Dead Space

Released: 2008
Scary as Hell Science Fiction
1st person shooter


Wow!  This is the scariest video game I have ever seen.  I can't say the scariest I played because, well, I just couldn't play it.  I had to watch someone else play through it, but I was just as scared.

Let's go through the premise first.
You are space engineer, Isaac Clarke travelling on a space craft with a whole crew of people riding out to check on the Ishimura.  The Ishimura is a very large mining space craft that lost communications with Earth after finding an alien artifact and is drifting out in the far reaches of outer space.  You're job is to get on board and repair communications.  The problem with this plan is once you and your team arrive, you all discover it's whole crew is dead.  Some alien life form is aboard and either killing, or turning everyone into a mutated abomination.  You run into the latter A LOT and no matter what you are doing or where you are in this game, you are never safe.  Your mission becomes your own survival.
It was awesome!

Here's a clip from the very beginning of the game.  This is the mini film that plays before you start the game.  Warning!  This video may disturb you, or scare you.  Don't turn the volume way up either.

http://youtu.be/pf39bQ2nMz8


You find some laser or plasma cutter weapons (good for shooting off limbs) and a few of your crew are isolated and let you know what they need around the ship to get out and survive this thing.   You are the only one they can rely on and so that's basically the game.  But on a personal level, your girlfriend was one of the members of the Ishimura crew and you hope she is still alive.  You in fact, got a brief hologram message from her before the game starts and that's kinda' why you're going.  So partly, you're doing stuff to help others, partly, you're looking for her.
This is a perfect game to play in the dark around October just for the scary as all get out feeling you get right away at the opening sequence.
It was so well done, so many good scary creatures, settings, sound effects or lack thereof when it was scarier, everything was really good.  You never feel like a badass, you never feel safe, always on the edge of your seat trying to get to some sort of safety this was a fantastic unforgettable game. 
I'll give you an example of how different it functions from the norm.
Usually, in a game you have to upgrade your equipment, or repair weapons, etc.  Well in this game, you have work benches where you repair your weapons and in other games, this would be a "safe" spot.  Where once you get there you can do whatever you need to and the game kind of pauses the outside world.  Not true here.  We fixed up our guns and as soon as we were getting out of that screen this gigantic arm scrapes across our field of vision.  You turn around and there's this huge monster there that wasn't there when you went to the bench.  Those are the kinds of touches that make this game so unique and scary.  Just like the real world, if you needed to fix your weapons, the monsters would still have a great chance to sneak up on you.....just terrifying in this game!

Here's a clip from youtube.  Sorry for the ad at the beginning and pay no attention to the Finish Him red box at the beginning.  I can't remove it.
Warning!  This video clip is scary, don't watch it in the dark or if you're easily scared.

http://youtu.be/LAiHfqnbGYo

P.S. on play through of this game, just when I thought it couldn't get any scarier, it did.  It's just amazing and if you like the crap scared out of you, this is the game to play.
Highly recommend!
I give it 5 out of 5 joysticks for it's creepy atmosphere and consistently keeping the player on the edge of your seat for the ENTIRE game.  You never get to relax.