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I’ve never read a review for any game that is classed as survival horror that doesn’t contain a journalist rambling on about how darned scary it is. Onimusha, Resident Evil, Silent Hill; All are classed as scary. What makes these games scary. Are the games’ contents scary, or is just the fact that the games say they are scary that makes them scary...
I have played on Resident Evil, on both GC and PSone (Resi 3). I have played Silent Hill 2, and have seen a lot of footage of Onimusha. So, do I find these scary?
Resident Evil, on the GameCube, is shockingly realistic. The skin hangs off the zombies in a very grotesque manner, and I’m certain that I would never let a young child view this game. But does that make it scary? I have experienced a few intense moments. I have been battling against zombies, looking to preserve the little ammo I have and still blast them to death. So, I’ve been frantically ducking away and shooting as they edge ever so close.. But I think what lends the games this intensity lies not in the content of the games’ monsters (that said, I’ve only owned this game a couple of days), but in the control system. The stand on the spot and rotate system, made infamous by Capcom, seems to make the game intense. This is either a cunning trick or a serious flaw. Either way, I was battling more with the pad than I was with the zombies, and it was frustrating for the most part, being stuck in a corner and spinning around slowly, whilst trying to walk through a wall (which I obviously couldn’t do). So, the game manages to cunningly/frustartingly provide intense action.. but did I ever use the word scary?
I re-started Resident Evil 3 for the basis of this topic. The graphics can easily compete well with the GC versions’, with pre-rendered backdrops and fairly realistic zombies being the order of the day. I played through for a while, and after playing the GC version I was fairly at ease with the controls (although still faltering from time to time). For the beginning, I rushed through, as I rarely faced more than 2 zombies at any one time. Then I got to a part where a load of zombies came out. I had a Handgun, so I had to stand my ground and pick them off. A couple of dogs made this harder, and after killing the dogs the Zombies were very close. I back away, and the camera view changes to show a different area, so I am currently battling zombies I cannot see. I then walk back to the area where I can see them, and end up stepping right into them. Frantic button presses set me free, and then i run back and wait. Certainly a key moment, and very intense/frantic. But, again, the word scary never really springs to mind.
Anyway, I carry on playing. My first fight with Nemesis was quite intense, seeing he is very powerful and I have a weedy little pistol and another gun that has about 1 bullet. I won the fight anyway, and I’m thinking that in future battles, with a more powerful Nemesis and fairly more powerful weapons, these could lean onto fear-inducing, with every time Nemesis grabs you being near-fatal. But not scary, not yet.
I play on, eager as ever, and get to the second Nemesis fight. now have a shotgun, so this is easy.. but the procedures leading up to it could just be classed as scary. When you are upstairs, heading back downstairs, you hear a loud moan. At this point a very small part of me was scared. I had the fear of finding out what I heard, and decided to check the top floor again. Nothing, so I head downstairs, to check the rest of the rooms.. and this was probably the only time a game has made me jump. As I walk past the window, in a split second Nemesis has launched himself through it and is right next to me. This made me jump, and I had to get my head around it before I started to battle the beast. Anyway, slaughtered him with my Shotgun, but could that have been a bit scary? Well, it gave me a quick shock, I’ll admit that.. but not yet as scary as these games like to think they are.
Onto Silent Hill 2, and it’s clear straight from the start that this will out-do Resident Evil in terms of scariness. Gone are the 0.5mph zombies, replaced by lightning fast shiny-faced freaks. Seeing that they are so fast that the auto-lock barely manages to keep a track of them, it’s clear these could prove scary. I explore on for a while, managing to keep my cool whilst I pick off a few odd beasts. But I know in my mind that the worst is yet to come.. Eventually, I get to a darkened room and can hear the things. But I can’t see them. In that brief moment, I felt maybe a bit of paranoia.. something a video game rarely succeeds in creating. But not scary. And then I saw them, and my heart jumped as out of no-where I had these 3 freaks sliding around the floor, trying to bite at my ankles. I frantically aimed, and shot them eventually, but again, did I actually feel fear, or was it just frantic action? The latter, but only just.
I’m amazed at how unscary those games were, then. I find nearly all serious horror movies a tad scary, but none of these games, and Nemesis and the Freaks can easily compare to anything I’ve seen in a film. But why were the films scary, and the games not? I think I know.
