Fatal Frame (PlayStation 2) review "Overview: "

Overview:

Scare factor: 9
Fun factor: 10
Replay value: 7.5
Graphics: 10
Sound: 9
Overall: 9

I can remember when I first heard of this game. I was in Babbage's with my dad. I guess I hadn't been reading up, because I had never heard of it. Anyway, the guy at the counter was talking with this other guy and they said that Fatal Frame was scarier than Silent Hill 2. I was so shocked to hear that! I told my dad that we had to rent it and try it out! Sure enough, we did. Sure enough, it was an excellent game! The story is something completely different from that of other games. It's in a class all it's own it would seem.

The game starts out a bit ''cheesy'' I guess you could say... They try to make the voices sound creepy and everything, but at the beginning of the game you're not really scared, you're just sitting back going ''yeah yeah, big deal''. Once you start the game, however, it's quite a different story. In the game you have a camera that can somehow capture spirits with its film. You have to take pictures of ghosts to kill them. I know, I know, it sounds retarded. It's actually pretty darned scary to me! I can get pretty creeped out when it comes to ghosts and things, so for me when you see a ghost just walking across the hall in front of you it brings a scream out of me. Anyway, you're in a house looking for your lost, possibly dead, brother who went to the mansion in search of his favorite horror novelist (what a strange kid). That's basically the storyline, there are other parts to it also, though.

The graphics in this game could use some work, but the sounds are really good. The ''sound'' that I find to be the most effective is the silence. The quietness in the game where all you hear is the boards beneath your feet creaking, that's the sound that gets to me. It gives you that sense that you are alone in this creepy mansion. You see things move in the corner of your eye. Those are the things that are really scary to me. I'm always afraid to walk by mirrors in this game also. Sheesh! I'm such a wimp.

Overall, this game is worth the money, I'd say. However, we have not found the money to buy it with yet, what with us being poor and all. Rent it, buy it, whatever you do to get a chance to play it. I don't think they have it for rent at Blockbuster anymore though. Happy erm um... Picture taking!

Community review by jill (January 02, 2003) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.