Fatal Frame

For those of you who like to be creeped out, wigged out, or just plain scared, I can't recommend Fatal Frame enough. It uses just about all the senses to weave together a highly unsettling and downright scary experience.

Those rare folk that love both "Myst" and "Resident Evil" should praise the heavens. [Jan 2003, p.114]

I'm positive this is going to be many players' choice for game of the year.

One of the strangest, most well-executed concepts in the history of the survival/horror genre.

While titles like "Resident Evil" rely on shock value and cheap scares, Fatal Frame genuinely frightens in the worst possible way; slowly and subtly, ebbing away at you like a flesh-rotting disease.

This is not a game for casual, pick-up-and-play gamers. You'll need to spend a good chunk of time learning the nuances of surviving. [Jan 2003, p.86]

The graphics and audio presentation are sure to scare the living daylights out of you, and the longevity is there to last you a while.

Fatal Frame feels like a breath of fresh air in a genre which has spent most of the last decade moving forward only in terms of narrative, and while it's a gruesome and disturbing way to spend an evening, the awe-inspiring power of the narrative style, hammered home by a brutally efficient game engine and nerve-wracking game mechanics, makes this the most compelling game of this nature yet to appear on a console.

Gory and twisted in ways only the mature freak can appreciate. [Feb 2003, p.71]

One of the most compelling horror adventure games ever, and must rank as one of the best games on the Xbox.

A game that will knock your knickers off with great sound and impressive graphics, but with such a short main game, there's a chance the puzzle-solving and shutterbugging will end up leave you feeling hollow.

The game's cohesive presentation is engaging, offering some genuine scares that are a rare treat.

Doesn't match the heights ascended by "Silent Hill" or "Resident Evil," but the game thoroughly entertains with its building tension. [Jan 2003, p.64]

The perfect late-night rental. [Feb 2003, p.147]

It is the scariest survival horror title to date... We would like to forgive its unsatisfying combat and puzzles, but we cannot. [Winter 2002, p.93]