Top Ten Tuesday: Scariest Games

Despite what you may have thought about Xbox 360's first generation titles, this ditty here stood out in the crowd. This game made great use of less sophisticated tools of immersion, like bone crushing sound effects. Follow that up with blood curdling moans of despair, and you have one of the most chilling elements of Condemned, a first-person freak fest that teaches gamers how to use a crow bar is in the right situation.

We're not talking about the upcoming next-gen version with the vague screenshots floating around the internet, but the original rendition. Inspiring games like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider, this game took loose cues from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft and turned them into a freakish interactive experience. Everything from zombies to ghostly pirates make an appearance, earning it an entry on our list.

When the movie-buff-geek with the taped glasses and nasily voice suggests that his idea for the best crossover movie ever would be Predator vs. Aliens, most of us called him a dork, took his lunch money, and walked away. But somehow, somewhere, someone heard this idea and started the franchise in videogame form first. Part 2 made us pee just a little bit.

Zombies are creepy enough in a survival setting. But hand players the ability to "sightjack" and view the world through their disturbing vision, and you have one of the most chilling games ever released on PS2. As one editor here puts it, "watching them creep along, breathing heavily and making disturbing noises is one of the creepier things I've had to endure while at IGN."

He gave us Candyman and Hellraiser. When movies weren't enough, he went and made this videogame that scared us s***less. If you've seen either of the aforementioned movies, you understand that Mr. Barker has quite a twisted imagination. Apply that to an interactive experience where the player is the target of the horror, and begin saying your prayers. Only the fearless need apply.

If there's anything TV shows like The X-Files taught us, it's that stuff with aliens and the letter "X" in the title have to potential to scare the wits out of people. Also like the X-Files, the depth of X-COM: UFO Defense pulled players into a riveting story. You could also rename squad members so that you could grow attached to them, and then mourn their loss when the unthinkable happened. Good times.

Yeah it was a grainy PS One game, but Clock Tower played a psychological game with players. Essentially, you solve puzzles while a nasty, sadistic bad guy chases you around with a giant pair of scissors. In much the same way 80s' horror films functioned, you hear his chilling theme music before he arrives on screen, at which point, he limps after you until you successfully hide, or die.

Some might say using little girls to scare people is a cop out. There nothing scarier than ghoulish children in cinema. Be that as it may, Fatal Frame 2 has two of them, and even though the player is in control of one of them, there's still plenty to be frightened of. Most notably: the fact that you're walking through a haunted town with nothing but a freakin' camera to help you ward off demons. A Camera!

Here's a game that didn't draw from typical horror material, but chose a cyber theme with a disturbing slant. And if 2001 Space Odyssey and The Terminator have taught us anything, there's nothing more disturbing than rogue computers. And by taking a Half-Life approach to survival, players don't have the luxury of just blowing away whatever moves.

Shinji Mikami has a dark imagination. The only thing darker might be the foreboding mansion that the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team encounters in Resident Evil. Anyone who remembers the dogs smashing through the window will understand why this game takes top slot. If you've forgotten, maybe it's better that way. Some things are better left in the dark.