Neglected Halloween games

[evildead2099]

This is about the time of year when lists of games to play on Halloween tend to become created or resurface. While learning about spooky videogames always is always a pleasure as far as I'm concerned, one thing that irks me about typical Halloween lists is that the same names always appear while the same ones always get neglected.

...

For example, commonly cited games are Splatterhouse, Resident Evil, Doom, and Alone In The Dark.

One game which always tends to be overlooked in those lists is Aliens Vs. Predator, a First Person Shooter for the PC.

This past spring, I finally got ino Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria. I loved it. Although the game did not scare me in a true sense of the word, I really enjoyed the game and I feel that its spooky atmosphere deserves mention.

Please cite some other videogames which offer great thrills in the spirit of Halloween but do not get the recognition they deserve.

[Sothy]

Mortal Kombat 1 & 2 have a good Halloween vibe to em.

[evildead2099]

I agree with you on MK2. Some backgrounds, like the living forest, really scream Halloween in an ode to The Evil Dead. Another background (which I believe is called 'The Battlefield') seems like something out of the Crusade sequence from Bram Stoker's Dracula (The flick starring K. Reeves). Plus, Baraka looks very demonic. 8-)

[mills]

im just gonna say drac's night out before someone else does..heh.

[Doonzmore]

Spirits and Spells (Gamecube)
Medievil (Playstation)
Dr. Franken (Snes)
Casper (Snes)

[Blanka789]

1. The Haunting (Genesis)

2. Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sega CD)

3. Alien vs. Predator (Jaguar)

If you don't have any of those, just play through the Twilight Town/Creepy Steeple chapter of Paper Mario for the GC.

[Sotenga]

Well, I have something that, although I only played for a VERY little while, did give me quite the shock. It is Clock Tower for the SNES, although I bet some of you are familiar with the Playstation games. However, the original was made for the SNES, and it never made it outside ot Japan. There is a translated rom floating about, and... well, I must say, the mood is constantly eerie. I foolishly thought it would be safe to have Jennifer (the character you play as) look in the mirror, but then the music BLARED a "Psycho Violin," as I call it, and I was strangled to death by my own reflection! Yeah, I didn't get very far. @_@

I don't like Survival Horror, something which may have to do with the fact that I'm easily startled and I don't like giving myself scares. So I didn't play any further into CT. Plus, it moves WAY too slowly for my tastes. But I won't deny, it's frightening. Hell, I haven't even met Bobby yet... though, I probably won't get far enough to meet the scissor-wielding freak. Well, anyway, CT isn't to my likening, but give it a try and see if ya like it.

[Crush Crawfish]

Decap Attack for Genesis has a nice Halloween vibe to it, not to mention It's a damned good platformer. And of course, who could forget Monster Party for NES? :D

[bufftbone]

Swagman for PSX!!!!

[rayearthknight]

D--(PS1/Saturn/3DO) the creep factor along with the "breathing music"...would have made a great movie.
Friday the 13th (NES) still creepy in the middle of the night.
The Uninvited (NES) Oh look, it's a woman with her back turned...excuse me, miss,...uhh...(gulp)
Monster Party (NES) Well, at least Something Awful gave it some props.

[hu6800]

This is about the time of year when lists of games to play on Halloween tend to become created or resurface. While learning about spooky videogames always is always a pleasure as far as I'm concerned, one thing that irks me about typical Halloween lists is that the same names always appear while the same ones always get neglected.

...

For example, commonly cited games are Splatterhouse, Resident Evil, Doom, and Alone In The Dark.

One game which always tends to be overlooked in those lists is Aliens Vs. Predator, a First Person Shooter for the PC.

This past spring, I finally got ino Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria. I loved it. Although the game did not scare me in a true sense of the word, I really enjoyed the game and I feel that its spooky atmosphere deserves mention.

Please cite some other videogames which offer great thrills in the spirit of Halloween but do not get the recognition they deserve.


