SAN FRANCISCO — It really shouldn't be that hard to scare up a few new video games for Halloween. Most titles on store shelves already seem to involve some level of gory first-person bloodletting anyway.

But violence and gore alone do not always haunt the senses. Here are some new titles and how well they approach the fright game:

• Monster House (Rated E, $19.99 to $29.99, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance)

"Monster House," a game from THQ and a movie from Sony Pictures, is loads of fun, with three children looking to solve the mystery of the Nebbercracker house, an old man's creaky digs where things go in but don't come back. Armed with oversized squirt guns, pals DJ, Chowder and Jenny take turns beating back a number of household items mysteriously brought to life, such as flying books, walking clocks and chairs that put all four legs to use in chasing them down. Solve the mystery and save the neighborhood.

Grade: 4 Stars

• Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave (Rated E, $19.99, PC, from Her Interactive, Inc.).

I know what your thinking. Unless some level 9 beastie with eight eyes and huge talons from "Doom 3" creeps up behind Nancy, how scary is this going to get?

Scary enough for the young female crime-solver set, no doubt, and that's the target audience.

Nancy is in Hawaii, where something is wreaking havoc on some local crops and foliage. It's probably a creature, and Nancy intends to get to the bottom of it. Anyone over age 9 may find it slow.

Grade: 3 Stars

• Dead Rising (Rated M, $59.99, Xbox 360)

Capcom's "Dead Rising" was also disappointing. This is the perfect plot for a video game — staying alive at a mall full of zombies — and they botched it.

There are too many cut-scenes that last way, way too long. And there are too many of them. Also, the little informative bars that tell you to grab, read or release items are too small, especially when zombies are heading for your neck.

Grade: 2 Stars

• Mystery At Mansfield Manor (about $7 for four days of play, rating under review, PC)

This game was really different, and quite compelling. "Mystery At Mansfield Manor" from SR Entertainment is an online interactive movie/game where you pay a modest fee to create an account and solve a murder mystery. Once you pony up the cash, you have 96 hours to play the entire game.

There are real video scenes with real actors, and they're quite good. You take notes on the on-screen note pad as the game unfolds, and your actions dictate what scene you'll see next.

Grade: 4 Stars