AT fields are part of a japanimation series called "Neon Genesis Evangelion". That was the name given by the humans to some sort of field that sorrounded the invading aliens of the series, protecting them from many attacks. AT was short for "Absolute Terror", meaning two things: first, that when a human came that close to an alien, it could exist the possibility of madness, product of the extreme fear that the human would experience. The second thing is that from a distance safety existed, that close, only damnation was the option.

I made this reference because I want to talk about horror in games, and for that I wanted to give some sort of experience or denomination that could actually fit into what I think is horrorific. "Absolute Terror" would serve as a fit description, as it envelopes what a good game should deliver to its players.

When I was seven years old I saw for the first time Resident Evil 2 in the deceased PSX. It shocked me, I couldn't understand the game itself, not to mention any kind of storyline. It was just overwhelming, and so it rests into my memories as one very good moment of my video game player life.

Later on I searched and found the Resident Evil series. I expected to get the same experience I had when I was seven, but it didn't happen. I found the game excellent, this is Resident Evil 2, but it didn't scare me much. Later I played the third one, only to get more dissapointed about the series. When I got my ps2 I decided to give the series another shot by playing Resident Evil 4, a game that was fun, nicely well developed, but not scary at all. So, that was for me, I tought horror didn't exist at all, or at least thet it couldn't be delivered eficiently into videogames.

Very lately I found the Silent Hill series, and my whole world turned over. Not only I had some of the scariest experiences in my life, but I found out that this experiences haunted me in my dreams and daily life, being constant part of my memories. I couldn't play the game at night, not to mention alone, it just scared me too much.

So I started thinking; why RE series didn't scare me at all and SH series did? What I believe now is that there are differents kind of horrors to be exposed. The one from RE series is all about survival; very poor amunnition supply, few weapons and a lot of enemies in every corner. The feeling that this games delivers is tension, because of two things: first because of the constant lack of resources to defend yourself and secondly, one of the best implements in my opinion, the fact that someone is out there chasing you, to EAT you.

So, many people could actually ask, "what's with the eating? What makes it so scary?". I would have to guess, but my guessing would be that being eaten is one primordial fear, instinct if you will, of most human beings. It represents returning to a state pre-human, an animal state if you wish. So, they can eat you, but you? Sure, if you could eat them that would be the law of the jungle, but no; you cannot eat them, you kill them, for that is the most powerful punishment humanity can give to any being. The interesting part is that in RE series enemies don't die, because they're already dead.

So, what is the player facing? Dead , blood-thirsty enemies, and not few, but a whole bunch of them every now and then. If we consider these three aspects, the one being hunted its you, and its not a hunt focused on killing you, as any murderer would do, but a hunt focused on eating you. This, is fear, and in my opinion, part one of what I call "Absolute Terror".

Regarding Silent Hill series, horror turns out to be a whole different concept. This game is not about survival, its about investigation. In every Silent Hill game what triggers the whole thing is curiosity of the main character, not a circunstacial situation, and that means that the character is actually facing something unknown, same thing as the player.

When facing something unknown a human has two possibilities, going on and try to figure out the truth or go hiding somewhere safe. When it comes to a game, hiding is not an option (perhaps one could hide by not playing the game anymore, but that's not part of this analysis). When hiding is not an option, the player feels compelled to try to go on, deeper in the game, feeling two things at the same time: anxiety and curiosity.

Here's where horror begins, becuase when the player realizes that the truth is covered in many dark layers of what's human and not, he or she would feel the neccesity to run away, to scape from that situation and in that moment anything can scare him or her, a mouse, a chair, a minimum noise...

For an example, when I played Silent Hill 3 I came across this part when the camera was facing directly in front of your character, from the static point of view of a wheelchair that layed in the floor, bloody and with a wheel still circling. There was no noise at all, not an enemy to be found; just me and the wheelchair that slowly stopped its movement. I stayed right there for about five minutes, feeling incapable of going on, afraid of anything that would cross my path. Of course the wheelchair was placed there only for atmosphere, but inside my head that thing could have three thousand of meanings, all of them as terrifiying as I could imagine.

