Ok so I'm here at work and bored as well, so let's have a debate.   I say that Silent Hill Shattered Memories is the best horror game ever made, and I challenge anyone to argue it.

You may have guessed by name that I'm a big horror game fan, and you'd be right.  I've played em all since that crazy one on snes and alone in the dark on pc.  I also am a massive horror fan, who goes after the foreign and obscure seriously twisted movies.

So I've been waiting for a true atmospheric and amazing horror game for years.  Stand outs over the years include System Shock 2, Silent hill 2-4, Fatal Frame 1 and 2, both condemneds, and Call of Cthulu on xbox.  Why'd I pick these?  Because of atmosphere and the choice to include eerie portions of the game without combat.  Horror movies are not scary because of fighting, yet horror games cram it in as much as they can.  It ALWAYS ruins the immersion in my book.  I don't play these games for challenge or thrills, I play it for pure fear.

That's why resident evil isn't on my list.  The poor acting, the bad music, and the endless fights and gun battles, make it not scary in the least.  And that's going back to number 1 up till now.  That's not to say I didn't like them, just they were as scary as gears of war.

SH:SM though . . . Wow.  Truly an interactive horror movie, and daringly dropping combat and many game conventions in the name of immersion.  Ideas like the cell phone, and the shrink sessions truly take this to the next level.  It really felt like I played through a movie written by Junji Ito or Takeshi Shimizu. 

So give it a go, let's debate.  Is there any horror game better than SH:SM?

Didn't play Silent Hill Shattered Memories yet, but I heard you can't kill anything and just run away or stun them. Sounds really stupid to me.
I hate every scene in any game with invincible enemies. That's probably my biggest issue with the Crash Bandicoot series.....

The best horror game this gen is still Condemned Criminal Origins IMO.

@barozi

its not so much invincable enemies, you can hurt them and stun them, but only if they grab you

the chase scenes are super tense, actually gives you that feeling of someone running from zombies or jason.

condemned was incredible and tense and scary, however im saying sh sm is better as it captures a movie feel and is closer to making an interactive horror movie

if sh sm was a movie you could watch it. if condemned was a movie it would make no sense and have endless combat scenes. it loses out on the pace of the story.

but make no mistake i absolutely love it, and its probobly number 2

ok no replies more or less, should i take this as a win?

are you guys saying nothing can touch sh:sm?

best horror game I have ever played is easily

Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii

I still havent playd dse, not sure how a rail shooter would be scary, but it could be.

i didn't include dead space in my list of best games because it was like fear.

a lot of good parts, with hours and hours of boring wandering or shooting the same badguys over and over again.

ds on 360/ps3 coulda been a million times better

i have played SH:SM first hour on ps2.its was reeeeally good.i ll wait to get from someone a wii just to play this...
So i cant accually answer you but i think that it cant surpass the original silent hill or the amazing silent hill 2 not ever my beloved silent hill 4!!!!yeah im a huge Silent hill fan!
Condemned-fatal frame 2 and rule of rose made a good job but silent hill series is by far the most shocking horror series..
im happy that you ve enjoyed so much SM...

I seriously bet if you met any of the creatures in Silent Hill face-to-face, you'd run.

Also, the invincible creatures are symbolic. They're his "nightmare."

@silent pyramid

good move waiting for wii, the controller speaker really adds to the game as does the motion in some key parts

i love sh 2 and 4 the most as well, but this really perfects it

if 2 and espescially 4 had this sort of combat they woulda been unstoppable creep out festivals

I also agree that SH:SM was the best survival horror game. The story blew me away.


SH2 is a close second.