Boo! I hope that didn’t completely scare you, what with Halloween coming up and all the ghosts that totally aren’t fictional and monsters that totally exist coming out to haunt us. To celebrate this rather pointless special time of year, Valve have announced that Team Fortress 2 will be having a spooky update weekend.

The update will add five achievements to unlock some new ghostly hats, a new King of the Hill map (Harvest, a Halloween-themed map with a roaming ghost that will scare players stiff) and Pumpkin-bombs. It also seems that dead players will be able to interact in some way with the living. Not sure if this is restricted to this one map, but either way it sounds brilliant. The special runs October 29th-November 3rd.

Update: The game is also super cheap from now until 2:00pm PDT; go buy it!

Tired of the same old “bad cop”, “naughty school girl”, and “sexy french maid” Halloween outfits? Me too! Okay… not really, but either way, Sega has got the perfect pick-me-up guide for your last minute Halloween costume conundrum … Bayonetta!

That’s right ladies (and men if this is your sort of thing), firmly pack your boobs and butt into a full body leather suit, twirl your hair up in a Bouffant (think Marg Simpson only much sexier), throw on a pair of high heal boots, black rimmed glasses, and grab a handful or two of candy red colored fire arms to top it all off.

Hit the Halloween kid infested streets this year with a look that says “I’m smart enough to know better, but reckless enough to destroy anything that gets in my way.” The Bayonetta makeover is sure to have the men in each and every household rushing to the door for a chance to put their Snickers bars in your sweet sweet candy basket.

For some step-by-step tips on how to pull off the “Bayonetta” look, head on over to Sega’s Bayonetta “Make-A-Witch” Foundation website.

Halloween is upon us, and we thought it would be a good time to share some “I just shit myself” scary video game moments. Turn the lights off and inch yourself closer to the warm inviting glow of our web page — Boo!

Alright, not so scary. Hit the jump to find out what games scared the crap out of our writers and share your own moment with us. Happy Halloween.

from Emily
I’m trying to think of something that creeped me out more than Bioshock the first time through, but having trouble. I inched my way along so slowly through the medical ward in case something would pop out. Dead Space was actually supposed to be scary, but it came off more eerie for me, I think. Spaaaaaaace.

Somebody eat a pile of those peanutbutter taffy things for me–have a good Halloween.

from Sam
The scariest videogame moment I have experienced was the first time I reached Ravenholm in Half-Life 2. Of course, the actual playthrough of the abandoned town was creepy, but the real horror lies in the beginning of the chapter. Alyx says to you earlier in the game “We don’t go to Ravenholm…”, with a shudder of terror at the prospect. At this point, I thought nothing of it and carried on with the game. However, when I was forced to go through Ravenholm after a tunnel collapse, I slowly came to the realisation that it would not exactly be a pleasant experience, especially as the name of the chapter faded on to the screen and subsequently revoked memories of the terror Alyx faced when even thinking about the place: “We don’t go to Ravenholm…”

And with that, dear readers, *Puff of smoke* Happy Halloween! *He’s gone!*

from Chad
This is going to sound soooooo weak to you guys but I haven’t played a lot of scary games. I’m going to have to say that the scariest gaming moment for me is something that has happened more often than I would like to admit. My silly ass will be sneaking around trying to find the last dude in a Gears of War multiplayer match. Of course, I’m the only one left on my team, so I’m trying to be extra careful not to fuck it up, and then I hear it — the all too familiar sound of a chainsaw revving up from behind me — nothing left to do but scream “aww shit” and watch myself get cut to pieces.

I’ll be sitting on my couch watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” with a mouth full of candy. Whatever you do, make sure to enjoy yourself. Happy Halloween!

from Dan
My scariest moment was way back on the NES. We had a subscription to Nintendo Power back then, and one of the things you got for subscribing was the original ‘Dragon Warrior’. Yes, they gave people a free game. This was really the first RPG I ever played, and I believe it’s what started my love affair with the genre. Anyhow, long story short, going through the castle at the end of the game leading up to the main bad guy was incredibly tense.

I was standing in front of my TV the whole time, buttcheeks clenched tightly, heartbeat racing. I finally got to the boss, and it was ridiculous. He would smash me and I would be on the verge of death, then I would heal myself and smash him right back. I thought for sure I was going to fail and have to replay the whole thing again, and I was truly frightened by the thought of my character’s death. I’m sure part of the reason is because I was only 10 years old, but I still vividly remember that experience and how it made me feel.

