Suggestion Tiem

[RayFoxSith]

Okay, so lately I've been wanting to get the crap scared out of me. Problem is, I'm kinda not sure what to play. I'm kind of wanting to replay Dead Space again, but I want to also play something new. I was thinking of the Fatal Frame games or Siren on the PSN. What do you guys think?

[Fuyukaze]

Avoid Siren. It could have been scary but with the story broke up into missions, it gets annoying and it just ruins the scare. Fatal Frame 1 and 2 are much better at scaring. I hear 3 wasnt that scary though.

[Camanche]

What kind of scary? Creepy or gorey? The new Silent Hill isn't bad but it gets tough in some parts, so it had a hard time holding my attention.

[Futomimi]

I read that as "Lately I've been wanting to get the crap beat out of me." ?????

[RayFoxSith]

^LOL, Mimi.

Also, just scored the first Fatal Frame. Gonna get the second one soon, but all my money's going to RE5 and the new Suikoden. >.>

[DamnedToBeFree]

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/DamnedToBeFree/6fc6450822b4914bd738bb76870e45d5-Fr.jpg

;)

[Foryth]

^LOL, I tried and tried, but I completely sucked at that game as a kid.

[RayFoxSith]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwww.

[massaker]

Manhunt. Maybe not so much scary as freaky and horrific...

I find Silent Hill games scare the crap out of me, I have trouble playing them.

[SickleCellAnemia]

I second Fatal Frame, especially 2.

And didja play Theresia Ray?

[Ike.]

Bioshock scared me, but I kind of suck.

Haunting Ground (PS2) is scary if only because it's about the only horror game I've ever played where you are utterly unable to fight back.

[Sei]

Fatal Frame is great. I liked Siren too. You can play the missions at different times and their content changes which made it pretty interesting for me.

Clock tower too maybe, not 3 though.

[ViolenceJack]

Obscure's another Survival Horror I've seen around, never played it though.

There's also Kouldelka for the PSX.

[Kakizaki]

^Koudelka is starting to rise in price. I've always been kind of mad at myself for not snagging it new and cheap.

[DamageCity]

Haunting Ground (PS2) is scary if only because it's about the only horror game I've ever played where you are utterly unable to fight back.

great game!

[RayFoxSith]

And didja play Theresia Ray?

I was wondering about that game. Is it scary?

[Ike.]

And didja play Theresia Ray?

I was wondering about that game. Is it scary?

I posted this big silly review on Arlus back when it came out:

I just got to the second chapter in it (the chapters are long; the first one took me 4 hours) and I'm enjoying the hell out of it so far, but it's definitely not for everyone. If you're the kind of person who really enjoys games like Shadowgate, Deja Vu, and Uninvited, you'd probably enjoy this game. It's definitely difficult. There are portions of the game where I had to resort to spamming the in-game hint dispenser in every accessible room to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do. Thankfully(?) most of the hints are pretty vague and don't hand-feed you the answer.

The game's really more creepy than scary. The main character describes the gore in unsettling detail. The music, where there is music, is a little repetitive but definitely good and atmospheric (as it should be.) It mostly consists of low, pulsing reverb.

Graphically it's not terribly impressive. When you're moving between rooms you pass through some grainy 3-dimensional hallways that boil down to basically passing the same textures over and over again a la a 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon scrolling background. The rooms themselves are fairly well rendered and I've only had a few instances where something was unintentionally difficult to make out. There are also a few very brief cutscenes with hand-drawn artwork that ranges from mediocre to great, but not ugly.

As for actual gameplay, nearly everything is trapped, including such mundane objects as boxes and chairs. The character remarks several times that the traps seem to have been placed intentionally and I've found it helps to keep that in mind while you're playing. There's also no shortage of healing items. Twice now I've found more healing items than I can carry and have had to use some just to take what I've found.

The control scheme is pretty basic. Your actions are limited to Examine, Use/Take/Touch and Use Item On Self, all controlled by either the touch screen or the D-pad and buttons, whichever you prefer, although the game is obviously intended to be played with the stylus.

Storywise, it's pretty standard. Amnesiac main character wakes up and doesn't know where she is and slowly regains her memory. Story sections are dispensed whenever you find a diary entry (again, standard) in the form of vague, brief flashbacks. Evidently there's another offshoot of the main story ("Dear Emile" and "Dear Martel" respectively) that can only be accessed after you've beaten the main story. I'm guessing it takes place in the same facility but I know nothing about it.

The story seems to take place in modern times but still seems to maintain a gothic-style horror since the MC is constantly surrounded by an oppressive sense of despair since literally everything is out to get you. I racked up about 40 minutes when I first bought it, and in that time I had been stabbed with a needle, grazed by flying knives, trapped in a claustrophobically small room, electrocuted, burned and shot with an arrow.

All in all if you're a fan of these sort of games then definitely look into it. I predict it will probably end up being one of those rare gems that doesn't get noticed until years later.

Edit: This game is also unique in that as the story is progressing I'm getting the feeling more and more that I really don't want to know the main character's true nature (and neither does she, for that matter.) You'll know what I mean if you play it.

I've beaten it by now, of course. I haven't actually played Dear Martel (which is a whole second game unto itself!) yet, so I won't remark on it, but I was decently satisfied by the disturbing main story's conclusion. It's a very obscure title, definitely Japanese.