Techtite Feature Article!

It takes a lot to make someone feel on the edge of their seat. This challenge is made near-impossible, in the limited world of computer game graphics. Regardless, the following game succeeded in just that; making the viewer get goosebumps, just from playing a simple game...often, with even the simplest graphics as well! Sadly, only three of these 12 games are still easily bought off store shelves (order links are offered, when available). They were fun when they lasted, though...

Alone in the Dark Though its game style has been cloned over and over by now, this is the original, 1992 classic that started it all. Originally offered on just a few floppy disks (!), this tale of a strange haunted house was inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft...and it shows. Its monsters --whether they were werewolves breaking through the windows, or demons only scared by their own reflections-- made for a house that was full of surprises at every turn. This is also one of only four games mentioned here, which made it onto my elite list of Top 50 Classic Games Of All Time. Is this really a big surprise? After all, Alone in the Dark inspired any number of clones, and three sequels as well. So what if the most recent sequel wasn't quite as good; this one's still a classic.

The Lurking Horror Perhaps one of the best text adventures Infocom ever offered, this was an interactive thriller that was perhaps one of the first to warrant the term "interactive novel," with a story that was even more gripping than the puzzles themselves. You're in a college whose experiments with the supernatural have gone awry. You must save the college --and the world itself-- from whoever's responsible. Trouble is, there are some pretty challenging creatures to defeat, described in vivid detail by the text of the story. Maybe it's just because of your own imagination, though few graphic adventure "thrillers" have ever came close to topping this one.

Elvira 2 : The Jaws of Cerberus Though not the best RPG ever offered, this one-player, first-person trek through B-movie film sets was filled with intriguing horror thrills. Elvira has inherited a movie studio, which happens to be cursed. Using her magic, she contacts you for help. One nice touch; you can explore the three separate movie "worlds" in any order you wish, in your quest to find and free Elvira (though as you'd expect, Elvira is always in the third one explored). You must fight giant mosquitoes, worms, spiders, and ants in the insect movie set (the giant "boss" spider is so well animated, it will make you itch for a week), zombies in the cemetery movie set, and of course ghosts and ghouls in the haunted house movie set. Complete all three, then you're greeted by Elvira, though it's not over yet; you have to defeat Cerberus once and for all. I found this last battle to be a bit too graphic and over-the-top, though as for horror thrills, it was one of many reasons this game is worthy enough to be on this list.

Thief: The Dark Project. Though this game is regretfully no longer easily available (none of my order links work anymore; probably because Looking Glass Studios is no longer in business), this is definitely a not-so-old game, that's more than worth hunting for! The story of this 3D first-person tale involves Garret, a young thief who uses his cunning in stealth and hiding in shadows to steal from the greedier members of his town, only to give the money to...well, whomever. Instead of the typical "shoot everything that walks or crawls" 3D farce, here's a game where you had to sneak from corner to corner, pick locks, climb through windows, and take what you came for, often right underneath everyone's noses. The best part of this tale, though, is when a mysterious man named "Constantine" employs Garret to obtain a rare, magical artifact known as "The Eye." This leads Garret through an underbelly of forbidden, closed off areas of the town; some inhabited by zombies, ghosts, or things even worse! Matched only by its sequel, Thief 2, or by the sci-fi thriller by the same game design team --System Shock 2 (also on this list!)-- The Thief game series is undeniably one of my favorite guilty pleasures in all my many years of gaming.

Stephen King's "The Mist" This short story by King was made into a very intriguing text adventure in the mid-1980's, which holds its own in thrills to this very day. Unfortunately, its distribution was very lackluster, and yet it was worth searching for. The story involves a military experiment throwing a small town into a parallel dimension with strange creatures that look like insects found here on earth...yet are far larger, and much, much deadlier! Much like the short story, the ending is wide open, though I always long for a revamped, 3D-accelerated version of the tale. Please...?

