Horror games for the holidays

September 17, 8:37 PMPC Game ExaminerBryan Edge-Salois

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Alex Shepherd lays some smack down in
Silent Hill: Homecoming

I'm eagerly downloading Crysis: Warhead and plan to have a review shortly. I need to finish it quickly because I want to ensure my gaming plate is clear in time for these upcoming horror-action-shooters—two of which should be here in time for Halloween!

Silent Hill: Homecoming (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)—Releasing 9/30/2008
I've always liked Konami's Silent Hill games for their creepy environments and bizarre, surreal worlds. The game play has always been a mixed bag, unfortunately, but never bad enough to stop me from playing them.

Once again, you take the role of a lone protagonist (Alex Shepherd) in a foggy, creepy  place generally unhospitable for lone protagonists. Bizarre, shambling, vaguely human (and some not-so-human) creatures roam the streets—and the big guy with a pyramid for a head (and a machete big enough to kill Cleveland) makes his return debut as well.

Silent Hill games have always been a bit lame on the action side of the house, but Homecoming promises to offer a better monster-mashing experience. As long as the action, puzzles, and Silent hill's trademark weirdness deliver the goods, Homecoming could be the best Silent Hill yet. 

Deadspace (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)—Releasing 10/31/2008
This horror 3rd person shooter from Electronic Arts has all the makings of a great survival horror game. You arrive on the USG Ishimura, an exploration ship floating in deep space. Unfortunately, everyone is dead (as is often the case with these games), and those that aren't dead are generally trying to eat your brains.

Your mission is to make repairs to the ship, restore communications, and probably avoid being eaten while you figure out what the hell happened.

Dead space combines traditional 3rd person action with elements similar to those in BioShock—namely, vending machines to purchase items (like health and ammo) and workbenches to construct and/or upgrade equipment. You'll also gain special powers--like the ability to slow time, for example--as you progress through the game. 

Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)—Releasing in November 2008
What could be better than 1-4 multiplayer co-op against hordes of zombies? It's zombie apocalypse from Valve—the folks that brought you Counterstrike, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2, and helped refedifne the FPS genre in general. That's pretty much all I need to know. Sign me up and bring on the zombies!