Hi guys here's game review I had written some months ago.
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
The third and the final installment of the Fatal frame series by Tecmo for the PS2, FF3 is one of the very few games from the survival horror genre that actually makes you think twice before popping that DVD in your PS2 after sunset. Unlike its predecessors Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame2: Crimson Butterfly; the Tormented is built upon an extremely smooth and brilliant game engine, incredible background score and FX and amazing graphical detailing. With contrast to other titles from its genre like Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill; FF3 delivers a subtler type of chill, relying only on ghosts and emotions to create that sense of fear and only an old camera as a weapon against them. It’s psychological horror taken to its extreme while still remaining a videogame.
In this Japanese interactive horror experience, Rei, is a young cursed woman, haunted by her overwhelming guilt and her tormented dreams. The game begins after Rei has lost her fiancée in a car accident with her at the wheel. Overburdened with the guilt of Yuu’s (Rei’s fiancée) death, Rei is taken back and forth into reality and her nightmare. What the player will see in Rei’s dreams is only the beginning of the nightmare. The game consists of 13 Hours, each hour being a different mission to complete objectives and puzzles which takes you closer to finding out the truth about the manor and the mysterious tattoo. Armed with only a camera, the player takes on the role Rei, who is on a quest to find out about the recurring nightmare, the mysterious tattoo, and other strange phenomenon taking place in the real world. The horrid incidents take place in a huge old broken down manor, haunted by its disturbing past. As far as the gameplay is concerned, there is no control over the camera angles, which would easily tick off some gamers, but the static camera angles just adds to the eerie. Amazingly directed camera angles makes this game a real cinematic experience. Controlling Rei outside of camera combat is a minor annoyance though because of the fixed camera angles.
Equipped with an antique ‘Camera Obscura’, an excellent piece of equipment, which kills ghosts after accurately capturing them in the fatal frame. Later in the game several upgrades are available for the camera, my favorite being slow shutter and blast. Gamers with nerves of steel can wait till the ghost comes up-close, get him in the fatal frame and do a combo! Better combos give you extra points, by which one can power up the camera. After the game progresses, it gets harder to capture them camera shy ghosts in the frame as they start getting smarter, faster and stronger. The player also comes across different film negatives for the camera which possesses stronger exorcising powers.
The game’s Graphics are hauntingly beautiful. Every inch of the manor is highly detailed in order to look like an early 20th century Asian manor that hasn’t had a speck of life living in it since. Ghosts are also aw inspiring with translucency and facial expressions that could easily be mistaken for something on a next gen console.
Extreme detail to graphics, the ghosts developed are more intense, hideous eye movements and facial expressions as well as nasty behaviors, like gazing expressionlessly at the player before their faces suddenly melt and distort into ghastlier, shrieking, still more frightening entity. Have your security blanket handy. The game also delivers great graphics in the black-and-white film-grain in haunted sequences and wonderful lighting effects in color sequences that involve ghosts.
The brilliant sound FX consisting of subtle noises, moaning, whispers, and ambient sounds all making the atmosphere feel just right. There is little music in the game but what is there is used effectively. Even the moments of silence are well executed. The dramatic score compliments the stunning graphics making it a terrifying audio-visual treat. A spine chilling entertainer every gamer must experience; this is by-far one of the scariest and amazingly well crafted PS2 title up-to-date.
Pros: + A visual extravaganza, with breath taking graphics and cinematics.
+ Sound work is mind-blowing.
+ Innovative gameplay with alternate endings.
Cons: - Slow pace of the game and the characters can get to you at times.
- Controlling Rei can be a hindrance.
Fatal Words
This game requires some degree of patience and big cohones. The slow pacing of the game, which is very apt for the storyline, can get a bit annoying for some. It is definitely scary enough to keep you wide awake and enhance all your six senses to the extreme. An edge of the seat entertainer, this hair raising title deserves to be called one of the scariest PS2 titles of 2005.
