Summary
- Early 2000s PlayStation 2 horror games provided players with immersive and frightening experiences.
- Clock Tower 3, Siren, and Extermination were all promising horror games that ultimately fell short in terms of gameplay and critical reception.
- Unique concepts such as voice-controlled gameplay in Lifeline and a light gun shooter with a compelling story in Vampire Night failed to gain significant popularity in a saturated genre.
Two decades ago, the horror genre in video games was truly hitting its stride. The 90s brought the jump to 3D graphics, while the 2000s gave fans classics in the genre, like Silent Hill 2, that have captured the minds of fans to this day.
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But it was the early 2000s that gave players a look at just what the PlayStation 2 could do to immerse them in a truly frightening world with its graphical capabilities. It also forecasted just what the future held for the ever-popular genre of games. However, the genre being as prolific as it was, meant that some of its best have been lost to time.
Clock Tower 3 (2002)
Metascore: 69
Clock Tower 3
Behind Every Shadow Lie Your Darkest Fears...
Alyssa Hamilton. An ordinary girl with ordinary dreams who is about to discover a side of herself that she never knew she possessed. Only she has the power to destroy the evil that threatens to plunge the world into darkness.
Her destiny is to confront the brutal crusade of the Evil Servants - foul spirits who thrive on the trapped life force of their murdered victim's souls. To save herself and these tortured innocents, Alyssa must unlock the mysteries surrounding the death of each soul. However, the legions of the dark world won't succumb easily. Alyssa must summon the sacred weapons necessary to banish these demonic creatures to the nightmare realms that spawned them
before the clock tower strikes midnight.
Clock Tower 3 had a lot of potential, especially seeing how much of a splash some other Japanese horror games made around this time. The Clock Tower games themselves were barreling toward a more supernatural angle to their stories with each entry in the series. For instance, Clock Tower 3 saw the player character, Alyssa Hamilton, being transported back in time to help lost souls pass on.
Clock Tower 3 ended up being the last in the series, however, as the game didn't review very well. Critics would say that the gameplay wasn't up to snuff, which would understandably be a killer, especially after the release of the excellent Silent Hill 2 just a few years prior.
Siren (2003)
Metascore: 72
Siren
- Released
- April 20, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Japan Studio
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The third-person, survival horror game, Siren, holds the prestigious honor of being an early PS2 horror game that has managed to keep its scare factor all these years. The incredible sound design, from the shibito's movements to their death cries, makes every second spent trying to escape the town of Hanuda that much more harrowing.
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The game took a sort of vignette approach to its storytelling, putting the player in the shoes of a different survivor in each level, something that the Project Siren team would take with them into the second game. But despite that sequel, as well as a re-imagining of the first game on the PS3, the developers would leave the Siren series in the dust, changing their name to Project Gravity and releasing the Gravity Rush series.
Siren was released in 2003 in Japan.
Extermination (2001)
Metascore: 67
Extermination
WELCOME TO THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.
You're under orders to uncover the cause of a distress signal emanating from a secret military base in Antarctica. Once there, you find the base contaminated by a virus that has ferociously infected and mutated every living and non-living thing in sight. And you're next.
You've never felt pressure this intense. You can't think. Can't blink. It's just you and a tenaciously unstoppable virus bent on infecting the world. You're U.S. Special Forces Recon illarine Dennis Riley, and you re on mission that seems Impossiole
Fully customizable SPR4 assault rifle delivers multiple functions: Shotgun. Flame Thrower, Zoom Scope, Night Vision Scope and more.
Unique blend of exploration and action rewards tactical planning over all-out firepower.
Unexpected twists force you to make decisions on the fly.
Enhanced music and sound effects add to the chilling intensity.
- Released
- March 8, 2001
- Developer(s)
- Deep Space
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Third-Person Shooter
Creepy secret industrial facilities are a fairly familiar setting for horror, but the idea of a government-led conspiracy to hide dangerous research is always an interesting idea. Extermination takes this scenario and gives it the survival horror treatment, putting the player in the boots of Dennis Riley, a member of a special team tasked with cleaning up the monstrous mess at Fort Stewart.
