Top 10 Scariest PC Games
#8: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007)Jump 10 years forward and we come to one of the most heavily anticipated games of recent times. Loosely tied to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster of 1986, the player is put into the role of a Stalker - somewhat difficult to describe but in many ways, one can think of them as antique collectors with a penchant for all things highly radioactive. Doesn't sound very scary? Well initially, no, it doesn't; matters soon take a turn for worse though when one enters various underground chambers, replete with ubiquitous malfunctioning lights and mutated creatures. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can be thought of as being scary in the same vein as Resident Evil, rather than Doom, as it too forces the player to think about ammunition levels, tactics and so on.
A good part of STALKER's (enough with the stupid periods...) atmosphere and potential to unnerve must lie with the story of Chernobyl itself; although the title twists reality and future events about until they're no longer tied to anything realistic, the decaying landscapes that one must struggle through depict a grim and scarred city. Once a thriving Ukrainian town, STALKER is very good at making you sense the void that was once filled with life. Scary? Perhaps not but certainly moving.
#7: Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005)Created by Monolith Productions (who actually have 3 entries in the Top 10), using the latest variant of their Lithtech (Jupiter EX to be specific) engine, Condemned follows the trials and tribulations of a FBI forensic investigator who rapidly falls into trouble. Graphically, it's very much a "modern" game - shadows and lighting effects play an important part in the feel and gameplay; the ubiquitous flashlight has a star role, as do urban areas at night-time. One plays an investigator so there are plenty of visual effects when using important tools and the lead character is also portrayed as being a normal person too: so one can forget about packing dozens of firearms, thousands of rounds of spare ammo and prowling around with ninja-like reflexes.
The storyline is pretty grim: a serial killer is on the prowl; local homeless people are turning psychotic and violent; strange sounds; dead animals and so on. Although it's a stark tale, this isn't what makes Condemned a scary game - it's the limitations of the lead character that turn up the heart rates. Stepping into a building with just a length of wood and a tazer for protection, one is forced to move the flashlight rapidly from corner to corner. Enemies don't blindly charged right at you either, despite their mental instability; they'll lead you into traps and batter you senseless, or flee at first sight of your light and then hide somewhere, waiting to pounce on you. It's not a great game though - it can be repetitive, the storyline is actually quite weak and some of the gameplay elements are annoying (all those forensic tools but no room for spare ammo?) but at least the flashlight's batteries last for the entire game! Good, "jumpy" fun.
Related Stuff Games: Resident Evil 4
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