Official Website

Platform: Playstation 2, Xbox

Genre: Survival Horror

Number of Players: 1

Tecmo has been in the gaming industry for quite a while. Ask any long time gamer and they will immediately associate the name with titles such as Tecmo Bowl, Ninja Gaiden, Raygar (for those of us from the arcade days), and more recently Monster Rancher. It’s not that any of these are bad games, and in fact, most of them are quite good and highly entertaining. There’s one genre however that Tecmo has yet to touch on, and that’s survival horror. Looking at the sales figures though, it’s easy to say that the titles like Resident Evil sell, and as a result, Tecmo was decided to jump on board and see what they could do that would be little different than what has been done with previous titles.

The game: Fatal Frame. The concept however doesn’t deal with zombies, but it does deal with the undead, and I don’t think that any fan of horror would have it any other way. Fatal Frame, also known as Project Zero in Japan, takes players out of the world of zombies and into a haunted house scenario, but this one isn’t filled with 999 friendly ghosts. Miku Hinasaki has come to the Himuro Mansion in search of her brother who had gone there in search of his novelist friend and his team. Now, everyone one is missing, and Miku decides to solve the disappearances on her own. Just as rumored, the mansion is in fact haunted by some very unhappy, and unfriendly spirits, and Miku is trapped inside the mansion and continues to find clues that lead her to believe that perhaps, the novelist and his crew are dead, and maybe even her brother right along with them.

There’s more going on than just the disappearance of her brother and his colleagues. The Himuro Mansion has a dark and sinister history behind it, filled with betrayal, death, and evil rituals. Miku has the misfortune of not only running afoul those that have vanished recently, but also those that remain trapped between life and death. The mystery thickens as Miku begins to find information detailing Kirie, a young girl who lived in the mansion and was the victim of a horrible ritual. What's worse is she begins seeing the young girl, but it seems as though she's trying to help Miku find something, but what?

Right from the start, Fatal Frame shows that it isn’t going to be just another survival horror title. The games prelude actually places you in the role of Miku’s brother, Mafuyu, and details not only why he came to the mansion, but also what events transpired. What’s interesting is that the introduction however is that it’s done in a grainy black and white, giving the appearance of an old and worn home movie. This adds to the creepy and frightening nature of what’s in store later in the game. Playing as Mafuyu also gives the players a walk-through of sorts on how the combat controls will work, and it’s a very interesting spin on undead fighting.

Miku, and her brother as well, aren’t going into the mansion armed with any sort of guns or knives. You’re fighting ghosts, and their ectoplasmic makeup isn’t going to allow for a shotgun blast to the head to end their un-life. But, don’t get the idea that you’re going to be turned lose with an unlicensed nuclear accelerator either, especially since you don’t have Egon around for important safety tips. Instead, Miku has an old fashion camera with the power to overcome her undead foes. While the game itself takes place in the typical 3-D style of all survival horror games, combat places Miku in a first person view. Each photo the she takes will damage the sprits, and the camera can be charged as well to inflict even more pain.

As Miku continues to battle her undead opponents, she will gain points from photos, either in combat or from getting pictures of a few elusive spirits that harmlessly walk about the mansion. These points in turn can be used to increase the abilities of the camera, increasing range and damage as well as giving her the option to unlock a few special abilities. Miku will also find role of film lying about the dusty confines on the mansion that will increase some of the camera potential. Much like film in the real world however, the amount of photos that she can take are limited, so the more powerful ones should be used sparingly.

Sometimes however, it’s better to just run. And you’ll probably find yourself doing that quite a bit, especially when faced with some new and unknown entity.

If you thought that zombies were disturbing in the Resident Evil games, wait until you have to deal with the ghosts in Fatal Frame. They are downright creepy, and some are even frightening in some cases. Having an incorporeal form, they can pass through wall, meaning that you can’t just run into the next room or behind an object in an effort to escape them. This isn’t true of all spirits however. There are a few, very few, that are known as ground-tied sprits. These poor souls have suffered a horrible death and stay in one given area. While they don’t do any outright harm to Miku, their appearance can be unsettling to say the least. Of all the ghosts in Fatal Frame, I found the most disturbing to be one known as Blinded. This terrible woman has had her eyes ripped out, and her appearance is always followed by her wailing and crying out, “My eyes, my eyes!” It’s one of things you just need to hear, and is enough to send chills up your spine while playing late at night.