As many games released early in a console's life go, Extermination was a fairly straightforward third-person shooter. Critics would say that the gameplay was only serviceable, leading to early interest in the game dropping off quickly, as well as any hope that the game would live on past the beginning of the millennium.
Galerians: Ash (2002)
Metascore: 52
Galerians: Ash
Galerians: Ash is a sci-fi survival horror game that flips the tables a bit, giving the player a wide variety of powers to take on the various minions of the AI-created Galerians. The goal of the game is to defeat what's left of the rogue faction, after their attempted destruction in the first game, which was released in 1999.
As critics and players pointed out, the problem with Galerians: Ash is that it's a slog to get around, and often leaves players confused on what to do next. This coupled with the paint-by-numbers story that a player wouldn't understand at all unless they played its predecessor on the previous console generation, and it is pretty easy to see why the series hasn't seen a new entry since.
Galerians: Ash was released in 2002 in Japan.
Gregory Horror Show (2003)
IMDb Rating: 7.8 (24 Reviews)
Gregory Horror Show
When it comes to content ratings, Japan plays by a different rule set than a lot of other countries. That's probably why Gregory Horror Show was never released stateside. In this game , the aim is to help Death collect some lost souls from the guests so that he will help in escaping the hotel that the player is trapped in.
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The game's macabre themes aside, it had a pretty original hook, an interesting and varied cast of characters, and a cute paper model art style. The property has been fairly quiet since 2003 when the anime the game was based on ended, but 2016 brought a glimmer of hope for a possible revival of that show. Nothing has been seen on that front, though, meaning Gregory has faded back into obscurity.
Lifeline (2003)
Metascore: 61
Lifeline
Your Voice Is Her Command
Christmas Eve, 2029. Grand Opening of the Japan Space Station Hotel. Bizarre creatures invade and begin slaughtering guests. You're trapped inside a security monitoring room. Your only contact - a hotel employee named Rio. She's armed, beautiful, and she'll do anything you tell her. With your voice, you are her navigator. With her courage, she is your enforcer. Your alliance is the lone hope for survival. And possibly your only lifeline.
The first entirely voite-activated game on PlayStation 2
• Your voice commands the action!
• Thousands of words and phrases recognized
• Compatible with USB Headsets (for PlayStation 2)
- Released
- January 30, 2003
- Developer(s)
- Sony
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, Android, Apple Arcade
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Horror
With the PS2 innovating a lot with peripherals in the gaming space, it was inevitable that games would attempt to showcase them whenever possible. Lifeline did just this by requiring the player to use a headset to give voice commands to the character on screen, controlling everything from combat to exploration.
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In Lifeline, the player had to help fend off a mutant infestation within a space station. The entirety of its gameplay revolved around the voice command gimmick. It was an interesting attempt at trying to do something different, but its clunkiness meant that the game would not have a long life that its cult following would have preferred.
Vampire Night (2001)
Metacritic: 65
Vampire Night
The war between good and evil has raged for centuries. Immortal vampires, undead souls, and creatures of the night have terrorized humans throughout the kingdom. Now, a new chapter in the eternal battle is about to be written. Two saviors. Trained as Vampire Hunters, have appeared to end this epic struggle once and for all. But the question remains...Who shall live, and who shall die?
Game modes include Arcade, Training, and the all new Exclusive Special model
Exclusive original artwork, in game graphics, and more not found in the arcade
Strengthen your vampire hunting skills with over 15 training stages
2-players simutanous fight.
- Released
- February, 2001
- Developer(s)
- AM1
- Platform(s)
- PS2, Arcade
- Genre(s)
- Light Gun Shooter
A port of the arcade game from the year 2000, Vampire Night is a light gun shooter made partially by the same team that developed the iconic House of the Dead series. Vampire hunters Michel and Albert are on the hunt for their fiendish creator, fighting through his lackeys on their quest to gun him down.
Arcade games like this have to be careful not to overstay their welcome, and Vampire Night did that while still being praised for having a surprisingly great and full story. Nevertheless, in a world where classics like House of the Dead and Time Crisis dominated the scene, it was understandable how there wasn't room for another arcade light gun shooter to rise into their ranks.