Nightmare inducing, and an absolute blast, this game is one of the best examples of survival horror even to this day.
User Rating: 9.4 | Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly PS2
This game is scary. This is one of those games that leaves you in pure darkness, scared and alone, with nothing to protect you. The game has a great story revolving around twins who have to become a sacrifice to ensure the haunted town's prosperity. One of the twins is strangely transfixed by everything, and seems to follow the ghosts in a trance. It is your role to save your sister, uncover the past, and escape with your life. Unlike most survival horror games, where your enemies are confined to certain parameters and physics and go down with conventional weapons; This game gives you ghosts. You may tell yourself that ghosts aren't that scary or menacing, but when you see them weave in and out of walls, disappear without warning, wail and cry over their demise, you'll be scared out of your wits. The only thing to protect you from these denizens of the underworld, is a small camera with supernatural powers. Even to this day, the graphics are outstanding, the detail given on the ghosts and their tortured animations is second to none. Even if the main characters look like they came straight out of an anime, and are a little out of place, you always get the feeling as though this is a living breathing (no pun intended) village of the undead. Through your viewfinder, you'll see the ghosts fade in and out in ethereal waves, go transparent, and disappear. By defeating ghosts in certain ways, you can power up your camera with the points you're given per shot. This is one feature that really makes this game intense, as the most points are rewarded for capturing a ghost right before it strikes you, earning you a Fatal Frame. You're able to chain these attacks into one long string, making it possible to fell most ghosts with the right combo of attacks. If you miss however, you will take damage, and this game isn't forgiving when it comes to healing items. The combat flows well, even if it does feel a bit stiff. This game is pretty tough your first go around, but the bonuses for completing the game really make your second and third playthroughs worthwhile. My only real gripe about this game is the fact that it ends. Go out and get this game, love it, and be terrified. 