Overlooked, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elmstreet,
Zombies ate my nieghbors,Snatcher (it's spooky enough) Micheal Jacksons moonwalker (hahah)
Any castlevania

[roushimsx]

Illbleed (Dreamcast) has a nice mixture of horror and comedy gold, but I very much prefer The Devil Inside (PC).

Another classic cheesy survival horror game is Deep Fear for Saturn. Horrible CG, voice acting that makes Resident Evil's look professional, and puzzles developed by preschoolers. You can run with your gun though, and in the end that made the game a hell of a lot more playable than most other survival horror games of the time.

Now Blue Stinger (Japanese DC) had some good thrills here and there. Glad I played it before being exposed to the questionable US version. There's a bit of a Christmas theme going on, but considering the survival horror nature of it, I think it still works well for halloween :)

In the same vein (Halloween in Christmas!), I nominate Parasite Eve.

I agree on Alien vs Predator I and II for PC. Both were great (scary as fuck) games.

American McGee's Alice would fit in well as a halloween game.

Other stuff:
Bioforge (PC)
Dungeon Keeper 2 (PC)
Grim Fandango (PC)

....and....


Kiss Psycho Circus (PC, also released on DC but I haven't played it). Seriously, you don't get much more halloween than Kiss. Shit made me want to paint my face and yell, "STAAAAAAARCHILD!". Downside was being forced to play as Peter Criss for some levels. Ouch. :(

[Yago]

Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the Atari 2600. Enough said.

[Cmtz]

Shadowgate has a cold halloween feel to it.

[evildead2099]

Micheal Jacksons moonwalker

LOL Hey, that's not an entirely silly suggestion. Let's not forget that MJ battles zombies throughout a stage set in a graveyard.


Any castlevania

Actually, I think Castlevania is the sort of game that is bound to get mentioned in any half-decent list of games to play if you're in a Halloweenish mood. ;)

Here's a game series which just SCREAMS "Halloween," yet seldom ever makes Halloween lists: Sega's The House Of The Dead.

Here are some other ones I thought of:

Crypt Killer

Corpse Killer

Night Trap ( :eek 2: WATCH OUT! JOE LIEBERMAN'S COMING TO CONFISCATE YOUR VIDEOGAME COLLECTION! x_x )

Chiller

Clive Barker's Undying

Zork: Nemesis (It's very spooky, especially for a Zork game)

The 7th Guest

The 11th Hour

Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh

The Gabriel Knight series

Vampire: Mater of Darkness (Which actually makes for a pretty decent Castlevania clone)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Very underrated; it's better than Diablo!)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

The Simpsons (Konami's coin-op features a rather spooky level in which you battle zombies in a graveyard)

[Kroogah]

Manhunt.

[Sosage]

Semi-related, this was the set up in front of my house last year (I shared it on RGVAC...I don't think I shared it here). I'm probably going to do something similar this year. Halloween game of choice? Vampire Saviour of course! Game of death? A shoddy Neo Geo conversion (there is a semi amusing story related to some children's reactions to it, but I won't thread jack).

http://www.drunkentemple.com/arcade/halloween/

[MegaDrive20XX]

Grabbed by the Ghoulies on Xbox

Perfect for nostaglic reasons, if you grew up in the 80's or 90's...the Saturday Morning Halloween specials always airred and this game reminded me of those years.

[evildead2099]

Ghouls & Ghosts

Ghouls & Goblins

Ghostbusters

Ghoul School

Monster In My Pocket

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

The Thing

[Sothy]

atm55 Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:22 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. The Haunting (Genesis)


Oh hell ya the Haunting is awesome.

Yolu can make rats come out of the refridgerator and control them like rc cars haha.

[Damaramu]

Ghoul Patrol (Snes)
Zombies Revenge (DC)
Mr. Bones (Saturn)

[zerohero]

Extermination for PS2 is highly over looked.

THe only real problem with the game is the dubbing(wich is barable than most, and a few camra angles).

I wrote a mini review on it not to long ago.

[Nicola]

Dark Castle!

[Dire 51]

No one's mentioned Demon's Crest? Or for that matter, Gargoyle's Quest 1 and 2?

