It’s that time of year, one of the best times of the year. The leaves turn, the wind blows, and every empty street makes you feel like Michael Meyers may turn the corner behind you. It’s a perfect time to load up on some of the scariest games you may or may not have already played… with all of the lights on and in the daytime only. In no particular order, here are some games to keep you up at night.

Resident Evil 5 – The latest installment of one of the most famous game franchises of all time took the core concepts that made Resident Evil 4 such a huge success and put it onto a modern console. While some may have griped about the controls not being up to par with the newer third person shooters, Resident Evil didn’t disappoint in the horror department. With immaculate care taken in the level design, effects, and sounds, Resident Evil 5 makes for one scary game. The best part is that you don’t have to do it alone. With co-op, you and a friend can feel less embarrassed when you squeal together.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare – Who would have thought that of all the games to jump on the Zombies bandwagon, it would be Rockstar’s epic western. Most surprising though isn’t Undead Nightmare’s existence, but how well it works. Turning the open world of Red Dead into a survival horror is terrifyingly fun, and recommended for everyone who owns the game. Hell, even if you don’t own the game, you can pick up the DLC on its own for $15.

Left 4 Dead – Whether you prefer the original or the southern sequel, the Left 4 Dead games are a staple of horror games. Best played when you have 4-8 friends together, the L4D series is an absolute blast to play. A game this famous for its innovative multiplayer tactics doesn’t need much explaining, but it should definitely be on top of anyone’s list for scary-fying games.

Dead Space – When Dead Space made its debut, it promised enough horror to make players jump out of their skin. It delivered – enough to earn it tons of great reviews, prequels, sequels, and enough cred for the developer to gain its own identity as Visceral Games. The Dead Space games have been some of the best horror games of the decade, having excellent jumper moments, total creep outs, and even some tear-jerking back story about both the hero Isaac and the residents of the various space stations. A third game has more or less been confirmed (link: http://www.destructoid.com/dead-space-3-accidentally-confirmed–211915.phtml)

Call of Duty Black Ops – One of 2010’s best shooters has also turned out to be one of the best zombie games. Black Ops’ multiple survival modes have been an absolute hit. From the original mode putting players in the bodies of famous cold war figures like JFK and Castro, to the Romero-directed Call of the Dead, and the brand new Rezurrection (aka zombies on the moon); Black Ops has enough zombie killing to keep fans happy for months.

Zombie Apocalypse – As an underrated downloadable title, we forgive you for not hearing about Zombie Apocalypse. That said, for 800 MS points/ $9.99 on PSN, the Smash-TV-meets-Left-4-Dead shooter has a very retro feel too to it while providing some great graphics for a downloadable game of its type. Like a lot of zombie shooters, this one is best played with friends, and up to four can join. You’ll need them, too, because over the course of the 55 levels, the challenges get tougher and tougher, and the extra firepower will be necessary to survive.

Amnesia: Dark Descent – Very few games throw you into a house of untold horrors and arms you with absolutely nothing, but Amnesia does just that. With just your wits and sanity, you must guide your hero through puzzles while staying away from the monstrosities that lurk within. Amnesia wants you to be immersed in their game, so if you can bear it, shut down the lights, plug in the headphones, and let the terror consume you. Amnesia could have very well been called Insomnia, because you’re sure to be left wide eyed every night after playing.

Gamer’s Gold members got their first taste of rewards last week as the September winners were announced. The Gamer’s Gold rewards system officially launched a little over a month ago, promising cool stuff for the hours that its users play their favorite games.

Edward Gosselin would definitely say that promise was fulfilled. After submitting his Gamer’s Gold points to the September Giveaway, he was announced the lucky winner of a 250GB Xbox 360 console on October 1.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d really win. I was extremely surprised that I won this month’s drawing and I think I might be addicted now!” says Gosselin. Guess we know who has a good answer next time their girlfriend asks why they ‘waste’ hours playing video games…

Gamer’s Gold also features a “Promotion of the Month” where one Facebook fan and one Twitter follower are awarded for showing their support with the promotional prize for that month. Ryan Brunty and Joshua Barron were the excited recipients of September’s prize – a $25 GameStop gift card each.

