420°

Five major horror games that fail to horrify

Much the same principle that separates real stand-up comics from despairing, clutching attention-seekers applies to the difference between good and bad survival horror games. You can have all the right lines, but if you don't lead the crowd and pick your moments you'll be deafened by silence. Case in point: Xbox Live Arcade release Amy, a cavalcade of poorly paced homages to older peers, contriving to deliver a vaguely foreboding atmosphere which never ignites into terror.

dirigiblebill4476d ago

Roll on Condemned 3. Can't believe they've left that hanging so long.

FunkMacNasty4476d ago

YES YES YES!!!!! Condemned: Criminal Origins was fantastic, but Condemned 2 blew it out of the water! Definitley some truly scary jump-out-of-your-seat moments in there all presented in that overall dark and hopeless vibe.

I actually pulled Condemned 2 off my shelf a few weeks back to revisit it. It's still fun as hell (smashing someones face with a bowling ball never gets old), and the one thing that I feel like this game never got its dues for was its graphics. For a game that came out in early '08 the textures, lighting, and frame rate look amazing.

I remember condemned 2 getting decent review scores, but when I talk to most gamers, it just seems like nobody's played it. It's a shame because I think it ticks off all the boxes of what to look for in a game: great gameplay, graphics, characters, and an intriguing story

saladthieves4476d ago

Couldn't agree more with you FunkMacNasty. I know of very few people who've actually played Condemned 1 and 2. Not to say much, these are brilliant games, and they do offer up the challenge too.

I had actually started to replay them a couple of months ago, but I think I should continue them. Fantastic games, I would say.

Kurt Russell4475d ago

I loved the 1st one but couldn't stand the 2nd one at all. I much preferred clubbing the gritty druggies in the face than the slime monsters of condemned 2. I don't think I saw the 2nd to the end. which is a very rare thing for me.

wolfofashes4475d ago (Edited 4475d ago )

Manhunt was awesome! But everyone should checkI both Nanashi No Game series for the DS and Ikenie no Yoru for the Wii,those games made me feel totally helpless and terrified.Dementium is awesome too btw.

Baka-akaB4476d ago

The inclusion of Dead Space in the list seems rather arbitrary , instead of truly having an argument behind it .

And please you're doing a general segment about horror games yet pretty much forget some titles and instead include fps games ? Remember fatal frame on wii ? Siren on psn ?

Zashule4476d ago

<b>Xbox360</b> Feature: Five major horror games that fail to horrify
but <b>Xbox 360's</b> recent crop of so-called chillers leave much to be desired.

Not quite a general segment, but rather a segment on 360 horror games.

saladthieves4476d ago

I've never found Dead Space scary, especially the first one. There's something important in horror games that Visceral Games got wrong - the element of surprise.

A necromorph would appear say in a wall 10-20 feet ahead of you. The music plays at the same time but you have enough time to shoot the damn guy down. Most of the game is almost like that, except for the very last nasty moment where Nicole surprises you in the space ship.

Some games have scary elements, things just completely unanticipated to the player. There's a section in BioShock 1 where you go down to a table in a corner (the room is flooded) to collect a power tonic.

The moment you collect it, you turn around and out of nowhere, literally an inch behind you a splicer is standing there staring at you, and your first reaction is HOLY SH*T followed by you killing him.

InLaLaLand4476d ago

Dead Space just makes you jump, the monsters were pretty ugly and sick, which the game does a good job of doing. It wasn't psychologically scary as many make it out to be.

Bimkoblerutso4475d ago

^ Yeah, people have come to associate the horror genre almost exclusively with scares, which I think is pretty much beside the point.

Dead Space doesn't really provide any kind of psychological horror, but it DOES conjure up some incredibly gruesome and horrific imagery.

LightofDarkness4476d ago (Edited 4476d ago )

I'm going to to have to say that I've never played a "scary" game. I've played the first 3 Resident Evil games (and C:V) as well as the 2 Dead Space games. But they aren't scary. They have suspense and they can make you jump every now and then, but that's not horror. That's tension/suspense.

Horror needs that "OMG that is so awful" feeling, a constant dread and foreboding. Compare a true horror classic, The Exorcist, to something like Resident Evil/Dead Space. The Exorcist doesn't even have any big "jump" scares, but it is a pretty damn scary movie. It has a constant feeling of dread, it horrifies you at every given opportunity and the film is just dark and nasty. Even by today's standards it mops the floor with the supposed "horror" we are given by Hollywood.

That kind of horror is difficult to achieve in a game, because you have to make the situation very human. What makes something like Th Exorcist so horrifying is the defiling and perversion of the most innocent of us into a ghoulish, hate-filled creature with supernatural origins. There's a feeling of forces you can't quite comprehend just f***ing with people just because they hate everything. It's the human element that makes it scary, but games have a hard time making us believe their characters are real.

Before we can have genuine horror, we need genuine characters that we can relate to. Then we need to do horrifying things to them or put them in horrifying situations. Then we can be scared ;)

Saladfax4476d ago

There's also a pretty strong reliance on elements of the grotesque to shock the audience; extreme violence, dismemberment, that sort of thing.