[MrSmiley381]

The best Castlevania for Halloween would be Lament of Innocence on Pumpkin mode. It makes me LOL.

Dragon Force had zombies and that one awesome vampire guy. In fact, I got him on Halloween last year!

And of course, Darkstalkers... which I no longer have. Damn.

But Melty Blood helps that! Warakia WRYs a lot, and so does Dio in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Not so much scary as they are just vampires.

[Nes]

Silent Hill games scare the crap out of me. And let's not forget Eternal Darkness for Gamecube.

[Cirrus]

I think that Maniac Mansion deserves a mention. When I was a kid and played it on the C64 (I believe), it honestly scared me silly. I'd have to play it in the daytime with people around.

Now, it seems goofy (and obviously a parody). But it's hard to describe how terrifying it was when I was 9 or 10.

[DigitalSpace]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES/Genesis)
Demon's Crest (SNES)
Eternal Darkness (Gamecube)
The Pinball Of The Dead (GBA)

[Fantastic_Duck]

No question about it, the eternal classic "Friday The 13th" on NES is neglected. The cool walking tune interrupted by the "Jason Killing Kids Alarm" makes me shiver like a celery in the wind to this day!
THen there's the part when you walk into a cabin, and this creepy and depressing "looking around the cabin" tune kicks in, and SCREEECH Jason attacks! x_x

And who can not remember or in other words, who can forget the part when you are dressed in drag between Jason sightings, and mom comes to visit and she.... :D

[Mr Mort]

I can't believe no one mentioned House of the Dead.

The original and the sequel are great Hallowe'en games.

Also:
Vampire Night (PS2)
Devil's Crush (TG16)
Pinball of the Dead (GBA)
Doom (any of them)
Maximo (PS2)
Legacy of Kain (PS, DC)
Quake
Typing of the Dead (DC, PC)
Zombie Revenge (DC)

[evildead2099]

I can't believe no one mentioned House of the Dead.

I DID :roll:

Good call on Devil's Crush, though.

Again, we're going for games that typically get NEGLECTED from Halloween gaming lists, so there's no need to cite the obvious stuff like DOOM, Splatterhouse, Castlevania and Resident Evil.

Here are some more titles that I thought of:

Carnevil

The System Shock series

Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels

Killing Time

Abuse

The Diablo series

The Nightmare Creatures series

Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder (Hey, the game is pretty spooky when you're battle armies of skeletons, sinister sword-wielding trees, and tribes of bush-men wearing glow-in-the-dark corpse paint!)

[§ Gideon §]

Again, we're going for games that typically get NEGLECTED from Halloween gaming lists, so there's no need to cite the obvious stuff like DOOM, Splatterhouse, Castlevania and Resident Evil.
Haha, I was wondering if someone else noticed that. Anyway, I've never read a Halloween gaming list, so I apologize if any of these are cited often. I doubt it, though:

Super Mario World - Find all level endings and a star will appear next to your entry. Beat you-know-what level, and you-know-what happens.
Shadow Land (arcade) - This is a great game for Halloween, where you play the role of an undead boy questing through the Japanese underworld. While unique in its own right, the setting is reminiscent of Legend of the Mystical Ninja and perhaps The Legend of Zelda.
Satan's Hollow

[Imstarryeyed]

Castleween for the PS2, Europe only release to the best of my knowlege. I found this at a local game shop, while I was at the European Games Network last year. This game lets you play as 2 kids in Halloween costumes and takes place on Halloween.

[Fantastic_Duck]

Holee sheet Evildead...that's right...you show a pic of that troll from Shadowgate. MAN is that game creepy! One of my all time faves, the NES version is by far the creepiest. Remember the skeleton of that king dude? shudder* x_x
To me, Shadowgate is the scariest, most atmospheric creep game ever.

