Watch this timeline on video games spanning 35 years, from Pong all the way to our current generation of titles - it’s quite apparent that we’ve come a long way. How many of the games featured have you had the opportunity to play?

Raychul over at GameGirl made the following list of her top 7 scariest video games:

It’s Halloween season (my favorite season!) and to celebrate I decided to kick off our Top 7 List section with the 7 scariest games. Now remember, these lists are only my opinion, they are in no way an official lists or have anything to do with sales numbers and charts. So let’s begin!

1. Doom 3

Everyone remembers Doom, the game that you played in the dark. Doom was creepy for it atmosphere, it’s “end of the world” feeling with such darkness and it’s unnerving soundtrack. Monsters seemed to come out of nowhere, you only caught a glimpse as you frantically looked around with your flashlight. Doom didn’t play with your head like some of the other games I will mention, but it definitely mastered the loud noise that made you jump effect.

2. Ill Bleed

Ill Bleed was one of my all time favorite games on the Sega Dreamcast, I can only hope and pray for a sequel. Ill Bleed was a great game because it played with all of your senses, and you had to use your senses to make it through each story. The game was that of a cheesy 70’s flick, and it was a hell of a lot of fun to play. Scary monsters, creepy soundtrack, and armed with little or no weapons makes for an awesomely scary game.

3. Eternal Darkness

Eternal Darkness is one of my favorite games on the Gamecube. Eternal Darkness didn’t scare you with monsters and zombies, instead they used the psychological thriller approach. Strange sounds, someone knocking on your door but no ones there, footsteps upstairs, and the fact that at any point you could lose grip on sanity and the game will literally go crazy. I absolutely love the dark and foreboding feeling of this game, makes you wonder if it’s just the game or are you actually losing your head.

4. Resident Evil

Ah, Resident Evil, most gamers first love in the survival horror genre. I liked the first Resident Evil because it was so new, I mean how many of you still remember throwing your controller in fright the first time one of those zombie dogs jumped through the window?! I still remember the moment like it was yesterday, I love the other Resident Evil titles, but none of them got me the way the first one did, you always remember your first right? :)

5. Silent Hill 2

Silent Hill 2 was a great game and great next step for the scary game enthusiasts. The storyline was a little better than the first one and monsters seemed to be smarter. Not to mention Pyramid Head, just the size of his blade and the sound of it on the concrete. It will be hard to top this Silent Hill in the newer installments to come.

6. Silent Hill

The first Silent Hill holds a special place in my heart, it had everything a scary games needs, it had the jump in your seat moments like Resident Evil, it had the creepy environments like I had never seen before and it had some of the most unnerving sound effects and music I have ever heard. To this day, hearing the static from the Silent Hill radio still gives me the creepy crawlies. There were moments in the game while searching for more ammo or health that I would ask myself if it was really worth it to go through that next door because what could be on the other side would scare the hell out of me. Silent Hill was scary and uncomfortable to play, but one hell of a game, easily one of my all time favorites.

7. Fatal Frame

Lastly, at the top of my Scariest Games list comes Fatal Frame. Nothing has ever made me as uncomfortable and actually given me nightmares like Fatal Frame did. When you give me a game that puts me in an abandoned old house full of ghosts with no eyes, or ropes marks around their necks, or even broken necks hanging oddly to the side, a damn scary soundtrack that involves giggling children, and to top it all off I am only given a camera to defend myself with, then you have a terrifying mixture for pure scary fun! But you don’t have time to be scared in Fatal Frame, you are expected to keep calm because at any moment a ghost could pop out in front of you and you have seconds to capture their image, so no throwing your controller in this game. Also the cut scenes were gruesome; one cut scene you see a girl blinded when her elders shove a mask onto her face with spikes through the eyeholes, or another cut scene when you see a girl quartered when she is tied to a rock bed and ropes are wrapped around her ankles, wrists and even her neck. Oh the blood, the blood! I love this game!

This collection is insane, scratch that whoever buys this $29,000 buy-it-now eBay purchase is crazy. I would love to have someone explain how this is worth nearly $30k, I doubt it’s the free shipping.

PSU has created a selection of montages to illustrate this ‘evolution’ of gaming. Check out the 1st generation up to the the most current generation of your favorite video game franchises.

Click the image below to see a larger version.

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IGN put together this top ten list by polling editors around the office, and combining their lists with reader review input. Here’s the ten they claim to be the toughest games to beat of all time:

• 10. Ninja Gaiden Black
• 9. Devil May Cry 3
• 8. Battletoads
• 7. R-Type
• 6. MDK2
• 5. Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
• 4. F-Zero GX
• 3. Shinobi
• 2. Mega Man
• 1. Contra

 The Sony news continues this week as their ongoing law suits finally play out in court and agreements are made. Back in 2002 Immersion sued Sony for using their patented technology in their PlayStation and PlayStation 2 controllers. Asking for $299 million dollars in reparations, Immersion Corp.’s court advancements in 2004 threatened to halt American sales of PS1 and PS2 consoles, controllers, and any games that use their “vibro-tactile” technology. Years later, the two have finally compromised and settled the case. Yesterday they came to an agreement:

“Sony will pay San Jose-based Immersion $97.2 million in damages and interest … Sony will also pay $22.5 million in licensing payments through 2009 plus an unspecified amount of fees and royalties.”

When you factor in the amount Sony already paid, the total amount reaches a little over $150 million dollars. Quite the setback when you’ve just put so much money into your PS3 launch, and still have yet to go public in Europe, but the benefits should outweigh the costs in the long run:

“In return, Sony will get unspecified rights to some of Immersion’s patents and will explore ways to include the technology in future PlayStation products. No further details of the business arrangement or terms of the deal were disclosed.”

Sony doesn’t think the money transfer will affect their latest earnings forecasts, but stock market traders in Tokyo noticed the news and in after hours trading Sony’s stock fell 6.2% to 5,830 yen ($49.36), while Immersion’s shares jumped 32%. It’s good to see this court case finally come to an end so that Sony can move on with their PS3. Kaz Hirai and the rest of the Sony crew were obviously happy to put this in the past, but no new Sixaxis controller news has been announced yet.

[via The Last Boss]