So the lack of time to put the blog together this year has meant that the Gruesome Games section has been somewhat lacking....to make up for this, have a post that brings together links to all 253...yes 253....games that I've covered so far!
I had big plans for another list this year, but it looks like you'll need to watch this space next year...there's still plenty more where these came from! ;)
The first 202 games are listed down from 100 in their order from the first two lists, and then all the other games I've covered since then are numbered after 202..if that makes any sense? (It probably doesn't, but it does in my head...so...)
Click the name of the game you want to read about to be whixked away to the appropriate link!
Halloween again! We made it another year! I might still have time to do one last story from the Digital Comic Museum later, but just in case I don't let me just wish everybody a Happy Halloween! It's been great fun taking part in the Countdown once again....please go visit the other bloggers taking part by clicking the badge below! Have a good one everybody!
Last week, whilst getting distracted from doing things I should really be doing and instead wasting time surfing the web, I happened upon some old video game preview trailers hidden away in the murky depths of The Internet Archive. Amongst them were various trailers for games I've already covered in the Gruesome Games list, so I thought I'd re-upload these previously hidden videos to my Youtube channel, and post them here as a little extra treat while I prepare the next entry in the list!
Enjoy this first blast of trailers then, and I've a few more to post at a later date! I've put some videos of other old games on the Youtube channel too, so if you like you can check those out as well....some of them are rather....odd!
Only 9 days to go, so lets not waste any time and get right on with the next lot...
70 - Frankenstein (NES) :
A lovely animated intro tells us that in this game, Frankenstein's monster has risen once more from the grave and decided that he needs a new lady friend. Popping along to the nearest village, he indulges in a bit of arson and kidnaps the beautiful Emily ! Off you trot then, on a quest to hunt the fiend down and rescue the lady before she becomes the next Bride Of Frankenstein....
The game is a side-scrolly hack and slash affair, and adds a little exploration by letting you enter buildings to try and find extra items and power ups to help you out. These add things like projectiles that fire from your club, or extra life potions..the usual sort of stuff!
It makes a fairly decent job of it all, and it should have you giving a good attempt at ploughing through it. There's a good selection of baddies, and the backgrounds and music create a nice spooky vibe throughout! Be warned though, that it can be pretty tough in parts and not always for the right reasons....
There's some sloppy hit detection during battles and a couple of annoying platform jumping sections that are really frustrating, but if you can stop yourself from hurling your controller at the wall, you will get past them and get back to the hunt for old bolt-bonce! The boss battles can be difficult at first too, but like all the best boss fights, it's just a case of working out the right places to stand or the right way to attack...
So yeah, why not go and see if this one lights your flaming torch!
69 - Left 4 Dead (360) :
Yes, yes...it's another game with zombies in...but this FPS does do things a bit differently! Although you can play it as a Single player game, the real way for this to be enjoyed is as part of a team of four!
As usual, a weird chain of not particularly obvious events has resulted in a zombie apocalypse, and the zombies are of the newer, fast, running type and not the slow, shambling, easily escaped monsters of the old days...so you'll have your work cut out!
You play as one of a group of survivors who have so far escaped the sudden urge for brains or loss of the odd limb. You can pick from grizzly old war veteran Bill , biker boy Francis , office worker Louis and student chick Zoey...but there isn't really any difference in play whoever you pick, so it is just a matter of choice.
You have to battle your way through zombies that the game randomly flings your way, moving from safe house to safe house across varying locales and encountering quite a few different obstacles that need a little more brain work and/or co-operation to get past.
You'll also need to keep an eye out for the "Super Zombie" types...undead characters who have evolved beyond just running and chomping. There's the Smoker , who'll try to drag you close with his rather extraordinary tongue...the Hunter , who'll leap from the shadows and attach himself to your torso whilst ripping away your ribs...the Boomer , who will explode in a gloop of zombie-attracting, vision-obscuring pus all over your poor character...the Witch , who sits sobbing in a corner until she spots you or your torch and decides to come say hello to your innards...and last but by no means least, the Tank , who lives up to his name and takes a load of ammo to take down as he flings cars and bits of tarmac at you before attempting to pummel you to pavement-paste!
