Monday, April 27, 2009

Stock Update - Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly PS2 - Bringing It Back

Price - $49.99
Release Date: 11/1/2003
UPC: 018946010335
Genre: Survival Horror
Company: Tecmo
Version: US
-from wikipedia-
  • Brand new setting with more wide-open exploration -- more possibilities for fear and terror
  • All-new storyline and different game mechanics as you try and capture the ghosts who stalk the forests
  • Fatal Frame II uses gameplay mechanics very similar to its predecessor, with some changes and updates. For most of the game you control Mio Amakura, except for some short scenes where you control her elder twin sister Mayu. Mayu's scenes are unlike the regular game however, viewed with a gray filter as she moves from one place to the next, giving the player clues as to where to go. In normal gameplay, Mio's health is shown as a bar in the lower right corner, although only during combat and in viewfinder mode. If her health runs out the game will end. Life can be replenished using different healing items scattered throughout the game. There is also a special item called Stone Mirror, which restores Mio's life to full once when it runs out, and then breaks; only one can be carried at any time. Mio also has a flashlight, which can be aimed in different directions, although the flashlight will not work in all areas. Mio's only weapon is the Camera Obscura, an antique camera with the ability to take pictures of ghosts and exorcise them. As "ammunition" the camera uses films of different quality. The weakest type of film never runs out, but the other types have to be collected throughout the game; obviously, the strongest ones are also rarest. The camera can be equipped with special functions and with special lenses, all of which grant some special ability useful in combat; these, like everything else have to be found in game, or earned as a result of multiple playthroughs. Finally, the camera's native functions and the special lenses can be upgraded using spirit orbs found in the game and points earned from photographing ghosts. The points earned from each picture depend on the accuracy of the shot, and during combat also the timing and damage caused. The camera's features also include a filament, which is displayed in the lower right corner. The filament glows red when facing a hostile ghost, and serves as an indicator of both direction and distance; it can also glow blue when there is a non-hostile ghost nearby.
  • During the game, Mio has to explore the entire village area and its central buildings, and needs to find various objects and solve puzzles in order to advance. Throughout the game, Mio will encounter different kinds of ghosts, some of which appear unexpectedly while some appear during cutscenes. In addition to hostile ghosts, there are numerous vanishing and hidden spirits Mio can photograph for points. The vanishing ghosts often talk, giving some information related to the story. One ghost is a special case: the ghost of a boy locked in a storehouse will give clues as to what to do and help Mio. The game is divided into chapters, mostly related to certain areas which Mio visits as she chases after her sister. In the seventh chapter, Mio briefly loses both the flashlight and the Camera Obscura, and has to resort to dodging ghosts with no means to fight back. The total number of chapters is nine, with a special tenth chapter available in hard and nightmare difficulty settings.
  • Game saving is done at red lanterns scattered throughout the village. There is no limit on how many times you can save, however you cannot save if there is a hostile ghost nearby; in those cases, the lamp will be dark. Unlike in the first Fatal Frame, there is no way to restore film ammunition; should you run out and spend all the film found in the game, all you will have left is the weakest type which cannot run out.
  • The game has a new game plus feature, where you can start a new game while keeping your camera with all the special functions, lenses and upgrades from the previous game, as well as all your stored healing items and film. Over multiple playthroughs you can unlock various bonus content, including a mission mode, different outfits, gallery features and special lenses for the camera. In mission mode, the player is presented with a challenge, usually to kill certain ghosts as quickly as possible or getting the highest points possible, either overall or with a single shot.
  • The director's cut edition for Xbox also has an FPS mode, where you can play through the entire game in first person. This does a lot in fixing the problems inherent with fixed camera locations; at the very worst, there are some small closets which are difficult to walk into, as when the camera switches locations the character will spin around and step right out of the closet you tried to enter. Unfortunately, the FPS mode also takes away some of the game's atmosphere. The Xbox version also has a new feature with gameplay effects: a shop where you can trade points from pictures for healing items and film.


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