S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has had it's moments for me when I was new to it. I mean, the setting was perfect, the atmosphere was very well done as well (even in vanilla), and you have to be on your toes and keep your wits about you if you want to survive. After a good while, looting eventually just becomes secondary to making sure the AI doesn't get too smart, and maul you in the most horrible way imaginable.
Had my share of experiences where despite being armed to the teeth and wearing some epic armor, I only had to reply with "Oh crap.", and only have a 10% chance of survival, and have quickload at the ready. Even worse, sometimes the AI learns from the quickload/quicksave, and they're even worse the nth time later. Had my share of surprises in that game, and accidentally walking into an anomaly, especially while chased down by a pack of
blind dogs and such sucks. Don't get me started on the panic that comes when you can see a blowout coming, and only have moments to find cover, in the middle of a battleground sometimes.
I'm not easily scared, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was one of those games that actually struck a chord with me on the fear factor; and in a good way. It was the fun scared, more than the common "brown pants" level of scared everyone else experiences. Felt more like a survivor situation than a well-made haunted house. I suppose primal fear is more my kind of fear.
I mean, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. truly felt more like a post-apocalypse than the Fallout games ever did. I mean, that game was creepier/more startling than the Dunwich Building in FO3. A legion of feral ghouls and a demonic artifact of unlimited power, so what? A smart enough pack of blind dogs that know how to efficiently and effectively hunt you in packs, and use other
"flora" and fauna to their advantage so they can get a meal? Oh crap. A situation like I illustrated would scare me more than facing a horde of zombies or the legions of Hell. In one case, I'm just plain (un)dead, in another case, I'm food. My best worry in that situation is that I hope whatever's bound to eat me, better know how to cook.
EDIT:
If I know a situation could easily go sour and I can spot some bandits, monos, or any other hostile human(oid) on my radar, and their paths intersect, I tend to get a good laugh watching an elite armed/armored team take on what I regularly dealt with solo (especially when I can spot both dangers at a distance and bide my time until the fun happens). It doesn't end too well for them, and it thins the numbers of the victor.
Something else equally funny to witness is a wild board stumbling into an anomaly, and being imploded.
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE-*BOOM*!!!!!
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Topic: Games that can make you absolutely terrified?(Read: Amnesia etc. etc.) (Read 7281 times)