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5:20 PM on 08.31.2009
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Often times my dad would knock on the door and ask what I was doing in there. I responded with the predetermined preteen response, "NOTHING, GOD!" Most times he would walk away laughing, but sometimes I knew he would stand there and listen. I didn't care, I was killing barely visible zombies.
The introduction train sequence was outstanding to me. Often times my friends and I would replay it over and over as fast as we could. Sadly, no matter how many times we did the destruction sequence was always a hassle.
I guess that RE0 got me hooked on horror games not only because the game itself was suspenseful, but because the simple act of owning the game was suspenseful. There was always a certain rush to playing behind the back of my close minded father. It was as if he was a zombie himself, right on the other side of that door. He was waiting and always listening, and if he caught me he would most certainly take my life from me. My life being the Gamecube...and my jerk socks, but dry humping the bed would also do.
Good times.
One day a friend told me about resident evil 4 and how amazing it was. I decided to be a man and try it during december break. I started the game and i could not put it down. I was freaked out at points(chainsaw guy) but i still enjoyed it, no thoughts came to mind after either. And it was then i realized why. I was in control of leon,i fought the zombies and I decided how to react to the situation. When i saw a door and had the "OMG don't go in there moment, i didnt(or did with shot gun ready). Now i love good horror games, i love the idea of having something scary jump at me(my character that is)and for me to freak out and "pull the trigger" from reflex but sadly i still cant handle horror movies.
I was excited for cursed mountain, i was feeling excited to climb it, lets hope this entry gets me a chance.
One day a friend told me about resident evil 4 and how amazing it was. I decided to be a man and try it during december break. I started the game and i could not put it down. I was freaked out at points(chainsaw guy) but i still enjoyed it, no thoughts came to mind after either. And it was then i realized why. I was in control of leon,i fought the zombies and I decided how to react to the situation. When i saw a door and had the "OMG don't go in there moment, i didnt(or did with shot gun ready). Now i love good horror games, i love the idea of having something scary jump at me(my character that is)and for me to freak out and "pull the trigger" from reflex but sadly i still cant handle horror movies.
I was excited for cursed mountain, i was feeling excited to climb it, lets hope this entry gets me a chance.
One day a friend told me about resident evil 4 and how amazing it was. I decided to be a man and try it during december break. I started the game and i could not put it down. I was freaked out at points(chainsaw guy) but i still enjoyed it, no thoughts came to mind after either. And it was then i realized why. I was in control of leon,i fought the zombies and I decided how to react to the situation. When i saw a door and had the "OMG don't go in there moment, i didnt(or did with shot gun ready). Now i love good horror games, i love the idea of having something scary jump at me(my character that is)and for me to freak out and "pull the trigger" from reflex but sadly i still cant handle horror movies.
I was excited for cursed mountain, i was feeling excited to climb it, lets hope this entry gets me a chance.
I never really beat Resident Evil, I could barely get past the picture puzzle (a very noobish moment) but I would continue playing it.
What mainly got me hooked on the survival horror genre was the spookiness of the games. The more sadistic and freakish the game was, the more I liked it, even though at that young age, I was very scared of it.
I have gotten over my fear of "scary" games and now play them whenever possible. But none of the games out currently match the effect that Resident Evil set over me at that young age.
I was a late bloomer of sorts when it came to horror games - Eternal Darkness was my first. As per my friends' request I played it alone, at night, with the lights off. It didn't scare me, not at first, but then the sanity effects kicked in. The constant whispering of voices, the growl of monsters and various lighting effects coming into play...I swear to god my nerves felt like they were rigged to explosives, and even the smallest scare would cause me to explode.
That's honestly what made me fall in love with the survival horror genre. When I'm reading a scary book or watching a scary movie I feel like I'm being entertained. It's hard to put yourself in the story when you have no control over it. But with a game...you have a connection with the character. And when you hear a growl, it's hard not to fear for your own life. And that's a really great feeling, like getting off of a huge roller coaster and saying, "Alright, sweet, I survived!", even if your life wasn't REALLY in danger...