It's funny, because it's actually a pretty similar thing to startling people with a jump sequence.

STONEY44476d ago (Edited 4476d ago )

I agree on Dead Space and Resident Evil not being scary. Try the first four Silent Hill games (especially 2 and 3). They're extremely disturbing, no matter how many times you've played them.

Silent Hill particularly never relies on jump scares, and the static makes it very clear that a monster is nearby. But, the atmosphere is extremely strong, and the monster designs are probably the most disgusting things you'll ever see. It's horror comes from the demented and twisted environments, not from cheap jump
scares or fast enemies.

Siren is also very similar to Silent Hill (developers from Team Silent worked on Siren).

Fylus4475d ago

LightofDarkness, you need to play Amnesia: The Dark Descent ;)

Now THAT'S a scary game.

Pikajew4476d ago

Games are never scary because when a thing pops out at you, you expect it and you can defend yourself. But games like Amnesia: The Dark Decent are scary because there is no way to defend your self.

kramun4476d ago

You make a good point. Call of Cthulhu was another game that was scary because most of the time all you could do was run or hide, although you did get firepower a lot more towards the end. There's a lot of scares to be had when you're defenseless.

The Siren games benefited from restricting the player from just being able to kill everything.

Game developers should learn a few lessons from those games. Less is more sometimes.

_LarZen_4476d ago

Wel Dead Space scared the hell out of me....

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200°

EA Japan Exec Criticises Japanese Ratings Board

An executive of Electronic Arts Japan has criticised the Japanese video game ratings board for allowing upcoming action game Stellar Blade to be released uncensored while EA's own Dead Space was banned in the country.

CrimsonWing695d ago

He’s got a point. If a game is M-Rated, which is the equivalent of an R rating, I don’t get why you need to censor anything. The rating is the indicator of the content and the age appropriate. If it’s appropriate for adults… why treat them like children? 🤷‍♂️

Eonjay5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

This is about gore... not about anything sexual. And specifically I think it is about the realistic depiction of gore. Unfortunately I don't know the nuance of the CERO board or how it is relevant their specific culture (as a prohibition on gore may transcend age) so I hesitate to make a statement. Can anyone else provide insight to what kind of gore is considered unacceptable?

CrimsonWing695d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Yea, I know this is about gore, but thanks for pointing that out.

My point still stands, if a game is essentially rated for a mature audience then why censor for them as if they’re too young to view it? Makes no sense.

To answer your question: Decapitation, dismemberment, like… anything gore. They have been censoring that since CERO was established. Look up RE4 chainsaw decapitation or any MK games that made it there.

Cacabunga4d ago

EA Japan? Wtf never heard of that

ZwVw4d ago

Yet, the Oneechanbara series (y'know, the game with half-naked samurai females slicing up zombies to bloody pieces) get released in Japan uncensored.

The CERO ratings board is an equilibrium.

Smellsforfree4d ago

This confuses me since I've seen so many gory Japanese movies and anime. For example, Battle Royale.

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gold_drake4d ago

definitely has a point.

but .. its japan. are we really surprised?

VersusDMC4d ago

I don't know if the EA executive is going off the one close up of an arm being cut off in the demo. Maybe it's uncensored because it's the arm of a cyborg or it doesn't happen that often (didn’t see EVE dismemberment when killed in the demo) .

In the states there's a certain amount of swear words allowed to a PG13 movie before it is deemed R. So maybe it's the same in Japan for gore?

Eonjay4d ago

Yes I think you may be on to something. The violence is gory but I wouldn't call it gruesome.

Retroman4d ago

Ea Japan please make Knack 3
in the future

Eonjay4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Does EA Japan actually make games at all? Or are they just a regional publisher?

Retroman4d ago

I'm sorry Japan Studio made Knack

370°

One Year Later, What Was The Point Of The Dead Space Remake

The remake teased an expanded universe, but now a sequel has no chance of delivering on it.

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
isarai12d ago

Honestly i believe it was mainly as retaliation for the original devs breaking off and making colisto protocol. They've done this a few times, ignoring fan demands for the return of a belived ip until someone does it for them, then they retaliate by only then announcing an entry. Colisto protocol was announced and EA announced the remake shortly after, Session finally hit consoles and skate 4 was announced, shortly after Undisputed was shown off, talks started happening about a new fight night.

ZeekQuattro11d ago

I agree. Reminds me of when Inafune announced Mighty No.9 and the initial reaction of the game industry was that of celebration and suddenly Capcom said ohh shit we need to announce Mega Man 11. 😆 Still waiting for MM12 & the next X title.

isarai11d ago

Exactly, it's BS that pettiness has more power than demand for some reason.

Cacabunga11d ago

i liked the remake as much as the original.. it has so many improvements, the most noticeable to me was the seemless transition between levels which should be a must and a standard nowadays.
I cannot wait for the sequel's remake too.

Tacoboto11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

That's a very farfetched conspiracy.

