Customer Reviews

Fatal Frame

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fatal Frame is an intense game ! Only armed with a camera and searching through a eerie environment makes for a chilling, memorable experience. This game comes jam packed with puzzles to solve, and when you combine that with action you have a game that is a must play!

I bought this game without even knowing much about it, but the fact my foes were ghosts (I love anything having to do with ghosts..lol) I had to try it for myself. When I found out more about it (The camera as a weapon & such) I was a lil doubtful on how I would take to this game.

I'm a long time survival/horror fan & I don't think I'd even put the RE or SH series together with Fatal Frame. Those games belong in their own category in a shrine somewhere, but this game is in a class all by itself. It stands apart from those, & really never got the respect it deserves.

This game not only totally messed with my head while playing it, but I find that after experiencing it the 1st time I am reluctant to play through it again. Yet it is soooo hauntingly beautiful in plot & gameplay that I WANT to play through it again... Does that make sense?! lol

In all this game is horrifying & can really play tricks on you if you let it get to you. I would say to anyone who wants to play it to rent it 1st, only because not everyone has the same feelings with the game but GIVE IT A CHANCE! Don't let the camera turn you off because you may just be letting a great game slip through the cracks...

I admit the voice acting is not the best, but even the greats have a history of bad voice actors...lol Sometimes it comes with the package.

The graphics are not upto PS2 or XBox standards, but they REALLY work well, especially the design of the ghosts which at times can be shockingly horrifying. I want to run & hide everytime I see blinded searching for me =0P

I barely noticed any music in this game with the exception of cutscenes & ghost battles, & there's a good reason for that. While traveling through Himuro Mansion you will hear nothing but the sound of Miku walking, or just basic "house" noises. With silence constantly around the sudden booming of creepy music when a ghost is coming for you can give you such a jolt you have to pause till your heart leaves your throat & returns to your chest...lol I usually am a scare seeker, but these scares drove me to taking a "time out" to get my wits together.

The gameplay can seem odd at 1st, but once you get aquainted with what buttons do what you can easily navigate yourself from normal to camera mode. The changing of the camera angles can cause your character to turn around on occasion, but once again if you can learn the controls then you'll have no problem working the toggle button in time with the angles.

Many have mentioned the fact that Miku's walking pace is slow. Once you begin the game it can seem that way, but you will get use to it. I like to think of it as playing RE Outbreak for the 1st time, & those load times I eventually didn't even notice once I got into the "groove" of things. Hopefully you will too...lol Also, it makes sense for Miku to walk & run quietly... She KNOWS she's in a potentially dangerous situation, she's not going to go running around banging on wooden floors & such practically with a dart painted on her backside...lol

All in all this game is an awesome one for those who want something other than the norm survival horror. This game is best suited for the open minded, & strong of heart...lol

I loved Silent Hill 2, I really did, but after an hour of playing that game, I grew weary of it and it became a manhunt where I deliberately seeked out monsters to kill. Fatal Frame, however, is the complete opposite, and often made me wish the ghost in the corner would stay where it's at. When the critics said this game was "scary as hell", my friend, they weren't exaggerating.

If you've played Silent Hill 2, then you might remember how unnerving it was to go through the abandoned apartment complex/hospital in that game and exploring the dark unknowns. Fatal Frame takes that concept and whirls it into an expedition that you will never forget. Armed with only an ancient camera, you must guide Miku Hinasaki through the haunted mansion where inhumane rituals and sickening murders occurred in the search for her brother Mafuyu. Ghosts and powerful entities are lurking in the shadows, and they won't hesitate to make your stay as uncomfortable as possible. Will you have the guts to help Miku reunite with Mafuyu, or will you run away and not look back? Pick up the controller and find out.

Graphics: The graphics are superb, 'nuff said. The ghosts are grotesque and eerie, and they are guaranteed to creep you out. The mansion is set up realistically, with a lot of attention to detail. The dark lighting and other various components really set the tension in the atmosphere. You'll feel as if you're really there with Miku -- whether that's a good thing or not, that's up to the player to decide.