Gamers are able to create a Bronze account, download the tracker application, and start earning points for free, though the $4.95/month Silver Account has its temptations (including faster points accrual and other perks).

Clear your schedules, shut the curtains, and stock up on your favorite snacks, because this Fall’s lineup is going to be packed with many hours of gameplay. Sick days will be used, relationships will be tested, and achievement scores will skyrocket.

The Fall season officially began yesterday, but for all intents and purposes, it was kicked off with Monday’s release of Gears of War 3. The conclusion to Epic Games’ muscly, bloody trilogy has set the bar pretty high, racking up 9s across the board. If you’re a fan of the game, you’re probably not even reading this as you’re likely to be ripping up Locusts right now. If you’re not a Gears fan, hold tight, because you still have a couple weeks to catch up on your summer backlog before the madness begins.

October 4^th brings two games sure keep you indoors. Rage is the highly anticipated post-apocalyptic shooter by id Software. Id has promised to turn it up to 11 on a fairly constant basis, so expect to fly through the presumed 15 hours of single player. Of course with co-op and multiplayer packed on, one could easily spend the rest of the year on this one game.

I don’t suggest it though, because trying to steal Rage’s thunder is Dark Souls, sequel to the borderline-masochistic Demon’s Souls. If you managed to play the original without breaking anything within 20 feet of you, Dark Souls promises to change that. From Software has been working hard to make their sequel one of the most difficult games to be released on a console. If you pre-order this game, make sure you order some new controllers as well…

If you’re looking for a game that’s going to wreak havoc on your screen, but not your wallet, check out Payday: The Heist. This four player co-op game puts you in a gang of bank robbers as you take down increasingly tough heists. For the money, Payday looks like a total blast.

Grab your capes and practice your Christian-Bale-deep-voice, because on October 18^th, Batman: Arkham City sweeps in to combat the great games stacking up on gamers’ shelves. With a sprawling city to explore and upgrades to already excellent gameplay mechanics, the sequel to the best superhero videogame ever looks to be a solid competitor for 2011’s Game of the Year.

Ending the month with a bang or three is Battlefield 3. EA and DICE have been showing off their ridiculously realistic tech all year, due to release October 25^th. DICE promises a massive multiplayer experience to rival that Activision’s Modern Warfare 3, which drops November 8^th. Activision isn’t taking the competition lightly, as they promise many modifications and upgrades to their already-famous multiplayer.

Between the war games is Sony’s Gatsby, Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception. With the modern day Tomb Raider meets Indiana Jones third installment, Sony means to impress with stunningly improved graphics backed by a story worthy of a major film (that may happen!).

The most likely candidate for timesink of the year comes right on the heels of MW:3. Bethesda’s sure-to-be-legendary The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is jam packed with giant dragons, explosive spells, and a story sure to keep RPG fans enthralled for an endless amount of hours. Seriously, these games never end.

On the much unloved 3DS, Nintendo tries to bring back fans with a new installment of Super Mario 3D Land. Coming November 13^th, Mario returns to a land of goombas, golden coins, and raccoon suits in full 3D.

If your Fall hasn’t hit its quota of ridiculous action yet, Saints Row: The Third will gladly fill that sad gap. The Saints series has really come into its own for this third game, branching from what was a fun, but buggy GTA clone to an insanely over-the-top game of madness and hilarity. Grab your favorite clown suit and exploding boxing gloves and get ready for the Saints on November 18^th.

If the Saints are exploding onto shelves, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is sneaking up from behind and garroting them, then slipping into the hands of shoppers. The story of Ezio reaches its closing moments as Desmond’s Italian ancestor travels to Constantine to find the secrets left behind by Altair. After shocking end to Brotherhood, Revelations has some huge expectations to meet, though Ubisoft has had a pretty decent record of making each game better than the last.

As Link’s first console game in five years The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword tells the tale of a new Link and a new world to save. November 20^th will be a day to mark on your calendar, as Miyamoto’s main man in green has a solid history of starring in games that will be remembered for years.

Fez and Minecraft both have plans for release in 2011, although no dates are in stone for the indie titles.

