Game:

Fatal Frame (2001)

Duration: 8:48:46

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Part 2. This is another one of those games that I really wanted to like more, but holy crap is this game annoying at times. Let's start with the good. The graphics and atmosphere is great. There even is some wonderful audio that sets some really creepy moods. It's also super clever using a camera to fight ghosts and different film as your ammo. I love the fact that you can also move and shoot, what a novel idea that games like Resident Evil did no want to implement and it makes combat feel so much better. The story is perfectly acceptable and is interesting at times. What I really enjoyed was finding notes and diaries that expand on the lore and mystery. You also accrue points with your shots and can get some really big points by wating for the ghosts to attack, so it's not just linig up shots and shooting, it's also waiting. You can spend those points upgrading your camera attributes which is super neat and adds some light RPG mechanics and I really liked that. Now on to the bad. First off, while some of the early ghosts are fairly easy and each has a kind of gimmick some of them are insanely annoying to deal with. The run down mansion is really cool to explore but it was not designed around the combat. Ghosts can fly around however they want and can just wander into walls and stay there for uncontrollable amounts of time. It's infuriating waiting for them to get out of the walls and you are often fighting ghosts in tight corridors they spend a ton of time hiding from you in places you can to nothing about. Add to that some of the ghosts audio is wildly annoying after a while. The real problem is that some ghosts will wipe you out really quickly and can sometimes stun lock you. An issue I ran into was that you get the most points by waiting for ghosts to attack and you get to counter them when they get close for some really big damage. Apparently though there is a limit to how close they can get and the game won't allow you to take a picture if they get too close. It adds to the frustration that there is a huge benefit to waiting as you really do huge damage getting counters, so even when the game indicates you can take a photo the fact that the buttons do not respond is wildly upsetting. My guess is that you are actually being hit by the enemy it just takes time for the animation to trigger while you are in camera mode and that should be something easily fixed. My real frustration stem from all of the waiting in the fights. I don't mind waiting for the right shot and for the camera to charge. That works lovely. What I do mind is the ghosts wandering off and having to wait for them to come back when they feel like it. Some of the late game ghosts become crazy annoying. The plus is that there really are some great designs and lore to why the ghosts are the way they are. Another issues is that you go through the same mansion 4 separate times and unlock just one or two extra rooms each time. It's a little lazy. The second time through the mansion is fine, but by the 3rd and 4th evenings I really would have liked more new areas to check out. It became a little too repetitive for my taste. This game is not horrible and does do some really cool stuff, I just wish it did everything well. Enjoy my blind playthrough.

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