PC, Xbox, PS2<\/em><\/p>\n
Seriously, not enough games are based on Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, which is a shame. Like Amnesia, sanity has a role to play and, once again, like Amnesia, hallucinations occur. In Dark Corners of the Earth, committing suicide is a byproduct of losing too much sanity.<\/p>\n
The game has no onscreen indicators; a gameplay device which increases the immersion factor and sense of urgency. That sense of urgency is heightened with some fantastic chase scenes, which involve having to bar and barricade doors, all within split seconds of some nasties busting through.<\/p>\n
Certainly worth a try if you can track it down.<\/p>\n
Amnesia: The Dark Decent<\/strong> Created by the same people who created the Penumbra series, Frictional Games’ latest foray into the horror genre is a masterpiece.<\/p>\n Using a first-person view, Amnesia’s gameplay revolves largely around puzzle solving, and players are given no defense against the creatures that lurk about the castle. Instead, players have to turn tail, run and hide. This leads to some unbelievably tense moments as you cower and hope not to be discovered.<\/p>\n Usage of a sanity bar is brought into play, whereby witnessing horrific events, lingering in the darkness for too long or fleeing for one’s life will deplete their sanity. This causes visual and auditory hallucinations, which make the player that much more susceptible to the monstrosities lurking the castle.<\/p>\n A great game from one hell of a promising indie developer, grab Amnesia now now and support them and their future endeavors!<\/p>\n Clive Barker’s Undying<\/strong> A FPS horror from the mind of Clive Barker where. Unlike Clive Barker’s Jericho, Undying was fantastic!<\/p>\n Set in 1923 you play as Patrick Galloway who is called to Ireland by a close friend whose family, it seems, is cursed. Soon after arriving, Patrick encounters his friend’s dead siblings who have now become pure evil, and it is your job to destroy them and discover the truth about the family.<\/p>\n It looks like this one will be hard to track down, but worth a play if you can get your claws on it.<\/p>\n Condemned Series<\/strong> In Condemned, you play as Ethan Thomas, a Serial Crime Unit Investigator framed for murder. Finding himself trapped in condemned sections of a fictional American city, Ethan is hunting for a serial killer, while at the same time being hunted himself. To add to the tension, people in the city are being affected by a strange phenomenon which turns them into bloodthirsty psychotics.<\/p>\n Condemned is a FPS defined by amazing melee brawling elements. Firearms are rare, but when found they are truly deadly. Combat is visceral and frantic, using elements from your environment to kill, as well as pipes and, well, anything you can get your hands on to crush your enemies.<\/p>\n There is also a crime scene investigation element, where you must usw an array of forensic tools to solve puzzles and move the story forward.<\/p>\n A sequel was released in 2008 which shares similar elements to the first. You can pick them up cheap if you track them down – highly recomended.<\/p>\n Dead Space Series<\/strong> You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer, who finds himself on a seemingly derelict mining ship. Soon after, things get out of hand as creatures known as Necromorphs attack the “seemingly” defenseless Isaac. Luckily, Isaac carries tools of his trade, and they offer more than enough bang to dismember these grotesque creatures.<\/p>\n The game is played in third-person, and use of a non-traditional HUD was implemented. Information such as health, oxygen and ammo could all be seen either on the suite, or are holographic displays from the suite.<\/p>\n Incredible use of lightning is implemented, and creates an ever-growing sense of dread as shadows stir until frantic Necromorphs appear rushing towards you. Players also spend time in zero-gravity, solving puzzles, and often fending off attacks, making for interesting and oddly silent \/ muted combat.<\/p>\n Dead Space 2 should be out here by the time you read this and, as far as the reviews go, they are stellar! Eternal Darkness is pretty unique for its time, and likely one of the first games to use sanity as a mechanic. Set around a mansion in 2000AD, you initially control Alexandra, who is in search of clues relating to her grandfather’s death. Upon finding The Tome of Eternal Darkness, everything changes. From then on you get to control characters in the past, switching back to Alexandra with new revelations.<\/p>\n Sanity makes its presence felt, depleting under certain circumstances. Some of the strange effects include errors appearing on your television set, which include the false sense of your television’s sound being lowered. There are a vast number of effects, some of which you may not even encounter on one play-through! Crazy!<\/p>\n F.E.A.R. Series<\/strong> F.E.A.R. has seen two games and two expansions in its franchise. The third game will be released later this year. <\/p>\n Being a FPS horror title, F.E.A.R. is a mixed bag. On one hand you have serious balls-out gun fights, interspersed with creepy horror segments.<\/p>\n Anyone who has seen The Ring will automatically see the similarities between Alma (the driving evil behind the games), and the girl from The Ring. <\/p>\n Gameplay involves the overly popular mechanic, “slow-mo \/ reflex-time”, slowing the world to a crawl, enabling the player to pull off superhuman moves, lathering lead into all that oppose you.