As for December, there are only two games that are sure to be released. Mario Kart 7 will be rolling onto 3DS handhelds everywhere December 1^st, and will hopefully take some 3DS consoles off of shelves with them.  On the 6^th, The Adventures of Tintin: The Game looks sure to delight fans of the adventurer. One can only hope that as a movie tie-in, Tintin lives up to the hype it has generated over the last few months.

Without solid dates, don’t get too excited for these next games to come out this year. Diablo 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Torchlight 2 could easily make every gamer’s Christmas list. Hopefully they will all come out soon after, if not during December.

Greetings, GG fans! This is the first of a series of posts answering your questions about what new and exciting things are going on at Gamer’s Gold.

When is Gamer’s Gold getting more Facebook games?

As always, our goal is to continuously expand our games library, so we are currently in the process of contacting Facebook game developers. We make it easy for them to integrate with the Gamer’s Gold’s tracking system so you can start earning points for playing their games in no time!

How you can help:
-Know any Facebook game developers?  Send their contact info to info@gamersgold.com
-Want to earn points for playing your favorite Facebook games? Email the developer and tell them to check us out!

When will Gamer’s Gold track console games?

Tracking console games is definitely a priority and it’s in the works! You’ll be the first to know when it’s available.

When do we start winning stuff?

Our first Giveaway winners will be announced September 30. Therefore you must submit your points to enter any Giveaways before 12:00am EST on September 30th to be considered for the first Giveaway. Go to the Rewards page now to see this month’s awesome prizes and to enter. Also on September 30th, this month’s Facebook fan and Twitter follower will be randomly selected to win a $25 GameStop gift card each.

Tune in next time to find out the latest happenings at Gamer’s Gold!

If you’re reading this, I can safely assume you love playing games. I play a ton of games, and why not? There are some excellent games out there. Games worthy of sinking over 100 hours into so you can beat that ultra-hard bonus dungeon and unlock the secret ending most people only see on a grainy Youtube video. Then there are the other games. The ones that have no awesome ending, no bonus loot, no secret dungeons. Some games become addicting for seemingly no reason. They leave you thinking “Why in the hell did I stay up until 5am doing this?” And then you boot the game back up and toil away at it all over again. These are some of the games that I can’t tell you why I ever played, or why I couldn’t stop.

Mafia Wars

Completely text-and-tiny-picture-based, Mafia Wars is a game only in the most basic sense of the word. You click text boxes to earn money and experience, earn points, and use them to upgrade stats which let you click the buttons more. While not the most enthralling game, if you even want to call it that, its unassuming nature makes it perfect for slacking off at work. Yes, with no sound, no controllers, and no reflexes required, one could easily be mistaken for reading an important document while in reality they are building a casino in Vegas. I can’t even tell you how many times I was really whacking a Mafioso in New York when I was supposed to be filling out status reports.

Mafia Wars is a social game of course, so you’re encouraged to hook in your friends who can give you free stuff. If you’re like me though, you’ve got your entire coworker base and every boss on your friends list, so instead I had to make a fake Facebook account just to not do my work. I’m really not sure if there is a max level , but you can have a max of 500 mafia members, and I used to plaster my name all over “Mafia Wars Players” groups on Facebook in order to reach the cap. Are you seeing how ridiculous this was getting?

By the time new content was rolling out for the game, I had nearly completed everything there was to do. I don’t play Mafia Wars anymore, I just don’t have the itch. It could be because I’m out of that office now, or maybe it’s because the game takes forever to load (It’s text on Facebook, Zynga, fix it!). Somehow, luckily, I’m able to ignore the notifications piling up, and I’m pretty happy about that. Although I do wonder how my casino is doing…

Viva Pinata

Even though Rare is one of my absolute favorite developers, I wasn’t that into the idea of Viva Piñata. It was fluffy and cute and not my thing. But my girlfriend saw a trailer and thought it looked SO adorable. I’ll do basically anything to get her to play video games with me, so I quickly added it to my Gamefly Q. What happened next is a blur of bright colors, animal noises, and piñata candy everywhere. If you’ve never played it before, beware. Viva Pinata will turn you into a crazy person.

