Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly will deliver more nightmares than the first game.
There are two heroines on this game, Mio and Mayu Amakura who are twin sisters. After being lost in the forest they come along in an abandoned village which supposed to have dissapeared during a festival. it seems that they cant find a way out through this village so they have to explore this mysterious village. As they explore the village they will eventually find the Obscura Camera and even discovering more horrifying secrets of the village. I dont want to spoil the rest of the storyline so its up to you the player to discover the rest of it. But all i can say is that it wont be a walk in the park.
The gameplay of the game is very much similar to the first game. As you will notice the camera Obscura has change since the first game making it more powerfull and allowing you to capture spirits quickly. You will be controlling Mio for almost of the game but there will be some time when you will be playing as her twin sister Mayu for a short period of time in a flashback like scene. There will be also some time when you have the two of them. Mayu will sometimes give you clues on situations when your with her. When exploring the village, you may find some items like a herbal medicine which will heal you if you ever get damage by spirits. There are also time you may have to solve some puzzles to get a key item in order to move on.
But probably fighting those spirits is the best element of the game. As you all know you use the Obscura camera in order to fight them. There films scattared around the village all ranging from weak to powerfull ones which you can use on your camera. You can also find special lens which allows you to equip it to your camera which have special effects that allows you to capture a spirit easilly. And of course upgrading the camera is the most important thing.The stronger your camera the more powerfull damage you can deal to them. As you capture a spirit you collect spirit points in which it is use to upgrade the camera. You will also need some kind of an orb but you will have to find this first before you can upgrade your camera, but never worry they are plenty in the game.
The graphics had a major makeoer since the first game. The visuals are now more real time and even more horrifying. The environment is now more detailed and even more frightening.The levels themselves is very large and the character design is superb especially the main villain of the game i just love the look of her and gives me the chill. The game's sound is also superb. From the opening music to the sound effects it really defines the genre of the game. The voice acting though is lacking but it doesnt matter after all.
The difficulty of the game is kinda easy, it can be done under 10 hours on the first run. But there are still secrets that are waiting to be unlocked. There are missions that allows you to take a mission with different kind of settings, there are also extra difficulties that has got a secret ending and of course there are special costumes for your characters to change. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly may lack some difficulty but with a new horrifying storyline fans of the first game will definitely enjoy this installment.