I agree with Mike in finding that Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is one of the scariest, most unsettling game experiences around but only when I wasn't being bored out of my mind by the game's busywork and glacial pace. I do share our horror maven's sadness at seeing such a promising title go astray, but I'm not quite as forgiving as he is.
This use of music and sound is perhaps the greatest strength of Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly, the sequel to Tecmo's underrated survival horror offering Fatal Frame. While Crimson Butterfly never wants for a gruesome or terrifying visual, it's the audio component of the game that makes it so creepy. As it stands, the game is a veritable primer on how to use sound to create atmosphere in a horror game.
It pains me dearly to score a Tecmo game so low, but in all good conscience I just cant let them slide. Theyve always been known for extremely fun, solid and original games despite (generally) not having cutting edge graphics. Breaking with that tradition in Fatal Frames case, the graphics arent that bad but they seem to have gone astray when it came to the gameplay department. Very, very disappointing.
Fatal Frame is a scary and original horror experience. While not a great game, it does deliver on its promise to explore the survival-horror genre from a fresh perspective.
RSS