There are weapons and health boosting items lying around to give you a better chance, and again these are often randomly placed. This, and the random way the game decides which enemies to appear and when, are a good way of keeping replays of Left 4 Dead interesting, as otherwise the relatively small choice of four different scenarios with 5 levels each could become boring very quickly.
With four real online players, the game can be a real blast. You really have to stick together to get anywhere, deciding who'll do what and where everyone will be positioned, and branching out on your own will see you pushing up daisies in no time. If one of you does bite the dust, you can re-enter the game a bit later, so long as at least one of the others survives long enough to discover you hiding in a cupboard...
If you're playing solo, the AI is pretty awesome and shouldn't see you have any real difficulties apart from the other team members deciding to stand in your way every now and again, but they do move swiftly when fired upon..Oh, and occasionally they'll make a bad choice in trying to revive you whilst too many zombies are still kicking about, but I've seen human players make similar bad choices too!
It's all a huge load of groovyness, and I could talk about it for hours ( I haven't even mentioned the other game mode where you can fight as the super zombies against another online team of survivors! Or the Survival mode, where you have to fight as many zombies off as the game can fling at you!) but time is short, so I'll just skip to the end and say that you must play this game if you have any interest in zombies or first person shooters at all !!
68 - Nightmare Creatures (PS1, N64, PC) :
Adam Crowley is a bit of a git! He's only gone and released a nightmarish Transmortification virus on old 19th Century London town, and it's turning all the cockneys into hideous, deformed creatures of the night! Unlike Eastenders though, it's going to take more than a cup of tea to sort out this load of slobbering, gibbering, undead moaners....
Step forward our two brave heroes, Father Ignatius Blackward , a priest with more than a little knowledge of the occult and magic...and Nadia Franciscus , a vengeful daughter out to put a stop to Crowley's plans and make him pay for her immunologist father's death!
Third-person, hacky-slashy, action-adventuring is the way forward...through 18 levels of London fog, creepy cemeteries, stinky sewers and the like. Switches must be flicked to open gates, holes in floors jumped over and all manner of creatures hacked limb from limb using the various items lying around and some funky fighting moves made possible by using different button combos...
You also have to make sure and keep killing the various fiends and keep your adrenaline meter high, or you'll end up succumbing to Crowley's virus yourself! This adds a bit of urgency to the game, and also makes it a bit more difficult...
Roaming about in the London fog and creeping through rat-infested sewers makes for an atmospheric adventure, and the John Carpenter-esque soundtrack and random spooky sounds also help make you feel favourably freaked out!
There are sometimes a few camera issues, and the controls cans occasionally be a bit unwieldy..and like other PS1 games it's beginning to show it's age a little..but it still stands up as a decent and fun example of the genre! And you could always try the slightly better looking N64 or PC versions, the N64 one being where these screens are from!
67 - Deadly Evil (ZX Spectrum):
This is another game that has relatively recently been brought to my attention. Never having played it back in the day, it came up as a recommendation at World Of Spectrum when I was asking around last year for Halloween type games. I had a quick go, but only went back to playing it properly this year for the blog....
Undead beasties have appeared and run off with a princess, so you have to fight your way through the forest to rescue her and retrieve some ancient scrolls which will apparently send off all the undead back to the putrid pits they emerged from. Armed with a sword, you hop about the platforms smacking skeletons and avoiding evil hoodies who appear and fling fireballs at you...
I haven't got very far at all in this, 'coz it's bloomin' difficult! You only get one life, and there doesn't appear to be any way to get more health. I managed to pick up a few bits of scroll, but those annoying monks or whatever they are keep appearing, lobbing those fireballs at me and wiping out my health instantly!
