Weekend Debate: What makes a game scary?

Last week I had the opportunity to check out a brief section of Dead Space 3 – the next entry in EA’s acclaimed space horror series due on PlayStation 3 early next year. As many of you will no doubt be aware, the big addition is a new co-op mode that lets you play through the campaign in tandem with a new character, John Carver.

This got me wondering whether the developer will still be able to deliver effective scares without the sense of isolation that its predecessors – and many other classic survival horror titles – relied on. When I quizzed the series’ creative director on this issue, he replied that there’s much more to effective horror than just jump scares and fear of the dark.

You’ll have to hold on until next week when we publish the full interview to find out exactly what he’s getting at, but in the meantime I thought his point provided good fuel for a Weekend Debate, especially with Halloween approaching next week. So, here’s today’s topic:

What’s the scariest game you’ve played, and what exactly made it so frightening?

I’ve a very nice prize up for grabs this week, courtesy of our friends over at Capcom. The five most interesting responses will receive a download voucher for the fabulous PS Vita version of Street Fighter x Tekken, which launched last week.

It’s a first-rate fighter and a brilliant conversion of the home console original. Take a look at the trailer below for a closer look.