There's the second part of what I call "Absolute Terror"; the unknown and the wanting to discover it, the anxiety and the possibilities. I wonder now, odes a game that delivers all of these aspects exist? If there is, it should only be named "AT".

I haven't played Lineage, or WoW for that matter. That instantly makes me an old school online player. Yes, it is true, you can be old school even in this sort of new genre that keeps growing and growing, and I'm not talking about online shooters or RTS, I'm talking about RPG online games, better known as MMORPG (MAssive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game).

From the long list of MMORPG in the market I've probably played... Hmmm... three. Hellbreath, total lack of pasion in the making, absolutely nothing to remember in the gameplay and not even good graphics. Flyff, one MMORPG from the new generation (altough it is kind of old right now), with nice sparking and shining effects, good nice "good boy" kind of scenarios and basic gameplay so even a kid can learn how to play, but not very addictive, not to mention the awful lag.

And then I have to mention my very first MMORPG game: Ultima Online. Awful graphics, a game that cries out loud: "I'm old school! I can run even on a calculator!", but with a gameplay system so well tought that it can matches with no problems at all those from WoW or Lineage. Also, it may be one of the most complicated MMORPG ever created, as it has an enormous list of skills, every one of them with its very own training system. So, it can take you months only to learn how to play basically the game.

This is one of the reasons why many people after a week desists on triying to create a character, being the second one the time it takes to actually create a character that doesn't die with a single blow of a cockroach. So, being totally truthful, to create something worth playing with, it can take you from 6 to 10 months, even more. So why do I love this game so much? Because of the possibilities... Have you ever wondered how would be a dwarf with a bow? Of course not, that's not something dwarves tend to do, they just mine and create armors and weapons; elves are the ones with the bows. Well, in this game that's not totally true, as you can explore as many combinations you want to create a character. And by character I don't mean "fighter" or "mage", I'm talking about a full planned type of being. For example, let's say you like acting, well, there you go! Get onto the stage with friends and perform something for the audience. Will you get money? OH boy, I can assure you, you will, becuase in this game it isn't all about money and items, it is more like having your character live the medieval life you'd dream of. Freedom is the main card when it comes to Ultima Online.

So, does it have great graphics? No, they suck. What about sound? Maybe a 56kbps modem would sound better. And community? If you're new you'll probably die about 200 times before knowing where you are. So what's the great deal about this game? You gotta try it, because no game has ever even resembled in the tiniest feature ever to be tought about, to this game. Being the father of mostly all MMORPG games, most of its children have walked the Ragnarok Online path: all about stats, items and getting stronger, nothing about freedom, freewill, imagination or even role playing. You still don't know what "character creation" means if you haven't played Ultima Online.

For those of you who may find interest in triying this game, check out the new upcoming refreshed version of it: Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn and see for your own eyes what a great-grandfather of games can achieve. Long live Lord British!

I own a PS2 and I like it very much (not like those guys who keep claiming its gonna die, its gonna die). The one and only thing that bothers me is the incredible lack of good multiplayer games that are not referred directly to figthing and/or driving. What happened to all those good and lovable 2 players games like Contra, Donkey Kong and stuff? Sure, Nintendo keeps producing games for 2 and even 4 players. That's because they realized that the real fun does not consist on you standing alone against a whole bunch of monster, nazis or whatever. It turns out, it is really a much funnier to co-op with a friend and kill the enemies, or resolve a puzzle, geez, even a game about eating tacos can be a lot of fun if you just play it with somebody.

I know it is too late to expect anything not even similar to a good multiplayer game from the PS2, because market is already focusing their efforts on PS3, the PSP and the great idea of nintendo: Wii. When will Sony understand that making good, fun multiplayer games does not go agains't its "mature audicences" policy? It's just stupid to evade competition with Nintendo or Microsoft: you're already on the same bussiness, so why not giving the crowd a little bit more of what they want? I still do not regret my option of purchasing a PS2, mainly because of all the awesome RPG's that are out there, but sooner or later I'll get tired of it, and I'll leave it just to feel human contact once more. Oh, by the way, online playing sucks on PS2, so that doesn't count as a good and interactive gameplay experience.