CHRIS GIANCAMILLI
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

October is the month for all things “scary.” Frightening movies, creepy music and horrific television specials all make their way into our homes, but video games also have their share of bone-chilling stories. Players walk through blood-drenched corridors and pitch-black rooms not knowing what lies just around the corner. Halloween gives players the opportunity to revisit these nightmarish settings and experience terrifying new ones. Here’s a breakdown of the top five scariest games to get those pulses pounding.

Dead Space (2008, Electronic Arts)

Players take on the role of Issac Clarke, an engineer sent to a repair a seemingly abandoned space shuttle. Issac soon discovers that the ship is infested with Necromorphs: life forms that transform the dead crew members into ravenous mutants hell-bent on destroying all human life. Issac slowly uncovers the mystery of the Necromorphs as he desperately struggles to survive.

Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005, Sega)

This action-horror game follows the story of a crime scene investigator named Ethan Thomas. Ethan tracks down serial killers to the condemned part of town where demented madmen run rampant. Players use a wealth of crime scene gadgets to uncover clues leading to the whereabouts and identity of a mastermind serial killer.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010, Frictional Games)

“Amnesia” places players in the shoes of Daniel, an Englishman who mysteriously wakes up in a dark castle with, you guessed it, amnesia. Throughout the game, Daniel encounters horrific beings roaming the halls of the castle. With no weapons to defend himself, Daniel’s is forced to run and hide from the horrors that lurk in the dark.

F.E.A.R. (2005, Vivendi Universal)

In this horror-shooter, players are assigned to a top secret squad of soldiers known as F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon). The F.E.A.R. group is covertly dispatched to investigate and eliminate paranormal problems. The squad is sent to the Armacham Technology Corporation to search for a delusional psychic who controls a rogue army of soldiers. As they make their way through the facility, the F.E.A.R. soldiers are plagued by the ghost of a little girl who causes them to see horrific hallucinations.

BioShock 2 (2010, 2K Games)

Players return to the underwater city of Rapture, a rusted relic of a once thriving metropolis, in “BioShock 2.” In this installment, players control Subject Delta, an armored behemoth searching for the girl he was supposed to protect. Rapture’s residents have been transformed into gruesome lunatics and other armored monsters.

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