Horror video games, to some extent, can be a much more terrifying experience than just watching a film, mainly because more is at stake when playing a horror game and the user is actively involved in what's on the screen rather than passively watching what's on the TV. Join us as we take a look at the next year or so and the killer lineup of horror games that are on the horizon.
#20: Saw
Virtually nothing about the video game based on the tremendously grisly Saw franchise has been revealed other than the news that the original film's director James Wan will be heavily involved in the project and Billy the Puppet will appear in the Saw game. Our guess is that players will be the ones attempting to escape from traps built to rip them limb from limb.
#19: Sadness
The upcoming survival horror game Sadness has caught our attention for several reasons. The first is the game's plot which involves a mother who must protect her narcoleptic son after they survive a train wreck. The other reason the game has us interested are the graphics which are done entirely in black and white.
#18: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Castlevania, the reason everyone still fears Dracula, will bring the fear back with its newest DS game: Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. This time, you're filling the role of resident hottie Shanoa, battling the gruesome and grotesque monsters of Big D's undead army. It's a potential pocket-size thriller in the works...
#17: Castle Wolfenstein
Even though there have been no updates in many months on the first next-gen Wolfenstein game tentatively titled Castle Wolfenstein, we haven't given up hope that we'll eventually get to wage war against the Nazis and the horrible genetically engineered monsters they've birthed to further the Fuhrer's cause.
#16: Witches
Coming soon to next-gen consoles and PC is the lesser-known title Witches, a medieval horror game where the player will slay a variety of gruesome looking beasties. Making the game sound even sweeter is the fact that you'll deal out your onslaught as three different half-naked Witches.
#15: Alone in the Dark
Forget that abysmal Uwe Boll movie which had absolutely nothing to do with the Alone in the Dark series. The latest game, simply titled "Alone in the Dark," is the first game in the series in seven years and were extremely anxious to see the final product which is said to explore an ungodly evil below New York City's Central Park which is causing mutated trees and other strange occurrences.
#14: Zombie Massacre
Though no one has seen the game in action as of yet, the way 1988 Games describes the gameplay in Zombie Massacre is more than enough to get us pumped to slaughter our way through massive armies of the undead. Zombie Massacre is being developed for the Nintendo Wii and is being described as Blast Corps or Crazy Taxi in the regard that you'll be fighting zombies under a time limit. But unlike the games mentioned, the timer in this game is attached to a nuclear warhead that will obliterate everything living and dead once it runs out. On the surface, Zombie Massacre seems like the closest thing to a game based on Return of the Living Dead's premise.
#13: Siren: Blood Curse
Sony's genuinely horrifying Siren really never got the attention it deserved on the PS2, and that's probably why it's coming to the PS3 in a re-imagining of the original game told through the perspectives of all new characters, a new storyline, a new graphics engine (translation: only the kickass story of the original will be the same). If you're looking for a high quality horror title to play in addition to Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Siren: Blood Curse should be a good game to pick up.
#12: Dead Space
The films Event Horizon, The Thing, and Alien, along with video games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill are all listed by the game's creators as influencing Dead Space, and when you see the trailers for the game you'll know why. The game follows the story of an engineer and his coworkers as they investigate a distress call from a "planet cracker" which destroys dead planets in order to extract valuable minerals inside them. Once they reach the ship, they encounter aliens that aren't quite as affable as E.T.
#11: Project Origin
For those who don't know, Project Origin is the sequel to the popular horror shooter F.E.A.R. and is not called F.E.A.R. 2 due to the previous game's company owning the license. Despite the confusing name, you can expect all the paranormal action of the original and more once we see Project Origin in action, which is toted as having more variety than F.E.A.R. and open-environments.
#10: Operation Darkness
Role-playing games certainly aren't for everybody--but for the horror enthusiast, you may want to check out Atlus's upcoming Operation Darkness which places the player in the role of a British Special Forces unit which has been ordered to take down Adolf Hilter himself, the Nazi war machine, flesh-eating zombies, werewolves, skeletons, and vampires. Yes, this all sounds a bit campy to us too, but it also sounds like an awesome way to relax after a long day at the office.
