Genre: Horror/Adventure
Time to finish: ~12 hours
Trailer link: Click Here
The Project Zero series (or Fatal Frame in the West) has something of a cult status these days. As a series that takes its cues from Japanese horror, it represents a niche within a niche in video game culture. Considering it's relatively low profile, it was very surprising to see that Nintendo was remaking the PS2 classic for the Wii. The original game came from a time when survival horror was more survival than horror. While it did have its detractors, it held a special place in many fans' hearts, mine included. So does the remake live up to the legacy of its predecessor? Or was this just a lazy cash in by Nintendo. Let's dive in and find out.
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| The Glowing Butterflies of Death™ |
Project Zero 2 begins with a pair of twins -- Mio and Mayu -- getting lost in the woods and eventually ending up in a long forgotten town, referred to as "The Lost Village". Horror tropes are used flagrantly, and before long the twins are separated from each other. During this 10-20 hour adventure you will find yourself frequently following ghosts and various clues as you unravel the mysteries of The Lost Village. In addition, you will also have to fight many a vengeful spirit using the titular Camera Obscura.
The main hook for the Fatal Frame series has always been its camera based gameplay. This alone makes Fatal Frame special. Camera based gameplay is also a perfect fit for a horror series since it forces you to face the horrors instead of fleeing from them. During the game you'll play mostly in third person, but when you pull out your camera it switches to a first person perspective, letting you effectively see what the camera is seeing. Throughout the game you'll also acquire a variety of lenses and film upgrades, adding some variety to the combat. Despite being equipped to fight ghosts, you never really feel quite capable, and each ghost encounter feels tense as you barely scrape by. The tension really ramps up too, and by the end you'll be facing ghosts that can drop your life bar down to a sliver in no time if you aren't careful.
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| One of many ways to die in PZ2 |
As a remake, Project Zero 2 does bring a few new things into the mix. The most noticeable of which is the new over-the-shoulder camera perspective This replaces the aging fixed camera angles of the original. The new camera perspective really does a good job of putting you into the action, where as before, the fixed angles made the player feel somewhat disconnected with what was happening on-screen. The graphics have also been completely reworked, and it shows! Everything seems to have been redone from scratch, with no sign of any of the original game assets present. The lighting is particularly impressive and makes this one of the better looking games on Wii. The game also adds a new "haunted house" mode, and while I haven't had the chance to play around with it, I would have rather had them use the extra development time to add content to the rather short single player mode.
Gameplay - 7.7
Fatal Frame's gameplay has always made the series special, but sadly this is not the series at its best. The Wii controls are quite awkward and take quite a bit of time to adjust to. This control scheme is also found in Fatal Frame 4, and has not changed a bit. If you can get used to the screwy controls, the game can be quite fun, and at its best, downright chilling.
Music - 4
In a horror game, using music at all would only undermine the awesome tension that pure silence creates. The low score here only reflects the lack of music and should not be taken in a negative sense.
Sound - 9
This is an important category for a horror game, and fortunately PZ2 plays its cards perfectly. The sound is exquisite. The floorboards creak. Your footsteps echo in the halls. And the moans of the dead permeate the dilapidated village. I can't comment on the quality of the of the voice acting (I played an "undub" with the original Japanese voice actors), but British voice actors felt very wrong to me. If you have the chance, try the undub version for a more appropriate experience. This is still as good as it gets for aural horror. If the sound doesn't get to you after a few hours of playing in the dark, then you're either deaf, or too proud to admit it!
Graphics/art - 8.5
The art here is quite good, but it never quite matches up to the work they did in Fatal Frame 4 (released prior). It's still leaps and bounds above the original however, and should easily satisfy anyone who loved this cult classic. The new camera angles really bring some new life to the game too, if anything else, try it for this reason alone. The graphics work does benefits largely from the teams experience with Fatal Frame 4 though, and the experience is very cohesive. Some of the areas could've looked a bit more organic, but Nintendo still did a stand-up job bring the game to life within the limited bounds of the Wii's processing power.
Length/replay value - 7.2
Fatal Frame 2 was never a very long game, but it's a shame to see nothing done to lengthen the experience. I don't know if was just me or not, but Project Zero 2 felt like the shortest in the series. On the plus side, there is plenty of reason to replay with a lot of post-game unlockables and difficulty modes. There are also multiple endings in PZ2. I still feel that it could have been a bit longer, but it is what it is, a remake of a classic Japanese horror game.
Final score - 8.6
If you've played the original and were wondering if this was worth your time, then let me just say, jump in! This is the definitive version of Fatal Frame 2! However, if you're new to the series entirely, I would recommend starting with the superior Fatal Frame 4, it has all the best parts of the series, without the drudgery of some of the earlier titles. This is still a decent starting point for newcomers, and a solid remake that outdoes its predecessor in every aspect. If you have the ability to try it (a soft-modded wii), then certainly give it a try. After all, you aren't scared, are you?
On an unrelated note, a modded Wii, or Pal Wii is required to play this game. It's an annoying barrier for entry too. I hope Nintendo gets around to finally releasing this in the US, but if not, there are plenty of easy ways to play it on a US Wii. Let me know in the comments if you need tips on getting started.
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