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Great...and Really Scary!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: September 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

"Fatal Frame" is a game that definitely delivers. Although it does not have any particulary impressive premise (young girl with a camera investigates a haunted house) , it doesn't take long for you to really get into the game, and the scares start coming thick and fast.
The plot is fairly simple: main character Miku has come to the house to find her missing brother, so it's mostly a matter of making your way through the mansion, solving puzzles that will open doors, and trying to piece together the grim history of the house. But to do this, you have to be prepared to encounter a wide variety of ghostly apparitions, and it's here that the game really excels. The appearances of the ghosts are almost always a surprise, and it has to be said that they look and sound terrifying. After recovering from the shock, your next task is to quickly equip your camera and try and snap the ghost within the frame. This task can be very challenging, as more often that not the ghost will dart around, disappear completely and materialize behind you, or lunge at you unexpectedly and start throttling the life out of you! The idea of using a camera to fight is unusual and works well...by holding the ghost in constant view as it approaches, the camera will "charge up" and you can release a more powerful attack when you finally press the shutter-but are you brave enough to do that?. The best thing is that once you have completed Miku's first night, the ghostly appearances are far more randomised, and as you search the house once again (every chapter has new items and tasks appearing in places you have already explored), you will feel the tension as your camera suddenly lights up, and the controller throbs in your hands...oh no, another one! But, in a great additional aspect, the more ghosts you snap, the more points you score, which can be used to enhance the capabilities of the camera, so you have an element of levelling up which heightens and extends gameplay.
My only criticisms are that the game is quite short, and Miku is quite hard to control as you continually run in to bits of furniture, and she often rotates all over the place every time the camera angle changes. Plus, her "run" mode is no more than a gentle jog...no good for escaping evil ghosts! Still, I suppose it would have made the game even shorter were you able to dash through the mansion in no time at all...The graphics are great, the mansion looks suitably decrepit and sinister, and the secret behind the house's evil reputation (as it is slowly revealed) involves some truly sickening and creepy events...you have been warned!
Do yourself a favour and ONLY play this game after dark, with the lights off, you won't be sorry. It's easily as scary as "Silent Hill", in places more so, so I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Yikes!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: March 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Don't let the "Teen" rating fool you! I expected this to be a "kiddie" game, but I found it to be every bit as creepy and disturbing as Silent Hill. The character's slow movements are annoying at first, but you actually WANT to go slowly so that you don't miss any clues or accidentally run head-long into a ghost (like you can avoid them!). This is a game where you have to pay attention to every little detail. If you see a distorted object, take a photo of it. Some are very well hidden!

The game is very different from anything else out there, since your "weapon" is an antique camera, not a gun. It sounds corny, but once you get into the game, the camera adds to the creepiness. When you take photos of a ghost, it often swooshes towards you, and the camera gives you a close-up of the ghost's face. Yikes! And the ghosts appear ANYWHERE, in front of you, then it de-materializes and reappears behind you ... and don't think you can get away by running to another room. They can go right through the walls! Many of the ghosts moan and scream about how they were tormented ... and once you get further into the story and understand what they're talking about, their words and facial expressions make it that much scarier.

The puzzles aren't very hard at all; most are fairly simple. Capturing the ghosts is more challenging than the puzzles, especially once you're further into the game.

There were only two minor things that bugged me ... the camera angle glitching when you go up and down a flight of stairs. Sometimes you're heading downstairs, and the camera changes, and you're suddenly going back upstairs. Not a big deal, unless you're running from a ghost! The second thing is that they didn't put enough power-ups in the game. If a ghost grabs you, it often takes a CHUNK of your power. Use those power-ups wisely and sparingly, and save often!

Due to some of the violent mini-movies in the game, I really feel like they should've rated this game "Mature" instead of "Teen". I don't want to give any game secrets away, but I'm 33 years old and this game TOTALLY creeped me out, especially once you get to the masks.

I NEED BATTERIES FOR MY NIGHTLITE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: June 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Folks theres only one work to describe this game... CREEPY CREEPY CREEPY I am an adult and this game freaked me out. Much scarier than Resident Evil and seriously challenges both Silent Hills as well. You play as a young girl who must find her missing brother in a haunted mansion. Her only weapon a frieken camera. Sounds lame right? WRONG!!! Its actually pretty damn cool. The way it works is you capture and kill ghosts by taking pictures of them with your camera. The more pictures you take and ghosts you catch, the more advanced and powerful the film in the camera gets. But the film isnt the only thing that gets stronger the Ghosts do too. And man these ghosts aint what you would call friendly in fact theyre mean... no brutal and theyre pretty damn determined to kill you. The game gets tough. The story gets better and better. Can you survive? I did manage to beat the game but frequently check under my bed and in my closet during the night as if I were five again. I give this game my highest recommendation!!! Praise to TECMO for producing such an awesome game

Scary like Silent Hill, but different...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: December 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you liked Silent Hill (1 or 2), then you should like this one.

