Scariest Video Game You've Ever Played?

[J-Rod]

It's true, I COULD have used the Polls, but they require me to have a set number of choices -- and I want to hear from YOU guys: What's the scariest video game you've ever played? Which system? When did you play it? Why did it scare you?

Try to keep things spoiler free for the rest of us (just in case)!

-J-

[Matthew T.]

The first RESIDENT EVIL for PS really got to me (damn that effective sound mixing and those tense-as-hell zombie groans!) but FATAL FRAME II really unnerved me as well. I think it was just the sheer claustrophobia of having to look around through the camera lens while demonic ghosts approached from all directions. Although, thinking on it now, the most recent DEAD SPACE game was mighty suspenseful as well!

[ali...oops]

I know this is so lame, but the Nazi Zombies portion of CoD for xbox - I just hate the sound that happens when they start coming and when you level up. It's the same as being chased by a Juggernaut, that damn sound scares me more than anything.

[UncannyDerek]

It's a tie between a few:

Resident Evil 3, Fatal Frame II, and the first Bioshock. Admittedly, I haven't played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. yet.

[Matthew T.]

It's funny you pick RE:3, because I actually recall Nemesis being terrifying in part 2, haha. Particularly, the arcade gun version when it warned you that Nemesis was on his way to give you a one-way ticket to hell. *Shudders.

[J-Rod]

Fatal Frame II rarely gets mentioned, but I'm glad it has -- it's downright frightening at times.

Resident Evil horror varies from game to game. Being constantly chased in 3 was intense.

I also agree with Matt on Dead Space; I just finished 2 and there were a couple of shudder-worthy moments indeed.

For my money's worth, I gotta give it to Silent Hill 2. It's a tough call between 1 -3, but I distinctly remember 2 scaring me the most.

I'm curious Derek, what about BioShock freaked you out? It seems to be one of those games that skirts the outer fringe of the "survival horror" genre, for whatever reason.

-J-

[UncannyDerek]

Atmosphere, for shizzle.

Especially one scene, early in the game, where you enter a freezer. You pick up some power up of whatever, and then the room fills with a mist of ice.

You turn around and suddenly there's someone frozen behind you!

Never, in any game I've ever played before, have I jumped so much. Bioshock was first to make me freaked out the way I did. Since it happened early on in the game, I was forced to play it, and its sequel at a very slow pace, solely because I was scared of jumping that much again.

[alegratis]

The first two Resident Evil games were fantastic and scary, but Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for PSOne. did the trick for me... there was something about the gameplay, music and scenes that made it memorable, more than the previous versions.

[Uncle Squid]

[Matthew T.]

I agree... that game was terrifying. You knew Jason was coming, and there was nothing you could do about it. Just like in the films, it meant sure and grim death. Did anyone ever beat that game, or the Nightmare on Elm Street NES game, for that matter?

[Uncle Squid]

I beat Nightmare on Elm Street and could never beat Jason. I had a friend swear he could do it in 10 minutes. When he came over to play it, he said he had forgotten how :/

[Shredi Knight]

Dead Space 2.  In the opening scene, as soon as you have control you're running from monsters while trapped in a straitjacket with no weapons.  And then the game gets hard.