The atmosphere n Fatal Frame comes across as being a cross between games from the Resident Evil series and Silent Hill, with the latter being more appropriate. Miku has a flashlight to help her navigate the dark mansion. This creates a lighting effect similar to what was seen in Silent Hill 2. Fatal Frame does however have a look and feel that make it very unique as well. The game is obviously set in Japan, and the mansion has that look about it. Complete with kimonos’ hung in traditional fashion, sliding doors, and just about anything else that you would expect to find in an aging Japanese mansion. There are also plenty of cut scenes that are done fairly well. Probably some of the most entertaining are the ones before the end of each chapter. These are generally done as flashbacks, with Miku reliving the events that led to the tragedies that befell the members of the family. There’s even one that is a homage to Ringu (or The Ring as it’s commonly known outside of Japan.)

The one thing that has become commonplace with survival horror games, aside from generally having a great deal to do with evil and the undead, puzzles play an important element. Fatal Frame has them in a couple different versions. First off, there are those where you will need to photograph an area in order to find hidden doors and such. You’ll find notes and articles that will give you clues to solve some, while other times you will find cassette tapes which will give a little insight. There are the standard puzzles as well that will involve inserting items to moving pieces in order to progress. While they start out simple, they slowly get a little harder as the game progresses, but it never reaches the point of impossibility.

Fatal Frame has a soundtrack to match the mood. It’s comprised mainly of dark ambient sounds that don’t serve as music so much as a macabre backdrop. Often times there are strange keyboard sounds and moans, or something that sounds similar, that add even more to the games somewhat disturbing nature. Much of the time the music blends in so well that it becomes virtually unrecognizable as “music.” This just reinstalls the intense feeling of paranoia that the game can give.

Fatal Frame does have some problems however. The controls are very lacking, and almost frustrating at points, especially during combat. The option to be able to move on the fly while in first person mood would have been a nice touch. However, while the controls can be gotten used to, it’s the voice acting that really cannot. As the game does take place in Japan, and all the names are left as such, one would expect that Tecmo would take a page from Onimusha and leave the option to have the game in either Japanese or English. Sadly though, only the dub track is included, and no original Japanese is present at all, not even as a hidden feature.

This is one of those survival horror games that you could play with the lights on, or during the afternoon, if you really wanted to. The thing is, that really ruins the whole feeling of the game. My preferred time to play was right around midnight, when no one else was awake, with all the lights turned off and only the soft yet disturbing glow of the television for company. This is one of the few games that has actually caused me to just, and it was do to just a subtle thing that I didn’t see coming. However, the really is one of those titles that is guaranteed to make people just and give them a feeling of uneasiness. Just taking a look around the Internet at some of the forums dedicated to the game is proof enough.

One thing of note is that the game claims to be based on a true story. I’ve done quite a bit of research on this, and I have to admit that I’ve come up empty handed on the subject. Even having a Japanese fiancé, she knew nothing of the real story that the game is allegedly taken from. Whether the rumors of the game being factual are open for debate, the truth is that it does add just that much more terror into what’s already a terrifying game.

Fatal Frame is well worth the money, especially if you’re one that loves the horror genre and can’t find enough of it when it comes to games. While games like Resident Evil have grown a little stale and lost the scare factor all together, Tecmo delivers with what can be hailed as one of the most frightening survival horror titles to date. Hopefully this will not only continue to be a market that they will produce more titles for, but Fatal Frame is the sort of thing that could definitely have a sequel produced as long as it continues to retain the same fear factor. And with the game already having the movie rights sold, it’s obvious that Tecmo has scored a big hit with this one. Get it, and make sure you play it alone.

 -mike-