As such, I can't really say whether or not it gets any better...I was slowly making progress, but in the end I gave up as I was just getting too frustrated at dying all the time! It does have a nice creepy tune at the title screen though, and doesn't look too bad...but nope, just too difficult I'm afraid!
66 - Cold Fear (PS2) :
The Thing meets Resident Evil on a boat!
Hmm..that was easy....right on to the next lot.......What? Not enough information? I thought that summed it up pretty well, but fair enough...
You take the role of Tom Hansen, ex-soldier and now under the employ of the US Coastguard, as he goes to investigate a Russian whaler which a SEAL squad has mysteriously disappeared on whilst trying to determine it's cargo. It doesn't take long to discover that some strange parasitic creatures called "Exocells" are using the crew and any other living creature they can lay their tentacles on as host bodies...and as a food supply too!
But where did these creatures come from? And what were the doing on a whaling ship in the middle of the Bering Straight?
This game is a typical survival horror type affair, with you creeping around dark corridors finding notes from unfortunate victims of the bizarre events, and constantly getting spooked by fetid foes who seem to be unhappy with you being around. It even has a similar camera angle to Resident Evil 4, with the view sitting behind your shoulder..
What makes this a particularly groovy take on the subject though, is the decision to set the opening part on a boat in the middle of the ocean! As a storm lashes the ship, you'll have to deal with keeping your footing as it bobs around and watch out for waves or hanging chains that are swinging about trying to knock you off your feet!
The seasick inducing swaying of the ship gives the game a refreshingly different atmosphere than the usual dark tunnel or mansion environments, and if you're a fan of survival horror, you'll enjoy the change of scenery!
Other than that though, it's pretty good but standard stuff. You'll have to do the same running back and forth, hunting for ways to unlock doors and solving not-too-difficult puzzles to get past certain enemies or obstacles...as I say, the usual stuff. All in all though, a great game for fans of the genre !
90 - Call Of Cthulhu :- Dark Corners Of The Earth (Xbox):
Based on the works of American horror writer H.P.Lovecraft, Dark Corners Of The Earth tells the tale of Detective Jack Walters. After being called to come to a derelict mansion by the police, he discovers that the leader of a weird cult has asked for him by name. But Jack has no idea who the man is and has never met him before.
Currently the cult is in a siege situation with the cops and the leader says he will only talk to our detective chum! Entering the mansion just as a firefight starts, he finds photos of himself and newspaper clippings of cases he has worked on totally covering one of the rooms! Who are these guys, and why are they so interested in our hero??
Hearing a strange noise coming from a staircase leading to the basement, Jack (or you, as you're in control) decides to investigate! Amongst other gruesome things, you discover a strange electronic device and upon powering it up, seem to conjure forth some weird alien entities! Yipes! Passing out in sheer panic, the screen fades to black and it's another 6 years before we catch up with the story....
Recently released from an asylum where he has spent the last 6 years, Jack goes back to being a Private Investigator. Trying to forget about his horrifying ordeal, he takes on the case of a missing shopworker, and travels to the small fishing town of Innsmouth to discover what he can about the disappearance. The locals don't take too kindly to outsiders, and soon Jack is fighting for his life and trying to escape the town and it's creepy inhabitants. As the story unfolds, he struggles to maintain a grip on his sanity as he uncovers more and more terrible and unbelievable secrets....
When you first start the game up, you'll be forgiven for thinking it's going to be a first-person shooter...actually though, it plays more like an adventure game. You creep around investigating the town and it's locked buildings, trying to stealthily avoid the residents and work out various puzzles to help you with the case.
Early gameplay also involves escaping pursuers, and one piece has you running from your bedroom locking doors with bolts behind you as you go and pushing furniture in front of them to further hinder capture! It makes for some pretty atmospheric action, and although it's tricky you'll keep playing until you get past as you'll want to see what happens next...
