For those who enjoy a good scare in their XBox 360, PS3 or PC game, there is light at the end of the corpse-strewn tunnel.  Three new horror games are about to hit the market.   Left 4 Dead, Silent Hill: Homecoming and Dead Space (the latter is the only game available for all three platforms).  Who knows how they’ll compete with a market about to get flooded by Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2, but when games like Alone in the Dark, System Shock and Clive Barker’s Undying come out only once in a decade, horror gamers can only hope.

On the outside, Dead Space looks like it has the best chance.  I’ve never been a fan of the Silent Hill games.  While creepy in all the right ways, the interface always felt clunky.  Left 4 Dead’s touts co-op play, of which I’m a huge fan (Halo, Vegas).  The story follow four survivors in a world overrun with zombies.  You can read more about the game at IGN.com’s profile.  The game also allows 4 player co-op or an 8 player versus mode.

Dead Space is a third person sci-fi surivial horror shooter set aboard a deep space mining ship (say that ten times fast).  Gamers take the role of engineer Isaac Clarke, heading down to fix the communications systems.  When the crew falls victim to an alien infestation, Clarke must fight…well, you get the drift.  You can watch a Dead Space trailer below.

Silent Hill arrives in stores first, on September 30th.  Dead Space October 14th and Left 4 Dead on Nov. 20th.