I have played countless other RPG’s since then, and games in general. Even though it would seem like I’ve done this same thing, had this same ‘boss battle’ experience in a hundred different games, at least on paper, none of them truly scared me the way Dragon Warrior did.

Honorable mentions include the dogs jumping through the window in Resident Evil and the first time a Berserker busted through a wall in Gears of War. I also get incredibly frightened for 3 seconds after turning on my 360. Having to wait for the ring to turn green is not good for my heart. Happy Halloween!

from Chelsea
Ha well, my scariest moment wasn’t technically in the game…

My friends and I were playing the original Fatal Frame. It’s pretty much how we played all horror games at parties: one person place while the rest watch, lights off late at night. My friend was at a particularly tense part of the game when suddenly, the back of the futon we were all sitting on gave out! We all tumbled backwards, screaming and freaking out for a bit until we realized what had happened. It was awesome. Happy Halloween!

from Sean
My scariest video game moment immediately jumps out at me since it literally scared me out of the room, out of the house, and ultimately out of town. I was twelve years old when I was allowed to purchase my first ‘M’ rated game within the company of my father. Upon putting it in my Playstation, I was riddled with anxiety as I didn’t want to get in trouble for anything inappropriate that might pop on screen, but I also wanted to experience the game in its entirety. I wasn’t allowed to play it alone so my Dad was in the room with me at the time I watched the opening cinematic of Parasite Eve. Within minutes, an entire audience of Carnegie Hall is liquified into a red goo reminiscent of blood. The theater begins to crumble and the actors depicting an opera appear to metamorphisize. I had a feminine moment and froze up. My Dad, muttering curse words under his breath, took the game out of the console and flipped over the box. After reading ‘Sexual References’, we made our commute back to Manhattan to return the game where we had bought it. We lived out of town, and I was still frozen. Later that night, I had nightmares of turning into red goo.

from Demi
I’m not a huge fan of any game that could scare me, so I don’t play horror games as often as I’d like to. Honestly, I think the most scared I’ve ever been from a game is a tie between Bioshock & Resident Evil 4. In Bioshock, I was turning the corner, and not really paying attention, and then as I started to walk down a long corridor, out of nowhere, a splicer jumps out and hits me. I totally lost my shit and started screaming, but easily dispensed of him. Resident Evil 4 was creepier because I was really into the game, and was standing close to the screen. (I was playing the Wii version.) I wasn’t too far into the game, but as soon as I saved, I left one of the rooms, and Dr. Salvador (also known as Mr. Burlap Sack Head) turned the corner and just cut right through me. I hate when enemies turn the corner and attack you.

I planned on dressing up as Batman, just so I could punch everyone I see dressed as The Joker, but instead, I’m just going to sit home and catch up on stuff. Happy Halloween, everyone!

from Andrew
When I’m not manning the door to give out candy to trick-or-treaters, nothing beats a scary First Person Shooter like System Shock 2, FEAR, or Doom 3 on Halloween. This year I’m jumping at my own shadow while playing Fallout 3– there’s nothing particularly scary about a sunny, open wasteland, but once you start getting into those abandoned subway tunnels and creepy haunted office wrecks, nearly every screaming zombie ghoul or hulking super mutant makes me go a big rubbery one. Maybe I’m just a wuss, but I’ve never been so happy to have the option to pause the action and target those buggers’ heads.

Happy Halloween, gamers, and try not to overdose on Fun-Sized Snickers bars.

from Beau
The scariest moment for me in a video game was during the re-make of Resident Evil for the Gamecube. Those Crimson Head zombies or whatever they were called just wouldn’t die. The first time one of those jerks got BACK up after I killed it and started chasing me with those huge claws – yeah, I was an 18 year old who soiled their parent’s couch. Happy Halloween fellow geeks!!

from Dylan
I remember playing Resident Evil 2 for the first time when I was a wee lad. It was released in January ‘98, so I must have been 13. I think I was pretty far into the game, on the verge of beating it. Then there was a loud external “boom” and my mobile home shook. I nearly shit myself. For whatever occasion, there was a fireworks display going on down the road from my home. So there I was, playing Resident Evil 2 in my dark living room, and every now and then a firework would explode outside and shake my house, making the game scarier than it should have been. I probably should have held off on playing, but I’m stubborn like that.

