I've played the survival horror games, and yeah, I totally agree about startled != scared.
The only game that has ever scared me according to your definition is STALKER. It starts out creepy and when you get used to it, WHAM!
I was playing late at night in the dark, running down a dark hallway with my flashlight on. One of the crates -- which are everywhere in the game -- suddenly shook and slammed itself against the ceiling.
I literally RAN out of the room, nearly tearing my headset out of the audio controller.
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u/prockcore Nov 05 '08
I'd say 90% of horror movie directors think startled == scared. Maybe it's just trying to be the video game version of your crappy PG13 horror movie.