Horror Video Games

Grab a snack and a soda and prepare for a lengthy post…:-)

I may have touched on this subject before, but today I want to share more of my fascination with Horror as it relates to video games. Once upon a time, long, long ago, I was a teenager and went into the local video game arcade to waste a good couple of hours with friends dropping quarters into the coin-op classics like “Elevator Action” & “Galaga”. The only horror-esque title available was “Ghosts 'n Goblins”. When what to my wandering eyes should appear? A new game, this one was titled “Splatterhouse”. It was 1988 and I had finally found a true horror-based game to accompany my already growing fascination with the genre.

Since that time I have played a great many video games that have horror elements and have researched several others that I would still like to play. In the arcade realm, I have not only played “Splatterhouse” which had a character in a {Terror Mask}, (which looked a lot like the Jason Vorhees hockey mask of Friday the 13th fame) but also titles like “Beast Busters” (where you shoot zombies as they appear on the screen, sometimes they shoot back!), “Chiller”(where you get to shoot creatures as well as human bodies-one flesh splattering shot at a time in a guillotine room/torture chamber, rack room –complete with a river of blood-, haunted house hallway, and a graveyard.), “Altered Beast” which didn’t have a lot of horror in it but certainly abounded with ghoulish creatures. More recently I have played “Carn-Evil”(where an evil force turns a carnival into a horrific playground of dead things and creatures), and the ever popular “The House of the Dead” (1 & 2 both based on detectives investigating the status of the mysteriously missing personnel at a genetic engineering center. These games of course have lots of zombies). Other arcade games I have read about and would love to play are “Crypt Killer”, “Zombie Raid”, “Zombie Revenge” & “The House of the Dead 3”

The time I have spent playing horror video games was not all clocked in the arcade. I have also had the joy and sometimes terror of games played on home consoles. In terms of console games there are a variety, starting with “Resident Evil” back in 1996. What followed this ground breaking home game were various titles filled with horror and/or gore. Like an alcoholic at his first meeting, I stand and say that I have never actually played the original. But never fear, I am hoping to get that classic game as a Christmas gift this year. Now I did play “Resident Evil 2” on the N64 which was a fantastic experience for me where I allowed myself to get into the game so deeply I jumped a couple of times.

I have also played some of the classics like “Castlevania” from Nintendo with all of its sequels having vampires and other creatures of the underworld. And “Altered Beast” on the Sega Genesis which was not a great experience but a tribute to the arcade. I even tried“Hexen” & “Doom” for the Super Nintendo. On the newer front, I have played “Shadowman” on N64 which is a lengthy game with awesome horror themes including zombies. There was “Nightmare Creatures” is another conglomerate of creatures paying tribute to the 50s horror movies set in London circa 1700. I played “The Thing” on my friend’s PS2, which was done quite well. “Blood Rayne” on the Game Cube was done well too but there was a little too much focus on the jiggling heroine and not enough on the monsters.

“Blood Omen 2” is the only horror title I have played on the Xbox so far. And one game that I couldn’t finish because it freaked me out a little too much was “Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem” on Game Cube. It had so many freaky changes and mind twists that I was seriously disturbed by it. Of course I have to try that again some day! Games I would like to play include “Shadowman 2”, “Nightmare Creatures 2”, “Fatal Frame”, “Silent Hill {1,2, &3}”, and “The Suffering”

The last medium I have used for horror gaming is the PC. “Diablo” is one of the best games I have ever played on my computer. I got this title in 1998 and it was the first horror title for my PC. “Doom” had been out since 1995 but I was not able to get it. When time came to buy I had "Diablo" to choose from instead. I have also played “Diablo II”, “Dracula: Resurrection” and “Dracula: The Last Sanctuary”. I am still looking forward to playing the “Alone in the Dark” series and a game called “Flesh Feast”

In all, I have played some great games to expand my horror entertainment. Some people fell that video games are a complete waste of time, but I place them right up there with movies as solid entertainment. I am anticipating the future where current 3D technology evolves to include a virtual reality horror game (preferably about zombies) that will be the ultimate in horror gaming.

Well that it’s for now, tune in on Friday for another horror movie review. Until then…

Today's Cure song is "Why Can't I Be You" from the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me CD -(1987) A great horn section trumpets as Robert sings about being unsatisfied with the self. I suppose one could stretch the meaning to include it begin a love song. Either way it's a very jumpy tune that has become a classic for them as well.

"Everything you do is irresistable. Everything you do is simply kissable. Why can't I be you?"

CJ