Sound: There's not much actual music, but then you wouldn't expect a haunted mansion to be blasting the Blue Danube Waltz, now would you? ~_~ What is there, however, are various sounds that you should expect in a place like Hiumro; ghastly moaning, creepy children laughing, mysteriously snickers... all of which are mixed in and chimed at different times to create a terrifying atmosphere.

Controls: There are 8 different setups for a player to choose from, so it's hard to not find the right one that's fit for you. That aside, there's also the standard 3D control that any gamer should be familiar with, and there's the 2D-ish "Resident Evil" type of operation that fans of that series will recognize. Personally, I prefer Control G, where the camera mode is triggered by the R1 button. In game-wise, there are two different modes: camera and 3rd person. 3rd person is self-explanatory; left stick moves Miku, right stick moves her flashlight, etc. Camera mode is basically battle mode -- you enter this 1st person state when you trigger a fight with an apparition (or an apparition triggers a fight with you...). The camera mode controls might feel slightly arkward at first, since certain movements are reversed from 3rd person mode, but all it takes is one or two battles, and you'll master it in no time.

Storyline: The basic story is standard fare -- older brother goes missing, and younger sister must find him -- however, the true meat of the plot is as grotesque as the ghosts themselves. Loosely based on old urban legends revolving ancient Shinto rituals, the terror of Himuro Mansion are the vicious things that the old Family Master used to perform on various victims. I won't spoil them here, but trust me when I say that events behind the story are fairly "malicious". Proceed with caution.

Gameplay #1: Like all survival horror games, there are puzzles that require solving before a player could proceed to the next step. Understandably, if you're the more action-oriented player like myself, this factor might turn you off. Fortunately, the good news is that the puzzles found in Fatal Frame are quite easy to solve, and shouldn't take more than a minute to figure out. Also like the other games in the genre, the puzzles will require a player to seek out essential pieces to pierce it -- while this may have been a bit of a chore in games like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, the way the items are set in Fatal Frame actually makes it intriguing to find the components. Props to Tecmo for that.

Gameplay #2: Action-wise, the camera mode battles are as intense as they come. Some ghosts won't attack you, and will resort to effectively spooking you out instead, but there are plenty that WILL fight. The attacking ghosts are of almost no difficulty at first, but like their appearances, they get progressively angrier and harder each time. Some will fly towards you. Some will remain at one spot in one second, then teleport to your face in the next. In order to defeat them, you have two options: to snap multiply pictures that do decent damage until they are demolished, or bait them towards you for that golden shot and kill them in 2-3 snaps. The choice is yours, but either way, prepare for a ghastly battle like you've never experienced before.

Basically, Fatal Frame is a must have. If you've enjoyed games like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, or even the new Siren, then you will find yourself right at home with this game. If you like a good scare and can stand to be around ghosts, then you will love this. And if you're a ghostbuster in training, then Fatal Frame is perfect for you and the skills that you've acquired from training. Pick this (and its sequel) up, sit back, put on some Ray Parker Jr., and smile for the camera.

You know you've done it during a scary movie. "It's only a movie, it can't hurt me." In the case of Fatal Frame, it just doesn't help. You will be scared, either way. The first time I played this, I couldn't sleep for nearly two days. But with the curiosity of what is going to happen next, and the purely addictive gameplay, you force yourself to play some more. The atmosphere of the game is genius; you truly are scared of this mansion, and the apparations hiding in its dark corners. The graphics are stunning; everything looks as if you could really touch it. The camera is awesome. I definitely don't miss the machine guns and pistols used in other survival horror games (such as Resident Evil.) Armed with only a special camera and a small flashlight just makes everything so much scarier. Bright side: Even if you had guns, the ghosts would kick your ass anyway, because such weaponry obviously wouldn't do you a bit of good.
Recommendations: Playing this game. With the lights on, for the faint of heart. With the lights off, for the brave.

