Impulse buys: Xbox 360's best horror games

[Clanger67 59]

Already got all them except for FEAR 3 and SH: Downpour.Not really too bothered about Fear 3 thought the series lost its way a bit with 2.Will def. be getting SH: Downpour at some point.Condemned is still one of the most atmospheric,good for making you jump games on 360 i reckon.Wish they had kept a similar formula for 2 though.


Plus all the cheap ones in the link for Downpour are dispatched from Canada,doesn't that mean they are NTSC.The cheapest dispatched from UK is Amazon for £24 new.

[lawsond28 27]

The term 'horror' essentially unifies the other adjectives commonly associated with this genre of game, i.e. 'scary' and 'gory'.
Your list seems to include the games which are considered to lean more towards the scary side, but what about the games where the focus is on the gore? I'm talking about Splatterhouse, obviously. I've never played a game in my life before which so openly celebrates the macabre and contains blood spilling on such a staggering scale.
You want to rip a demon in half? No problem. Do it lengthways if you like. Rip his jaw off first though How about pulling his spinal column out through his rectum? You can do that too. It's that insane and I'm bewildered why it's not mentioned in this list when rather bizarrely 'Bioshock' is given a mention (granted, it was as an afterthought). What gives with that? Were those Little Sisters a bit much for you? Ya big jessie.

[FishyGinger 44]

I don't think gore counts, afterall soldier of fortune 2 was gory. Suppose there's resi code veronica, Limbo, dark souls maybe (not played it so don't know), RDR undead nightmare, left 4 dead, resident evil 6 was a horror of a game.

Stick Metro in there though more than an honourable mention, bit of a cop out having 3 entries for fear games etc.

And play alan wake, more suspense than horror though, like a stephen king b movie, I enjoyed it.

Edit: Missed out Walking Dead, shouldn't that be in there?

[ItchyRash 24]

Played quite a number of these. Condemned was pretty dated when I played it 3 years ago but in terms of story and atmosphere it was still brilliant. Condemned 2 was good but not a patch on the first. Alan Wake was fantastic. The 2nd half of the story kind of lost it's way a bit but overall a great game. Has anyone tried the XBLA American Nightmare yet? Is that considered it's sequel? Dead Space and Dead Space 2 were great. The first scared the hell out of me. Can't say i'm at all interested in the 3rd so far. There was a point in Bioshock that was probably one of the scariest moments in a game for me. Where you're in a surgery room, the lights go and suddenly the crazed surgeon is there. There were definitely points in 1 and 2 that got me

[CunningSmile 50]

Played quite a number of these. Condemned was pretty dated when I played it 3 years ago but in terms of story and atmosphere it was still brilliant. Condemned 2 was good but not a patch on the first. Alan Wake was fantastic. The 2nd half of the story kind of lost it's way a bit but overall a great game. Has anyone tried the XBLA American Nightmare yet? Is that considered it's sequel? Dead Space and Dead Space 2 were great. The first scared the hell out of me. Can't say i'm at all interested in the 3rd so far. There was a point in Bioshock that was probably one of the scariest moments in a game for me. Where you're in a surgery room, the lights go and suddenly the crazed surgeon is there. There were definitely points in 1 and 2 that got me

I bought it the other week when it was half price but not got round to playing it yet, although I loved the first one. As far as I know it's a semi-sequel in that it carries on the story, but also is fairly stand alone. Depending how well American Nightmare sold there was talk of a proper AW2 but with a different publisher.

[Dowgle 24]

Shame on you for not playing Alan Wake. It was personal pick for game of 2010. Its marvellous. Creepy with a confusing yet somehow followable story. Interesting gameplay mechanics. Just great all around.

[FishyGinger 44]

Finished American Nightmare a week or two ago. It is a semi follow on, where Alan is in an episode of Night Springs trying to find out who Mr Scratch is and trying to stop him. There's a mechanic (game mechanic, not car mechanic although there is one of them too) in it that could be considered as quite a bit of padding.