...usually
As for survival-horror, that'd be Silent Hill 2. I got it off Goozex a short while ago and was pretty excited. I waited until about 10pm and the house was quiet and it was dark outside before popping it into my PS2. The familiar PS2 and Sony logos flashed by, I elected to start a new game and then quickly realised...I had received a broken disc through Goozex. Robbed of my enjoyment, I filed a complaint and got my points back.
Does RE4 count as survival-horror? If it does then I guess that's my first foray into the genre and loved it. Can't wait for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories so that I can get into the series from the start without hunting down a PS1 copy.
I was about eight or nine when the original Resident evil came out for the playstation. My uncle had a copy that my mom did not want me to play but being a young kid I of course did. I started up the game and watched all the cutscenes and ran around a bit. This isn't that bad, I thought, sure the music was bit creepy but the first zombie I saw was just laughable and I quickly dispatched of it. By this time I was very smug, I felt so brave to not even be effected by this so called "horror game" then it happened. This is still like deep in my memory after all these years. I was told to go to get a key or something so i tried to find my way to the room that had it. Quickly running through expecting to pop off any zombies along the way. I ran down a certain hallway............yeah. Right after I had cleared one of the windows, SOME KIND OF CREATURE BUSTED THROUGH! I was so shocked at what had just happen, I IMMEDIATLY shut the playstation off and ran out of the room. I'm not using an expression, no I literally got up and went into the living room with my parents. For the next year or so, I was terrified that game. Countless times I would play up to the point and stop sometime before the window scene. I believe I even manage to kill the dog a couple times but the event had left me so scared that I was scared of another one happening. I couldn't play through it. I was literally scared of that game. This fear continued until I play resident evil 4 sadly. This was my first encounter with a survival horror game But this is not what got me hooked on survival horror games, that was silent hill 2.
I could probably devote a whole series of cblogs on this but I'll attempt to keep this short. After a brief stint of writing for negative gamer I did a feature about remaking games with better graphics and I mentioned silent hill 2. Wardrox told me that I was being stupid and SH2 was still a good game. So bored over this last summer I decided to try it out. I borrowed my uncle's copy (same uncle as before) and I start to play it. Without going into to much detail I fell in love with the game. Everything from the music, to the monster, to the atmosphere. I always hate cheap jump scares and kinda liked creepy scary stuff and this game was perfect. The whole rape scene made me sit back and go woah! I was completely absorbed into the world of silent hill and it was terrifying! To be honest the game isn't that scary but the assumptions I made based on atmosphere drove me nuts! That game was made me feel something no horror movie or game has ever been able to feel, enjoyable fear. Sure it was scary but I simply had to make it through and I had to save laura. It also was awesome because I love me some symbolism! The whole thing about pyramid head representing what he did and the serious issue the game tackled was breath taking. Even the ending I got (deep blue) felt like such a great way to end, I just find myself staring at the credits with that letter narration being played. It nearly brought me to tears with the honest raw emotion! The only games to ever do that was mother 3 and lost odyssey and for a survival horror to do that lives me stunned do this day. So the reason I love horror games now was because of that one play through with silent hill 2.
After playing GTAIII, I tried out Resident Evil: CVX. I didn't get... well, anywhere (I mean, I had barely reached my double digits, if at all), but I really, really enjoyed what I had played. I also played Resident Evil 3 a little bit. My only real memory was lighting rope on fire with a lighter and lighter fluid in order to open a door. Those goddamned obscure puzzles. That was merely an inkling of the genre, and what truly got me into it was a game most people don't consider survival horror.
Flash forward a couple of years, and I am twelve (or so). I get the new Nintendo Power and its cover is a little game I like to call Resident Evil 4. I read the entire article several times.
"This sounds like the best thing ever!" I thought. Fortunately, I had a Gamecube at that time, one which basically saw Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros., and Super Mario Sunshine and nothing else up until this point.