We sat in front of the TV for hours building a paradise for these stupid little animals. And don’t be fooled, these little guys are freaking cute. We got to name them, give them homes, and raise families with them. We had real, breathing dogs and we could not get away from these adorable virtual animals. She had her own pen protecting her Squazzil family, while I dug out a lake, bit by bit, for my Quackberrys to enjoy. Oh and did I mention these wonderful little fuzz balls can DIE?! Yes at any moment, the evil Doctor Pester or one of the sour piñatas could come and kill my sweet little pets. And when they did, the animals burst into candy which would then be eaten by the other piñatas. It was heartbreaking, but every time, it just made me want to work harder to protect the little loved ones I still had.

To say we played this game too much is an understatement. We earned damn near every achievement in the first game, and only stopped playing the second because I got so addicted that I filled our garden while my girlfriend was working one Saturday. She came home, everything was done, and that was it. I ruined the game, and it was probably for the best. Though at the time of this writing, I noticed that it’s available to purchase on XBLA, and it may or may not be purchased already.

The Sims

Yes, this is an insanely popular game, and yes it’s really fun to build the houses and watch your Sims play around, be mischievous, and go on adventures. That’s what all the trailers promise anyway. Actually playing the Sims is like being a quadriplegic parent and controlling your man-child’s every move. Cook yourself some food, stop painting and pee, go to work so I can sit here and do nothing while you earn a measly salary that will never earn you that massive TV or really comfy couch.

You’re not mingling with neighbors and throwing parties and meeting ghosts or going to night clubs. You’re managing the life of a person, making sure they are fed and don’t pee in the study where they’ve been lifting weights for 19 hours. There shouldn’t be anything fun about the Sims, so why have I purchased every expansion pack, built on every property, and downloaded gigabytes worth of custom content. I really don’t know, but I can’t wait for the Pets expansion to come out so I can do it all over again.

Priston Tale

If you’ve ever played Priston Tale, then you know everything I’m about to say, and can move onto the next one. Since I can assume that accounted for roughly 0% of you, I will go on. Priston Tale arose during that time in the early 2000s when you couldn’t throw a rock inside the internet without hitting an MMO. This one happened to be in beta and free, so it was perfect for my broke 13-year-old self. If Mafia Wars was a game only in the most basic sense of the word, Priston Tale was an MMO in the same way.

You had a small 3D world with one of four classes. Buy tons and tons of potions, click enemies to death while using one of maybe 5 abilities, and collect the loot. Equip the loot if it was better (it wasn’t) and keep clicking those enemies. Underwhelming graphics, horrible translation, next to no content, this is probably one of those games that I’m almost ashamed of playing. There was nothing at all to it, and earning levels was like pulling teeth with salad tongs. Gaining a single level took hours, and dying cost 1-5% of your experience.

I can’t explain what was appealing about this game, or why I spent my waking hours playing it. I can’t explain why, when the game went pay-to-play, I learned how to make multiple 5 day trial accounts on the Korean test server and played a new character every week for a month. What I can say, is that I’m happy that much better games like Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft stole me away from that mindless time sink.

Angry Birds/Doodle Jump

Of course a mobile game has to make this list. Readily available, instantly satisfying, games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds offer quick bursts of entertainment when doing something boring like waiting in line at the DMV. And that’s why they exist, to play for minutes at a time. What they aren’t really for is what me, and everyone I know did… play Angry Birds until the phone’s battery dies, then plug it in and keep going.

The original Angry Birds had around 150 levels, and with updates, Seasons, and Rio, I think that number is around 10 million. I’ve played them all, spent hours getting that magical third star, and went nuts getting all of the golden eggs. I’ve probably reset my phone 4 or 5 times in the past year. Every time my saves are lost, and every time I go back to beat the levels I’ve already mastered (but I think I forgot how to beat this one!). I actually just got a new phone last week, and somehow I’ve abstained from downloading Angry Birds again, but that’s probably because I got Cut the Rope and Doodle Jump to drain my battery. I’ve probably earned a hundred little scratches on the side of the board in Doodle Jump trying to break 100,000 and I’ve almost broken my phone trying to master some of those final levels of Cut the Rope.

Welcome to the first of a series of posts where you get to know the Gamer’s Gold team. Here we talk about our favorite games and the reasons we love them.