Living in a small town, I’ve always been envious of people who can go to massive costume parties and see a ton of awesome videogame costumes. Go to one of those parties and live my dream. Live it!

from Sean
My scariest video game moment happened when I was about ten or so. A friend and I had rented the Jason video game for NES. I know what you’re thinking “Jason isn’t that scary.” Sure not now he isn’t, but back then is a totally different story. So anyway we are playing a long and it is rather late at night. We go up into one of the cabins and the music for its 8 bit generation is doing the job of keeping things right on the eerie side. We turn around and BOOM there’s Jason ready to cut is up.

Now a days, that wouldn’t scare a flea, but when I was a kid, it was a whole different ball game. Happy Halloween!

from Roly
So there I was, minding my own business, playing the very beginning BioShock and getting acquainted with Rapture. Mere minutes in, I came across a seemingly normal woman singing to a baby carriage. But, it’s Rapture; there just has to be something that’s genuinely fucked up. Little did I know my older brother had ever so silently snuck into my room, for anyone who’s played 15 minutes of BioShock can probably see where this is going.

For the rest of you, when you approach the woman you cross a proverbial trip-wire and the woman singing to the baby carriage turns, let’s out a shriek, and loses it. Just as she shrieked, my brother grabbed me, yelled loudly, and covered my eyes. If there has ever been a moment that I let out a scream that could be described as school-girl-like in nature, this was that time. Fuck my brother.

Moral of the story? Wish a person of your choice a Happy Halloween as I did my brother by jumping on their bed at 3am. Happy Halloween!

From Zungre

The original Silent Hill. I remember, early in the game, you walk into a highschool locker room and one of the small lockers is rattling like its packed with rabbid animal trying to get out.  When you open it up there’s nothing inside.  And the sound has stopped.  As you leave the locker room and dead body falls falls out of a big locker in front of you.  That definitely got me.

–

We’ll be adding more scary moments to this just as soon as more of our writers pull themselves away from the giant candy dish. In the mean time, feel free to share a few of your own in the comments section below.

The Watercooler, as always, is the best thing you will see on the Internet today, mainly because it is the best thing I saw yesterday, or since the last Watercooler at least. There is, however, the possibility that you will see tomorrow’s Watercooler today, in which case the best thing you saw today is not today’s Watercooler but a future Watercooler. You may think you read that yesterday, but that was actually your future self trying to warn your present-day self that you would be reading this… again.

Today’s special edition of The Watercooler features something a little different. Usually for Halloween, people like to dress up in all kinds of super-neat costumes. This is my suggestion for the hot costume of Halloween parties this year: German school teacher. You will be dressing up by dressing down.

Very slightly not safe for work, but that’s why The Watercooler goes up so early.

What you just saw was a crappily shot cell phone video of a German school teacher (as in a teacher in Germany, not a teacher of the German language) playing ‘Truth or Dare’ with her students at some kind of assembly. Had this been the case in my high school, I would probably have felt more inclined to attend. This is the type of sacrifice teachers should be making to get kids interested in learning again.

Do it for the kids! And, you’re welcome.

Think you have something that could be Watercooler material? Send it to dlandis@ripten.com. If your submission gets featured, you will win a prize package full of pride and accomplishment.

EA has got a little something for your Halloween goody bag — when you’ll get it depends on which console you own.

PlayStation 3 owners will get a head start on their Halloween treat fest with an opportunity to download Mirror’s Edge on October 30th, while the Xbox 360 “Faith”ful will get their shot at the first person rooftop runner October 31st. Time Trial mode will also be available on both versions of the demo for those who pre-ordered the game.

A bag full of chocolate sounds and a screen full of virtual acrobatics — sounds good to me. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Take A Leap Of Faith Before Mirror’s Edge Hits Retail Stores In November With Downloadable Demo!

This week gamers can ‘take a leap of Faith’ with a special demo for Mirror’s Edge™, available at the PlayStation® Store on October 30th and on Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace on October 31st. The demo will feature the prologue of the game, a tutorial and a segment of the single-player story mode. Now is your chance to experience the action that has GameSpot saying “Unlike anything we’d ever played before.”

Players who pre-order the game* will also receive an unlock code for exclusive access to the Time Trial mode. Time Trial is an addictive mode that challenges players to use their speed and best moves to find the fastest routes throughout the city. Gamers can upload their best time to the Mirror’s Edge online leaderboards for their friends to download and compete against. Players can see their friend’s ‘ghost’ run as they race to the top of the leaderboards.

This is the best thing you will see on the Internet today, mainly because it is the best thing I saw on the Internet yesterday. What is it? It’s The Watercooler, bitch!

