Hands-onFatal Frame

Tecmo recently stopped by the GameSpot offices and let us check out a build of Fatal Frame for the Xbox. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 earlier this year, the game puts you in the role of a young girl searching for her brother in a creepy, ghost-filled mansion. While the game's premise doesn't sound too different from most of the horror games that have been released on consoles, its execution certainly is different. Whereas most horror games arm you with traditional weapons of some kind to deal with the supernatural menaces you'll face, Fatal Frame arms you with a camera and a few rolls of film. As you encounter ghosts, you'll switch to a first-person mode, which simulates your line of sight through the camera's viewfinder. When you've centered the apparition in your sights, you'll snap a picture, which does damage to the supernatural being. Once you've caused enough damage, the ghost will be sent on its way to the afterlife for good. Fatal Frame for the PS2 is a unique and engaging game with disturbing graphics, eerie sound, and solid gameplay, and the Xbox game looks to follow through on that potential.

From what we've played of the Xbox version, the game seems to bring all that and more to Microsoft's console, which is a bit thin in the horror game category. Aside from Silent Hill 2 there's little on the Xbox to appease horror gamers, who should take to Fatal Frame. While our build of the game still needed some polish and tweaking to its graphics, it already showcased the atmosphere and playability of its PlayStation 2 cousin. One enhancement that caught our eye was the improved graphics, which were evident in the game's level of detail and rich color. The look of the game was a bit crisper than the PS2 version because it doesn't use a grainy filter in the flashback sequences. The improved detail also made the ghosts we encountered even more disturbing, because we were able to make out even more of their twisted bodies. However, the biggest improvement in the game lies in its sound. The game's newly implemented Dolby 5.1 sound takes the game's already disturbing audio effects to a whole new level of creepiness. It was bad enough to hear the various moans in the PS2 game, but playing the game with a 5.1 setup is asking to be unsettled.

From what we've seen so far, Fatal Frame is shaping up nicely on the Xbox. The game's disturbing elements translate well onto the Microsoft console. Fatal Frame is slated to ship on Halloween, October 31, for the Xbox. Look for more on the game soon.