Christina Milazzo, Director of Marketing - Spyro the Dragon

Before Insomniac was well-known for the Resistance series, it was the proud parent of a little purple dragon. I was 10 when the first Playstation came out and it was A BIG DEAL. Ten year-olds now would think the quality was crap but I remember thinking “it looks so real…” when I first saw the Playstation commercial. I was stoked when my dad took me to Toys R’ Us to buy one and Spyro the Dragon was the first game I got to go with it. Part of my love for that game is nostalgic because I remember spending hours playing it with my dad – you know, having him fight the bosses for me so I could skip to the easier, fun stuff. But my favorite aspect of the game, by far, was Spyro. I have a bit of an attitude myself so I’ve always appreciated the lovable badass, antihero kind of characters.

Andrew Lahey, Director of Operations - COD: Black Ops

I don’t “idle” well so I use gaming as a way to get me away from working non-stop. Everything I do is about strategy and I love the strategy that comes along with first-person shooters. I’m also a history buff so I love the perspective that games like Black Opsand World at War give on how history “played out.” Mix a few of my favorite things and you get my favorite game.

Michelle Milazzo, COO - House of the Dead

The best game ever created HAS to be House of the Dead. Seriously – muggy summer nights at the Santa Monica Pier, caramel corn, cheap sunglasses… and zombies coming at you from every which way. What other game has a gun in place of flipper buttons on a pinball machine or a remote control on a console? I remember getting carpal tunnel syndrome from the continuous trigger pounding before carpal tunnel was even heard of. In short, there’s nothing like a warm summer breeze, a house full of zombies, and a sore forearm to make your night.

Anthony Cerbini, CEO - Call of Duty

My favorite games were Gorf, Ms. Pac man, Space Invaders, and Dr. Mario, but if I had to pick one as my all-time favorite, hands down it is Call of Duty – all versions.  There is nothing quite like the tactics and strategies offered in multiplayer.  Plus the Military genre is a very compelling element since good vs. evil will always inspire greater competition and camaraderie amongst players.  You can play causal games to pass the time, but if you really want to PLAY, you need to have competition to make it worthwhile.

Craig Buckles, Technical Gaming Director - Zelda

2Cubed Inc. is pleased to announce the beta release of its much-anticipated gaming rewards system, Gamer’s Gold. After years of fueling the gaming industry’s explosion, video game users will finally be rewarded for the countless hours they spend on their favorite games.

After creating a free account, members of Gamer’s Gold will be able to accrue passive points based on the amount of time they spend playing World of Warcraft, Angry Birds, Call of Duty, etc. The more time they play, the more points they earn. Users can also pay a monthly subscription fee of $4.95 to upgrade to a Silver account, which accrues twice the amount of points.  These points can then be used to enter Giveaways or to buy Visa cash cards. The “gold” or virtual currency being earned is essentially turned into cash and prizes.

At its launch, Gamer’s Gold will be solely PC-based, with its primary focus on popular PC titles and Facebook games.  However, it intends to reach console and mobile platforms as soon as possible. The CEO of 2Cubed Inc. and innovator of Gamer’s Gold, Anthony Cerbini, says that “this is the kind of product that focuses on the user. Ultimately we want to bring them every game they want on each gaming platform so that their rewards are productive.”

In keeping with this ideal, Gamer’s Gold has a “Submit a Game” feature which allows users to suggest certain games to be included in the Gamer’s Gold catalog of supported titles. “We will be devoted to our users’ requests and expanding our supported games list,” Cerbini explains.

For the last year, Gamer’s Gold has been recruiting charter members as a part of their pre-launch. These registered users earned 500 points per month just for showing their support of the upcoming product and an additional 100 point bonus for becoming a fan on Facebook or following the Gamer’s Gold Twitter. “Hundreds of gamers showed interest in our product’s pre-launch,” says Andrew Lahey, Director of Operations at 2Cubed Inc. “Because of them, the concept of Gamer’s Gold was further solidified to us. We look forward to a similar response when we launch to the masses.”

The Gamer’s Gold team certainly has high hopes as it already promises future development. The rewards system will soon be offering a Gold account where users can get active points by earning certain achievements while playing, such as having a top score or completing a mission; and a Platinum account, where users can match against others to win their points.

GamersGold.com previously featured the product’s pre-launch information and is being replaced with a fully functional site on August 22, 2011. On this official launch date, users will be able to sign up and begin earning points.