The game does seem to be rather tricky in general, and I haven't got too far in it yet..but from what I have seen, it only gets crazier and crazier as it goes on. It's certainly atmospheric, and there's lots of fun to be had working out how to proceed past the puzzles. Jack will start panicking occasionally and the screen will blur, or he'll start muttering away to himself as his insanity increases..which is another nice touch!
I do have a few issues with it though...control can sometimes be a bit fiddly, and I especially had problems during the escape sequence mentioned above, but it seems to happen a bit randomly and doesn't really break the game.
The biggest problem for me though, is Jack's voice. Although not actually that badly voice acted, it seems somewhat disjointed from what's happening on screen. Your character can be scared stupid and trying to leg it through a door, but he'll just calmly say something like "Hmm...it's locked. Maybe I should try somewhere else." As you can imagine, this affects the immersion of the game and makes you very aware that that's all it is...
Still, apart from those tiny flaws, it's another great spooky specimen and comes highly recommended!
Halloween isn't just a great time for getting freaky with ghouls and ghosts, it's also the perfect time to indulge in a bit of alien hunting! And in this N64 title from DMA Designs ( who would later go on to become Rockstar North ) you can indulge in a great deal of bug-blasting shenanigans!
Since 1916, alien invaders have been visiting Earth every 25 years and harvesting it's inhabitants for food. In 2016, the last few human survivors are orbiting space in a space station and decide to send some Troopers back in time to try and prevent these body harvests from happening. However, the baddie bugs attack the station.. and our hero Adam Drake barely escapes into the past, being the only Trooper to do so! You then, must take control of Adam, and explore the areas where the aliens plan to invade and try to stop them munching their way through history!
Doing so involves some RPG-lite type exploration of buildings, chatting to the folks that populate these time-zones and seeking their help to battle the beasts. Some will loan you vehicles to use, or give you keys to secret passages or buildings that hold better weapons. The ultimate objective in these areas is to locate the Alien Generators that spawn the creatures and destroy them, whereupon you will gain access to the next area..
The aliens will attack in waves and attempt to capture humans and eat them. If you're to make it to the generators, you'll need to stop these waves! Running around on foot can be very dangerous, so it's very handy that there are all kinds of vehicles lying around the place and you can enter any one of these for a bit of extra health and firepower. Yes, that's right...just like Rockstar North's later titles you can hop into any vehicle you can see, and this game has loads....
From Fire Engines to Fighter Planes, Tanks to Ice Cream Vans..there's load of different driving styles to master. It's easy to see that sandbox gaming is slightly older than most people think too, as the levels are huge and the vehicles allow you to explore them however you choose! It really is like GTA crossed with Earth Defence Force....
This is one of my favourite N64 games, and I can't recommend it enough! The levels get crazier and more filled with slimy alien bugs of increasing strength as the game goes on, and finding which weapons and vehicles to use and where is loads of fun. There are plenty of secrets to be found too, and it'll take you ages to see the end...
It's by no means perfect, and even at the time of it's release people found Adam to travel around a bit too slowly on foot...and it does have the occasional game-breaking bug, if you explore a bit too far from the course the game ideally wants you to take...but if if you give it a chance, stick with it and reach the later time-zones you should end up loving it as much as me! Go track it down and give it a blast!!
(Edit - Also click here to read a great article on the making of the game at Nintendo Life)
88 - Invasion Of The Zombie Monsters (ZX Spectrum, MSX) :
If you've been away from the Spectrum scene for a few years, you may be unaware that it still has a healthy amount of games being released for it each year! The next game on my list was released last year, and although originally only available to buy, thanks to it's generous creators you can now play it for free...and play it you should!
Young Ned is indulging in a bit of smoochy-smoochy with his girlfriend in the back seat of his car, when it suddenly gets struck by lightning! But this is no ordinary storm, and the lightning brings with it an evil shadow creature...who kidnaps Ned's girlie and reveals plans to conquer the world with an army of zombies!! What the shadow doesn't know though, is that in times of great danger Ned receives the wondrous "Moonshine" power, gaining energy and power bolts from the moon's rays! Off he goes to stop this evil fiend and get back his lady....