I’m going to make a few assumptions here and post some words that should be enticing enough to make you want to watch this video: Olivia Munn, Playboy Bunny, sexy librarian, In-N-Out Burger, Chun-Li.

Intrigued? Of course you are.

You’re welcome.

After watching this the first time, I was torn between whether I thought Olivia was being funny or if she was actually kind of a bitch. Then I watched it again and decided that it didn’t matter.

Think you have something that could be Watercooler material? Send it to dlandis@ripten.com. If your submission gets featured, you will win a prize package full of pride and accomplishment.

Its getting cold, the leaves are turning orange, and your neighbor just put out a jack-o-lantern with Pacman carved into it (what a lazy ass). So, now you want to one-up the ante. Well, to help get you into the Halloween spirit, here are the best new games sure to get you in the mood for scaring small children or giving them candy, whichever seems less perverse to you.

5. Silent Hill Homecoming. Ok, you saw this one coming. Take a trip back down foggy memory lane which is, unsurprisingly, foggy. If you want an atmosphere creepier than a Halloween party with a guy dressed as Peter Pan in a room full of trick-or-treating kids, look no further.

4. Portal: Still Alive. Getting more Portal on Xbox Live Arcade is like going to your neighbor’s door and asking for a damn candy bar before you break his outside lights with eggs, and then he gives you a king-size Reeses peanut butter cup. Score! Added bonus: you don’t have to worry about finding syringes in your Halloween bucket (or loot sack, if you’re one of those who goes for the long haul), only homicidal robots.

3. Fable II. What?! A non-survival horror game in a Halloween list?! Hold the inquisition, this isn’t blasphemy, simply a lack of scary games dictating my list. Look at it this way: you get all dressed up as a fairy, or a pirate or a ninja (or a slutty fairy, slutty pirate or Gloria from Devil May Cry 4, if you’re a lady) so why not play a game where you can choose more than your costume?

2. Dead Space. “Hey, there’s a game about space zombies, it should be on the list.” Thank you for that astounding observation, Captain Obvious. Seriously, what Halloween list could go without space zombies? It’s zombies. In space! Hot damn! Plenty of creepy atmosphere, illegible blood scrawling, face-eating zombies and foreboding… well, everything make Dead Space a dead ringer for scariest game of the season. Forget everything you know about fighting zombies, because in space, no one can hear you shit your pants in terror. And we’re glad for that.

1. SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons Globs of Doom. Terror incarnate. The lost souls of seven and seven innocents were corrupted to make this abomination of a game. And they’ll ship out another one in two weeks. Upon playing this game, people have gone instantly insane, others have killed and maimed themselves, and others have simply vanished, leaving only footprints leading into the darkness. A darkness only matched by the hole in your wallet where the money you paid for this game used to be. But don’t bother trying to destroy it, they’ll release another one in two weeks.

(Honorable Mention: Barbie Horse Adventures.)

Halloween is next week, which means the time has come for wicked pumpkin carvings.

Sure, you could make the typical owl, or “scary” face, or whatever, but a true nerd would make something far more radical out of their pumpkin.

What You’ll Need:

• A pumpkin (duh)
• Cereal sized bowl
• Sewing tape measure
• Color Magic Fright Lights
• Something sharp (ideally equipped with maximum carvability like this)
• The following instructions

In time, you’re going to have yourself a pumpkin that gleams creditability, and you’ll ask yourself in the mirror: “How are my balls so big?” And late at night, when the youngsters are out smashing the neighborhood’s jack-o-lanterns, they’ll see your lit up Death Star, nod with approval, and leave it be.

Respect.

Have something you think we should show on Geeked-Out? Email it to us.

Source: Fantasypumpkins

Then tell her it’s for a good cause (and you won’t be lying). costumestudio.com, launched by Seattle-based outfitter GoodSociety, is planning on donating 100% of the profits from their costumes sales to help children in Uganda. Buying the “Pretty Pink Princess” costume above would set you back about $60, but one third of that goes straight to a noble cause. Being charitable never looked so good.

With Halloween just around the corner and with a projected $5 billion in holiday sales, the charitable folks at GoodSociety are hoping to help out a lot of needy children.

“We did the quick math,” says Fashion Director Quang Dinh, “five billion dollars would feed over one hundred million starving children for an entire year. I love Halloween more than most, but something needed to be done.”