If you consider yourself a survival horror game fan, this is a must have. There is only one flaw, that is moving the character. The weapon control is so so, but the more you play with it the more fun you will have with it. This should appeal to people who enjoy role playing games and horror fans alike. Even if you are neither the game is still fun and deserves to be played. But the atmosphere of the game itself is the creepiest I have every seen. It definitley puts Resident Evil to shame, and even the Silent Hill series pales in comparison. There is a reason almost everyone has given this game 5 out of 5 stars. Plus, this game has replay value. The mansion is small enough not to be annoying.

This is a Pretty scary game!! Super recomended!!

wow, is this game scary. creepy atmospheres and good vioce acting. Short. Bad camera. Graphics are a little dated and cartoony. The story is very eerie and scary. Gameplay is a little odd, shooting ghosts with a camera. it is very fun.

Wow. That's all I have to say about this game. It is truly the scariest game ever (I haven't played Fatal Frame 2 though, so maybe that's not true). The atmosphere and sound effects really creep you out. Sometimes it even gets to the point that you don't want to go any further because you know something is going to happen that will make you jump out of your socks. The battle mode is ingenious; it is both easy and effective. The cut-scenes are done with mastery. All around, a must have game.

Surely, Fatal Frame (Project Zero here in PAL-region countries) is, without a doubt, the single greatest Horror game ever to grace the Playstation 2. Or any other console, for that matter. It's beautiful to watch, smooth to play, emotionally involving, and, most importantly of all, genuinely terrifying.

The plot concerns Miku, who has come to a haunted Japanese mansion house in order to search for her lost brother Mafuyu. From a family of psychic spirit-communicators, Miku is soon absorbed in unravelling what happened not only to her borther, but to a team of paranormal investigators, and to the original family. It's a beautifully grim tale of ritualistic suicide, demon-worshipping and powermongering, and I promise you, it's worth the ride.

The control system, like all horror adventures in this mold, will never be perfect, but FF goes a huge way towards redressing the balance by removing traditional weapons like guns and replacing them with a Camera. Yes, a camera. Your ammo is differnet exposure-speed film and you upgrade the tool with the amount of souls you manage to capture with it. Ghosts are already dead, and it's up to you to exorcise them. The fluidity of movement involved with a weapon of this nature is a huge relief from the slow aiming and reloading process so long associated with the pistols and semi-automatics from the Biohazard and Silent Hill games.

The graphics, too, deserve a special mention, becuase they're beautiful. The monochromatic minimalism and traditional Japanese design seem all the more upsetting for those of us not from that culture, and the ghosts themselves are a truly disturbing mix of traditional Shinto folklore and tortured, Francis-Bacon-esque faces.

The sound works on the same principle. All is silent until something upsetting tears through that silence and forces us to look. Droplet effects and various footstep sounds have also been used to create a magnificent aural atmosphere, the best I've ever witnessed. And I've played plenty.

My only complaint is the difficulty level. It takes a huge step up after the Second Night, and chances are you'll have wasted all of your stronger film on the earlier demons. Play it often and frugally, however, and you'll avoid this fate.

For atmosphere and sheer terror alone, Fatal Frame deserves the crown of Survival Horror. Happily, Tecmo have given us a beautiful and innovative game to go with that atmosphere. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Fatal Frame is a great game for anyone who loves a good scare. If you've played Resident Evil, the screen has the same fix position feature. The setting is very dark and just walking around can be scary. Screams and strange noises add to the suspense as ghosts appear out of nowhere. You need quick reflexes to catch these ghosts with your camera, and the controls can be a little annoying as you have an extremely limited amount of movement when in camera mode. This game is great when friends are over and you want to give them a little scare. Also, there's an interesting scene when you pause the game for a while and leave it alone. I personaly am too freaked out to finish it, definitly worth every penny!