Poll: Are Old Horror Games More Scary Than New Horror Games?

[TrogzTheTroll]

I know I know... Half-life wasn't really supposed to be scary. But I found that I was always scared to turn a corner because I knew a little head-crab would be there. Waiting.

But enough about my tendancy to be easily scared due to being attacked by chipmunks as a child,
the old graphics of old horror games like silent hill 1 always made me feel more alone than todays version of blood splattered walls you prejudice young hipsters run into in today's current scary game. But I never feel as alone with the games today. Even with improved game play(Sometimes), environment, and graphics.

Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[Jtar]

I'd have to go with the older games, I can still remember having nightmares after playing Doom.

 

[TrogzTheTroll]

I'd have to go with the older games, I can still remember having nightmares after playing Doom.

The newest one was more jumpy than scary..

 

[Cody211282]

ya Doom 3 and RE 5 just were not scary, RE 1 and the old silent hills were scary as hell

 

[annoyinglizardvoice]

A lot of new games go over the top and miss the point entirly.

 

[JRCB]

Doesn't matter. If it's any horror game, I'm scarred shitless. In other news, Condemned has a really good bucket noise in it.

 

[danosaurus]

Games nowadays focus too much on 'Boo!' tactics in an attempt to leech a scare out of people. It's cheap, predictable and B-grade.
Games like F.E.A.R, Doom 3 and so on are all guilty of this and despite being categorised as 'Survival Horror' or whatever, they really just don't cut it.

Older games like Half-Life, Silent Hill 1 & 2 knew how to create intensity, atmosphere and embed a sense of abandonment into your mind. All of this was achieved without ongoing firefights, crap levitating in the air and boogey-men jumping out of closets.

Actually, there are some newer games that do achieve a somewhat 'scary' atmosphere, I believe STALKER is the closest I've felt to 'scared' in a game since the turn of the century.

 

[Yegargeburble]

I have yet to be truly balls out frightened by a game, new or old. Yes, there is a little jumpy surprise every now and again, but no scares. Of course, I have yet to play a Silent Hill game, so I'm not the expert in virtual horror, I guess.

EDIT: Nor have I played a Fatal Frame game, but they look fucking scary.

 

[godsown1991]

Depends on how I'm feeling and when you count "old" and "new" to begin.

The Suffering was the most terrifying game I've ever played, both because the atmosphere was almost suffocating and the jump scares so well-timed. That may fall under old, but on the whole I'd say it's new enough to count. On the whole, though, most new horror games...aren't scary. At all.

It's a lot like horror movies. In the old days, it was a lot more about atmosphere and suspense, which I consider to be far more terrifying. Now, though, there's a lot more focus on jump scares and shock-and-awe.

 

[Gariom]

I'd say they're about even now, but if I had to choose I'd say old games. Fatal Frame 1 and 2 as well as the original silent hill really defined the survival horror genre (oh, and Resident Evil of course).

But games like Condemned 1 and 2, and Dead Space of the same caliber as the older games. It's just a matter of time before one of the newer games does something so scary that it puts all the other horror games to shame. May I suggest putting some lolcats in Dead Space 2?

 

[TrogzTheTroll]

Games nowadays focus too much on 'Boo!' tactics in an attempt to leech a scare out of people. It's cheap, predictable and B-grade.
Games like F.E.A.R, Doom 3 and so on are all guilty of this and despite being categorised as 'Survival Horror' or whatever, they really just don't cut it.

Older games like Half-Life, Silent Hill 1 & 2 knew how to create intensity, atmosphere and embed a sense of abandonment into your mind. All of this was achieved without ongoing firefights, crap levitating in the air and boogey-men jumping out of closets.

Actually, there are some newer games that do achieve a somewhat 'scary' atmosphere, I believe STALKER is the closest I've felt to 'scared' in a game since the turn of the century.

Half-life... I remember the little voice inside saying "Its ok to use all your gernades on the Fish monster..."
Its a fish, and a monster... but I cannot describe the terror that filled me everytime I saw a puddle and a fin sticking out of it.

 

[Jtar]

I'd have to go with the older games, I can still remember having nightmares after playing Doom.

The newest one was more jumpy than scary..

I was talking about the first one actually.

 

[Fbuh]

I'd have to go with the older games, I can still remember having nightmares after playing Doom.

I used to get scared playing Doom in the dark. I also remember trying to play Resident Evil 2, and freaking out everytime zombie arms reached through the wall.

 

[TrogzTheTroll]

I'd have to go with the older games, I can still remember having nightmares after playing Doom.

The newest one was more jumpy than scary..

I was talking about the first one actually.

I know, I was commenting how the new ones are just... jumpy, while the old one was indeed "scary"

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Wouldn't the correct term be Scarier instead of more scary? (Sorry i couldn't help myself! Bad Maddawg *Slaps himself*)

There have been some occasions where the latest games have been frightening. However as stated above most of time these are just simple little Pop out moments when an enemy pops out at you when you least expect it. However I am forced to vote yes as I didn't really play games until the turn of the century and by then I was rather young and didn't play games like Silent Hill. So I really don't have much to compare them to.

 

[Eldarion]

There have yet to be any true new horror games.

<---------old survival horror pro.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

I must say no. With better graphics comes a new sense of depth. It makes it scary real. But if the enemies look like that are cut out of craft paper, for me, really bogs down it being scary. I mean back then, sure. But now....

 

[Swaki]

i too found the first half life to be scary as hell, but i was 8 when it came out, now i cant really get scared by older games, sure the story in some may be incredible and scary and all that, but its just hard to get freaked when 5 black dots whit 2 red dots as eyes try to...do something, its hard to tell, are those dots teeth's?, its just hard to be scared of it, its like in the old days where people was afraid of every little change and ran to the streets whit pitchforks and torches, no one does that anymore (well the Americans on fox, but you know generally) we need more to be afraid as we know more, im not a big fan of horror games but the recent ones i have played did scare/startle me more than any old game ever could.

 

[Sacman]

I havent seen a truly horrorfiying game in years because everything born in to the horror genre now a days is just an action game that uses its enemies less to scare you and more of something to shoot at with your ridiculously over powered weapons. older horror games for the most part were more about trying to survive until the next save point it didn't matter wheather or not you killed everything all that mattered is that you didn't die...

 

[Chancie]

I'm kind of torn, though I think I'll have to go with the older ones. Overall, the older ones have scared me more than newer ones.