What the NES version does beautifully is make one feel so damn alone. The cold and helpless sense of isolation is beautifully done.
This, is a game I played in the dark and stoned. Another great game to play in the dark is Silent Service. The lack of light lends to the feeling of being in the dank, dark, deep. It's very Das Boot-ish.
@_@

[zerohero]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES/Genesis)
Demon's Crest (SNES)
Eternal Darkness (Gamecube)
The Pinball Of The Dead (GBA)

How, and when was Zombies Ate My Neighbors a over looked Horror game?

[Daltone]

Eeek System Shock! Definitely. Scared the hell out of me.

How about Realms Of The Haunting (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/ROTH/ROTH.shtm) or Sanitarium? (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Sanitarium/Sanitarium_Review.shtm)

[roushimsx]

Eeek System Shock! Definitely. Scared the hell out of me.

How about Realms Of The Haunting (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/ROTH/ROTH.shtm) or Sanitarium? (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Sanitarium/Sanitarium_Review.shtm)

Fucking classics. System Shock 2 remains one of the scariest games I've ever played.

Also, anyone who's played Thief knows how scary that game gets. Sneaking into the haunted citadel is the scariest moment of any game ever, and anyone who says otherwise is either dead on the inside or hasn't played it.

Hell, the first time you see the haunted citadel and have the eye speak to you is pretty fucked up, too.

[blissfulnoise]

I know it was mentioned in the OP, but I've really got to second on Alone in the Dark. Easily the scariest game I've ever played.

For those of you with the resources and patience, try translating some of the Latin texts in the library. Pure insanity.

Second place goes to Eternal Darkness. Some really quality frights there. Anyone with a Gamecube who hasn't played this game is doing themselves a MAJOR disservice.

Another fun Halloweenish game is Quest for Glory 4. It's got a lot of bugs in it, but it's perfect for October play.

But to me, the game that conjures up the best sense of dread is Metroid. The atmosphere in that game is so superior to most games it's almost unfair to compare them.

[Niku-Sama]

its not really scarry butits halloween-ish for sure....Super Mario World after you beat all the star roads and special stages turns the pihrana plants into pumpkins and the turtle shells turn into masks and when you turtles jump into them they kinda look like trick or treaters

[gamegirl79]

Clive Barker's Undying for PC - easily one of the scariest PC games ever.

[VACRMH]

One game which always tends to be overlooked in those lists is Aliens Vs. Predator, a First Person Shooter for the PC.

I have to second this.

I have Aliens VS Predator 2 for PC. That game scares the crap out of me. Perfect game to play with the sound up and lights off.

Plus, it's only $10 at best buy :D

[evildead2099]

I've never read a Halloween gaming list, so I apologize if any of these are cited often. I doubt it, though

Mainstream magazines like EGM ('Oh, how the mighty have fallen...'), PC Gamer, and Gamepro tend to print lists like those every year in time for their October issue, and the lists always seem to recycle the same predictable names (particularly Splatterhouse, Castlevania, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Alone In The Dark).


Eeek System Shock! Definitely. Scared the hell out of me.

If you enjoyed the experience of being terrified by a videogame, seriously, PLAY ALIENS VS. PREDATOR FOR THE PC. I have never played a game based on a movie (particularly a horrific one) that does such unparalled justice to its license.

[evildead2099]

Eeek System Shock! Definitely. Scared the hell out of me.

How about Realms Of The Haunting (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/ROTH/ROTH.shtm) or Sanitarium? (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Sanitarium/Sanitarium_Review.shtm)

Fucking classics. System Shock 2 remains one of the scariest games I've ever played.

Also, anyone who's played Thief knows how scary that game gets. Sneaking into the haunted citadel is the scariest moment of any game ever, and anyone who says otherwise is either dead on the inside or hasn't played it.

Hell, the first time you see the haunted citadel and have the eye speak to you is pretty fucked up, too.

I'll have to try that out. Is the game you speak of Theif (1), or one of its sequels?

By the way, here are two more games to consider, if only on a limited basis:

Both Time Splitters 3: Future Perfect and Disney's Adventures in the Magic Kingdom feature a single level in which you venture into a haunted house. The Magic Kingdom level is pure 8-bit platform fun, while the haunted house level in Time Splitters 3 is full of ghosts, VERY creepy zombies, and a demonic deer which is hellbent on destroying you!