Presentation in this game is excellent, and if you didn't know any better you'd really think you were playing a big-budget release from back in the day! A funky tune and cool intro sequence start things off, and when you start the game proper you can expect colourful graphics and some great gameplay too!
It owes a lot to Capcom's Ghosts 'n' Goblins series, but is no worse for that! You traverse the platforms and pitfalls, battling zombies, monsters and killer plants and at the end of each level you'll face a boss, which you'll need to beat to progress to the next groovy level! Your bolts of energy can be made more powerful by picking up power ups along the way, of course...
Do yourself a favour and go find and play this gem right now! It's also available for the MSX (which has slightly groovier graphics) so if that's more your scene, go play it on that! And if you like it lots, you can still buy an actual physical copy from Relevo too, which comes with some extra goodies! Hurrah!!
87 - Zombie Raid (Arcade) :
This is a funky lightgun shooter that was released in the arcades in 1995 by Sammy ! It had a shotgun attached to the arcade cab apparently, although I've only discovered it's delights via MAME and use a mouse, so it's probably lost some of it's atmosphere there...
Set in England in the early years of the last century, you play the part of Detective Edward Windsor and go roaming around graveyards and sewers battling zombies, werewolves and other creatures of the night! The screen pans around letting you pick off the baddies, who like to hide behind trees, gravestones and the like before leaping at you and biting your face off or shredding you with their claws!
This is a truly gruesome game, with bits flying everywhere as you blast the baddies away...it certainly isn't afraid to show you some gore! It has a nice variety of ghosties, ghoulies and long-leggity beasties to brutalize too which keeps it interesting as you advance through the game. It's all pretty standard lightgun-type stuff to be honest though, and there really isn't much more to say about it other than it's a lot of fun and should keep your trigger finger happy for a bit!
86 - Dead Rising (Xbox 360) :
Adding yet another zombie-filled game to the list, we have Dead Rising from the masters of survival horror Capcom ! This is a bit different from the usual zombie games the company produces though!
As photo-journalist Frank West, you hitch a ride in a helicopter to a town where you here strange things are happening. Hoping to get some good shots, you head to the roof of the local shopping mall and tell the pilot to come back for you in 3 days...now you just have to stay alive that long!
It doesn't take long to realise that the place is crawling with zombies! You hole up with a few random survivors, some of whom seem to know more about the situation than they're telling. After a while you decide to head back into the mall to try and gather up any other survivors, and also to get those photos that'll guarantee you fame and fortune!
What makes this game stand out from the zombie horde is the ability to use pretty much anything you can find lying around in the mall to dispose of the brain-biting freaks! Lawnmowers, golf clubs, guitars, frying pans....even Servbot masks from the Mega Man games.... all of these can be used to fight the undead! And of course they'll also provide the perfect photo opportunity to get you some much needed points, which you can then use to beef up your skills!
Surviving for the 3 days is a tough job, and it isn't helped by certain survivors who have gone a little crazy. These are known as Psychopaths and must also be destroyed before they end your fun. Later on, a weird cult shows up too and they also try to stop you from finding out just how the hell all off this came to happen!?! Needless to say, you need to change your tactics when dealing with these foes, as they ain't no brainless brain-munchers....
The game is a huge load of fun, but it is stupidly difficult in parts. And it's not helped by a save system that only allows you one save slot, and if you die you can save your character but not your progress. This saw me starting the game at least 4 or 5 different times, but eventually I was able to progress all the way through having beefed up my stats enough to be able to take a bit of a beating!
Anyway, the story should keep you entertained enough..the mucking about in the mall definitely will..and you should definitely at least give it a go and see if it's your kind of thing! If it is, then there's a sequel ( which is about to get it's own updated version with the character from this game ) and 2 XBLA games to accompany it! You should try them out too, as they add to the fun by allowing you to create your own zombie-killing weapons!!
