Attention, straight-to-DVD horror film fans: If you pick only one ultra-moody spine tingler about a burnout investigator mauling homicidal bums and tar-spewing ghouls this spring, make sure it's this one. Oozing atmospheric malice, and grittier than the average R-rated slasher, Bloodshot is sure to leave you unsettled. The game makes stunning use of first-person perspective as you move through crumbling tenements and flickering mental wards, or during run-ins with basso-voiced cadavers. Crackling televisions and radios help tell the tale between encounters with spectral adversaries, with most of your time spent wandering claustrophobic corridors, engaging in close-quarters brawls or using forensic science to examine butchered corpses.

The storytelling's on par with the brutal, twin-fisted combat. Still, don't expect tension levels to ease up between tasks like answering crime scene-related questions and using UV lights to track blood smears. Small touches like echoing moans, grating screeches and jarring visual shifts only add to the morbid ambience.

Multiplayer options for up to eight closet maniacs are new to the series. These range from head-to-head assaults to team-based engagements and evidence-swiping challenges. Adding to overall quality, these features also help stave off some of the ennui the game's deliberate pacing and dark, labyrinthine environments engender. Avoid if you're the impatient type. Otherwise, dim the lights and don't say we didn't warn you.