I needed it have it. I kept that issue of NP for a long time (and I believe it's still floating around in my room somewhere). Flash forward another year or two and I am in Best Buy with my mom. I am fourteen. I see Resident Evil 4 sitting on the shelves. I had somewhat forgotten about the game after the initial blow of simply being too young, but I thought at 14 I was surely mature enough to handle what it had to offer.
She was convinced. I was ecstatic, and brought it home. It was not until into the second disc though, that I was introduced to actual survival horror.
Why?
Those fucking Iron Maidens.
You see, I never found the infra-red scope for the sniper rifle, and so I fought off the first Iron Maiden with just sheer mass of bullets. I am an ammo hoarder, and put as few as 600 and as many as 1000 bullets into that thing.
For the rest of the game, I was starved for ammunition. I had to run from everything, and it freaked me the fuck out. When the Iron Maidens were coming after you and you had to sloooooowwwwwllllyyyy push a dumpster out of the way or whatever, it was torturous. I didn't know how to kill them, and certainly didn't have another 1000 bullets to spend. The rest of the game terrified me to no end.
Now, I was scared by the game overall, but it was once my ammo was gone and I actually had to run that I got a real taste of what survival horror was.
And I was fucking hooked.
Games with modern graphics and ultra realistic textures can not compete with SH1 and even RE1-3. The day developers cared more about atmosphere seems to be fading. Even with the limited graphics and console power, those older Survival Horror games will always be the best. Sadly (even though I love those old games) i have to go back to them just to get that nostalgic feeling of fear. Dead Space, SH: Homecoming and FEAR all try. But they havent been able to do it. Im still waiting though. Perhaps a great Survival Horror game will come.
Oh and did I mention I love the genre so much I write for a Horror Gaming site? :D HellDescent.com (Shameless plug)
I remember laying on my bed and playing that first night for a good 3 hours or so. It took about an hour just to wrap my mind around the tank-like controls. It was such a tense, emotional experience that I had to force myself to put it down for the night or else I'd never sleep.
As I boarded the school bus the next morning, I took off my backpack and searing pain shot through my back and neck. I had severely messed them up by playing propped-up on my elbows and being tense for so long! I thought to myself that any game that was so awesome that it made you physically hurt the next morning was worth finishing, and so I did. And the same for just about every survival horror game to come after it. I stayed off the bed for those, though!
I guess to explain why I love survival horror I'd have to explain what the genre really means to me. So it's time for another 90's flashback and yet another story involving my brothers. Our parents were out of town that weekend, and three of us watched shows we weren't allowed to watch on HBO and Cinemax. Keep in mind, there was a woods behind our house. By day the forest was any kids dream, we built giant forts with sprawling walls and zip lines, but at night, the forest terrified me, full of bats and strange noises. Just taking the garbage out the can by the shed I needed a flashlight.
On this night I kept hearing a tapping sound. My two brothers were whispering something to each other, I couldn't figure out what it was. "What's going on," I said. THey wouldn't answer, and before I knew it, they took off running. It was just at that second that the backdoor opened and a man wearing a mask and trench coat and carrying a machete came in. I realized I was about to die, had made my peace with it. I couldn't get away. The killer was in front of my between the door and the kitchen. I was doomed, but then he just stood there. I started to cry. The killer looked down through his mask at his feet. He felt ashamed. Then he took off the mask, it was my oldest brother.
I forgave him eventually, but horror and I were no closer friends for the experience. Even as an adult I found myself terrified of the genre. I couldn't go to slasher films, or thrillers, or anything of the sort... It would keep me up at nights locking the doors and continuously checking out the back windows to make sure no serial killers were out there. I wasn't until someone talked me into playing the resident evil series that things started to change. I was still terrified, ready to soil myself, but I had the tools. I had weapons and herbs, I could fight the horror. I'm proud to say I've conquered these fears to an extent. I don't get scared from movies anymore (except that part in the orphanage when she's knocking on the wall). No, the only thing left to scare me is survival horror video games which I now play voraciously. Don't get me wrong, I'm frightened every step of the way, but I need to subject myself to this fear, to overcome it. And next time Jason jumps out at me on that 8-bit path of terror, I'll be ready, and I'll be waiting.