In a film, you are not controlling any of the events. You don’t choose who dies, who lives or anything. You are a mere passenger in the journey, watching it and feeling involved yet not contributing to the overall experience. In a game however, you do all the mentioned things. You choose who to kill and who to spare, and you are more involved than a mere spectator. I think this is where the scariness is lost. For in a horror movie, let’s say Alien, the Alien is as fearsome and deadly as the director wants, and they are usually way past fearsome and deadly. With the Alien, it scares you, and you can’t do anything about it, because the only way it’s going to die is if an actor miraculously topples it. Let’s use Nemesis, in Alien’s place. Nemesis is deadly in cut-scenes, but more skilful players won’t find him that deadly, and someone you can beat up easily is hardly fearsome. And let’s say that Nemesis has scared you, and given you a nightmare. Unlike Alien, you can just load up the game, equip a heavy weapon and blast Nemesis for as long as your ammo dictates. Therefore, Nemesis is not scary, but Alien is.
It would be unfair to criticise all these ‘scary’ games for not being scary without giving a scary game a shot myself. So, I’ve come up with an idea for a game which would probably be scary.
You arrive in a fairly deserted city, after being thrown there by a tornado. You must search the city, looking for people and trying to get back home. In the city with you is an unknown enemy. A monster, that is deadly, but doesn’t run in, it hides. As you venture round the city, more is uncovered about the beast from people, and some important characters are also eliminated by the beast after a while. You only uncover snippets about his appearance or what he is, by marks in dead bodies, short snippets of FMV where small parts of him are uncovered or from people who claim to have seen him. Then, towards the end of the game, you fight him, but can only see him through some special goggles, which do not allow you to get a real look at what the character is like, you can only see an outline of him. Then, at the end of the game, every character sans you is dead, but you know how to get home. As you are about to leave, the beast smashes out into the alley you are in, knocking over a couple of trash cans, and you have to use items such as dustbin lids, planks of wood and broken bottles to kill him.
I feel that rarely encountering him, then having him standing in front of you ready to kill you would be immensely scary, and the loss of real firepower and more random objects would make the battle very scary and frantic, but not impossible. What do you think? Is my idea good?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my insight into fear in games. Any views on the whole subject will be greatly welcomed, and I am open for much debate.
I have played on Resident Evil, on both GC and PSone (Resi 3). I have played Silent Hill 2, and have seen a lot of footage of Onimusha. So, do I find these scary?
Resident Evil, on the GameCube, is shockingly realistic. The skin hangs off the zombies in a very grotesque manner, and I’m certain that I would never let a young child view this game. But does that make it scary? I have experienced a few intense moments. I have been battling against zombies, looking to preserve the little ammo I have and still blast them to death. So, I’ve been frantically ducking away and shooting as they edge ever so close.. But I think what lends the games this intensity lies not in the content of the games’ monsters (that said, I’ve only owned this game a couple of days), but in the control system. The stand on the spot and rotate system, made infamous by Capcom, seems to make the game intense. This is either a cunning trick or a serious flaw. Either way, I was battling more with the pad than I was with the zombies, and it was frustrating for the most part, being stuck in a corner and spinning around slowly, whilst trying to walk through a wall (which I obviously couldn’t do). So, the game manages to cunningly/frustartingly provide intense action.. but did I ever use the word scary?
I re-started Resident Evil 3 for the basis of this topic. The graphics can easily compete well with the GC versions’, with pre-rendered backdrops and fairly realistic zombies being the order of the day. I played through for a while, and after playing the GC version I was fairly at ease with the controls (although still faltering from time to time). For the beginning, I rushed through, as I rarely faced more than 2 zombies at any one time. Then I got to a part where a load of zombies came out. I had a Handgun, so I had to stand my ground and pick them off. A couple of dogs made this harder, and after killing the dogs the Zombies were very close. I back away, and the camera view changes to show a different area, so I am currently battling zombies I cannot see. I then walk back to the area where I can see them, and end up stepping right into them. Frantic button presses set me free, and then i run back and wait. Certainly a key moment, and very intense/frantic. But, again, the word scary never really springs to mind.
Anyway, I carry on playing. My first fight with Nemesis was quite intense, seeing he is very powerful and I have a weedy little pistol and another gun that has about 1 bullet. I won the fight anyway, and I’m thinking that in future battles, with a more powerful Nemesis and fairly more powerful weapons, these could lean onto fear-inducing, with every time Nemesis grabs you being near-fatal. But not scary, not yet.
I play on, eager as ever, and get to the second Nemesis fight. now have a shotgun, so this is easy.. but the procedures leading up to it could just be classed as scary. When you are upstairs, heading back downstairs, you hear a loud moan. At this point a very small part of me was scared. I had the fear of finding out what I heard, and decided to check the top floor again. Nothing, so I head downstairs, to check the rest of the rooms.. and this was probably the only time a game has made me jump. As I walk past the window, in a split second Nemesis has launched himself through it and is right next to me. This made me jump, and I had to get my head around it before I started to battle the beast. Anyway, slaughtered him with my Shotgun, but could that have been a bit scary? Well, it gave me a quick shock, I’ll admit that.. but not yet as scary as these games like to think they are.
