Seeing how Halloween is almost here, this would be a good time to mention some totally fear invoking, gore infested, gratuitously violent video games? Of course the games about to be mentioned shouldn't be an alternative to going out on Halloween night and scaring the shit out of people. But for those who are on parole, or who are really afraid of going out at night, these games should provide some fright.

So now it's time for Ookie Spookie's spookie video game hall of fame...

1. Resident Evil 1
Alone in the Dark may have come first, but Resident Evil was born to be a classic. From the moment the player steps inside the mansion, things begin to go bad very rapidly. From zombie dogs to mutated humans to giant spiders, Resident Evil had a lot of spookies. But what truly made the game frightening was that the player would never know what was behind the next door, and if their health was low, that could mean instant death.

2. Resident Evil 2
Usually sequels suck, but Resident Evil 2 was actually better than the first game. In Resident Evil 2, the player is outside of the mansion and has to run through a city infested with zombies only to end up in a police station that's got far more wicked things roaming about than zombies. The surprises behind doors and the corny voice acting is still present, but the fright factor is multiplied.

3. Silent Hill 3
Every Silent Hill game is spooky, but three is by far spookier. It isn't the fact that the monsters are scarier, it isn't because it's easier to die, it's because the player is trapped in a mall. It's scary enough being in a mall much less being trapped in one. Silent Hill borrows a lot from the Resident Evil series, but it's always been a bit more cerebral and the acting isn't as corny. The player also gets to be a teenage girl who has emotional issues and now here she is being hunted down by the type of horror only Silent Hill can be capable of.

4. Bloodrayne 2
Unlike the three games above, Bloodrayne 2 isn't really scary as much as it is gorey and totally violent. In Bloodrayne the player gets to control one of the hottest little video game vixens out there, the players mission is to kill every vampire that they come across in an attempt to get revenge against daddy vampire and stop him from blocking out the sun. Think of what would happen if Blade and Underworld got blended together for a video game, that's what Bloodrayne 2 is like.

5. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
You may be wondering why a Sims game is on this list, well if you install it you'll see the game is plagued with bugs that cause your computer to crash quite frequently. That's scary, isn't it?

6. Doom 3
The movie with Rock was scary, but any movie with Rock in it is scary because of how horrible his acting is. The third game in the series however is a really spooky little romp through a demon infested, broken down, lab on mars. The player gets to play as a marine who is the sole survivor of a demon infestation and most of the action happens in the dark. From flaming skulls to undead marines, the living marine has a lot to be scared of.

7. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
This game is ever vampire nerds wet dream, they get to play as a vampire and roam about Los Angeles looking for clues on how to solve certain mysteries. With the typical RPG interface, the player gets to beef up their powers by earning experience points. The game relies on a lot of video game tits and ass, so if you're really hard u this Halloween for some eye candy, maybe this game will do the trick.

8. Nocturne
This game was developed by the same people who created Bloodrayne, it just came before Bloodrayne. Imagine if Humphrey Bogart was tossed into a Van Helsing movie, that's what Nocturne is like. The lead character is this tough as nails Bogart like character who works for a society that hunts down vampires, werewolves and other things that go bump in the night. It's an amusing game with a few spine tingling moments and a lot of old school horror monsters. Not a bad ride whatsoever..

9. Manhunt
From the company that brought the world the highly educational Grand Theft Auto series.. comes Manhunt. Manhunt is a survival horror game, but there are no demons and there are no zombies. In Manhunt the player is a convict who is forced into reality tv show where he has to kill those hunting him or be killed himself. There are multiple ways to kill those after the player, the more violent the kill, the more points the player gets. At one time was one of the most graphically violent games.

10. F.E.A.R.
This game is hands down the spookiest game out there. The entire game involves roaming about in the dark, but the player is a heavily armed soldier in a special military unit. The problem is, the player is up against a highly trained terrorist group and on top of that, there's some spooky demonic girl who has a thing for burning bodies. The game is filled with surprises and when the game isn't heavy on the action, it's trying to fuck with the players mind. To this game properly one must kill the lights.

Next year with any luck a few different games will be out there and hip. Alone in the Dark 5 should be out in 2008. Alone in the Dark is pretty much the father of scary pc games, so hopefully the 5th game in the series will bring the series back into the spotlight. But time will tell..

This S*it Will Fcuk You Up!

Modulate, Psyclon Nine and Combichrist @ Avalon in Hollywood, CA 8/11/07

Picture and Words By Lil Pixie Donna

When Combichrist say, “This s*it will fcuk you up" they are not messing around. If you have just heard them on your CD or mp3 player and have not seen them live, you are definitely missing out. During their live performance, Combichrist seems to double if not triple the energy on their CDs. Well, at least the show at the Avalon far surpassed what I expected to see.

The stage presence of Andy LaPlegua (vocals), Shaun F. (keyboards), Jon H. (percussion) and Joe Letz (drums) was absolutely amazing. These four guys covered in makeup and blood practically ran on stage and kept the crowd moving through out the entire one hour and 20 minute set. No kidding, one second people were standing around socializing waiting for the band to start when all of a sudden, the lights went out and a loud pulsing energetic and aggressive electronic sound began playing. All we saw were bright flashing lights and thick fog as if it were some kind of dark EBM dance club and the crowd was completely into it. It seemed as if everyone was up, dancing and just having a good time. 

Some of their highlights were “Electrohead,” “Blut Royale” and “I’d Like to Thank My Buddies.”  Of course they chose the perfect song to end the night, “This S*it Will Fcuk You Up.” I loved every second of it! 

All in all, it was a great night but I cannot end this without mentioning the opening bands, Modulate and Psyclon Nine. They were a great start and just as high energy and fun to watch as Combichrist. It was a pretty good band combo, somebody must have known what they were doing when they put this tour together!

(this might be posted here http://www.therockitnews.com/ )