This one takes a bit of work to pull off, and would probably have been impossible to stumble across just by playing the game normally, but it's definitely worth the effort. The Gears Of War games don't go in for the traditional horror tropes of atmosphere and suspense, instead lumbering you with the constant fear that you and your meathead team might run out of bullets before you slaughter all the alien hordes that are attacking you. The pace finally lets up a little during the library level of Gears Of War Judgement, however, and allows a little bit of eeriness to build in the abandoned surroundings. That increase about a million fold once you use a couple of frag grenades to uncover a painting - one of those spooky portraits whose eyes follow you round the room. Then you discover a bunch of similar paintings around the level, and if you shoot the pieces of paper that accompany them, the paintings...change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7JQLvq59Tw Namely, they alter so that the figures in them have bullet holes through their temples, with what looks like fresh blood running down their face. If that wasn't creepy enough in itself, finding all of the paintings, shooting their pages and then returning to the original will reveal that a circle of blue lights has been lit above the image. Which is when the ghost turns up. And you thought the locusts were bad... Engaging with the apparition who appears from the painting, a floating entity with a creepy smile who thumbs through a weathered book, will transport you to a totally different area where you'll do battle with the spirit. It gets a little less creepy once you've gunned it down and chopped it up with your chainsaw rifle but its initial appearance is a chilling surprise that was totally expected in a game that, well, doesn't usually trade in such subtle fears.
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/
