Score = 91/100
Positive
- Still one of the scariest game ever made, with plenty of dark atmosphere
- Some scary rooms
- Great story
- Ties Fatal Frame 1 and 2 with it
Negative
- Camera can be annoying
- Some ghost are tough to catch
- Could have used more cutscenes
The 3rd in the series. Still delivers a creepy game. For those not familiar to the series, in Fatal Frame you mostly catch ghost or spirits. Fatal Frame III: The Tormented is a little different from the previous installments. Fatal Frame still suffers from camera problems and not much new over Fatal Frame 2, but it's still rich in dark atmosphere.
As I said, Fatal Frame III is a little different. Mostly because in the game you will spend more time in a dream world. The main character is Rei Kurasawa. She is a photographer, or maybe was one before she locked herself in her house, after the death of Yuu, who he dead in an awful car accident. Still Rei isn't the only playable character in the game. There are familiar characters and even more familiar places. Rei's assistance, Miku, who was the main character in Fatal Frame 1. There is also a male playable character, which is first seen in the dream. He is a friend of Yuu, and so is Mafuyu, Miku's brother who was dead too. The game all happens in a dream, right? You will be a dream which you have to find something or someone. Or you have to do something. After doing this you exit the dream, automatically. You can exit the dream, but you still have to do in again to complete it. After most of dreams, Rei will have a bruise which get bigger and more painful throughout the game. The person responsible of this nightmare is Reika, a woman who was found alive in a plane crash. You don't wanna meet this person. Trust me, she's hideous.
The Camera Obscura is back. This camera is a powerful device to catch ghost. You will find most parts of it in the game. The camera has a piece called 'Fatal Frame' which can kill ghosts. To activate the camera, unlike the 2nd game, you have to press triangle, and then simply press X. Strangely the camera feels different after FF2. The controls are easier than they used to be. Fatal Frames can be used as a combo to beat the ghost, successful ones will make the stun the ghost. You will know when there's a Fatal Fame, when the circle goes red. Still this won't remain for a long time, you have to be fast to press the X button and stun him. If you don't, the ghost will still receive damage, but very little. But he won't be stunned. When the ghost gets a hold of you, you will lose some life, there's no way to escape the ghost when he grabs you. He will leave you automatically. The Camera Obscura can be powered, by Spirit Points. When you do Fatal Frames, the spirit points will be high. If not by Fatal Frames, you can just hit the ghost with a normal frame. You will obviously get less points, much less.
Fatal Frame III, holds up that scary and creepy atmosphere. Some parts of the haunted house you will be in, is in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. IF you played the previous games, you will definitely notice the rooms that you will be in. One will also see characters from the last game, for sure. Well, if I were you I would play the previous games, since Fatal Frame III includes characters from previous games, not only characters. The house is large, but some might see it repetitive since you'll never know were you really have to go. Story is pretty good. The first 4 parts, so called hours will be as Rei. The game isn't especially hard at first. But after the 4th, you will be Miku and her part can be a bit annoying, since much tougher ghosts appear. Then mostly you will use one of the 3rd playable characters. The problem is that you can't choose which one you want. The game automatically puts you in Rei, Miku's or Kei's, which is the other playable character. Some ghost can be a pain. Since camera is in a fixed position, you can't turn it. Fortunately the game warns you when there is a ghost. You will know when the bottle near your health starts becoming red. Kei can hide from the ghost, that's good. Still the others can. That's bad. When it's blue, mostly have to take a photo over an areas that it's sealed. When you take a photo of it, another area will appear, so you have to go where the place is. Problem is the house is big and easy to get lost. You might find yourself wondering of what you're gonna do. After you found this place and maybe beaten a ghost, you can enter that particular area. You might exit the dream or find another ghost. Still ghosts are ghosts. So they can pass through walls. This may become annoying, especially in close quarters, and if the ghosts are fast. Most ghosts aren't but there are some that are fast, really fast. There are some ghosts that don't attack you. There are normally marked in blue, when you're about to talk a picture of them. You might find them still or some of them you need to be fast and snap a picture of them as fast as possible.
Voice acting isn't bad and there isn't much music in the game. Still the little music there is, is creepy. One thing I didn't like is that the game could have had more cutscenes. After the dream, you can go to the red room and develop your pictures. After you developed them, give them to Miku and she will find information about it. And after each dream, you have to do something before you can go back to bed. Sometimes the telephone will ring, and it will keep ringing until you response it. And it's always raining in the game and in the dream, always snowing.
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented will surely take you more than 20 hours to complete all. Maybe 17 hours to complete the easiest difficulty, but Fatal Frame III stands up to the Fatal Frame name, in fact it maybe just be the best game of the 3 games. This may also be one of the most scariest games ever made, and if you like horror games such as Silent Hill, you really have to check this out.
Rei Kurasawa
Cover = http://www.tothegame.com/boxshot.asp?picnum=uk&id=4495
Subject: Fatal Frame III: THE TORMENTED ( by gamemaniac ) 
Sat May 17, 2008 8:38 am
