Bomba's List is just that: a list. It's not really dumber and certainly not smarter than other lists on the Internet, but it is the only one that is titled "Bomba's List." Also, there are more commas and parenthesis used in my lists. Welcome to Bomba's List.Ah, October. While I am normally a spring-centric person, this time of year always fills me with feeling of potential. Something to do with all the candy, I think. They even put it in the bags of popcorn my son brings home each Friday from school. Glorious! But while I do enjoy the viddles (hot tomato-basil soup), cold weather, and lack of lawn growth, I especially enjoy my own horror movie and game traditions. While I am a gamer that enjoys scary titles all year round, October is all about revisiting my favorites. There is just one problem: It's nearly the end of October! I've already plowed through and re-experienced all those wonderful horror classics, pruning a few games and adding a few more as I went. So here is my list of October Games for 2012:
Extermination - This game falls nicely between horror and "horror." A near launch title on the Playstation 2, it takes much of what makes the early Resident Evil games fun and mixes in some third-person action shooting, plus it all takes place in Antarctica, which as John Carpenter and H.P Lovecraft teach us, is a scary place. I didn't always like the game, but this year I found myself entertained. For a great look into this game I highly recommend
Ack's excellent article (written two years ago!). My only beef with Extermination is the amount of backtracking near the end.
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams - To those who have never experienced it, Silent Hill 2 represents one of the first moments that console gamers were treated to a truly adult storyline that was well written and well told, and did not include the general silliness that would often permeate console games of the time. Much like its predecessor, SH2 more or less eschewed "jump-scares" for a more psychological approach, using limiting vision, sound, claustrophobia, and random monster encounters to lull players into a sense of despair and doom. Multiple endings, general secrets (memory card trick, anyone?), and the story itself demand. For SH4 fans (they do exist!) watch for the tiny newspaper mention of main antagonist Walter Sullivan.
Resident Evil 2 - Hype for this game prior to release was not to be believed, save to those that lived through the insanity that followed the release of FFVII. Video game magazines, retail stores, and a burgeoning Internet presence of gaming websites were awash with buzz. There was even a demo disc, which with the aid of a Gameshark one could pick apart and play for weeks, foreshadowing what would happen with the MGS 2 demo only a few years later. And the game was pretty good too!
My greatest memory of RE2 wasn't of the gameplay, but during my time at Funcoland. The day they arrived in store we stacked them up on the floor behind the counter (one stack per register) so that we just needed to reach behind and grab the game and hand it to the customer.
Eternal Darkness - What hasn't been said about this game? Frightening, groundbreaking, and fun. Personally, I always felt that the media focused too heavily on the Insanity effect rather than what made the game good: An excellent Lovecraft-inspired story split up into chapters of the Tome of Eternal Darkness (that the main protagonist finds throughout the game), a good mix of ranged and melee weapon, and a magic system using runes that allowed for varying effects on the "stock spells." It's scary, too, with the best way to play it being all in one sitting at night with headphones on.
I think this will be the last year for Eternal Darkness for a while. I've played it every year since it's release, and any good horror film, too much repetition has dulled the edges off this game.
Silent Hill 1 & 3 - A landmark survival-horror game and it's canonical sequel. One is almost universally accepted as a top twenty of the most influential games of all time, and the other is mostly frowned upon. I'll let you work out which is which. SH1 took the survival-horror genre and turned it on its ear, putting more emphasis on the horror rather than the survival, with that horror being more of a psychological kind rather than the "cheap" kind (though there are a few of those sprinkled throughout the game). The visuals are quite dated on this game now, but to those who can look past this you will find an interesting and scary game well worth the time (and multiple playthoughs).
SH3 was a huge disappointment to many, and quite frankly after the bar SH2 set I can understand, since SH3 takes the more direct story approach rather than what happened in SH2. For those that dig, there are a ton of costumes, weapons, hybrid costumes/weapons, as well as an interesting storyline that questions our personal perceptions on good and evil. Fighting in this game is mandatory, but since the protagonist is gifted with a "side-step" move as well as some strafing abilities it's not too difficult.
On a more personal note, despite what I said earlier about ordering I
always play SH1 and 3 together, and
always before SH2.
Haunted House - Despite the games age (released in 1982) it is a recent newcomer to my October game list, thanks in no small part to my Dad's gift of an
Atari Flashback 3 Plug N Play for my birthday this year. The game is simple, but includes all the hallmarks of a survival-horror game: tight, dark hallways with a limited cone of vision, limited ammunition (you can only carry one item at a time), and a generally creepy atmosphere make this game a permanent addition to my October game list.
Alan Wake - The second newest addition to my list, I discovered this title earlier this year after seeing it on sale at a closing Blockbuster Video. In one word: Superb. The use of sound to announce such things as approaching enemies and safe areas, as well as the ongoing narrative from the main character himself lends itself well to the atmosphere of the game. I've read more than one person bitching about either the combat or the finale of the game, but I personally have nothing to complain about. Regarding the combat it is simple, often forcing you to use hit-and-run tactics or a more desperate "last-stand" effort as you hold off enemies while you try to start a generator (to provide you with a safe area). The story is... the story. It provides closure to what happened during the game. Sure it can be a bit on the weird side, but then again what did you expect?
Well, that is the end of the main list. There are a few runners-up, as well as a few that were taken out for various reasons (mainly time constraints). As an addendum:
Silent Hill 4 - Taken out due to time constraints.
Deadly Premonition - Not added due to time constraints. Maybe next year.
Condemned 2 - Taken out. This game is so queasy and stressful that I just can't play it every year.
Friday the 13th - Taken out due to time constraints.
Amnesia - Will be added for sure next year.
That's it. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your month.
