Fright Week: Favorite Scares in Gaming

Written by: Adam "ManKorn" Korenman, CC2K Video Games Editor

The streets are dark as pitch as you scramble out of the alley, shivering uncontrollably from the icy wind. Your flashlight sweeps a nearby intersection finding only a pair of mangled cars, their occupants long gone. Frost grows over the twisted metal and shattered glass. As you aprpoach the vehicles you notice an unnusual set of prints in the thin layer of snow covering the ground. You kneel down, blowing into your hands in a futile attempt at generating heat. Moments after you begin analyzing the tracks, you hear the sound.

A deep intake of air. A rumbling growl. The scrape of massive claws on frozen asphalt. You’re paralyzed, your hands shaking from fear rather than cold. In the fogged out mirror of the nearby car, you can just make out the signs of movement coming from behind. Something large. Something dark.

Something…not human.

It’s Halloween! Time to turn down the lights, turn on a scary movie, and cram every available nook and cranny in your mouth full of candy. Or maybe you’re one of them social types that seeks out parties with “booze” and “romance” and “human interaction.” In that case, throw on the skimpiest outfit the weather allows and get your groove on. My recommendation? A blue bikini and a little Ceran wrap transforms you into a bag of “Sexy Meth” from Breaking Bad. Or, for the gentlemen out there, grab a hammer and a banana hammock for your very own Thor cosplay.

If you’re like me, though, Halloween holds another tradition. No, it’s not watching Hocus Pocus for the umpteenth time (though that is very much on the schedule, and don’t you forget it). It’s pulling out a classic horror game and scaring the bejeezus out of myself for a few hours until the sugar crash drags me to Hell.

So, in honor of our most hallowed of weens, let’s take a look at some of my favorite scares in gaming.