Onto Silent Hill 2, and it’s clear straight from the start that this will out-do Resident Evil in terms of scariness. Gone are the 0.5mph zombies, replaced by lightning fast shiny-faced freaks. Seeing that they are so fast that the auto-lock barely manages to keep a track of them, it’s clear these could prove scary. I explore on for a while, managing to keep my cool whilst I pick off a few odd beasts. But I know in my mind that the worst is yet to come.. Eventually, I get to a darkened room and can hear the things. But I can’t see them. In that brief moment, I felt maybe a bit of paranoia.. something a video game rarely succeeds in creating. But not scary. And then I saw them, and my heart jumped as out of no-where I had these 3 freaks sliding around the floor, trying to bite at my ankles. I frantically aimed, and shot them eventually, but again, did I actually feel fear, or was it just frantic action? The latter, but only just.
I’m amazed at how unscary those games were, then. I find nearly all serious horror movies a tad scary, but none of these games, and Nemesis and the Freaks can easily compare to anything I’ve seen in a film. But why were the films scary, and the games not? I think I know.
In a film, you are not controlling any of the events. You don’t choose who dies, who lives or anything. You are a mere passenger in the journey, watching it and feeling involved yet not contributing to the overall experience. In a game however, you do all the mentioned things. You choose who to kill and who to spare, and you are more involved than a mere spectator. I think this is where the scariness is lost. For in a horror movie, let’s say Alien, the Alien is as fearsome and deadly as the director wants, and they are usually way past fearsome and deadly. With the Alien, it scares you, and you can’t do anything about it, because the only way it’s going to die is if an actor miraculously topples it. Let’s use Nemesis, in Alien’s place. Nemesis is deadly in cut-scenes, but more skilful players won’t find him that deadly, and someone you can beat up easily is hardly fearsome. And let’s say that Nemesis has scared you, and given you a nightmare. Unlike Alien, you can just load up the game, equip a heavy weapon and blast Nemesis for as long as your ammo dictates. Therefore, Nemesis is not scary, but Alien is.
It would be unfair to criticise all these ‘scary’ games for not being scary without giving a scary game a shot myself. So, I’ve come up with an idea for a game which would probably be scary.
You arrive in a fairly deserted city, after being thrown there by a tornado. You must search the city, looking for people and trying to get back home. In the city with you is an unknown enemy. A monster, that is deadly, but doesn’t run in, it hides. As you venture round the city, more is uncovered about the beast from people, and some important characters are also eliminated by the beast after a while. You only uncover snippets about his appearance or what he is, by marks in dead bodies, short snippets of FMV where small parts of him are uncovered or from people who claim to have seen him. Then, towards the end of the game, you fight him, but can only see him through some special goggles, which do not allow you to get a real look at what the character is like, you can only see an outline of him. Then, at the end of the game, every character sans you is dead, but you know how to get home. As you are about to leave, the beast smashes out into the alley you are in, knocking over a couple of trash cans, and you have to use items such as dustbin lids, planks of wood and broken bottles to kill him.
I feel that rarely encountering him, then having him standing in front of you ready to kill you would be immensely scary, and the loss of real firepower and more random objects would make the battle very scary and frantic, but not impossible. What do you think? Is my idea good?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my insight into fear in games. Any views on the whole subject will be greatly welcomed, and I am open for much debate.
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I've won in the Nity forum....... :P
Anyhoo, I know what you're talking about.
Games are supposed to 'make grown men cry for mummy' etc.
Resident Evil can be quite scary when you get a crimson head and that horrible music, that punds away.
ED isn't scary, rather more gory.
Its annoying how they do that, and it really isn't true.
Anyhoo, I know what you're talking about.
Games are supposed to 'make grown men cry for mummy' etc.
Resident Evil can be quite scary when you get a crimson head and that horrible music, that punds away.
ED isn't scary, rather more gory.
Its annoying how they do that, and it really isn't true.
I won in the Ninty Forum!
Why does that sound much less cool than I thought it would?
Why does that sound much less cool than I thought it would?
Dringo wrote:
> Eternal Darkness drove my brother insane hearing those voices and the
> bangings on the door and creaking roofs had my little brother run out
> and sit in his room crying.
>
> Freaked me out too.
*Shocked face*
A scary game? My god! I was planning to get Eternal Darkness, but I finally won Majora's Mask and an expansion pak on ebay, so that'll keep me busy for a while, along with Vice City.
> Eternal Darkness drove my brother insane hearing those voices and the
> bangings on the door and creaking roofs had my little brother run out
> and sit in his room crying.
>
> Freaked me out too.
