You just can't be scared more.
I have to say, that only Silent Hill itself managed to scare me pretty equally as Fatal Frame series did. And you know what - Fatal Frame scares you even more - I mean, to the maximum. I guess Fatal Frame has reached the maximum - video games or movies just can't scare you more, especially if you have phasmophobia or healthy dose of fear from ghosts.
I have the healthy dose, but Fatal Frame series made me shout "holy sh**" and "OMG", even "aaaaa" all of the game-play time and my hair just raised and raised – uncontrollable sense of fear and creeps. And this is just AMAZING - I love when video games manage to scare me so much. Unforgettable experience.
Fatal Frame can scare you so much, that you will even feel sick or exhausted because of the fear and creeps! And the default ending - OH, such a fantastic beauty, which simply cannot be put into words to share. You must see and enjoy it by yourself. And the second ending was very good too and resumed the beautifully sad story once more.
Not recommended to play in dark? Fu**, no. I played entire trilogy when I was alone, in almost complete darkness, with only some candles lit and in nighttime + volume turned way up, of course. Thus I managed to extract all the beauty from this game, all the emotions and senses – from creeps, to tears and sadness, to fear and even anger and will to revenge, and even more.
I’ll repeat once more: Survival Horror should be played in the right way, to extract all the beauty within it. The recipe is as follows:
1) You MUST be alone;
2) You MUST play in darkness (nighttime is preferred);
3) You MUST play loud (5.1 equipment preferred);
4) You MUST be with clear mind.
Only if you follow this recipe, you will manage to extract all the power out of the Survival Horror genre.
And Fatal Frame series - well, they are the most powerful games of the genre - I can guaranty that. You just cannot go wrong with sepia, Japanese setting, past, archaic photo cameras as weapon, ambient sounds, ghosts and fears in general. Combine all these aforementioned elements with the essence of Survival Horror genre, like the darkness itself, mystery, feeling of abandonment and isolation, need to survive and find the answers, feeling of pursue, limited ammo and supplies and you will get the raw formula of Fatal Frame series, which is made into a perfection by the creators of game.
Pure set of emotions, pure set of mystery and pain, even larger and purest set of fears, extra large dose of love and trust and Japanese setting on top of it all - this beauty just flows on you, while you play this masterpiece called Fatal Frame 2.
Recommended for all strong-nerve based Survival Horror fans out there, especially for those seeking alternative Survival Horror, you know - without those mind-and-flesh-blowing weapons and stuff found in Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, etc.
You shall love this peace of art.