#MacabroGamers Night of Death: The Sinister Gamer Christmas.

By: Mario Ayanami.

Perhaps there is no celebration more hated by most people than Christmas. Between the cheesiness, commercialism, and other arguments imposed on every grinch in the world, this time of year has also lent itself to different developers giving it the terrifying twist so many of us are looking for. That's why it's our macabre duty to splatter the holiday with blood through these three options, so that on your gaming system of choice, you can live out a red Christmas…

Our first stop takes us to Infected (2005), an action game exclusive to the PSP that puts you in control of Stevens, a New York City police officer, in a city ravaged by a powerful virus that turned nearly the entire population into aggressive living dead. When you're bitten by one of these zombies, you discover that you belong to the 1% of the population whose blood is immune to the infection. Aware of this, you'll be recruited by Dr. Schaffer as he works to find a cure for the infection. Equipped with a huge arsenal, you'll have to face down anyone who tries to finish you off. The soundtrack features major metal acts like Chimaira, Ill Niño, Trivium, and Fear Factory. Even in multiplayer mode, there are avatars that let you play as one of the masked members of Slipknot.

Now we have a title that was only released a few days ago for Xbox One and PC: Dead Rising 4. Set 16 years after the first game, you'll return to the fictional town of Willamette, Colorado, just in time for the holiday season. The 52-year-old photojournalist Frank West ventures out against a new zombie outbreak at the local mall. With his characteristic irreverence, Frank has to land great coverage and uncover the truth by photographing everything that happens (you can even take selfies with the zombies you're about to annihilate), explore every corner of Willamette thanks to the new open-world game mode, and take down as many enemies as possible thanks to the EXO suit, which lets you unleash electric shocks on entire hordes. The most Christmassy weapon you'll find is a crossbow whose frame is built out of candy canes.

Finally, we have one of the greatest works of all time: Parasite Eve, the first major collaboration between an American studio and a Japanese one. Released in 1998 for the PS1, it's a sequel to the novel written by Hideaki Sena, one of Japan's biggest best-sellers. During a concert at Carnegie Hall on Christmas Eve 1997, everyone in attendance begins to die of spontaneous combustion, except for two people: police officer Aya Brea and actress Melissa Pearce. When they confront each other, Melissa mutates into a creature that threatens to wipe out the human race once it has fully developed. Now Aya has six days to stop this new attack in New York (the favorite city for every catastrophe) in settings incredibly faithful to their real-life counterparts. Its gameplay combines action and RPG elements that pushed Square's work into new territory. Among its most memorable features is the soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura, who introduced electronic music to role-playing games. The series has become a cult favorite, and as of 2011, three titles have already been released following Aya's story.

Not everything about Christmas is watching Home Alone for the fortieth time. You can dive into a bloody world where it's not Santa Claus who brings the presents, but Krampus — these are the gems you'll want to see on your console.