I'm definitely still interested in the genre, even though I have only played a few games. The main reason I haven't played them a lot is because %70 is a lot for a game, and besides the Resident Evil seriesm, these kinds of game tend to be hard to locate. But Cursed Mountain looks interesting and maybe I'll get the chance to play another game in this great genre..
The basement was very much unfinished and was mostly used for storage. There was exposed wood beams for a ceiling, concrete walls and floors and plenty of boxes for things to hide behind. They did, however have a pretty nice corner setup with a few old couches, a throw rug, the obligatory coffee table with skull ashtray and incense burner that was the defacto standard for the mid 90s and a 27" television and stereo system. I remember watching the introduction to Resident Evil and knowing that it was going to be scary. The entirety of the situation was adding levels of anxiety, like an onion waiting to get me grounded. The voice acting was terrible and that made everything even more frightening, it was like the movies I would watch on Sunday's "Spine Tingling Theater" which played 2 b-horror movies back to back from some backwoods station in Connecticut (which is undoubtedly now a CW or something).
The stage was set for the most frightening moments of my life. As the youngest in a family of video game fans (including my parents) I have grown accustomed to and actually enjoy watching other people play through games. I would watch my mother and sister plough through levels of tetris on the NES, my brother get frustrated with Contra and the Legend of Zelda and now this - the ultimate game of horror and gore, a game about a Zombie infection gone horribly wrong, a game that was in my nightmares by just seeing the box art.
So the game goes in and I sat in a chair with holes in the fabric, gripping the foam that was protruding from the cover. The three of us worked together to solve the puzzles that were presented to us. As we drove deeper into the game, the basement started to take on a character all it's own. The growns of the hot water heater, the thumping of the heating system and furnace, creaking and settling of boxes. I was constant feeling drafts of cool air moving across my neck, making my hair stand on end, sinking deeper and deeper into the exposed foam chair. The wafting smell of blueberry and pot still give me the chills; when I smell it I'm back in that basement, getting scared of a corpse coming to life and grabbing the characters leg as they rummage through a room. The first time one of those zombie dogs bursted through the windows I think my sister and I jumped a mile. I screamed a little and turned around, maybe this would be the time that there was something behind me.
I would sneak downstairs every night after my parents went to bed, into a dingy basement until we finished the game. I had never been so satisfied and truly exhausted by the ending of a video game as I was with Resident Evil. I have been a fan of the genre ever since, but somehow they never get me like the scares of the original. The mood isn't right, I'm never in a place that feels like a zombie outbreak could occur. I'm older and more jaded towards frights. I have seen things that were real and more frightening, things that regular life throws at you, experiences you don't have to pay for. Like an addict searching for that first high, the one that was so great you swore you do it everyday for the rest of your life I keep playing horror games, but it never adds up to that first playing of Resident Evil.
My sister and that guy broke up, he moved out, I kept the Playstation but he took the TV. We used to play all sorts of games on that system, and eventually Resident Evil 2 came out my sister wanted to play through it. She started but we were upstairs now, in civilization, and eventually just stopped playing. Too many bad memories, not enough blueberry scented candle.
I don't think its the fact that the game is scary is what made me like it. I mean, hell, it is scary - I for one have never been so scared of fog in my life and still hesitate to go outside for my afternoon sandwich on foggier days - but it was the first game I ever played that was mature. And not mature as in blood, swearing, drugs and rape, but I mean a game where the plot is brilliantly written, the puzzles are cleverly designed, and the characters (or lack thereof, really) detailed development. It was the game that made me realise that video games could be just as influential as movies, and probably shaped my character not only as a gamer, but as a person too.