Silent Hill was about flesh, blood, torture, straight-jackets,
insane asylums, piles of living flesh, with a strange Hannibal Lector
like sexual tone.

Fatal Frame is about a haunted houses, ghosts and ghouls,
dusty books and chests, spider webs, and white wisps of things that pass by
you in the night. Oh, and you can't forget the spine tingling SCREAMS that
echo throughout the mansion.

Do not play this game in the dark. Unless you want to be throughly
freaked out!

I don't know how many times I wanted to turn around and walk the other
way. Any sane person would so the same.

You actually care for the "well being" of the character like if it was yourself!

Excellent game!

Can I just say ""SCARY FREAKY""

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

All right people forget the horror movies! This game is the BOMB!
I am an adult and have never been so scared in all my life and I
love the paranormal.This game keeps you an your toes till the very end. The creepiest thing about it is when your playing and you think everything is nice and calm your controller starts to vibrate and you hear that heart beat but you cant see the ghosts!
AAAAAHHHHH !!!!!!! This is what I did when that first ghost popped out like 2 feet in front of me at the beginning, I mean come on you don't know what to expect. The darkness through out the whole game was a plus. I recommend this game to everyone who loves the paranormal! I hope they make another game just as scary as this one. When you play make sure you take a breather every few minutes or you'll end up having an anxiety attack like I almost did. They need to make a movie! This game has a great story line. They should have rated it M because if I was scared to death imagine what this will do to a teenager. So play and have fun and you'll see why I gave it 5 stars!

This game is #1

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

As an avid video game player for years and a dedicated RE fan I thought this game would be too lame especially when somebody who shall remain nameless in my family tried to discourage me from buying it. However I can now say with absolute confidence that he was just plain STUPID. This game is the best horror game that I have ever seen! I have played every last darn one of them also from RE1 to the last Veronica and Silent Hills 1 and 2 besides. This game doesn't have the sheer gore factor of RE or the twisted insanity of Silent Hill but it's 10 times more scarey! I mean it, it's that good. And don't you dare listen to those dunderheads that say the inventory will be too hard or that game is too hard or all that stuff. It's not that hard. Let me just say that if you played RE at all then this will seem just fine in fact it's not really that challenging. Now don't get me wrong, you probably will get killed a couple of times but it's not the fighting that's the real core of this game, it's the fear factor. The mansion is just plain horrifying. It's really great to play and be really horrified rather than suprised. you see there are two kinds of fear: Terror namely the primal fight or flight physical response kind of fear which is involed by RE, and Horror which is psychological in nature and may or not issue forth from Terror. Anyway this game has only 10% Terror and 90% Horror. Just wait till you see the blinding ritual then think about it for awhile. Anyway I can't recommend this game enough.

So Good, It's Scary

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have owned and played many games, but Fatal Frame is among the best. Let's start off by naming the pro's and con's.

Pro's
-Scariest game ever made.
-A wide variety of ghosts.
-A pretty long game
-Not too hard, but not too easy.
-You'll have a good time all through the game
-Excellent graphics.
-The music couldn't be any better. It is perfect.

Con's
-Controllers are different, but you'll get used to it.
-You might pee your pants at night, and your parents'll be mad.
-Not much else.

The game is mostly rated teen because of extreme horror and some blood. If you can handle the horror, I strongly suggest buying the game. It took me a while to finish the game because I couldn't play it without a friend there. If you want to be constantly entertained with ghosts coming and stuff, this is not your game. The ghosts will and do come, but they aren't constantly appearing. You have to figure out what has happened to the mansion and it's past. Have a rosary in one hand and the controller in the other.

Happy gaming

It might suprise a few people...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

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

Hold onto Your Cross

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have been waiting for this game for months and I have not been disappointed. All I can say is get the game. I got the best experience playing the game in the dark and with surround sound. This game will be game of the year.....

Scary,Awesome,and even more Scary!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is one of the best games out there. I rented it and now im SURE i want to buy it. The story is based on a young girl named Miku who is trying to find her lost brother. But in this mansion there are ghosts. For example, when you take a shot of a ghost you go to 'Album' and it tells you the names like..The Bound Man,Man Looking Down,Crawling Child. Even though the names don't need any use..well I find them useful. Remember there are no guns. Your only weapon is an antique camera. And you have a flashlight. You are the only person in the mansion besides these ghosts. So if I were you..I'd get this game for sure!

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