Suffering's eerie atmosphere

The Suffering PS2 (also available on Xbox and PC) Price: £39.99

The makers of this survival horror recommend turning the brightness of your TV down before playing to add to the eerie atmosphere.

You needn't bother - even with full illumination, it still makes Resident Evil look like Crash Bandicoot. The Capcom classic's influence is obvious (third-person, puzzles, plenty of jumps) but, rather than caught inside Racoon City, lead character Torque is trapped inside the zombie-infested Abbot State Penitentiary.

Luckily, there's a steady supply of ammo to aid a bloody escape - a welcome change to the usual bulletrationing nonsense. Torque's ability to briefly turn into one of the beasts and the occasional switch into first-person mode add refreshing twists.

The Suffering might be a deliberately shocking game but its bursts of originality will surprise more than the OTT gore and profanity.