| Survival-Horror has always been a funny-peculiar genre for me. I remember watching my mate Reedy play the first Resident Evil game and being impressed at the look and feel, but when I played it myself I was underwhelmed. It was a nice idea alright, but actually playing it felt more like awkwardly barging your way through an old people's home than a cutting edge horror experience.
“Eeeee come ‘ere, I'll ‘ave yer!” Resident Evil? Residential
Home, more like.
When people talked about Survival-Horror games, they described them as “scary” or “creepy” or “frightening”, and I didn't feel that they were at all. Even the Silent Hill series, the much-vaunted beacon of the scary-game genre, left me unmoved. And then my wife bought the original Fatal Frame .
Honestly, I sat and watched her wander around, detecting and taking photos of ghosts, and I was genuinely unnerved. That was unexpected. I didn't feel it was possible for a videogame to do that to a grown man.
So, here's the sequel, where, in an interesting twist for this type of game, you get to play as a pair of twin Japanese schoolgirls. Mio is the main character, and the one you use most often, but every now and then her scaredy-cat sister gets distracted and goes buggering off on her own, giving you something else to worry about.
“T-t-twins?”
It isn't a particularly difficult game. Your camera comes with unlimited film, and there's a range of power-ups that make spirit capturing easier than it ever was in Ghostbusters . This is good. It means you can get on with soaking up the incredible atmosphere, unravelling the story and being terrified, rather than spending half the time trying to shake deranged dogs off your ankle.
What gets me the most is the way they use creepy noises. There are times when you find a locked door, and as you approach you'll hear the most disturbing noises coming from behind it. You know you've got to find a way through eventually, but you're thinking, “Fucking hell, I'm not sure I want to get through there!”
Bjork's latest gig was running well past the usual finishing time.
In fact, the clever use of audio is the main reason the chills are so effective. Taking cues from any good horror movie, Fatal Frame 2 knows that what you can't see will scare you the most, and it does a great job of building up the tension as you amble through the village. Of course, when the spook does eventually pop out at you, terror is guaranteed. Having said that, there are some fucking freaky cut-scenes as well, and they'll definitely set you on edge well into the night.
If you've ever watched and enjoyed any of those nasty Japanese flicks like Ringu and fancy a hit of the willies, then this will be right up your gairo .
PAULEMOZ, September
2004.
RODENT CASH RATING -
25 quid. 20 on Ebay.
"Ma breeks!"
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