[phantomfriar]

Castleween for the PS2, Europe only release to the best of my knowlege. I found this at a local game shop, while I was at the European Games Network last year. This game lets you play as 2 kids in Halloween costumes and takes place on Halloween.

This came out on the GC domestically as SPIRITS AND SPELLS. Good fun!

[Daltone]

If you enjoyed the experience of being terrified by a videogame, seriously, PLAY ALIENS VS. PREDATOR FOR THE PC. I have never played a game based on a movie (particularly a horrific one) that does such unparalled justice to its license.

Yep - been there, done that. It was the first game I bought after I'd gotten a shiny new Voodoo graphics card.

At first I thought that being the Marine was the most creepy, then I had a change of heart. I loved being the alien. So fragile but so very, very deadly.

[Avatard]

Eternal Darkness for sure! Its always overlooked. Also Super Castlevania IV. I always play that around halloween. It has the perfect atmosphere and music compared to the rest for that purpose.

[evildead2099]

Eternal Darkness for sure! Its always overlooked. Also Super Castlevania IV. I always play that around halloween. It has the perfect atmosphere and music compared to the rest for that purpose.

Meh. I find Super Castlevania IV's atmosphere lacking for a Castlevania title (particularly the fist five or six levels).

[roushimsx]

I'll have to try that out. Is the game you speak of Theif (1), or one of its sequels?

The one I'm raving about is Thief, which you should play in any capacity possible. The rerelease, Thief Gold, did a ton of improvements (both major and minor) to the flow of the game, broke up and reworked some levels, added new levels, and generally made an already awesome game more awesomer.

Early on in the game I was pretty well sucked in by the tension of sneaking around int he shadows, trying to avoid detection from the guards while I plundered the hell out of their domicile, but there's a point in the game (not that far into it) where shit gets crazy and it goes from being an excellent, tense, stealth-based game to being an excellent, scary, tense, stelth-based game. Stuff that'll keep you up at night.

For bonus effect, darken the room and play with headphones on. The game makes AWESOME use of audio. :)

[Mangar]

Friday The 13th on the Commodore 64, will always be my favourite Halloween game. From the digitized screams each time someone died, to just the overall ambiance of the game. It's something that i play a round of every year.

(Different then the NES version)

[evildead2099]

I'll have to try that out. Is the game you speak of Theif (1), or one of its sequels?

The one I'm raving about is Thief, which you should play in any capacity possible. The rerelease, Thief Gold, did a ton of improvements (both major and minor) to the flow of the game, broke up and reworked some levels, added new levels, and generally made an already awesome game more awesomer.

Early on in the game I was pretty well sucked in by the tension of sneaking around int he shadows, trying to avoid detection from the guards while I plundered the hell out of their domicile, but there's a point in the game (not that far into it) where shit gets crazy and it goes from being an excellent, tense, stealth-based game to being an excellent, scary, tense, stelth-based game. Stuff that'll keep you up at night.

It sounds quite a bit like Rockstar's Manhunt.

[EdEdison]

Here's a few off the top of my head that I didn't see mentioned yet:

Kid Drac (NES)
Frankenstein - The Monster Returns (NES)
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (Famicom)
Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday (SNES)
Halloween Racer (GBC)
Halloween Baby Felix (GBC)
Dracula - Crazy Vampire (GBC)
Dracula - The undead (Lynx)
Monster Force (GBA)
Nancy Drew - Message in a Haunted Mansion (GBA)

[RJ]

Dracula: The Resurrection
Dracula: Last Sanctuary

are 2 decent point & click adventures for the PS in the Myst vein (har!) that I enjoyed. Both games are 2 discs too, thanks to their cinematic presentation.