Callisto Protocol was announced in February 2021 and Dead Space in July. They didn't just decide in March 2021 to "retaliate" by remaking from scratch Dead Space in under a two year timespan.

If anything, Callisto is the result of a has-been Creative Director whose only inspiration is his previous work, and EA took inspiration long before Callisto was known about from the insane success of the RE Remakes and endless calls at the time for the RE4 Remake.

0hMyGandhi10d ago

So, how do you like working at EA?

shadowhaxor10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

And yet,fans of Dead Space, myself included, have been asking EA to bring back Dead Space for a better part of a decade. To which EA refused, stating that it was done with the series. Specifically after Dead Space 3 failed to meet EA's sale goals (sound familiar?) But magically, after they caught wind of The Callisto Protocol, with Glen at the helm, Dead Space remake was greenlit.

For those not counting, The Callisto Protocol call was announced in 2019, while Dead Space remake was announced in 2021. Long before TCP was announced?

badboyz0910d ago

100% that's the way EA operates

Extermin8or3_10d ago

You know how long it will have taken to make this game, this is some rediciulous logic.

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Tacoboto12d ago

It was a solid game and we'll have to move on and accept it for what it is. Just because we're not getting a sequel (original or remake) doesn't mean there's no point anymore in what is a great, tense, well-paced single player experience. No one's taking Dead Space Remake away.

I just hope that the game isn't so technically stitched together on PC that driver updates render the game unplayable like what happened with me and my RTX 4070 last year, requiring a driver downgrade just months after the game came out. If you're a console player then you've got no worries.

TheProfessional11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Yeah but it was a pointless remake since the original still looks pretty good. They should've done a sequel, something original or Dante's Inferno 2.

Way too many remakes now. Even resident evil 4 had already been remastered twice before the most recent one. No originality. Why not just hire the original team to make a new game instead?

Harkins172110d ago

For the hopes to get a new generation of people into the game. OG still looks good but it stopped selling long ago. So I get why they do remakes.

Knightofelemia11d ago

Most likely for EA to cash in on the remake craze that followed Capcom when they started remaking RE games. I am glad EA did it I enjoy the game. DS is one of my favorite franchises love the sci fi horror shit. What I don't like is EA not remaking DS2. So DS1 remake did not do well with the numbers so what. DS2 has a solid fanbase and is probably the best entry in the franchise depending on the fan. DS2 remake would have been a day one for me but I got a reminder on why I hate EA. Scrap the DS2 remake for a shitty Iron Man game.

chicken_in_the_corn11d ago

It's because the gaming community want remakes and remasters over new games.

mandf11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Thank you for recognizing that. One group always complains over remasters or remakes.gamers want them and they sell. To the once’s that complain your console has no games to do again. If you did ,they would remake them.

Crows9011d ago

Or maybe we can tell most of these devs can't deliver good new IP for some reason.

isarai11d ago

When it's hard to find a modern game that isn't broken, incomplete and monetized to hell, remakes are a sure bet for having a complete experience as older games weren't plagued with those issues

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Fonsecap11d ago

I think that is for the best of the franchise o be left alone then to be turned into a game as a service or something like that, EA has the awful habit of trying to monetize everything.

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140°

EA Shoots Down Dead Space 2 Remake Rumors: 'No Validity to This Story'

EA has shut down rumors that EA Motive considered a Dead Space 2 remake before shelving it due to low sales of the previous game, saying there's "no validity" to the reports.

XiNatsuDragnel17d ago

Sure.... right.... at least remake dead space 3 w/o microtransactions bs.

XiNatsuDragnel16d ago

I sometimes I wished I didn't Ngl lol

Knightofelemia17d ago

Why not remake DS2 whether shot down or not it's still my favorite game next to DS1. As much as I hate EA I would buy or would have bought DS2 day one.

MeteorPanda17d ago

No validity XD "Guys guys, we cant possible make a good game or cater to the gamers wants, stop"

Yi-Long17d ago

I don't know if sales met their expectations or not. I just know that the high review scores received my attention so I was interested in buying it, but its price stayed high (50+ bucks) for so long that I simply never bothered picking it up.

Tacoboto17d ago

Doesn't pay full price
Doesn't pay *any* price
Ponders if sales met expectations regarding an allegedly canceled sequel.

Gee...

Yi-Long16d ago

Well, for starters, I'm sure there are plenty of games I never bought which did, somehow, still, meet their sales-expectations.

Concerning Dead Space; I never played and thus cared for the original. It's in multiple genres (shooter, sci-fi, horror) I don't particularly care about so it was barely on my radar pre-launch. I was never its target-audience.

When reviews hit, and it was scoring big, it gathered my interest, so while it wasn't in my field of interest, it mrans that I wanted to give it a fair shot and at least give it a try, as I do with many games across different genres; I tend to just cherry-pick the good stuff and see if it's for me or not.

But, I do wait for sales on those games I take a risk on.

Kornholic16d ago (Edited 16d ago )

Lol, you are a huge part of the problem. If a very high-quality game is not even worth 50 bucks to you, then what is?

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