After being thoroughly disappointed with the linear, stilted, practically on-rails “Leon” demo of Resident Evil 6 at E3, it’s nice to see horror game that give the player some amount on control in its first ten minutes, while remaining focused on atmosphere and a sense of vulnerability. Powerlessness and horror can work great together, but if you’re full able to defend yourself in a game, but just aren’t able to do anything but walk behind a random stranger for ten minutes, you’re not going to be scared. You’re going to be annoyed.
That’s why I’m really hoping that Fatal Frame 2: Wii Edition makes its way to the USA. This is the kind of traditional horror game that most developers are too scared to make these days. The voice acting is a little weird, and it’s not the biggest budget game in the world, but other than that, it looks quite promising. I even go used to the weird way that Mio speed walks.
Admittedly, the opening scenes to a slower paced, tension-based game like this doesn’t make for eventful videos, but I’m confident that the game will make for an interesting play. If Fatal Frame 2: Wii Edition doesn’t get announced for American localization within the next 3 months, I’ll have to import.
