Gamemoir's Nick shares a recent bad experience with a PS2 horror title.
“Inspired by a true story” are the five words that can both inspire delight and strike fear in the hearts of anyone looking for something spooking to enjoy. Koei Tecmo has been using that approach to help sell the Fatal Frame series for years. By offering fictional locations, rituals and situations inspired by Japanese folklore and history, the company has provided people with a shooter that involves defeating ghosts with cameras to survive otherworldly encounters. Join us as we go through the catalog of Fatal Frame games.
FuzzyPixels: 'Happy Halloween, folks! With all sort of monstrosities wandering the streets this weekend, it’s time for a spooky Top Five special.'
TCB writes: "What is it about Fatal Frame 3: The Tormented that sets my teeth on edge? Is it the sprawling Manor of Sleep? Is it the ghouls that roam its hallways? Is it that this game pales in comparison to the two that have come before it? Is it that its tedium roars while its charms merely whisper?
When it comes to the last PS2 game in the Fatal Frame franchise there’s a lot of hype around it and I, personally, don’t think it lives up to any of it. If The Tormented happens to be your favourite in the franchise, you won’t like what I have to say about it. And no, I’m not just being an unnecessary curmudgeon about it because I love Crimson Butterfly so much! The game has flaws, but I’m getting ahead of myself. At least let me set it all up before I start tearing it down. I owe the game that much."
I wouldn't call Fatal Frame 3's controls an 'unplayable disaster' at all.
That's a bit of an overreaction.
Honestly it sounds to me like the game was doing its job fairly well. Horror games from the PS2 era and back relied on the controls to scare you in conjunction with the game. Part of what makes survival horror a thing is your inability to get away quickly by giving your character slow movements in conjunction with the still, and usually awkward, camera angle. These concepts were used in tons of horror games, from Resident Evil to Silent Hill and Fatal Frame, because it's supposed to add to the atmosphere of the game as you're playing. You have lots of limitations your enemies don't have, and in those limitations is where much of the horror lies.
I don't see the problem here, although I haven't played this iteration of FF I've played the second, which sounds just like this one as far as controls, along with lots of other games of this nature without major issues. I don't think it's bad controls, I think it's just the modern approach to design eschews many of the older aspects and techniques behind game design, which simply makes many of us less familiar with the concepts and, ultimately, not as good at them when going back to older games.