[EdEdison]

Wow, I cannot believe I forgot to post this, it's my favorite scary game ever...
Alone in the Dark - The new nightmare (DC/GBC/PS/PS2/PC).
It's probably the only game that has ever made me scream. Not to mention scream multiple times in one sitting.
There's just something creepy about being stuck on an haunted island at night with things jumping out of the trees and materializing right before your eyes, only to brutally attack you. There aren't enough good things to say about this title. It's defnitely my most favorite PS game. The graphics, gameplay, storyline, music, atmosphere and the overall execution of the game is perfect. For optimum terror. play it alone in the dark @_@, or possibly in a graveyard on Halloween night. (/end of pimpage)

The older games in the Alone in the Dark series don't compare to the newer series, because some of the games tend to be a bit on the comical/cheesy side of things. Not that that makes them bad games, just not as geniunely scary. There is one exception to this, though, Alone in the dark - One eyed Jack's revenge (PS/Saturn), which not as many people know about it as The New Nightmare.

A few other good scary games just came to mind:
DarkSeed I (CD32) & II(PC) (Graphics by H.R. Giger) , Harvester (PC).

[demen999]

Zombies at my neighbors SNES.....if it hasnt been said.

[evildead2099]

Wow, I cannot believe I forgot to post this, it's my favorite scary game ever...
Alone in the Dark - The new nightmare (DC/GBC/PS/PS2/PC).
It's probably the only game that has ever made me scream. Not to mention scream multiple times in one sitting.
There's just something creepy about being stuck on an haunted island at night with things jumping out of the trees and materializing right before your eyes, only to brutally attack you. There aren't enough good things to say about this title. It's defnitely my most favorite PS game. The graphics, gameplay, storyline, music, atmosphere and the overall execution of the game is perfect. For optimum terror. play it alone in the dark @_@, or possibly in a graveyard on Halloween night. (/end of pimpage)

The older games in the Alone in the Dark series don't compare to the newer series, because some of the games tend to be a bit on the comical/cheesy side of things. Not that that makes them bad games, just not as geniunely scary. There is one exception to this, though, Alone in the dark - One eyed Jack's revenge (PS/Saturn), which not as many people know about it as The New Nightmare.

A few other good scary games just came to mind:
DarkSeed I (CD32) & II(PC) (Graphics by H.R. Giger) , Harvester (PC).

I own a demo of AITD:TNN for the PS1, and while it seems pretty cool, I must admit that I prefer the original Alone In The Dark game (PC).

By the way, what sort of a game is Harvester? I've seen pictures of it, and it looks hella violent.

[evildead2099]

Wow, I cannot believe I forgot to post this, it's my favorite scary game ever...
Alone in the Dark - The new nightmare (DC/GBC/PS/PS2/PC).
It's probably the only game that has ever made me scream. Not to mention scream multiple times in one sitting.
There's just something creepy about being stuck on an haunted island at night with things jumping out of the trees and materializing right before your eyes, only to brutally attack you. There aren't enough good things to say about this title. It's defnitely my most favorite PS game. The graphics, gameplay, storyline, music, atmosphere and the overall execution of the game is perfect. For optimum terror. play it alone in the dark @_@, or possibly in a graveyard on Halloween night. (/end of pimpage)

The older games in the Alone in the Dark series don't compare to the newer series, because some of the games tend to be a bit on the comical/cheesy side of things. Not that that makes them bad games, just not as geniunely scary. There is one exception to this, though, Alone in the dark - One eyed Jack's revenge (PS/Saturn), which not as many people know about it as The New Nightmare.

A few other good scary games just came to mind:
DarkSeed I (CD32) & II(PC) (Graphics by H.R. Giger) , Harvester (PC).

I own a demo of AITD:TNN for the PS1, and while it seems pretty cool, I must admit that I prefer the original Alone In The Dark game (PC).

By the way, what sort of a game is Harvester? I've seen pictures of it, and it looks hella violent.

[Fantastic_Duck]

How, and when was Zombies Ate My Neighbors a over looked Horror game?

Zombies ate my Neighbor is like Home Alone, except with cute lil cadavers instead of poorly pixellated Joe Pescis.