<\/p>\n The games revolve around Alma and her children. Alma is some kind of supernatural being who was experimented on and escaped. Her past is slowly revealed throughout the games, and your links to her. When first encountered, she is a child with long black hair covering most of her face but, later in the series, she is seen as an emancipated young woman. <\/p>\n Fatal Frame Series<\/strong> The Fatal Frame series is a pretty odd experience. Instead of the usual defenses, such as guns, steel-pipes or any normal weaponry, you are instead given just a camera. Using the camera, you take photos of the paranormal entities which, more often than not, are hostile.<\/p>\n The games mainly feature female protagonists and focus around exorcism and Japanese paranormal. The games offer a truly different feel in that you, besides your trusty camera, are defenseless. Some of the moments in these games are truly horrific and hectic, to say the least. If you are looking for something a little different, and are into Japanese culture, then this might be a good series to look into.<\/p>\n Resident Evil Series<\/strong> Ah… Resident Evil! Such an iconic and large series – where to start? Well, sadly I cannot include some of the older titles, but I will include the fourth installment which changed the series fundamentally.<\/p>\n Initially, the series was less about killing and more about surviving. Once Resident Evil 4 came out on the GameCube, things changed radically. In Resident Evil 4, you are given a sizeable amount of ammunition, and have many munitions to choose from. This was when Resident Evil became an action-horror, similar to Dead Space, rather than the survival-horror it once was. This went down well with most critics and fans at the time, but it certainly had its detractors.<\/p>\n Not delving too much into the overly complex story, you basically have a corporation (Umbrella) who develop a super virus: the T-Virus. Over time, evermore curious ways are found to utilize the virus, creating all kinds of monstrosities in the process. Powerful characters rise, fall, and sometimes even rise again. Some protagonists die and others live to see another outbreak again.<\/p>\n Some other notable releases were seen in the series on the GameCube and Wii, such as remakes of the older titles.<\/p>\n Overall, a fantastic series which I believe will stick with us for a long time.<\/p>\n Silent Hill Series<\/strong> Like Resident Evil, Silent Hill is yet another example of a long-running iconic series. Whilst Resident Evil offers a more “in your face” experience, the Silent Hill brand is a more subtle and sublime psychological horror affair.<\/p>\n Quite a few iterations have seen the light of day over the past decade. Notably Silent Hill 2, which is considered by many to be the best in the series. Most of the games centre around or are linked to its namesake; a mysterious town called Silent Hill.<\/p>\n Originally home to a Native American tribe who used the land for rituals, Silent Hill was then taken over by America settlers and over the years it played host to a variety of bizarre and macabre events. The town was abandoned and re-established many times over the years just to see the same chilling patterns reemerge.<\/p>\n In the games, you get to experience the town in different forms or layers; the first being the quiet town wrapped in the now iconic dense layer of fog. The other layers are hellish, filled with demented imagery and overrun with demonic creatures lurking in the darkness.<\/p>\n The series is overflowing with atmosphere and mysteries. The use of sound and, often great imagery, makes the experience that much more compelling as you explore the locales linked to Silent Hill.<\/p>\n If you like your horror to creep up on you and get under your skin, then Silent Hill may be a good place to take a vacation – just don’t expect much sleep.<\/p>\n
PC <\/em><\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Amnesia_739534776.jpg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Amnesia_739534776.jpg&size=article_large\")
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PC<\/em><\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Clive_Barker__s_Undying_273856784.jpg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Clive_Barker__s_Undying_273856784.jpg&size=article_large\")
Being a FPS, the gameplay is a pretty standard shooter affair with a good amount of action. One is able to use an assortment of weaponry and magic simultaneously. Most puzzles required the use of certain spells in order to be solved. <\/p>\n
PC, 360, PS3<\/em><\/p>\n
PC, 360, PS3, Wii
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Dead Space was a fantastic game, excelling at creating an atmosphere of dread in the cold, dark reaches of space.<\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Dead_Space_222660961.jpg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Dead_Space_222660961.jpg&size=article_large\")
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Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem<\/strong>
GameCube<\/em><\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Eternal_Darkness_304033172.jpg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Eternal_Darkness_304033172.jpg&size=article_large\")
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PC, 360, PS3<\/em><\/p>\n
PS2, Xbox <\/em><\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Fatal_Frame_450247044.jpg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Fatal_Frame_450247044.jpg&size=article_large\")
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PC, PS2, GC, 360, PS3, Wii <\/em><\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Resident_Evil_814109580.jpeg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Resident_Evil_814109580.jpeg&size=article_large\")
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PC, PS, PS2, Xbox, PSP, 360, PS3, Wii<\/em><\/p>\n![\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/thumbnail.php?file=Silent_Hill_529666199.jpg&size=article_large\"](\"thumbnail.php?file=Silent_Hill_529666199.jpg&size=article_large\")
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