Scary Game for Halloween - Dead Space

Scary movies on TV, haunted houses getting constructed and people dressing up in scary and not so scary costumes can only mean one thing; Halloween night is almost upon us.

While there may be parties to attend and houses to trick-or-treat at, there is more to do to have fun.

There are plenty of choices when it comes to scary video games. However, I feel there is one game that personifies horror the best, and that is game is "Dead Space."

"Dead Space" takes place in the 26th century where humans have space travel and colonize planets. You play as Isaac Clarke, a talented systems engineer who must travel to the ship his girlfriend, Nicole, was stationed on to answer a distress call.

The game takes place on the Ishimura, the ship Nicole was stationed on as well as the planet the Ishimura was mining on. As soon Isaac's ship reaches the Ishimura, things go terribly wrong. The game then revolves around Isaac trying to find Nicole and find out what happened on the Ishimura that lead to the distress call.

As the story unfolds, we are introduced to the enemy of the game, the necromorphs, which are reanimated corpses of the ships crew. The necromorphs are also linked to a rapidly growing religious cult called the Church of Unitology. The church worships an idol known as the "black marker" and it's the reason the necromorphs are created. The church believes beconing a necromorph is the next step in life and salvation.

With all of this going on, Isaac must find his away around a failing ship and an unknown planet to stop this threat before it gets worse.

Now "Dead Space" has all the tools to be a great game, and it is, but we're here to discuss the horror aspect only.

"Dead Space" succeeds in three major areas of the horror scene: atmosphere, sounds and visuals.

The atmosphere is like a haunted mansion in space. The Ishimura is now a derelict ship with systems failing and structures falling apart. There are Blood stained walls and floors with dead bodies everywhere making it a trek no one would want to take. The bodies add to the fear because they can become necromorphs at any moment.

Necromorphs will drop down in front of you and attack relentlessly as well. It can make anyone's heart stop and is a great scare factor. If the creeping fear from the stale and too quiet atmosphere wasn't enough, things go up a notch with necromorphs coming from the ceiling, walls or even floor panels to scare you.


The atmosphere leads right into the creepy sounds that never stop. You can hear things fall down, caused by a necromorph or just from the ship falling apart. You never know and it keeps players on their toes. There are also instances of cries and moans coming from the walls. It could be a necromorph or could just be Isaac's mind beginning to break down.

There is also the fear caused by no sound at all. Music will play in certain spots and in some of the rooms you will hear the creepy cries and moans. But it many areas, there is no sound at all. The absence of sound can really amp up the scare factor because when you do hear a loud sound, it scares you into making a defensive move only to find out the sound is from a door opening for you or an elevator coming down.

The visuals go in with the atmosphere as well. The Ishimura is a very dark place. Lights flicker on and off constantly and in most areas, the power is down and it's complete darkness with Isaac's flashlight the only source of light. It makes walking through the ship a slow process. The fear of enemies coming around the corner, or ship hazards hazards hurting you in the dark is not an easy one.

If the darkness wasn't enough, the necromorphs also help wth the visuals. Some of the necromorphs look just like the ship crew, except the eyes are glowing and hollow and they look dead. However, many of them no longer look human, and are not grotesque monsters with sharp scythe-like arms and their heads look like they've been melted down to the bone. It's scary to look at and even worse when they grab on to you to try and rip your head off.


These three factors create an amazing ambiance and very scary one. "Dead Space" covers the slow almost ever-present fear from games like "Silent Hill" and "Fatal Frame," as well as the shock value and bursting enemies from games like "Resident Evil" and "System Shock."

It's the perfect game to play during the Halloween season. Not only will it scare you, but it'll also be a rewarding experience because it's a great game. So take a break from the movie marathon or the scary parties, and give yourself a healthy scare with "Dead Space." It will be worth the fear to play.