An increasingly jumpy PlayStation.com takes a look at some of the scariest and most disturbing games ever to grace PlayStation 2. What was that noise?
Who said games were just for kids? Sure, you can get Ape Escape and Ratchet and Clank for your PS2, but sometimes you want to experience the buzz of a good scare. For those looking for more mature thrills, there are some truly disturbing games out there. Just be warned, they're not for the faint of heart...
Forbidden Siren
The Forbidden Siren series draws its influences heavily from Japanese horror movies like The Ring and The Grudge. As such, the effect is one of psychological horror that leaves you too scared to turn off the lights when you go to bed. Now, with Forbidden Siren 2 coming out at the start of next month, the series takes things to a much deeper and darker level than ever before.
It employs a unique "Sightjacking" mechanic that allows you to tune in to the point of view of your enemies, hideous zombies called the Shibito that roam each level, and who won't hesitate to rip apart women and children. Both Forbidden Siren games combine split-second timing, stealth and survival expertly and make amazingly effective use of lighting and sound.
Added to this are heart-rending stories of loss, anguish and pain that make both games some of the most disturbing and terrifying interactive experiences to be had on PS2.
Project Zero
Known as Fatal Frame in the States, the Project Zero games are not ones to be played on your own. It's made even worse by the fact that the games are supposedly based on a true story about seven gruesome murders in a mansion near Tokyo at the turn of the century.
In each of the Project Zero games, and there are three so far on PlayStation 2, you play as a succession of defenseless females, caught up in a world of bloodshed, curses, and dark mutilation rituals. Armed with an object known as the Camera Obscura, the player can exorcise ghosts by taking photos of them and sealing their spirit within the photograph.
The only problem is that to do any kind of significant damage, you have to wait until the ghosts are practically on top of you before you take the photo. As you can imagine, watching a hideous banshee float towards you while you look through your camera's viewfinder is absolutely terrifying. But it is the underlying horror of the mansions and villages you explore that makes the Project Zero series such a disturbing and affecting one.
Resident Evil
A true heavyweight of horror and the granddaddy of disturbing games, Resident Evil practically invented the survival horror genre with its first appearance on PS One back in 1995.
Released in 2005, Resident Evil 4 moved away from the zombies that made the game famous, and introduced Las Plagas, parasites that infect a human host and turn them into animalistic, blood-crazed killers. The game's brilliant slow burn opening has your character Leon discovering a village that makes the Texas Chainsaw Massacre's locations seem like a nice place for a holiday, before suddenly plunging you into the action. And we've yet to see a scarier game enemy than a screaming blindfolded old woman brandishing a chainsaw.
The knowledge that the violent madmen attacking you were once normal people, heightened by pictures later in the game of the village in happier times, creates a lingering atmosphere that is hard to shake once the machine has been switched off.
Silent Hill
Another titan of gaming terror, the Silent Hill series is also possibly the most disturbing game series to date. Drawing on dark American folklore, and presenting a decaying world, shrouded in fog, Silent Hill games really work to create an atmosphere of mental tension and anguish.
Employing every trick in the book to keep you on edge, the Silent Hill series also features a cast of hideous monsters and enemies headed up by the freakish "Pyramid Head", a powerful man in a bloody butcher's smock with a giant metal pyramid fastened to his head, and awful intentions for his victims.
A game series that will stay with you long after the end credits have rolled, Silent Hill is as disturbing as the most effective horror movie.
So there you have it, four game series that are definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the darker side of gaming. Just don't blame us when you have trouble sleeping...
If you're still in the mood for some spine-tingling action, check out the official Forbidden Siren 2 website at www.forbiddensiren2.com
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