The site itself is quite impressive. As I was browsing the 500+ women’s costumes, I saw a lot of outfits I’ve never seen before. Their Jessica Rabbit costume is amazing, and I am unbelievably tempted to drop the $100 for the pleasure of walking around all night as a sexy, red-headed vixen with Furry tendencies (I mean, she did marry a rabbit).

The kid’s and men’s costumes are a bit less expensive, so don’t be discouraged by some of the high price tags on the women’s costumes (though all women’s costumes tend to be pricey, no matter where you go). Again, their selection is HUGE and they have plenty of options for those of you who want something strictly game or nerd-culture related.

Don’t let the kids hog all of the Halloween charity spirit with their trick-or-treating UNICEF boxes. Simply buy a Halloween costume from CostumeStudio.com and give yourself a pat on the back for helping out those in need.

While you’ll still have to wait til the end of October to play Dead Space in your Halloween costume, you’ll be able to purchase the game one week earlier than expected, as EA announced today that the game will be shipping on October 14th, 2008.

That still gives you plenty of time to practice your evil laugh. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Dead Space Set to Ship Early – Oct. 14, 2008

Get Your Halloween Treat Earlier This Year! Originally scheduled to ship on October 21st, the award-winning action/adventure game, Dead Space will ship for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 on October 14, 2008 giving players a full 17 days before Halloween to step out into space for the fright of their lives. The development team at EA Redwood Shores is getting into the Halloween spirit early this year so fans can celebrate with Dead Space without cutting into their trick or treat time.

The Dead Space experience is all about surviving in its sci-fi world through strategic dismemberment, so experience the horror before the Necromorphs dismember you. After all, you are never truly safe in Dead Space. When an immense mining ship, the USG Ishimura, comes into contact with a mysterious alien artifact in a remote star system, its communications with Earth are mysteriously cut off. Engineer Isaac Clarke is sent to repair the Ishimura’s communications array, but he arrives to find a living nightmare—the ship is a floating bloodbath, the crew unspeakably mutilated and infected by an ancient alien scourge. Clarke’s repair mission becomes one of survival as he fights not just to save himself, but to return the artifact to the planet … at any cost.

The PC version of the game will be shipping on October 20, 2008.

Here at Ripten, we’re nothing if not festive. As the weather turns cold and the pumpkins light up, we take a look at some games that are sure to scare the crap out of you this holiday season. Read on… if you dare! Muwahahaha!

Seriously though, we usually try to incorporate content for all types of people, even the faint of heart. But for you scaredy-cats, read no further. Just go back to watching the Discovery channel.

#10 – Bioshock
Get out the candy corn and your plasmids, it’s time for some Big Daddy ass-whoopin! Bioshock swept us off our feet this summer with stunning visuals and a unique blend of gameplay and narrative.

2k Games received overwhelming praise from gamers and critics alike. However, it was never acclaimed as a horror game, even though the narrow corridors of Rapture held more than one claustrophobic, bloody fright.

#9 – Hellgate London
There are few men I trust more than Flagship’s Mr. Bill Roper to deliver a stellar game. Hellgate promises to be nothing less. Featuring fast paced combat, randomized dungeon layouts, and of course, what every Halloween game needs– lots and lots of zombies!

From gloomy cathedrals to ancient ruins, London lends itself very well as a scary backdrop for players to adventure in. After playing the beta for days, we can’t wait to get our hands on the final version of the game. Equally scary as the demons that infest the streets of London is how fast you get addicted to this game.

You won’t want to stop the mayhem, because a rare item might be one kill away. Flagship really nailed the whole carrot on a stick mentality that all of us remember so fondly from Diablo.

#8 – F.E.A.R.
Throw in some supersmart AI, mix in a little bullet-time, and sprinkle in a dash of the supernatural and you get Monolith’s multiplatform shooter FEAR. What more could you ask for? Hell, even the little girl from The Ring is in this game!

Fans of F.E.A.R won’t have to wait long to get there next fix. The game came out on PS3 earlier this year with a new gameplay mode, and the standalone expansion FEAR: Perseus Mandate hits store shelves the 6th of November.

#7 – The Suffering
Enter Abbott State Penitentiary, where Torque has been convicted and sentenced to death for killing his wife and two children. Torque claims that he blacked out when the murder occurred, and has no recollection of what happened (with a name like Torque, it’s a wonder no one believed him).

When an earthquake rocks the Prison, all Hell breaks loose and it’s up to you to get out of there. The Suffering also implements a light/dark side mechanic, prompting you to make moral decisions, the sum of which will determine the ending of the game. The Suffering easily takes the crown as the best psychological horror game we’ve played.