So, after writing all that, can I still win if I'm in Europe? Do you have PAL copies of the games?
A couple of years later, I manned up and played it again, finishing it. Then played other Silent Hill games and Resident evil and it just went on from there.
When I got home, I popped it in and went to town. "Holy shit!" I exclaimed. "This fucking sucks! The characters handle like cows in supermarket trolleys, and it's hard to aim. Where is the reticle? Where is the HUD? How much life do I have left why am I limping oh God look at that I died fuck you game!" I turned it off and didn't think about it again until the next evening, when I sat down dejectedly, refusing to be beaten by the game. I picked it up and fired it up, opting to create a new profile and give it another try. This time, I took a bit to familiarize myself with the controls, the inventory system, and the odd ways that the characters interacted, and went back into the train. This time, the experience was much more pleasant. The atmosphere seemed to weigh the room down, and with the lights off the scares became a bit more intense. The story, however camp, was enjoyable and spooky, and the puzzles were good. Not too complex, but not too easy, either. By the time the first train section was over, I was hooked. I kept the game two days over the due date to finish it, and I found it a truly rewarding experience. After that, I did my best to hunt down the rest of the re-released titles for the Gamecube, managing to find them all (except Code Veronica X), and honestly getting less and less interested with each passing game. The story didn't change, the puzzles didn't change much, and there was always something in the fridge. I didn't even complete Resident Evil 3 due to the fact that is was obscenely boring. Resident Evil 4 was a breath of fresh air to the genera, and a game I so truly enjoyed that I kept going back to it time and time again. I think I've beaten it about five times now, and every time is a fun new experience.
I've played other survival horror titles like Eternal Darkness, which is an under appreciated gem, but I just keep coming back to Resident Evil, trying to find that feeling that drew me into Resident Evil: Zero. I've not yet found it, but with every new survival horror game I play, I'm yearning for that.
A couple years later, I got into Silent Hill, ever since then, I have been afraid of static on radios and the dark when there is no sound at all. Basically, I am a masochist in a way since I play them all the time knowing I will crap my pants each time.
Then I got into Resident Evil 0 for the Cube and since then I've been hooked on the series and story, (until RE4 :( crushed it for me) anyway I've looked into every survival horror game since my discovery of the pure awesomeness that is Resident Evil and fake cake...wrong genre.
Haha; will I still be eligible if I do this in a blog post and link here?
I was actually watching my friend in Jersey playing Cursed Mountain via webcam yesterday, and I'm psyched to play it now. I find it funny (and awesome) that the Wii, the console marketed towards families, has become the console to own this generation if you want to play horror games.
I've found that no survival horror game has ever phased me after that. Not that I don't like them to the contrary I love them, It's just hard to be scared of something you've desensitized yourself to to the point of nonchalance. I've found that I'm getting frustrated with the genre, more and more I find that developers are in a mindset stating that bad controls make a game scary. They don't, they make it frustrating. I've found that survival horror games have become stale, relying on one broken mechanic to evoke fear in the player while leaving everything else by the wayside.
Hopeful Cursed Mountain proves me wrong.
My childhood was filled with horror media. My mom was a sucker for the SciFi horror movies where there was a ton blood, and giant monsters, and all sorts of disturbing gross-out stupidity. That was horror. It was giant crocodiles fighting inept space marines. A horror themed game would then imply that the game had scary looking monsters and lots of violence, maybe like Mortal Kombat or Doom.
When I put the mysterious game into the cold grey disc drive it was nothing like I expected horror to be. After this haunting opening song I was dumped into the middle of a foggy town, alone, without much of an idea of what to do other than "find my daughter." So I looked for her. Then I came to the blood splattered walk way. But there were no monsters. Then I came to the back alley. But there were no monsters. Yet the further I moved the more sure I was that the monsters were going to appear. But there were no monsters. And if there were monsters what was I going to do about it?
