one particular ’90s movie monster who disturbed me to no end, Chucky. It’s not like I’ve actually seen the movies, but the trailers that played while my dad watched wrestling were traumatizing. Since then, I’ve had a fear of dolls, which leads me to why my favorite Final Fantasy game also scared the crap out of me.

Not long after the forest scene, the party arrivs at a simple mountain town. Zidane and his pals soon discover a dark secret. Turns out, the Queen of Alexandria is making an army of black mages. They look like fat scarecrows that throw fire magic around, but they are described as dolls. The narrative leading up to this moment is creepy. There are sounds coming from the only well in the village and then Vivi vanishes. Towards the end of the dungeon, I found an assembly line of the things being created. That’s when I turned off my PlayStation, crawled into bed, and proceeded to have nightmares.

It took a few days, and daylight, before I could play it again.

House of the Dead 3 (Xbox)

This title is mostly just a fun little arcade game. There are few scares in it, but there is a hefty amount of gore. Players use a lightgun to blast away zombies and monsters, all while having to put up with terrible voice acting. Seriously, it’s like after Resident Evil came out, all horror games had to have bad voice acting too. Granted it’s hilarious, so at least there’s that. I remember playing this game with a friend on his Xbox. We hooked up two gun controllers and shot up a staggering pile of zombies. The best part is having infinite lives. That, and after he got bored of playing, he handed me the other gun.

Dual-wielding light guns, while yelling because the moment is so awesome, will forever be ingrained into my memory.

P.T.

The pure genius behind the idea of P.T. is astounding. Not only was it a complete mystery, but Hideo Kojima published it under a fake studio name. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the millions who was purely surprised. I learned about this game from my favorite YouTube gaming show Game Grumps. Yet, when I finally sat down to play it, the horror was real.

Ever since Amnesia became a hit, several horror games have chosen to have the player completely defenseless. P.T. uses that helplessness to pull true fear from their players. It is less of a game and more of an interactive short film. Most players don’t know how they “beat” this game, even more, I assume, stopped playing due to the many heart attacks I’m sure they experienced. Me, I share this game with friends and film it for my YouTube show, Forever Classic.

What’s even better than a short, focused horror experience? The fact that this game was a secret teaser for an upcoming revival of the Silent Hill franchise. The amount of talent behind this project is amazing. Not only will Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) be behind the wheel, but also Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim) and Norman Reedus (Walking Dead).

I can’t wait for Silent Hills’ release, but to be honest I’ll probably never finish it. I’d never thought I would look forward to wearing Depends. . .
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BioShock

Speaking of demos, I first learned of BioShock through Xbox Live. The demo was essentially the first bit of the game. Those who have played it know that this one grabs you by the jewels from the first scene. I remember my friends teasing me about it, saying that the game wasn’t scary. I love media of all types, so I have a tendency to suspend my disbelief for everything. Some people will look at a horror game and say, look how silly the monster is, but I become that character and the fear is real.

One of BioShock’s biggest strengths was definitely its atmosphere. Rapture holds a lot of dark secrets, making the player want to discover them, but these same secrets are often morally puzzling and disturbing. Players have to choose to save or kill the Little Sisters, gaming’s most adorable evil. Also, the player is alone. There are no shop keepers or other characters to help you out, it’s kill or be killed.

Even to this day, I consider the first BioShock to be the best in the franchise. It drew me in and consumed me for a week or so. I’ve always wanted that same feeling, but few games have done that since.

Resident Evil 4

If I hadn’t borrowed Resident Evil 4, and if it hadn’t been seriously recommended by a friend, I never would’ve played horror games. For me, this is the absolute peak of the genre and anyone looking for a place to start may as well start with the best. I have played this game more times than I can count. I know all the secrets, all the weapons, and all the history. While I may know less than I boast, I love learning everything about it.

Resident Evil 4 is a third person survival horror game, which originally appeared on the GameCube. Yep, the same purple box that had Super Mario Sunshine and Animal Crossing was the first to have the newest Resident Evil of the time. I actually didn’t get to play it until it came out on PS2. The mission is simple, save the President’s brain-dead daughter from a grisly fate at the hands of cultists infected with bio weapons.

Even though the main character, Leon, gets to use powerful weaponry, ammo is scarce and placing shots well becomes a key way to survive. He uses these guns to put down angry Spanish farmers, Tolkien-esque trolls, and ugly fish. Several of the later enemies proved to scare me the most, like the Regenerators and the Verdugos. However, one moment in particular made me quit playing for a while.

As my friend suggested, I played this game exclusively at night with the volume cranked up. I was doing fine at first; I only died once or twice, usually to quick time events. Eventually, I was tasked with getting a key to a church. Getting the key wasn’t too bad, but coming back was awful. It started to rain, obscuring poor Leon’s vision. I walked across the rickety bridge with no obstruction, where before there had been farmers. Just before reaching the church, I came across a dog.

Fans of Resident Evil 4 will know that you can save a dog from a bear trap that will later help you in a boss fight. I wasn’t that afraid of dogs up until this point.

A low growl sounded from the dog. At first I was glad to see my puppy friend, but then it leaped at me. I watched as the beast tore at Leon’s throat in horror. After the initial shock I frantically tried to push it back by mashing the onscreen commands. It stood there afterwards, staring at me. I emptied a full clip of my sub-machine gun into the thing, having little to no effect. Ripping out of the beast’s back were tentacles that struck out at me. This depleted my health and Leon fell with a sigh.

This moment not only scared me half to death, but forced me to quit for the night. Since then, if I come across a dog in a horror game, I shoot first and ask questions later. Resident Evil 4 will always be one of my favorite games of all time.

There’s a reason I chose to make this list a Top 5 instead of a Top 10. I simply haven’t played that many horror games. That’s why you should leave your favorite horror game in the comments below. Who knows, you may see an article here at Giga or a video on Forever Classic. Either way, I love this genre, so lead me on a path to discover the best.

If you like to watch other people get scared, check out my latest video on Forever Classic.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI3V4WKN21A&w=640&h=360]