Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Director's Cut

"Want a game that's REALLY scary? Check this one out."

Okay; I just picked up the game not too long ago, so I'm not incredibly far into it, but I'll try to give you a few notes.

First, if you're into the other games of this genre (RE, SH), you'll probably like this one; very similar feel to start with - closer to SH 1/2 than RE or SH 3/4. Much better graphics than any of those, however; things look much clearer, and there's some interesting use of visual effects for flashbacks and ghosts.

Scare Factor: Okay, let's all admit it; RE was not really that scary. Jump scares, sure. But actual terror? No. SH? Well, the first two had it; they lost something for 3, and 4 is almost a joke on that count. Fatal Frame 2 blows them all out of the water. I spend almost every minute playing this game with my heart pumping too hard and my throat catching on every breath, because they know how to mess with you, and badly. The sound effects, visual effects and pacing of the game all work together to get you worked up, then the designers find the perfect place to break that tension with either a genuine scare, an attack, or a "Whew, it's nothing." moment. All very well done.

Gameplay: The controls... well. They could use some work. It might just be due to my preference for PS2 and general unfamiliarity with the Xbox controller, but compared to how easy it is to get things done in other games of this type, FF2 feels a little clunky. If you're used to PC FPSes though, the worst of it can probably be ignored - moving while trying to avoid being eaten and take a picture all at once is a skill reminiscent of me trying to run backwards, fire a plasma rifle and avoid the goo-spraying monkey on my back in Unreal Tournament. In other words, it ain't happenin'. My roomate had no such difficulties, though.

General Goodness Factor: The game is good, and it is fun; it's very well done graphically and story wise (what of it I've seen so far, at least :) ) and well worth your 50 bucks. Hopefully, some of that helped you.

Overall: I give the game 9/10; the audio is perfect, the visuals are great, special effects are wonderful, the scares are perfectly timed and the plot (what I've seen of it) is a beautiful thing that sucks you right in and keeps you there. Point loss is due to the clunky controls, which is purely a personal opinion, since - as noted above - people used to playing FPSes with the crack-monkey reflexes and ability to run two joysticks at once don't seem to have the trouble I did. Give it a rip, if you've got the time. Well worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05