One of the best survival horror games out there.
Fatal Frame takes you to the deserted and isolated mansion in the woods known as Himuro Mansion. You are Miku Hinasaki, a young girl who has come to Himuro Mansion in search of her brother, Mafuyu Hinasaki, who you last spoke to two weeks ago. Mafuyu left to search for the famed novelist Junsei Takamine, a man who has helped him and been a mentor to him. However, things go terribly wrong once Mafuyu arrives at the mansion, triggering the two-week disappearance that eventually leads Miku to the mansion herself, hoping her brother is somewhere inside of it.
The game controls are pretty basic and you won't have trouble figuring out how to do something, as the game gives you in-game "manuals" to read and learn from. After the introduction of the game you will regain your main weapon after entering just the first room that you go through to explore. Your main weapon, of course, is an antique camera that has been passe down through the family and has now fallen into Miku's hands after her brother mysteriously disappeared in the hallway you find it in. You will quickly learn that there are several types of ghosts, and when your filament (a small bar in the lower right corner) glows blue it means that there's a ghost nearby to snap a photo of and if it glows red it means there's an attacking ghost coming for you.
The game is much more different and unique from just "taking pictures of ghosts", and there being only one type of ghost because there are several types: vanishing ghosts, hidden ghosts, attacking ghosts, and random ghosts. Vanishing ghosts are ghosts that appear for a short period of time while hidden ghosts are ghosts that you must find by paying attention to your filament in certain areas. If you don't see a ghost, but your filament is glowing, try looking through the camera lens until the circle glows blue -- sometimes it can be a hidden ghost that you will need to find in order to unseal a sealed door within the mansion. Attacking ghosts and random ghosts are almost the same except that attacking ghosts are essentially the "bosses" of the game and you can't run from them. Random ghosts appear randomly if you stay in certain areas for too long. Depending on which part of the game you're at, they can either be very easy or they can be very strong (like the monk ghosts during the 3rd night).
This variety of enemies and the fact that you need to find certain hidden ghosts within the mansion (thus making you explore even more) to unseal doors makes the game a bit harder and prolongs the time you spend playing it. Aside from the different ghosts, you will collect "Spirit Points" each time you defeat a ghost, and depending on what type of "shots" you take of the ghost (if they're really good they'll give you more SP, if they aren't so good, less) you can use the points to upgrade the basic functions of your camera and the aux. functions. aux. functions are different things that you can use against ghosts -- slow them down, make them stop moving for a second, "push" them back away from you, and other things. Your best shot, however, is to upgrade your basic functions first and worry about aux. functions later on.
In terms of difficulty and the variety of characters/enemies, I would give Fatal Frame a 8/10. The only issues or annoyances you may occur within the game is the fact that Miku runs rather slow, although you do adjust to it after a while. Aside from that, it can be sometimes hard to see items in a room because your only object for "lighting" a place at times is the flashlight Miku runs around holding, but if you search a room good you won't really miss any items or files.
Overall Fatal Frame is an excellent game to play for any survival horror fan and you should pick it up if you're able to find it. If you enjoy games like Silent Hill and Clock Tower, this is the game for you.