You know what I mean. The Resident Evil series has lots and lots of them. Far and away the best is Resident Evil 2, with the gigantic guy in the green coat that keeps smashing through the wall when you least expect it - also, the crows smashing through the window, the zombie hands smashing through the wall in the hallway (in the B scenario, two whole zombies leap through the boarded up wall instead, which is even more startling because you’re expecting just the hands again,) lots more. All the Resident Evil games after that all put together didn’t have as many “jump” moments as that one game.
The first 30 minutes of Doom 3. After that, it got much too predictable (as with the later Resident Evil games). But the first 30 minutes or so was frightening yet awesomely pulse-pounding.
System Shock 2. There’s nothing quite like running through an area where you’ve already killed all the creatures only to suddenly hear “KILL ME!” or “RUUUUUUN!” quite unexpectedly from the speakers at 11 PM when you’ve got all the lights out.
I also nominate Super Mario Bros. Holy shit, do you jump the ever loving fuck out of everything in that game or what?
Marc
*Quake *had a number of them, although they probably weren’t designed that way. Every time I came across an ogre with the volume turned up I just about peed.
Holy Jesus, someone responded to this thread! And here I was thinking that the only gamers on the Dope played exclusively fantasy RPGs. Thanks. Keep em coming.
Fatal Frame had some moments when the ghosts suddenly appear out of nowhere.
But that monk ghost was one of the most annoying random encounters ever put in a game. You have a limited window to actually destroy him before he turns into 3 invincible energy balls which can hurt you and follow you around that room. The only way to avoid them is to leave and hope they don’t follow you. And even if you defeat him, unlike the other ghosts, he’ll come back. Usually when encountering him it’s better just to run, however, you may be running for a while since he can spawn in multiple rooms and once you’ve triggered him, he tends to keep showing up randomly. There are only a few rooms that he never spawns in.
Unfortunately, the monk detracted from the atmosphere rather than adding to it.
The levels of Alien vs. Predator 2 in which you play a Colonial Marine.
Half-Life 2: Episode 2 - particularly in the mines. This game also had at least three scenes I found pretty traumatic, though they weren’t “jump” scares. Anyone who has played it will know exactly what I’m talking about.
I can’t remember specifics, but usually when I’m playing the various Silent Hill games I get so keyed up and tense that the next monster I see will cause me to squeal. These games are best played in groups. We like to have 4 people watching with one controlling, that way when the current controller gets freaked she/he can throw (and I usually do mean THROW) the controls at someone else.
Fun story: in high school a group of us had an overnight and played Resident Evil 2. Just as one of the dogs IIRC jumps through a window at us, the power went out in the neighborhood. Four 15 year olds peed their pants simultaneously.