I loved ED. Back when I was doing steady reviewing and editing, I gave it a favorable score that some people contested because it wasn't their deal. But for what it was I think it was a quality game with a lot going for it. Though really, I never found it at all scary. Not even a little bit. Creepy atmosphere in a fun way, but not scary.
For scary... Silent Hill, Silent Hill, Silent Hill. The first time I played the first game I didn't have a clue what I was jumping into. I just picked it up on a whim because it looked neato, and all I'd seen was a couple of screens or whatever. The whole first scene going through the chain link maze, and then when you first go to the alternate reality school... holy mother@!#$ing crap those blew my socks off! The first one was just perfect greatness for an opener, and I thought "Okay, great way to introduce the game," but then there wasn't really anything like that for a good while. And then when you go to the alternate school... it was just so subtle. You know something is up, but you just can't place it until you walk through those doors and see the rust and blood and nastiness. Man, that clobbered me in the face like a mallet. It was awesome. I've been a huge fan of that series ever since. On no level do I find the games fun to play. In fact, they're kind of arduous in a lot of ways, and are often more a pain in the ass than "fun"... but the ambiance, that atmosphere so thick you could punch it, such intriguing stories and characters... I can't get enough. In fact, the franchise has more or less destroyed horror movies for me. I hate them now because they aren't scary. I'm not there. I'm not in control. I'm just watching people... and Silent Hill showed me how much scarier it is to be in control. For scary games, Silent Hill is where it both begins and ends for me almost entirely.
An exception that springs to mind is the original System Shock. The sequel to a degree also, but mostly the first. That game really rattled me in certain parts, and it *still* can. I was replaying it recently and was surprised at how much I still got drawn in and freaked out.
And though Doom 3 on the whole was not a scary game, I have to say that there was one particular moment where the graphics and sound and everything just came together for me and caused me to physically panic in a way that I never had before. It didn't happen again during the course of the game, but no matter what all the naysayers proclaim, I enjoyed the game thoroughly... and that one moment of fright was just awesome. Happened in the tight little claustrophobic area you get to when you first see the massive goopy wormy hell stuff growing around. You go into a room, pick up a key, and a ton of guys spawn. I completely knew what was going to happen and was totally prepared, but at that time I'd just never seen a game look that good or play that amazingly on my system, and I had the thing cranked all the way up... lights out, expensive headphones, you name it. The adrenaline just took me over at that moment, and I just freaked the hell out. It was a defining experience, and to this day I can't tell you why exactly it happened since I *knew* what was coming. It was incredibly obvious. But everything just felt so real to me in that moment... it was gaming bliss for 15 seconds. So yeah, not a scary game, but I'll always think fondly of that one odd moment where it got me.