#9: Dead Rising 2
We all know Dead Rising 2, the sequel to the commercially successful Xbox 360 game which takes place in a huge mall overrun by zombies (which is strikingly similar to the basic premise of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead), is probably eventually coming. What we don't know is any details about the game. There's almost zero chance the game will take place in a mall again, so why not place the next one in an underground military facility (like in Day of the Dead) or in a metropolitan city teeming with zombies (like in Land of the Dead). Hell, they could set Dead Rising 2 at Chuck E Cheeses and we'd still play it--actually, that's not a bad idea.
#8: Silent Hill: Homecoming
Konami's atmospherically surreal answer to Resident Evil is any but a poor man's version of the latter--in fact, some people actually prefer Silent Hill's unique brand of frightening imagery to that of RE's. The newest game in the horror franchise, Silent Hill: Homecoming, tells the tale of Alex Shepherd, a soldier who after returning home from the war discovers that his family is missing and eventually finds himself in Silent Hill.
#7: Gears of War 2
While it could be argued that the highly-anticipated Gears of War 2 classifies more as "horror-themed" than "horror," but that doesn't make us any less excited to exchange gunfire with the repugnant Locust race in the next chapter of this gruesome shooter. Did we mention that Gears 2 allows you to engage in chainsaw fights?
#6: Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Do you really need a reason to get excited about Ghostbusters: The Video Game? Well, in case the game's title is not enough for you, the game will feature Slimer, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and the Ghostbusters, and the films' writer and actor Dan Aykroyd even describes the forthcoming game to essentially be Ghostbusters III, with elements from a never produced "Ghostbusters in Hell" script to be included in the game. It's also the best-looking game based on the film series to date (not that the other Ghostbusters games were anything other than total crap).
#5: BioShock 2
We still have stains in our underpants from the first time we faced off against the hulking menaces known as Big Daddys in the original BioShock. And we can't fathom anything more blood-curdling than the freaks you fight in the original. While BioShock 2 will likely be more of a slight upgrade + continuation of the original (ala God of War to God of War II or GTA3 to GTA Vice City/San Andreas) rather than a full-blown sequel, we still can't wait to get our hands on it.
#4: Left 4 Dead
It's hard to believe that after so many years, no one has made an even half-way decent zombie FPS game, but it looks as though all that's going to change thanks to Left 4 Dead. In the game, players control a team of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world where diseased hordes of the "Infected" are rampant. One of the coolest things we've heard about the game is how players will get the chance to play as several different zombie types, such as a morbidly obese zombie that can spray enemies with projectile vomit (which attracts insects carrying the virus) and also explodes when it dies, splattering its surroundings with its rotten insides.
#3: Doom 4
Although the fourth game in id Software's flagship first-person shooter franchise was announced just weeks ago, we're still beyond stoked that we're officially going to get to battle whatever demonic abominations manage to crawl out of the bowels of hell in Doom 4. Especially if they up the number of much-needed outdoor levels.
#2: Resident Evil 5
Since the original Resident Evil's inception back in 1996, Capcom's survival horror series has remained the king of horror video games, and even from what little has been shown of Resident Evil 5 (it's set in Africa, enemies attack in large swarms, the plot is centered around the origin of the virus, etc.), the game looks like it has the potential to be the best Resident Evil game yet. The mysterious new sack-headed enemy in RE5 looks like a worthy successor to Resident Evil 4's chainsaw-weilding Dr. Salvador too.
#1: Aliens: Colonial Marines
With no new Alien sequels in the foreseeable future, Aliens: Colonial Marines is a welcome return to the Alien saga for fans that picks up shortly after where Alien 3 left off. In the game, you'll control a squad of colonial marines who have been ordered to rescue several military personnel, one of which is Ellen Ripley, blowing away any xenomorphs that get in your way. It almost makes up for two wretched AVP movies in a row.Be sure to also check out OMGHorror's related feature article: 19 Upcoming Horror Movies We're Dying to See which lists the most-highly anticipated new horror films of 2008 and beyond.