#6 – System Shock 2
System Shock 2 stands in a genre of its own. Fusing FPS mechanics with deep RPG style character development, SS2 doesn’t ram cheap monster closet thrills down your throat. Instead, it gets inside your head just to mess with you.

You wake up in a deserted space ship, the Van Buren, only to find the rest of the crew horribly killed or turned into monsters. Your character uncovers audio logs and bits of the story along the way.

It’s the subtle nature of the terror slowly welling up inside you that makes this game such a success. It’s no wonder Ken Levine has gone on record stating that Bioshock is the spiritual successor to System Shock.

#5 – Doom 3
As far as horror premises go, this one takes the cake. You’re a Mars security guard doing a routine patrol when all of a sudden a portal to Hell opens and everyone around you turns into damn dirty zombies.

Widely known as the game that kicked off the next-gen era, Doom 3 made PC gamers everywhere empty their pockets to beef up their systems. Doom isn’t just pretty– few games can match its level of immersion. Playing it with the lights out at night is one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in gaming.

#4 – Alien vs. Predator 2
You can never have enough bug hunts! AvP2 is set on planet LV-426, the same dark, windy world where Aliens took place. Dynamic lighting and strong sound design set this game apart from the rest. You really get the sense that Aliens could be anywhere.

You can play the game through as any of the three species: Alien, Predator, or Human. We recommend you play through the Human campaign first, because the other species don’t seem to chat very often, leaving you hard-pressed to figure out what’s going on.

This game was strong enough to warrant an expansion pack called Primal Hunt which received mixed reviews. As a huge fan of the Aliens movies, AvP2 is one of my personal favorite games of all time.

#3 – Dementium: The Ward
It’s just you, some monsters, and a bonesaw. Even though the DS is not exactly known for its survival horror games, this first-person shooter sets a new standard for handheld dark and scary. There are creepy puzzles with the clues written in blood, skittering bugs that make a freaky chirping sound, and some massively mean bosses out to get you.

Releasing on Halloween, Dementium is a solid offering that tries to cram as much Silent Hill suspense and Doom 3 action into two little screens. Can you hear your heartbeat racing yet?

#2 – Resident Evil (Gamecube)
Resident Evil — Simply put, Resident Evil is the definition of the survival horror genre. Some may argue the original Playstation release of this game should get the recognition, however, which disc would you rather pop in?

We applaud the uniqueness and the effort that the original PSX game put forth. That said, the gorgeous visuals and enhanced gameplay in the Gamecube version make for a far better experience. In addition to the visuals, the enhanced version also features 10 different endings, as well as several new puzzles and plot twists.

RE4 might be a better action game, but RE1 is where the scares are. This is a must-own title for any fan of the horror genre.

#1 – Silent Hill 1 and 2

OK, so we cheated. Two games in the number one slot. But they’re so closely connected that they might as well be some kind of freaky conjoined Jack-O-Lantern.

Silent Hill is as simple a name as one can give to a small American town. Just a simple, sleepy town with the occasional zombie nurse, skinless attack dog, and pyramid-headed monster.

In these games, silence lurks around every corner with a washed-out white color palette. Silent Hill 1 has you playing as a concerned father seeking his lost child, while the sequel is about a distraught husband seeking his dead wife. Both times you make a slow descent into madness as the town seeks to swallow you up.

Silent Hill 2 is the superior game, having improved upon the original in every way. It implemented very original characters while still staying true to the unique vibe of being alone in a desolate and horrifying environment. Gameplay is more focused on exploration and narrative than action.

There is something to be said about the way these games get under your skin. You can’t really pin it down– perhaps it’s the game’s stronger emphasis on character-related drama. In addition to the freaky environments, the story really adds a second layer of horror that few games can match.

When thinking about horror games, the Silent Hill series immediately pops into my head, with SH2 as my all time favorite. When I think about it the answer is simple: subtlety.

Games usually can’t afford to incorporate the same levels of subtlety seen in film and books. From the broken wheelchairs to the plates of food still on the tables, you really get a sense that something terrible happened here, and it happened quickly. The game never directly tells you what happened to the town, which really lets your imagination take over.

So put the disc in, switch the lights off, turn the volume up and get ready for some of the most intense scares gaming has to offer. Just don’t freak out too much when the trick-or-treaters ring the doorbell. Have a happy Halloween!

P.S. If scary stuff isn’t for you then please, be our guest and have a gander at this relaxing nature video…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]