1. system shock 2 - the god of atmosphere, the game just conjures a perfect sense of isolation and an eerie, oppressive environment, as well as enemeies that sound so utterly wrong - it's as if they spent time trying to find the most disturbing, most unnatural sounds possible, then used them in the game... plus the random respawns on enemies means you can never feel safe, and often you'll turn just in time to find a wrench flying into your brain as a hybrid screams your flesh welcomes us! in that horrible unnatural voice
2. aliens vs predator - marine campaign - this is avp1, not 2 - i found the combination of extreme darkness, very quick, lethal enemies and the it's-out-there-somewhere-but-where? heart beat blip blip pulse of the motion sensor all combined to just screw with my head like crazy
3. operation flashpoint - not scary in the traditional sense, but the game tapped into my sense of self preservation (and fear is a product of self preservation, so it's very applicable) - the way enemies were very lethal, capable of killing you at extreme range made me fear for my life, every moment was an exercise in survival, and i felt like every moment may be my last - i spent large periods of time hiding prone in bushes, literally too afraid to leave my safe haven for fear of dying
that's it for me - i don't have a 4 or a 5 since we're just talking pc - the original silent hill scared me like crazy (it's my scariest game of all time), but it never made its way to the pc, and later installments in the series were quite tame by comparison... i don't find either of them even remotely frightening, but i guess i'll throw in f.e.a.r and doom 3
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