Generally more action based, more weapons, less horror as you will never be short on ammo just like alan wake (a combat shotgun in alan wake...?), maybe about 4 hours long I'd say.

Overall I liked it, and worth the price when it was on sale, it's more alan wake so if you liked that you'll like this. Voice acting isn't great except for the guy who plays mr scratch which I thought was quite decent.

[ItchyRash 24]

Muchos gracias good men. I downloaded the demo and started playing for all of 30 seconds before I got bored. Not because the game was bad, I just hate playing demos. I never give my full attention. I'll wait until it's on sale again. Wouldn't mind giving it a wirl. Wouldn't mind going back and doing the main game on Nightmare difficulty as well. Maybe one day.

I'm sure I read somewhere that they were planning on doing the 2nd with XBLA episodic content like Walking Dead has done. I've either made that up, that's what American Nightmare became or they're doing it. I would love them to carry on the story in some way.

[bamozzy 50]

I have the Dead Space games, Alan Wake (and the XBLA American Nightmare game), both Bioshocks and also Condemned 2 on PS3. Whilst they are all good games (although I am not overly impressed with Condemend 2), none are particularly as scary as movies. Games like Dead Space are very high in atmosphere and also the threat of attack with limited ammo or health, they are not overly scary. Personally I would like to see more games in the Horror Survival genre but it seems that the traditional leaders in this area are moving away from Horror and Survival and substituting these for action and co-operative play.

[bamozzy 50]

On the subject of Alan Wakes American Nightmare, I have not fully completed the campaign yet. As for a full game in its own right, I think this could very easily have been DLC for the first game. There are only 3 areas that you basically keep revisiting in a kind of Groundhog Day (or should that be 'night') and completing similar tasks. With the additional weaponry, it also seems a little easier too. The Arcade mode is OK and adds another dimension and replayability although this is better if you have friends that play this too as you can compare scores and has an online leaderboard. At 1200 ms points, there are better XBLA games that offer more game time. I bought mine recently at 50% and feel this is a much better price. Graphically it is on a par with its full price original but game time is more more limited. I would recommend it for 50% cost but think at 1200 ms points it is only for fans of the original.

[FishyGinger 44]

That's a fair point bamozzy, pc really is the place for horror games more than xbox. I thought dead space was certainly worthy on this list but it wasn't like stalker. Amnesia is supposed to be pretty good too, need to play that soon.

[CunningSmile 50]

the (ahem) startlingly raunchy conclusion of F.E.A.R. 2

Although not technically scary that scene did disturb me more than any other game moment ever. Not many games where I'm left feeling like I need a shower.

[ItchyRash 24]

I'm going to have to youtube this ending. Sounds wonderful

[msbhvn 55]

The story in Condemned 2 is completely ridiculous (even though there are hints at where it's going in the first game) and FBI agent Rosa somehow transforms from middle aged to early twenties between the original and the sequel. I'd definitely recommend the first, but the second needs a warning that people will be thinking WTF at every major plot point as it descends into farce.

I always meant to get into the FEAR games, but never got around to it. Might snap them up for PC in the Christmas Steam sale.

[ItchyRash 24]

The story in Condemned 2 is completely ridiculous (even though there are hints at where it's going in the first game) and FBI agent Rosa somehow transforms from middle aged to early twenties between the original and the sequel. I'd definitely recommend the first, but the second needs a warning that people will be thinking WTF at every major plot point as it descends into farce.

I always meant to get into the FEAR games, but never got around to it. Might snap them up for PC in the Christmas Steam sale.

Yeah it's fair to say the 2nd game is out there. Trippin major balls as they say. Worth a play though but not a patch on the 1st. To be fair, I'm not even sure how the two games linked.

For me, there's nothing like a good scary game. When done correct, nothing beats them for atmosphere and tension. I just wish there were more quality ones out there. I've toyed with the idea of the Silent Hill games and F.E.A.R. but just couldn't bring myself to try them. Especially Silent Hill. It's reviews were mixed to say the least.