In Doom you fight the swarms of demon aliens with lots and lots of weapons and ammo. In Mario you fight goombas by jumping on their heads. Almost...actually every game I played up until this point I had a clear and obvious way to fight off baddies. But now, here I was without a clear way to fight off anything, no instructions on how to do it, and for some reason, like all those stupid people in those stupid horror movies I kept walking down that ally, knowing whatever was down there was going to rip me to shreds.
"That's strange. It's getting darker."
Ever since then, I've been playing scary games in the name of G.
I was about 9 years old and I received it as a birthday gift from my uncle. I didn't have a computer at the time and was only able to play it at his house. The computer was located in his office, which for some reason (either attributed to some architect's dubious floor plan or some Feng shui miscalculation) was in a damp, unfinished room past the boiler room in the basement. After booting the game up and reading the instructions and intro sequence, I began to play. After about 5 minutes, in the third room or so of the mansion, was I confronted by a Frankenstein-ish monster. After taking a couple of steps in it started to walk towards me. I freaked out and walked back into the previous room. After several similar freak outs, I flat out refused to learn what he was going to do to me, and I stopped playing altogether, then or ever. I was addicted ever since.
I didn't pay much attention to Resident Evil as I was fascinated by the other game, but one week or so later, me and my family go at our holiday home, near a lake. It's exactly the kind you see in movies: there's a big lake and almost no neighbours around. Being so happy about my new toy, I decided to bring it with me. First thing I did when I got there was to hook the console to the TV.
I went fishing with my dad, and when I came home it was already dark, so what better thing to do than play my beloved console? I just pressed the button to start it when I thought "I should try that other game too, the case looks pretty cool", oh how I regretted that decision later. I pop in the disc and begin to play the game, I can say I didn't like it very much but then it happened: "OMG, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT" and I procedeed to turn off the TV and I ran downstairs, my parents had to go up and turn off the console.
That night, I slept only 1 or 2 hours, every time I closed my eyes I saw that damned zombie. Had nightmares for two straight weeks, and sweared I wouldn't touch that game again. But when I turned 11, I grew the balls to pop it back in and I actually enjoyed it. Now I can play Dead Space, Bioshock alone at night with my headphones on and not get scared, but back then, that zombie scarred me mentally.
My first excursion into the horror genre was the Dreamcast game "Carrier". I bought it on a whim because of that tag line and soon I was aboard an aircraft carrier where it was hard to tell who or what would attack me. Some of the people were "infected" or carriers (a double reference in the game name)... they looked normal, until they suddenly attacked you. Others were just horrifically creepy and already mutating. I could almost smell the decay! I found the special goggles that put me into first person view and allowed me to better look around... to see who might be infected, and who might be a surviving crew member in need of help, but even with the ability to stop and use the goggles, I was often surprised!
I remember that the game seemed really long, and that I got to play as two different characters (both a male and female member of the rescue team). The plot was intriguing and the controls were easy to learn... but of course what set this game apart from previous games was the atmosphere. The mutated crew members were truly creepy and horrifying. Their attacks often literally made me jump and squeal like a schoolgirl. The dark hallways and small rooms of the aircraft carrier seemed claustrophobic and when playing at home alone, I always had to get up and lock the doors.
It was the fun of this game that led me to D2, Blue Stinger, Dino Crisis and of course the Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark games. I think that this game could also be the current cause of my love for shooter games... because when playing Carrier, every time something jumped out at me all I could think of was "Kill it! Kill it! Kill it! Kill it fast!! OMG, it's gonna get me... KILL IT!".
i wandered 6 months till i got out of the mansion,
then i killed that plant like i was charles manson.
when i came back in using the back door
a hunter appeared and put my head on the floor.
a lunging swipe, its claws were fine,
i wasn't ready and only had a nine.
that milli when pop pop pop,
didn't matter my head still dropped.
heart racing like i just did a drug,
adrenaline filled and i need a hug.
the game over screen is wondering to continue,
it sat there for 3 weeks waiting it on my due.
i'm actually scared to play this game,
need to beat it just to claim,
i survived this wicked nightmare.
hope y'all like. tried to boil down exactly how it left me.
