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Be afraid. Be very afraid. Why you ask? Fatal Frame is a damn scary game.
Not the high-brow psychological stuff, but the did I just see that and
BOO type stuff. Rest assured you need to go to the bathroom often because
there is really no need to ruin your couch. And you still might with the
frights in this game. The basic gameplay revolves around you running around
with a camera in a haunted mansion, searching for your lost family member.
Sure, the premise has been done, but not like this. See, only when youre
staring through the camera, can you see the monstrosities that populate the
mansion! Eventually you have to do battle with these by shooting energy from
camera to capture them! Things start getting cooler when you get to
customize the crap out of your camera. Very badass. Graphically the game is
not exceptional with polygons but boy does it have atmosphere. Unique colors
for all the textures give it a very abandoned, and scary look. Each room and
its walls are almost as ominous as what you cant see. Sound-wise, the game
does a lot of things right. The music, while sparse, keeps things
interesting. The sound effects are pretty good and the voice acting is kind
of sketchy. It has a unique way of presenting the story, but the voices
definitely detract from the atmosphere. Moving on to the control part of the
game. Its a little complex, but it is very intuitive. The one complaint
would be that the characters have bricks in their shoes, meaning they are a
bit slow. Looking back at the game, Im glad I rented it rather then buying
it. Like most in its genre, the replay value is fairly low. But, if you
really enjoy the gameplay, its definitely worth a purchase. Nothing else
comes close to the type of gameplay it offers (maybe Pokemon Snap) so this
is at the top of its own very small heap.
Graphics: 8.0 While textures and polygons arent that amazing, the
atmosphere conveyed by the graphics is astonishing. Its also fluid and
doesnt have many glitches.
Sound: 6.5 The music is sparse, but it keeps you in the game when its on.
The voices do bring down the game a bit and break some of the atmosphere.
Control: 7.5 Tight and responsive control that is a little over complex
at times. After hours of play you still make old mistakes. Also the
characters run really slow.
Replay: 4.5 The game offers some neat little extras at the end, but the
quest is not especially substantial. It is however one of those games that
you might visit every so often to play again though.
Overall: 6.9 This game has one hell of an atmosphere, but it gets
repetitive and does not have much staying power. I highly recommend a rental
and if you love it, then think about a purchase.
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