Skulltulas in Zelda Games: Webs of Horror

Leave it to the creators of the Legend of Zelda games to marry two things that freak people out: spiders and human skulls.  What do you get when you combine those?  Skulltulas of course!  Let's take a look at this monstrous arachnid's appearances in some of the Zelda games.

The reason these spiders are called Skulltulas is because they tend to have a human skull-shaped pattern covering their backside.  They can range in size from small dog to holy-hell-it's-bigger-than-a-horse.  One thing they all have in common though is a taste for human flesh, since they will ruthlessly attack Link whenever he's in the area.

In Ocarina of Time, there are a few varieties of Skulltula to encounter.  These Skulltulas have an incredibly pronounced human skull pattern on their back, complete with gaping eye sockets and even a hole where the nose would go.  It's almost as if someone glued a Halloween mask to their backs.

The largest breed of this spider is more massive than adult Link.  It hangs from the ceiling and will drop down in a surprise attack once you get within range.  After it has lowered down on its web, this Skulltula will execute a spin attack if Link gets too close while facing the spider's back (the easiest way to defeat it is to slash at its exposed belly).

Smaller varieties in this game are the Skullwalltula and Gold Skulltula.  Skullwalltulas usually hang out in areas where Link has to climb, clinging to vines and rock walls.  If Link gets too close, this spider will charge at him and knock him off the climbable surface.

Gold Skulltulas are more docile, but will still cause damage to Link if he touches it.  Defeating this breed of spider will enable Link to help a family in Kakariko Village who were cursed and transformed into human-Skulltula hybrids (yes it's as horrifying as it sounds).  As you collect Gold Skulltula tokens, the family members will turn back into humans one by one.

Skulltulas also make an appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.  As Link travels the land in his train, there are certain sections of the map where these spiders will drop down and hang right over the tracks.  They will proceed to swing back and forth over the tracks, making for a somewhat challenging target to hit with the train's cannon, especially when you're moving at top speed.  Like their counterparts in Ocarina of Time, these Skulltulas are huge, easily as big as the train itself, and contain pretty much the same skull pattern on their backs.

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, our favorite arachnids once again show up for combat, but in a form we aren't used to.  Unlike the previous two games we just discussed, where this enemy primarily hangs from webs or climbs on walls, the Twilight Princess Skulltulas are capable of walking on the ground.  This makes them a much more dangerous enemy since they aren't limited to staying in one small area like we're used to seeing.

A Skulltula lowering onto the battlefield.

Also the pattern on their backs is much less pronounced, appearing as if someone took some face paint and tried to draw a vague skull-like face on them.  As a matter of fact, when I played through this game I didn't even recognize them as Skulltulas for a while because of these differences (when they walk on the ground it's actually kind of hard to even see the pattern on their backs).

That about wraps up our quick look at this shudder-inducing enemy in the Zelda games.  Did any variant of Skulltula give you the creeps?

The Devious Spiders in Minecraft

I hope you don't have arachnophobia guys, because today we're going to talk about the gigantic blocky spiders in Minecraft!  Spiders are just one of the many terrors that spawn during nighttime (or in dark caves) in the game world.  Though they may look relatively harmless when compared to, say, zombies or skeleton warriors, spiders are not to be underestimated.

You'll know there's a spider in the area when you hear its signature hissing sound.  By that point it is likely heading in your direction, so it's best to be on your guard unless you're already sitting in a secure location.  Once you see their glowing red eyes, it's usually too late to avoid a battle.  Spiders attack by jumping at you, and presumably biting with fangs that you'll have to use your imagination to see.

What makes spiders a huge threat when compared with a zombie or Creeper is their ability to climb.  These persistent buggers can scale almost anything in order to reach their prey.  Whereas a fence or short wall with stop a zombie in its tracks, a spider considers these to be only small speed-bumps on the path to an easy meal.  I can't count how many times I had been strolling at nighttime through my supposedly secure town, only to be ambushed by a spider that climbed over a perimeter wall and dropped 20 feet straight down in order to pursue me.  So when I said to be sitting in a secure location, that location better be fully enclosed.

Sometimes there's just no escape.

One odd feature of Minecraft spiders is that they will only attack you at night.  Once the sun comes out they will immediately turn into friendly creatures minding their own business.  I guess spiders lose their appetite fast once they see what they are actually eating (blocky people, gross!).

Do you guys consider spiders to be a relentless and annoying enemy?  Or do you welcome the battles with these lego-ish arachnids?

The Freaks of Bioshock, Part 1: Splicers

Bioshock is a great game with an even greater atmosphere to experience.  If you can use your imagination and get past the fact that it is impossible to build such a city as Rapture, then you really feel as if you are exploring the wreckage of a once-grand underwater metropolis.  The eery environments are made even creepier due to the fact that you know you are going to encounter a myriad of the game's signature freaks, some of which will gladly appear at unexpected moments when your guard is down.

Since there are so many weird character types in Bioshock, this will be a multiple part blog series, starting with the creepiest inhabitants of Rapture: the Splicers.

The Splicers are the most common type of enemies encountered during your trip to Rapture.  They were once normal citizens who fell victim to the popular trend of splicing, which involves using a substance called ADAM to rewrite a person's DNA.  The result is that the person gains superpowers, but at the cost of destabilizing his or her body cells.  In other words, they go insane and their bodies become hideously deformed.  In addition, splicing causes a drug-like addiction, so as a result you have yourself a top-notch psychopath.  Quite a few of the Splicers are ashamed of how deformed their faces have become, and wear masks to hide it.  However the masks can be knocked off, and not all Splicers wear masks, so you are bound to be creeped out no matter what.

WHERE'S...MY.......ADAM??!!

Splicers come in many forms, such as the Thuggish Splicer (pictured above), and the Leadhead Splicer, who attack you with blunt objects and guns respectively.

There are also more super-powered variants such as the Spider Splicer, who can climb on walls and ceilings, and tend to drop down right in your face when they attack.

Spider Splicer

It is worth noting that in Bioshock 2, Spider Splicers have become extremely deformed, and are probably the creepiest enemies in the game:

Spider Splicer in Bioshock 2

One of the most challenging Splicer types is the Houdini Splicer.  This Splicer has the ability to teleport to different areas of the room, as well as the ability to blast you with fireballs when attacking you head on.

Houdini Splicer

Now, keep in mind that you encounter these cheerful citizens of Rapture in dark, quiet, abandoned locations.  Needless to say, there are plenty of jump out of your seat moments in Bioshock, and that's part of what makes this game such an entertaining experience.