Researchers Determine Scariest Xbox Game

For those of you that look to video games for a good scare, scientists have determined which Xbox 360 title is the king of scream. Researchers at Vertical Slice, a British usability studio recently determined that Dead Space 2 holds the crown as the scariest game on the system, beating out Alan Wake, Resident Evil 5 and Condemned.

The study brought three casual gamers together with three hardcore gamers and used biometric feedback and verbal analysis to chart the horror level of each game. Vertical Slice concluded that gore and multiple enemies rarely invoked fear in their participants. The events creating the most scares were “moments devoid of any physical combat; instances in which players anticipate or fear they are about to fight, but do not actually end up doing so.”

The study found that the first encounter with an enemy proved to be the scariest, regardless of the game in question. As the games progressed, the participants generally became more comfortable. Also worth noting was the core gamers seemed to scare less easily than casual gamers.

Gamasutra reports that “Other games, such as Left 4 Dead 2, Gears of War 2, Condemned 2, FEAR 1 & 2, Dead Space 1, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Alone in the Dark and Mass Effect 2 were considered, but ultimately disregarded, for use in this research.”

Via Gamasutra