For all the amazing developments in technology, there has never been a more terrifying gaming experience than when you are cornered by the lethal foursome of Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde during a game of Pac-Man. The maze the classic coin-op title is set in has the similar oppressive feel of the Resident Evil or Alone In The Dark mansions; the simple controls are classic survival horror fare; the constant respawning of your enemies has the sort of existential pointlessness Shadow Of The Colossus inspires. Not that the designs of Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde are particularly frightening in and of themselves. It's the tenacity, the refusal to give up, that lands the group of sneaky spirits the top spot of the most terrifying unkillable enemies in video game history. Almost all the other enemies on this list can be permanently dealt with in one way or another. You might not be able to kill them, but you can eventually outrun and escape them, or else trap the somehow so that they won't bother you any more. At the very least, you can finish the game, and then you'll be free of them. In Pac-Man, the ghosts never go away. You eat them after grabbing a power up, they'll just reconstitute themselves. You can't kill them. They're already dead. And you remain tragically, mortally human. Albeit without arms or legs or eyes. Or hope.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
