Project Zero 2: Crimson Butterfly (Xbox)

Project zero 2 is bigger, scarier and graphically better than the original -its what you'd expect from a sequel. From beginning to end it tries to mess your head up with wierd noises, gloomy visuals and really disturbing ghosts to capture. The Xbox version now comes with a new ending -that's FOUR in all. I've managed to get the normal ending but to unlock the others means playing it on the other difficulty levels thats roughly 40 hours worth of brown trouser time. The normal setting wasn't particularly tough- it wasnt a breeze mind, and i was glued to my xbox from beginning to end.
On top of that theres all sorts of typical Tecmo type things to unlock, costumes, game modes and CGI movies- but theres no way i'd want to play it all over again to see two polygon girlies in a lovely new outfit- like in dead or alive!
I wont spoil the story- but it all starts with you (Mio) and your twin sister (Mayu) getting trapped within All Gods Village after following a crimson butterfly.
There are genuinely spooky moments within the game and you've got to keep your senses tuned in unless you want to end up ghosted to death.
The few problems i had were, again, the controls. Mio doesn't snag on objects as much as Miku did in the original but it still feels quite clumsy- and what really takes the mickey is the unbelievably slow pace she runs at. You wouldnt gingerly trundle along when you've got some evil spirit chasing you. I know it adds to the tension but come on!
Other than that i cant complain. Great game!


A solid example of why the survival horror genre survives...   February 7, 2005
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

To try and encapsulate the concepts behind Project Zero II, I will say this: Japanese-aesthetic survival horror where you're without weapons in the typical sense of the word, playing as two young girls in a seemingly "lost" village.

This might well sound boringly generic in terms of game design but those talented designers at Tecmo tend to produce games worthy of labels such as "excellent" and "brilliant" rather than anything deviant or, simply crap. Your sole weapon in this game is a camera, or the Camera Obscura to be precise, with which you effectively exorcise spirits and demons that happen to be lurking in the mentioned village. It can be upgraded with various lenses and artifacts that help you either find the next path you need to take or simply to give the exorcism power greater strength.

This is a director's cut version of the original which graced the Playstation 2 last year and the enhancements it boasts are that of a survival and first-person mode, both of which are there to make the game that much more tense by difficulty and perspective since games aren't evolved enough to bestow peripheral vision just yet.

The aesthetic of the game is a thoroughly dark and constructs a foreboding atmosphere for you to explore, and in parts includes quite a "grainy" look from the often fixed camera perspective, reminiscent of the Silent Hill series. The film resemblance also carries on to the usage of the camera too, where capturing the ghosts and spirits feels like you're shooting another sequel to the Blair Witch. The game's puzzles aren't too cryptic but help to drive the plot, most of which is uncovered via scraps of newspaper and various diaries in the homes of the empty village.

All in all, this is a freshly revised take on an old genre of gaming and well worth a look for anyone who enjoys the survival horror genre, or even action-gamers looking for something a little more cerebral.