*Shocked face*
A scary game? My god! I was planning to get Eternal Darkness, but I finally won Majora's Mask and an expansion pak on ebay, so that'll keep me busy for a while, along with Vice City.
Eternal Darkness drove my brother insane hearing those voices and the bangings on the door and creaking roofs had my little brother run out and sit in his room crying.
Freaked me out too.
Freaked me out too.
Damm...Today is just not my day.
Sorry about the Double post on this great topic.
Sorry about the Double post on this great topic.
*Stunned* Am i seeing what i'm seeing? a GAD Win in the Ninty Forum?
Anyway, Great post but maybe its knowing its a computer game that what makes it not scary. When watching a scary film u are shocked watching a real life prodution. When it comes to graphics like resident it still doesn't meet, the Distance from Reailty and computers in terms of grahpics is very far.
In example to this,
Image a computer game, With Graphics like Pac-man and the thingys that eat you are zombies, Would you be scared? (Maybe Parr would but not anyone else)
I have to amdit though Resident Evil is 'The' most frighting game that i've ever played. But the mixture of a scary game is not complete yet, Maybe its the graphics or the music played in the background or even the clips could be much more...Lets say :) "scary!"
Anyway, Great post but maybe its knowing its a computer game that what makes it not scary. When watching a scary film u are shocked watching a real life prodution. When it comes to graphics like resident it still doesn't meet, the Distance from Reailty and computers in terms of grahpics is very far.
In example to this,
Image a computer game, With Graphics like Pac-man and the thingys that eat you are zombies, Would you be scared? (Maybe Parr would but not anyone else)
I have to amdit though Resident Evil is 'The' most frighting game that i've ever played. But the mixture of a scary game is not complete yet, Maybe its the graphics or the music played in the background or even the clips could be much more...Lets say :) "scary!"
*Stunned* Am i seeing what i'm seeing? a GAD Win in the Ninty Forum?
Anyway, Great post but maybe its knowing its a computer game that what makes it not scary. When watching a scary film u are shocked watching a real life prodution. When it comes to graphics like resident it still doesn't meet, the Distance from Reailty and computers in terms of grahpics is very far.
In example to this,
Image a computer game, With Graphics like Pac-man and the thingys that eat you are zombies, Would you be scared? (Maybe Parr would but not anyone else)
I have to amdit though Resident Evil is 'The' most frighting game that i've ever played. But the mixture of a scary game is not complete yet, Maybe its the graphics or the music played in the background or even the clips could be much more...Lets say :) "scary!"
Anyway, Great post but maybe its knowing its a computer game that what makes it not scary. When watching a scary film u are shocked watching a real life prodution. When it comes to graphics like resident it still doesn't meet, the Distance from Reailty and computers in terms of grahpics is very far.
In example to this,
Image a computer game, With Graphics like Pac-man and the thingys that eat you are zombies, Would you be scared? (Maybe Parr would but not anyone else)
I have to amdit though Resident Evil is 'The' most frighting game that i've ever played. But the mixture of a scary game is not complete yet, Maybe its the graphics or the music played in the background or even the clips could be much more...Lets say :) "scary!"
You are all crazy fools. Resi is rubbish. It's not scary, it's just rubbish. Absolute tripe. You are all crazy.
I must be a big girl's blouse then.
Playing Resi on GC recently scared me insomuch as I was tense and nervous about being munched by the undead. And it made me jump on numerous occasions, most notably when the first Crimson Head rose from the dead (again), and legged it down the corridor after me at full tilt. It probably helped that I've not really played many of the prior Resi series
And Silent Hill 2 gave me goosebumps.
But Ico was probably the scariest game I've played. All that high-altitude climbing and nearly falling to your death, combined with the marvellous sense of isolation the game gives you and the neverending concern for Yourda's wellbeing nearly made me soil my grits.
Playing Resi on GC recently scared me insomuch as I was tense and nervous about being munched by the undead. And it made me jump on numerous occasions, most notably when the first Crimson Head rose from the dead (again), and legged it down the corridor after me at full tilt. It probably helped that I've not really played many of the prior Resi series
And Silent Hill 2 gave me goosebumps.
But Ico was probably the scariest game I've played. All that high-altitude climbing and nearly falling to your death, combined with the marvellous sense of isolation the game gives you and the neverending concern for Yourda's wellbeing nearly made me soil my grits.
None of the games mentioned in this topic have scared me, apart from the very first time that I played Resident Evil 2, but then that was when I was about 11 years old, so I don't blame myself. I have to say that I have never played a game that has been scary, and I've been quite disappointed when reviews have said things are 'pant wettingly frightening' and I discover that it is nothing of the sort. That doesn't mean nothing frightens me, there are movies that are pretty scary, but games just aren't. It's just how unreal they seem in the first place that they don't really have any power to shock.
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