If my mom had only known what I was playing, I'm sure she would have taken my Playstation away. This game was more intense than any game I owned at the time. From the cheesy, B-porno-quality live-action opening cut-scene to the pixelated blood puddles that seeped out of the bodies, I had never seen anything like it. I never made it very far into the game. I probably replayed the first hour of the game thirty times before bringing it back to Ted. Then I borrowed "D". I guess I should probably be embarrassed to say this, but I didn't actually beat Resident Evil until the remake came out on DS.
My father always got a kick out of my attempt at being mature. He had a thought about wondering what would happen if he answered my pleas. After waiting a few more weeks, he comes home with a game in his hand.
Resident Evil. The Director's Cut edition no less.
He gives me the game, already unwrapped no less. I could tell he wanted to see how I would react to this game. Without a second thought, I place the game inside and proceed to start it up. After one really corny opening scene and further examination of the mansion, I come across that scene. You know, that scene where it shows the zombie eating a dude, and he slowly turns his head, with the rotting flesh and all?
That scene is forever burned into my head.
My father asks if I had enough. I reply with a no and press on forward. I'm already tense at this point, I couldn't stop thinking about that damn face. I then come across that other room. Silence fills the hallway, everything seems in place, and my father is just sitting a few inches behind me. It was like he already knows what's going to happen. Not even ten steps into the room, and the window crashes. I drop my controller and couldn't even react as the dog started eating away at my face.
My father laughs his ass off. I know he meant it with a good heart and all, but at the time, I knew he was doing it to dick around with me. I never touched that game again for almost a year. During my hiatus from it, my older brother would play it all the time. He would play it unphased, every spook scene that occured didn't even make him lost focus. Well, he did during that part when the Tyrant breaks out of his tube and starts walking toward you. Besides that, nothing even phased him.
At that time, I started getting hooked on the horror genre because I looked forward to trying to be better than my older brother. As I played through the game, I became more interested in figuring out the puzzles than trying to be the more superior brother. I eventually grew hooked on shooting zombies and taking out bosses. Even the plot, which isn't really that good, was something that I took good fun in.
So I became interested in the horror genre since then. But thanks to that experience, I'll always be seeing that slowly-turning face in every horror game I play.
Silent Hill, when you are 9 years old.
Yep. I think you can figure out that when I found out that the game was that terrifying, I kind of struggled to play it.
But the satisfaction of finishing it, oh wow. Just to know that "holy shit, that was terrifying... but I did it" was overwhelming. And to a degree it still is. Unfortunately more and more games seem to be becoming more action that horror oriented, so I'm eagerly awaiting the next survival horror that blows my socks off.
Oh, and I kinda went over one sentence. Oops.
I don't get scared by books, TV, or movie horror. So I went into this expecting to be as unimpressed. But the monsters, the darkness, the fog, the mind-bending confusion of just not knowing where to go and what these scribbles on my map mean all started to get to me.
And then there was the school, that freaking school. Midwich Elementary. It wasn't enough that the school was dark, and tight, and spooky. It wasn't enough that there were frigging transparent baby ghost-things walking through my ankles in the classrooms. No, it had to put me in a locker room, and it had to have noise coming from the inside of one of the lockers.
Now I know I don't want to see what's in that locker. It's horrid and scary, right? It must be. But I also know how to play a videogame, so I have to take what's handed to me. So I muster up all my resolve and open the locker... and a freaking cat runs out. Woo. But then the school has to go and turn all rusty and bloody and filled with even more horrible things, and I come back to the locker room. And the locker is banging. Again.
Well, it wasn't so bad before, right? It was just a cat. So with somewhat less apprehension, I open the locker... and yelp when it's nothing but blood, gore, and a horrific wail that sounds like that some cat was just put through a grinder.
That was a decade ago, but recounting the story STILL gives me chills.