Fatal Frame (PS2)
by Susie Vee

Just because the latest Resident Evil game is a GameCube exclusive, that doesn't mean that PS2 fans have to do without their survival horror fix. The creepy, atmospheric Fatal Frame presents some interesting twists on the genre, and mixes it with familiar situations and puzzles.

So far, with the exception of Silent Hill 2 and Dreamcast port Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, PS2 gamers haven't had much to sink their teeth into, in terms of classic horror games. Fatal Frame is a little more low key than either of those games, taking a based-on-a-true-story Japanese ghost tale and making it into a third-person action and adventure game.

You play a Japanese girl searching a haunted mansion for your brother, who disappeared while searching for someone else, who…well, you get the idea. Basically people keep vanishing in this house, and instead of calling Ghostbusters, you decide to investigate on your own. You ain't afraid of no ghosts.

Instead of shooting zombies with guns, you take on a variety of ghosts with a magic camera. When a ghost appears, you switch into a first-person view and snap photos until the ghost is sent back to wherever ghosts hang out when they're not busy haunting.

The typewriters of Resident Evil are replaced with old cameras that save your game, and instead of worrying about running out of ammo, you have to worry about running out of film. The typical puzzles about locked doors and combination locks are largely the same.

The game itself looks dark and creepy, with that film-grain look that was so cool in Silent Hill 2. The pace is a bit slower than other horror games, but the creep-out value is high -- so even when there's no enemy around, you're nervous.

You'll also need a quick trigger finger, because other ghosts, often revealing clues, pop up and disappear quickly -- you have to snap their pictures in time to figure out what's going on. In another cool twist, some objects reveal secret doors and the like when you take a photo of them.

Sometimes you'll know there's either a ghost or a secret nearby -- thanks to the glowing indicator that tells you just that -- but you'll switch to the first-person camera view and search for it in vain. At times like these, we're reminded of the pixel-hunting adventure games of yore. Perhaps some kind of compass would be helpful.

The game starts out with a quick learning curve and easy monsters -- but gets very hard later on as tougher ghosts drain your film supplies. So remember to save your supplies.

We liked this game for its matter-of-fact female lead, Miku, it's slow and deliberate plotting and its attempt -- although not always successful -- to add some new twists to the survival horror genre.

SCORE: 8.0