Ratings:
Graphics: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Audio: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
The third and the final installment of the Fatal frame series by Tecmo for the PS2, FF3 is one of the very few games from the survival horror genre that actually makes you think twice before popping that DVD in your PS2 after sunset. Unlike its predecessors Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame2: Crimson Butterfly; the Tormented is built upon an extremely smooth and brilliant game engine, incredible background score and FX and amazing graphical detailing. With contrast to other titles from its genre like Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill; FF3 delivers a subtler type of chill, relying only on ghosts and emotions to create that sense of fear and only an old camera as a weapon against them. It’s psychological horror taken to its extreme while still remaining a videogame.
In this Japanese interactive horror experience, Rei, is a young cursed woman, haunted by her overwhelming guilt and her tormented dreams. The game begins after Rei has lost her fiancée in a car accident with her at the wheel. Overburdened with the guilt of Yuu’s (Rei’s fiancée) death, Rei is taken back and forth into reality and her nightmare. What the player will see in Rei’s dreams is only the beginning of the nightmare. The game consists of 13 Hours, each hour being a different mission to complete objectives and puzzles which takes you closer to finding out the truth about the manor and the mysterious tattoo. Armed with only a camera, the player takes on the role Rei, who is on a quest to find out about the recurring nightmare, the mysterious tattoo, and other strange phenomenon taking place in the real world. The horrid incidents take place in a huge old broken down manor, haunted by its disturbing past. As far as the gameplay is concerned, there is no control over the camera angles, which would easily tick off some gamers, but the static camera angles just adds to the eerie. Amazingly directed camera angles makes this game a real cinematic experience. Controlling Rei outside of camera combat is a minor annoyance though because of the fixed camera angles.
Equipped with an antique ‘Camera Obscura’, an excellent piece of equipment, which kills ghosts after accurately capturing them in the fatal frame. Later in the game several upgrades are available for the camera, my favorite being slow shutter and blast. Gamers with nerves of steel can wait till the ghost comes up-close, get him in the fatal frame and do a combo! Better combos give you extra points, by which one can power up the camera. After the game progresses, it gets harder to capture them camera shy ghosts in the frame as they start getting smarter, faster and stronger. The player also comes across different film negatives for the camera which possesses stronger exorcising powers.
The game’s Graphics are hauntingly beautiful. Every inch of the manor is highly detailed in order to look like an early 20th century Asian manor that hasn’t had a speck of life living in it since. Ghosts are also aw inspiring with translucency and facial expressions that could easily be mistaken for something on a next gen console.
Extreme detail to graphics, the ghosts developed are more intense, hideous eye movements and facial expressions as well as nasty behaviors, like gazing expressionlessly at the player before their faces suddenly melt and distort into ghastlier, shrieking, still more frightening entity. Have your security blanket handy. The game also delivers great graphics in the black-and-white film-grain in haunted sequences and wonderful lighting effects in color sequences that involve ghosts.
The brilliant sound FX consisting of subtle noises, moaning, whispers, and ambient sounds all making the atmosphere feel just right. There is little music in the game but what is there is used effectively. Even the moments of silence are well executed. The dramatic score compliments the stunning graphics making it a terrifying audio-visual treat. A spine chilling entertainer every gamer must experience; this is by-far one of the scariest and amazingly well crafted PS2 title up-to-date.
Pros: + A visual extravaganza, with breath taking graphics and cinematics.
+ Sound work is mind-blowing.
+ Innovative gameplay with alternate endings.
Cons: - Slow pace of the game and the characters can get to you at times.
- Controlling Rei can be a hindrance.
Fatal Words
This game requires some degree of patience and big cohones. The slow pacing of the game, which is very apt for the storyline, can get a bit annoying for some. It is definitely scary enough to keep you wide awake and enhance all your six senses to the extreme. An edge of the seat entertainer, this hair raising title deserves to be called one of the scariest PS2 titles of 2005.
Ratings:
Graphics: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Audio: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
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