System Shock 2. (Also Techtite's choice for this month's Bargain Bin Binge!). Take my advice; click on the picture at left, to order this game now, for a paltry $19.99...before it's too late! From the makers of the Thief game series came this welcome surprise; a sci-fi thriller, with multiple plot branches, alternate puzzle solutions, and of course, creeps and thrills galore. You are a cybernetic-enhanced soldier who has just been awoken from hypersleep on your way to your next job. A friendly-sounding, female bridge officer is trapped on the floors up above; the only survivor of an apparent attack on the ship by...something. She can help you, via your communications implants, to learn how to restore enough ship systems to get up to level 4 and free her. Good luck! The ship's crew will be of little help; they are now cybernetic puppets controlled by the ship's malfunctioning computer, and will come after you with a haunting "I'm sooo sooorrry!" or a more blunt, "Please ruuuuunnnn!" Other ship inhabitants are alien creatures...or are they lab experiments? It's up to you to discover the truth. While I liked games like Unreal, the eerie atmosphere of this game is far more effective, and a perfect Halloween experience.

Doom While this game got a bad rap in 1999, it still is one of the creepiest action games ever made...which, in this list, is the whole point! Among the creepier enemies to defeat was the arachnotron; an alien brain sitting atop a spider-like robotic torso, with weaponry galore! In the years that followed, admittedly, Doom was old news, among far superior action game "clones" like Duke Nukem 3D and Star Wars: Dark Forces. Even so, several years later, it's still one of the best Halloween-savvy thrillers ever attempted on the PC.

Escape from Monster Manor Perhaps its the audio effects that coaxes me to put this non-PC game in this list. However, it was an Electronic Arts title, it was a CD-Rom (for 3DO), and it was very, very good! Though only available on the now-defunct 3DO system, this was indeed the first game on that system worth its weight, among so many other paperweights and coffee mug coasters pretending to be CD "games." From its cool Ghostbusters-savvy pistol, to the even cooler way ghosts would twirl away with a cackle when hit, this title had it all. Too bad it was more of a Wolf3D clone than a Doom clone, or it would've been even more successful...and, perhaps, would've been translated to other game systems.

Clive Barker�s Undying

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Click title to read full review; click box cover, at left, to order). Creepier than most of the creepiest games I ever played, is this tale (allegedly) penned from one of the masters of horror himself. Best of all traits in this game is your sixth sense, to see ghostly visions where others see nothing. Use your sixth sense on an unsuspecting portrait of the manor's daughter (shown at left), and see a glimpse of the ghoul she has become. She and her siblings will all need to be defeated, if you want to survive until morning. This thriller oddly came out early in 2001, and is a perfect Halloween purchase now.

Vampire, the Masquerade: Redemption (Click title to read full review; click box cover, at right, to order) PC owners already know how cool of a vampire game this is. For Macintosh owners, the scariest part of this game is its release date; November 1st, 2001, just one day shy of being a decent Halloween tale. Regardless, yes, this is a game to hunt down vigorously, especially if you like way-cool vampire tales.

Your character is a valiant knight whose mysterious bite leaves him feeling less than human. His romance with a forbidden love, however, keeps his heart in check, leaving him a vampire wanting to use his powers for good...and other, less friendly Vampires are not amused. This tale spans several centuries, and gets better with each passing year...both figuratively, and literally.

Blood Much the same way I put a slapstick type dark comedy like Evil Dead 2 in my list of Most Under-appreciated Thrillers, I place Blood in this list. Why? Because regardless of its initial game design bugs being scarier than anything seen in the game, its dark humor, in a zombie-hunter setting, was a real thrill in itself. Best of all was your character's one-liners thrown out while playing the game.

Gabriel Knight; Sins of the Fathers Set in the macabre dark alleys of New Orleans, this mystery pits Gabriel Knight in a tale of ancient family legacies, dark magic, and of course, an ancient evil which must be put to an end. The music and storyline are top-notch, regardless of a rather dated game engine. This may be the last member of the list, though it's certainly not the least.

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Techtite Feature Article!

The Top Dozen "Halloween Games" Ever Made

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