Fatal Frame 2 managed to improved the first game in every aspect and yet remained true to the series' atmosphere.
You play the game as Mio, a young girl that finds herself trapped in the village with her twin sister, Mayu. Both girls are attracted to the village by its strong and magical relation with twins, which paid a key role in the myths and rituals celebrated by the village.
Fatal Frame 2 does an excellent job of guiding the player through the story. You're brought to most of the important places by the very ghost that has the strongest bound to it. So as you're walking down a narrow path in the woods, you have glimpses of the ghost of a woman looking for her husband. Further down that path, you see her again as she enters a small house. You might just as well ignore the vision and explore the rest of the village, which usually provide a few support items, but it ain't the kinda game you get lost by not knowing what to do next.
Also, the game is full of well executed movies, often tuned to the plot's most exciting moments. Just as in the previous game, some of these movies are executed in black and white, what not only contributes to the atmosphere but also indicate that it has a strong relation wih the cause of the catastrophe.
Fatal Frame 2 has a strong movie quality about it. It smells of Japanese horror movies and offers the best of it. Just like a movie, the main purpose of the game is to tell you a story. All the files, movies and atmosphere brings you further down that path.
Your weapon against the ghosts, just like in the first game, is the camera obscura, a magical camera that reveals the spiritual world and whose pictures can exorcise ghosts. Differently from what happened in the first game, you're offered a nice guide and tutorial on how to use your camera and its possible upgrades.
It might sound silly to use a camera against a ghost but the action is much better than it sounds. Your camera can be improved by the use of special lenses, flashes and films, which add a bit of customization options and leave place to finding your own "fighting" style.
The camera also allows you to see the world in first person view. That allows you to find some hidden items, unlock some puzzles and better experience the game's background.
Game graphics are nice and well worth a shot or two with your camera.
Beating the game on the first time unlocks costumes, movies and the hard mode. Beating the game on hard mode unlocks a hidden ending. The game is not long and beating it for the second time can be done in less than 4 hours so I say it's very much worth the ending.
Fatal Frame 2 feels so much like a movie that talking about game mechanics and general gameplay feels a but silly. If you must know, it follows the same traditional puzzle solving found in survival horror games. You're required to run around a bit and find some key items in order to unlock paths that will bring you deeper into the plot.
It has definitely improved a lot over the first game. Everything seems better, from character design to the plot and it's undoubtedly worth the shot if you're willing to listen to a well told ghost story.