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10. FATAL FRAME II: THE CRIMSON BUTTERFLY

The only console game on this list, Fatal Frame is often referred to as a survival-horror game, but fear not true believers for there is nary a plasma blaster or BFG in sight. Instead, your ‘ammo’ is rolls of film of varying reload time that and your ‘weapon’ a camera that is used to capture the spirits of the ghosts.

While all three of the Fatal Frame games come highly recommended, it is the second game of the trilogy that seemed to haunt JA reviewer Aya the most:

“The atmosphere of the game is out of this world! Fatal Frame 2 was created to scare and, trust me, it will do so! The ghosts of the sacrificed twin sisters attacking uttering in echoing, eerie voices, “I don’t want to kill you”, “Why do you kill?” A long haired woman crawls out of a box, like Sadako/Samara from The Ring. Even the final “boss” - usually a weak point of even the best survival horror games - is impressive and menacing. Everything, everywhere emits a pure haunting feeling, creating an intense, unsettling atmosphere that will have you glued to your seat, with your heart beating faster than you ever though it could! Fatal Frame 2 does not rely on cheap “jump off your seat” horror either. The feeling it creates goes deep into the player’s mind and is not easily forgotten. Great sound, graphics and visual effects add to all that, producing a survival horror game that will refuse to fade from your memory. This is a game that is essential to be played in a dark room with powerful speakers or headphones!

There are some things in which certain cultures excel. For example, when it comes to sports cars, the Italians stand out. For basketball, you can’t beat the Americans (well, unless it’s the Olympics). Well, when it comes to horror, leave it to the Japanese! And with Fatal Frame 2 the Japanese have outdone even themselves. I waited several days after finishing the game before writing this review, so that the initial enthusiasm would subside and I could be objective. Now I can honestly say that with Fatal Frame 2 we are presented with what is probably the scariest, most haunting and most unsettling of survival horror games!”

Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Tecmo
Release Date: December 2003
Platform:

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