Fatal Frame is a video game that has been out for a while now, but I consider it a good one to pick up if you like the survival - horror genre of video games. The first survival horror game that I picked up and enjoyed was Resident Evil. I returned to the land of Zombies in Racoon City later with Resident Evil II. By Resident Evil 3, zombies weren't quite as scary as when I first entered that creepy mansion, so I drove out to Silent Hill for a new set of scares. After being creeped out by the original and then the PS2 sequel Silent Hill I heard that the NEW place for survival horror was in Japan! Apparently, somewhere in a remote village in Japan, there was a mansion in which many people had mysteriously died or disappeared. Game magazines at the time declared that Fatal Frame was the new standard in horror, and even that it was based on a true story. Well I don't know how true that part of it is, but I can firmly recommend Fatal Frame to be every bit as scary if not more so than the two scariest franchises in Video Games of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. To date, Fatal Frame has two sequels. (I am currently playing Fatal Frame II, Crimson Butterfly). This game used to be only on Playstation 2, although it has been ported for X box. I played it on PS2. Since it's an older game you should be able to pick it up new for $20.00 or even cheaper used. Only the third in the series Fatal Frame 3 Tormented still sells for $40.00. So follow me now to the haunted Himura mansion in Japan:
Story / Plot In the prologue of the game, you play a young boy who is investigating a mansion in a rural town in Japan that is rumored to be haunted. You find a camera inside that is able to stop ghosts from attacking you and to capture them. (no guns in Fatal Frame). The prologue acts as a tutorial to the game. No matter what you do in the prologue, you die.
After that, you play a Japanese schoolgirl, Miku, who returns to the mansion to locate her missing brother (the boy from the prologue). She too finds a camera that is able to stop ghosts. She discovers that the camera can also "see" things that she could not, like hidden doors and secrets. As she investigates she discovers more and more clues on the secrets and rituals that took place in this mansion. You learn about the sacrificial rituals and the ghosts through finding pages of journals, scrapbooks, old photographs and such. You also find film for your camera, items necessary to continue through the game, like keys and special items. The story is divided into 4 nights, and getting to certain points triggers cut scenes which advance the story along. (i.e. a night may take you an hour or 6 hours, but a night is defined by doing certain things, not the length of time). Along the way, you can see and photograph many ghosts, many of which are not malevolent. You build up points, or power for your camera the more you photograph ghosts. The more powerful your camera is, the better it is at stopping the truly scary part of the game, malevolent ghosts. When a ghost attacks your character, it really is scary! First the ghosts look very scary, the graphics are quite good. Second, they don't really stay in the same place, they sort of fade in and out, but when they fade in in your face, its jolting. All the while they may shout things at you. The controller also shakes, as you try to photograph the ghost. The story line was very good, and much easier to follow than the complex stories of the Silent Hill games. Mostly, you find out that the people who lived in the mansion did some very nasty things, and the people who died haunt the house still.
Graphics The graphics were very good in this game, I would describe them as atmospheric. The prologue is all in black and white, and it is like watching a very old black and white movie. The rest, although it is in color, is very dark, and is almost in black and white, although uses of blood red and ghost blue are used for maximum effect. The mansion is huge, and very detailed. You find Buddhist shrines, kimono rooms, sacrifice rooms (you know, the sort every large home has to carry out bloody sacrifice rituals), zen rock gardens, doll rooms, even a fish tank room. My son, who is also a big fan of all things Japan, also thought the graphics in this game were awesome, and decided we should purchase the sequel. Your character, named Miku, is a Japanese schoolgirl, complete with skirt,boots, a white blouse and red scarf. Fortunately, she also has a flashlight and the camera. The ghost graphics are great, the way they flicker in and out, and wave around made them a lot scarier than Resident Evil's zombies. Some of the ghosts move quite fast as well. Cut scenes have a creepy 16 mm film quality to them, and many times in the game, we get treated to flashbacks of the horrible events that took place in the mansion.
Sound Quality The sounds in this game are almost on par with Silent Hill The background noises in this game, especially played at night in the dark, are disturbing and scary all by themselves. I jumped more than a few times just from noises I heard. It is also quite unsettling to have the ghost that is attacking you shouting in some ethereal voice more ropes, more ropes, more ropes
Controls This game has many settings that you can use to control your character. In the basic scheme the left analog stick is used to move around, and a combination of the square button to raise your camera and the circle button to shoot a photo can be changed to whatever combination you are happy with. Pick one, and get used to it. Overall, I found the controls easy to use with ONE EXCEPTION. The camera angle would change as you move Miku through the rooms, so even though, say you were moving your character to the left, suddenly the angle shifts, and she is moving right, so now if you keep hitting left, she turns around. Oh and speaking of which, she also turns around every time a door slams behind her. That was one major gripe I had with the game, and I couldn't find a control scheme that let me have controls that were consistent for moving my character. You can easily raise and shoot photos, although you have to wait until your view finder glows blue or preferably red to shoot your photo to damage the ghost. You can also use items, such as medicinal herbs. Its always easy to decide what item to use in a spot. Rather than select every item in your possession, when you stand by a locked drawer, the game will say use the small brass key rather than you trying all your keys. However, the controls worked well enough so you don't suffer cheap deaths, unless of course you run out of film in your camera. The game also features a method of saving your best photos that is unnecessarily complex.
Game Play This game is fun to play, it has a good mix of exploration, story and ghost battle. Maps appear to help you figure out where you are and where you have been at the click of a button. As the game gets further in, it gets a lot harder, film to capture ghosts seems to get scarcer and ghosts that attack you get stronger. I will admit that I used a cheat code to get more film, I would have died too often without the cheat code to make the game fun for me. Better gamers than myself (of which there are many, including my son Nick) may not find it necessary to resort to cheats. The camera gains abilities as you photograph more ghosts too, so the game would be easier on replays. You can make ghosts stay still, or track the ghosts easier as you upgrade the camera. The ghosts move around quite a bit, so these abilities help a lot.
Rating This game is Rated T for Teen, and features several grisly murders, cult ritual sacrifices, and scary ghosts. I thought it was more in line with M games. My son (who is 10) thought the game was quite scary, but he loves scary games. He was also better at catching the ghosts with the camera than I was! If your kids are scared easy or sensitive to scary things, this may not be a good game choice for them.
Summary We enjoyed playing Fatal Frame, its a fun scary game! My only complaint was the camera angle thing, however it was good and unique enough that I really feel that Fatal Frame is deserving of 4 1/2 stars. Since the game actually scared my son and I in several scenes, we round it up to a full five stars!
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