10 Scariest Games of All Time

Written by: Blaine Locklair, Editor, High Scores Arcade

Today is Halloween - October 31, 2006, to be exact. I started thinking about some of the great games that are gory, scary or monster laden; in other words, perfect for Halloween. Some certainly stand out compared to others, and deserve to be recognized.

Here are the top 10 scary games - pinball and arcade included - ever released. Here goes:

10) Monster Bash, Williams. This game falls under the "monster laden" category. It has all of the major players in the classic monster genre: Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Mummy, Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon. The game has a music theme and the monsters will play their instruments when the player hits the right shots. Get the band together and jam!

9) Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street. Freddy tortured dozens of teens in their sleep in the seminal 1980s horror films. The pinball game of the same name is a blast to play and features a great "Freddy" head and claw on the playfield. The real Freddy voices in the game make this a great adaptation of the movie in to a pinball. Don't fall asleep playing this one!

8) Sinistar, Williams. The Sinistar is a robotic boss shop that eats other ships, namely the player, for sport. The Sinistar voice is one of the creepiest things ever in a video game, and when he sneaks up on you it can cause even veteran Sinistar players to twitch. This game is truly one of the darkest, scariest, frenzied arcade games of all time. "Beware, I live!"

7) Haunted House, Gottlieb. Haunted House is not really scary, but it is a dynamite Halloween themed pin. Three playfield levels make each game an adventurous exploration of the Haunted House. The music is fitting and keeps the game dark and sinister. This is a favorite among collectors and is a blast to play!

6) Medusa, Bally. This is a very underrated pinball game. The backglass image of Medusa is as creepy as it gets, and the pinball has an overall frightening appearance. What could possibly be more scary than a serpent woman that can turn you into store with just one glance? Yikes! The translucent flippers are also a unique touch for this great game.

5) Tales from the Crypt, Data East. This game is great in two different ways. It has some great gore in the video display, and the artwork comes from the comic books and the HBO series. This is one of the best games for the Halloween and Fright Fans out there. It also has excellent speech clips from the Crypt Keeper, John Kassir. This game has one of the very best soundtracks of all time and rivals the best modern Stern Pins in terms of music quality. The tunes come from the HBO show intro and complement the action perfectly. Bravo!

4) Bram Stoker's Dracula, Williams. Man, this is one creepy pinball game. The backglass is great, the game has excellent minigame and video modes, and the dialog from the creepy movie is a nice touch as well. This is the scariest pinball game and one of the scariest movies ever!

3) The House of the Dead, Sega. A combination of zombies and a great story line rocket this game to the top three. The House of the Dead allows players to fight zombies and chainsaw wielding undead with their light guns to save their girlfriend and to stop the evil Dr. Curien. This great game has spawned three sequels - The House of the Dead II, III and IV.

2) Mortal Kombat, Midway. Released shortly after the success of Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat became an instant success in arcades everywhere. Mortal Kombat revolutionized the gory game genre through the use of "Fatalities", moves that allowed the player to dismember their opponent after winning their match. These moves included burnings, electrocutions, slicings, stabbings, impalings in the pit, and more. Graphic and grotesque, players couldn't get enough, spawning sequels Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat 4. Mortal Kombat continues to spawn sequels for the major home game systems.

1) Chiller, Exidy. Without question, the goriest game ever, especially for the 1986 release date. The player is supposed to shoot apart people's body parts (exposing bones and blood, and resulting in realistic-sounding shrieks of horror). Various special situations are created as well. For example, shooting the edge of torture racks, to pull human targets apart into two pieces, or shooting the handle of a guillotine in order to drop the blade across someone's neck. Congrats to Exidy, makers of the goriest game ever - Chiller!

Wow! That's a lot of blood, guts and gore at one time. I guess that's why we have the wonderful folks at the ESRB to help protect us from all of this nasty stuff. Or, if you're feeling froggy, check out these great games in your local arcade or in MAME or PinMAME. These represent the best Halloween games in the business and will be sure to satisfy fright fans everywhere. Now, which games will make the list for Christmas? Santa Bash, Santa Kombat and Tales from the North Pole, perhaps? Keep your eyes peeled!

"Arcade and Pinball Anthology"