Post by tav7623 on Oct 9, 2014 0:48:56 GMT -5
Being a long time gamer I'm no stranger to a decent amount of horror related video games and one series that often gets brought up along with the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill is the Fatal Frame series. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Fatal Frame games they are a series of (usually) stand alone 3rd person survival horror games (5 main games, 1 remake, and 1 spin off game) that (usually) centers around a young female protagonist who finds themselves trapped in a haunted location looking for a missing loved one where they are attacked by ghosts and their only form of protection is essentially a special camera called the Camera Obscura that has the power to harm ghosts as well as reveal secret areas/hidden items the ghosts have tried to hide. By now you may be wondering why am I writing a review for the second game in the series and not one for the latest game in the series or even the first game and the honest truth is the reason I'm reviewing this game is because it's the only game in the series that I've played/currently own.
Story
The story of Fatal Frame 2 centers around twin sisters Mio and Mayu who are visiting a childhood play spot when Mayu (who walks with a limp) goes off into the woods chasing after a crimson butterfly. The butterfly leads the twins to a cursed village full of ghost and trapped in perpetual night, now the twins must find a way to escape the village before they meet the same accursed fate as the village's former residents. Along the way they find out what exactly happened to the village leading up to it's last days and how it came to be cursed.
Gameplay
This game plays (fixed camera angles, environmental puzzles, inventory/file system) and controls (tank) very similarly to other PS2/Xbox era 3rd person survival horror games such as Silent Hill 2/3 and Resident Evil Code Veronica X, but it goes a little further by having a first person perspective/view (using the right & left analog sticks) for when you use the Camera Obscura and it was actually made into an unlockable mode (FPS mode, you play the whole game in first person) for the Xbox Director's Cut.
Graphics
Graphically this game oozes atmosphere and imo holds up pretty well for a PS2/Xbox title, however if you want the best looking version of the game you are going to need a PAL/Japanese Wii as the beautiful looking Wii remake was only released in Japan and Europe.
Sound
When it comes to sound this game tends to follow in the footsteps of the Silent Hill series with it's well executed sound design and original music.
Scare Factor
When it comes to scare factor (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being not even remotely scary and 10 being nightmare inducing) I personally didn't find this game all that scary (I'd say it had a scare factor of 2), but considering I'm a veteran player who is pretty familiar with the genre this isn't very surprising. With that said I feel that the game would have a scare factor of 6 maybe even 7 for those less familiar with the genre especially if they play the game in an optimal setting such as a dark room with a decent size TV and a kick@$$ surround sound system.
Pros - graphically the game has aged well, it has decent sound design/music, a good story, and decent controls (playing in first person is a joy if you use the alternate analog controls)
Cons - didn't find it particularly scary, has typical survival horror control issues
Overall I give this game a 7 out of 10 as it is a solid survival horror game with a pretty good story, decent graphics that hold up pretty well considering the age of the game (originally came out late 2003 for PS2 and early 2004 for Xbox, the Wii remake came out in Japan/Europe around June 2012), good sound design, decent gameplay, and fairly functional controls. My only issues with the game have to do with the control issues that pop up when you have the combination of tank controls & fixed camera angles (the camera changes so does the controls for movement which leads to you accidentally going back where you came or going in a direction you weren't heading in) and that I didn't particularly find the game scary, but in the grand scheme of things I feel that these are fairly minimal complaints. All in all this game isn't too bad and is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of PS2 era survival horror games or if you've never played any of the other games in the series.
Story
The story of Fatal Frame 2 centers around twin sisters Mio and Mayu who are visiting a childhood play spot when Mayu (who walks with a limp) goes off into the woods chasing after a crimson butterfly. The butterfly leads the twins to a cursed village full of ghost and trapped in perpetual night, now the twins must find a way to escape the village before they meet the same accursed fate as the village's former residents. Along the way they find out what exactly happened to the village leading up to it's last days and how it came to be cursed.
Gameplay
This game plays (fixed camera angles, environmental puzzles, inventory/file system) and controls (tank) very similarly to other PS2/Xbox era 3rd person survival horror games such as Silent Hill 2/3 and Resident Evil Code Veronica X, but it goes a little further by having a first person perspective/view (using the right & left analog sticks) for when you use the Camera Obscura and it was actually made into an unlockable mode (FPS mode, you play the whole game in first person) for the Xbox Director's Cut.
Graphics
Graphically this game oozes atmosphere and imo holds up pretty well for a PS2/Xbox title, however if you want the best looking version of the game you are going to need a PAL/Japanese Wii as the beautiful looking Wii remake was only released in Japan and Europe.
Sound
When it comes to sound this game tends to follow in the footsteps of the Silent Hill series with it's well executed sound design and original music.
Scare Factor
When it comes to scare factor (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being not even remotely scary and 10 being nightmare inducing) I personally didn't find this game all that scary (I'd say it had a scare factor of 2), but considering I'm a veteran player who is pretty familiar with the genre this isn't very surprising. With that said I feel that the game would have a scare factor of 6 maybe even 7 for those less familiar with the genre especially if they play the game in an optimal setting such as a dark room with a decent size TV and a kick@$$ surround sound system.
Pros - graphically the game has aged well, it has decent sound design/music, a good story, and decent controls (playing in first person is a joy if you use the alternate analog controls)
Cons - didn't find it particularly scary, has typical survival horror control issues
Overall I give this game a 7 out of 10 as it is a solid survival horror game with a pretty good story, decent graphics that hold up pretty well considering the age of the game (originally came out late 2003 for PS2 and early 2004 for Xbox, the Wii remake came out in Japan/Europe around June 2012), good sound design, decent gameplay, and fairly functional controls. My only issues with the game have to do with the control issues that pop up when you have the combination of tank controls & fixed camera angles (the camera changes so does the controls for movement which leads to you accidentally going back where you came or going in a direction you weren't heading in) and that I didn't particularly find the game scary, but in the grand scheme of things I feel that these are fairly minimal complaints. All in all this game isn't too bad and is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of PS2 era survival horror games or if you've never played any of the other games in the series.