There aren’t many survival-horror aficionados who would dispute that the Project Zero/Fatal Frame games rank alongside the finest that the genre has offered over its bumpy-but-glorious twenty-year history. With its snap-happy combat, relentlessly sinister ambience and nightmarish narrative, Tecmo's series deserved far better than mere cult status.
That's fine, but why release a 2003-vintage PS2 title just before the Wii passes the baton onto the upcoming Wii U? Also, why only release it in Europe and Japan (no North American release date has been confirmed yet)? Well, there's evidently a method to the madness, with Nintendo now officially co-owning the IP to the ghost-busting series – perhaps it sees the excellent Project Zero 2 as the ideal opportunity to 'relaunch' the brand in advance of an all-new Project Zero/Fatal Frame on the Wii U. We can but hope.
Unlike so many games from our misspent youth, Project Zero 2 has aged remarkably well and arrives on the Wii feeling perhaps fresher than it did all those years ago. With classic survival horror conspicuous by its absence in 2012, going back to explore the murderous mysteries of the mist-shrouded All God's Village is a rare treat.
For the benefit of those of you who missed out on Tecmo's classic the first time around, the story focuses on the perilous journey of twin sisters Mio and Mayu, who stumble upon an eerie village where the tortured souls of the dead roam. But their misfortune is somewhat balanced out when they chance upon the Camera Obscura - no, not fey Scottish indie popsters, but an antique device that can take pictures of the undead and exorcise their spirit in the process.
“ The game's ghost-busting combat is endlessly fraught.
Armed with this one and only weapon, you work your way around the village and its various rickety buildings, zapping ghosts and finding objects that help you gain access to the next section. Structurally, it's classic survival horror fodder, albeit in a satisfyingly self-contained set of environments that keep annoying backtracking to a minimum.
The real star of the show, of course, is the game's endlessly fraught ghost-busting camera combat, and it's an element that's tailor made for the Wii's fluid point-and-click control system. During your travels, you'll inevitably stumble across a few tortured souls angling for some aggro, and - more often than not - the only way to progress is to put these screeching spooks out of their misery.
Rather than wee yourself and curl up in a ball when a ghost approaches, the answer is to whip out your mighty Camera Obscura and show this undead the power of exorcism. Loaded up with special ghost sensitive film, the action flicks to a first person viewfinder mode, whereupon you attempt to take a series of ghost-troubling snaps to literally suck the life (or death) out of them. By tilting the Wiimote, you can adjust your viewing angle, and by locking-on with the Z button, you can begin to charge up your shot. Once the reticule is fully filled, you're ready to loose off a shot with the B button, repeating the process until they're finally out of commission.
“ As a mechanic, it's deliciously nerve-wracking.
As a mechanic, it's deliciously nerve-wracking, with each ghost wriggling around with inconsiderate unpredictability, nipping in-and-out of shot, and often re-appearing right behind you to give you a welcoming hug. This being a Wii version, such moments of intimacy result in you having to flail for your life, so make sure pets and other loved ones are out of arm's reach before you wind up giving someone a black eye in a moment of uncontrolled alarm.
Nintendo has also managed to turn the simple task of object collection into a disproportionately nervy minigame, with ghostly hands often reaching in for a smooch just as you're about to pick something up. It's enough to give those of a nervous disposition a heart attack.
There’s also a new Haunted House mode brought to this special Wii Edition. Each of the Haunted House missions is curated by the sinister Kureha, who likes nothing more than to hear the piercing shrieks of the terminally afraid. Set in a sequence of on-rails missions, the basic premise of these short interludes is to walk slowly from A to B without keeling over with fright, as the game measures your jumps and terrified flailing through the Wii remote and nunchuck’s motion sensors.
Some test you in your ability to remain cool and calm while being subjected to various other worldly shrieks, moans, bangs, warped faces and generally unsettling nonsense, while others task you with collecting dolls while being chased by everyone's worst nightmare: a long-haired Asian goth schoolgirl. Turning around periodically stops her in her tracks, but if you allow her to get too close, you must suffer the indignity of an unwelcome cuddle. And we all know how that feels. Aside from this welcome-but-throwaway new mode, most other changes to the Wii Edition are subtle and cosmetic, with widescreen support, a new pulled-back third person camera angle, cleaned-up visuals, brand new voice acting and a slightly less cutesy look to Mio and Mayu - not that the latter point will be especially apparent if you've not played the original for a long time.
Source : ign[dot]com
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