Just about everyone likes a good scare. In this week’s Reviews Spotlight, we see if a video-game adaption of an OK horror-movie franchise is as scary as its inspiration, remember the frights of a couple of PS2 and GameCube horror classics, examine a sequel to a scary Xbox 360 launch title, and lament why The Thing is nowhere near as horrifying as we were hoping for.
Prepare to change those soiled shorts, boys and girls, and let’s get our freaky on!
Saw Review
By Rob Thomas
The Saw movies aren’t on the same level as old-style horror franchises such as Halloween or Friday the 13th, but they certainly have a following — Saw 6 is out now. Gamers know that movie-based games aren’t generally good. Does Saw deliver as a game as well as it does as a movie? Rob says, “What little tension the game manages to muster up and the few good ideas it presents are marred by the rest of the experience.” That’s not a good way to start. “Calling the game’s combat slow with clunky, cumbersome controls is an insult to games with slow combat and clunky, cumbersome controls.” Unfortunately, it appears Saw is just one more bad video-game translation of a movie.
I Want To Play A (Better) Game: Saw Review
By Evan Killham
Evan’s opinion of the game is slightly more positive than Rob’s, though he mostly agrees that the game could’ve been much better. “The game succeeds on a lot of counts, not the least of which is the tension you feel when you struggle against a time limit to solve a trap before somebody gets killed in a spectacular and gory fashion.” Evan appears to think that the game has tension. But is it fun? “The environment’s appeal wears off pretty quickly, and most of the gameplay consists of a few basic elements repeated over and over again.”
Flashback Review: Fatal Frame — The Greatest Game I’ve Never Finished
By Isaiah Taylor
The idea behind the classic PS2 “horror game” Fatal Frame sounds rather lame: Take pictures of freaky events while battling the classic Resident Evil-inspired control scheme. Sounds like a winner, doesn’t it? Isaiah says, “If you had problems playing the Resident Evil games on the PS1, then there will be an equal amount of ‘terrifying’ control issues for you to adjust to.” Does this horror classic have anything that redeems its poor controls? “Fatal Frame, barring the ending being absolute crap — and I refuse to find out if it is — is an amazing story.” A good story can sometimes be enough to make a game playable — read the full review to see if that’s the case for Fatal Frame.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot Review
By Frank Anderson
Condemned: Criminal Origins showed off the potential of the Xbox 360. It’s immersive, entertaining, and the graphics (while not jaw-dropping) are very impressive. Does Condemned 2 improve on the original? Frank says, “The developers made many improvements that make it a vastly better game than the first one.” Sounds good so far. “Condemned 2 might leave you wishing that the developers had spent some time making the game good from front to back, but you are at least guaranteed a few scares.” It’s not a resounding endorsement, but for a much more detailed analysis, read the rest of Frank’s review.
Revisiting the Ancient Horror of 2002: Eternal Darkness
By Daniel Feit
If there’s one console that never got a fair shake (besides the Dreamcast), it’s the Nintendo Gamecube. Most people called it a failure before it was even released — and most gamers don’t even remember some of the really great titles on the system.
According to Daniel, 2002’s Eternal Darkness is one of those great games that didn’t really get a fair chance. He calls it “…an outstanding survival horror title that landed with a resounding thud despite being published by Nintendo of America.” “Eternal Darkness actively messes with you as a player, not just as a viewer or reader, and the effect is disorienting rather than humorous.” Sounds like this is a horror-themed classic worth checking out on the Wii!
Middle of the (Inexplicably Destroyed) Road: Silent Hill: Homecoming Review
By Evan Killham
When it comes the horror franchises, the two big bads (to borrow a term from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) are Resident Evil and Silent Hill. As Evan says, “Since its inception in 1999, Silent Hill has taken us to new and terrifying places, like a creepy school, a creepy hospital, a creep-musement park, a creepy apartment building, another creepy hospital, a creepy hotel, a creepy motel, a creepy mall, a different creepy apartment building, a creepy hospital….” Yes, repetition of ideas can be a problem in horror franchises. Is Homecoming any good? “Although Homecoming does little to progress or evolve the Silent Hill franchise, it hits far more often than it misses.” If you’re a fan of the previous games, it sounds like this one should make you happy as well.
Could’ve Been Awesome: Horror Movie Games
By Evan Killham
There’s plenty of disappointment to go around between the game versions of The Thing and Saw. Evan details where both of these games went wrong and how they could’ve been better.
Evan’s opinion of The Thing is that “the game’s biggest misstep is how it deals with The Thing itself. Almost every friendly NPC you meet turns into The Thing just before you fight a boss, so there’s no guesswork and ultimately no suspense.”
When talking about Saw, he says, “Unfortunately, the game’s combat system feels like the unholy lovechild of Resident Evil and Silent Hill — a child they then dropped repeatedly on the head. So getting past those goons is a huge chore.” Each has a few pluses — but not enough to make either a home run.