Perhaps it's due to the oncoming Halloween holiday. Or maybe it's because the temperature has finally, blessedly dropped to the 60's with some nice thunderstorms (and some wicked fog effects) rolling in, which always puts me in a somewhat pleasant melancholy frame of mind. In any event, I felt the strong urge to pull out Fatal Frame (or Project Zero, if you prefer) and immerse myself in some simple spook-outs and creepy environs.

Why is it when you have a bad hair day, somebody ends up taking your picture?

Me being the chronic anal-retentive that I am, I have a memory card with the completed saves from all three Fatal Frame games along with my assorted albums just for occasions like this. Hey, why would I want to start a game with just the basics when I can have a fully unlocked, all-extras-added Camera Obscura to wipe that ectoplasmic snot off the face of the planet with? I put a lot of time into getting everything I possibly could on those games - I got the "S" rating on all Mission Modes, completed the Ghost Lists (and if you haven't played the series, let me tell you some of those ghosts are a real bugger to get), received the alternate endings and played all difficulty levels with minimal saves. I know the ins and outs of the mansion, I know where all the stationary ghosts are positioned. I know where all the items are stashed. Which translates to: I've probably played this game at least ten times. And so, it's probably a bit odd to most people that I'd want to play it again at all. And it's even odder that I decided to play this time completely from scratch, and not load up from my "master" save. I opted this time for "New Game".

Well, that was actually a blast. It still only took me about 5 hours to get through the complete game, but it was a completely new challenge without my handy Zoom, Slow or Blast feature. I had to think through my manoevers a bit more, since I couldn't just pull the lens back to give me more room as I was used to doing. I'd be in the Doll Room, with that humongous gaping hole in the floor, and the crawling girl ghost backing me into a corner, I'd be whacking the holy heck out of the L2 button, knowing good and well that I hadn't gotten enough points yet to unlock the Blast feature to knock the little snot back a few feet but on some level part of my brain was hoping perhaps the PS2 hadn't realized that yet :lol:. I ended up picking up more Stone Mirrors than usual because of several "oopsie" moments like that! For a game that has been played repeatedly over and over, I did more yelling and screaming and swearing at that screen than I've done in MONTHS. I was in sheer survival mode again - stripped of my finest weapons, I wasn't trying to get high points on my photos, I was trying to LIVE, thank you very much! Not that there was too much doubt in the outcome, as tends to be the case my own mind was the worst enemy, and once I finally convinced it that the game wasn't going to conveniently remember all those easy attacks I did before I got back into nailing shot after shot with minimal damage. Finally, after much more profanity, shutter-snapping and specter-paparazzi'ing, the Malice was sealed, the trapped spirits freed and the credits rolled. Pretty trippy to actually be challenged by that game again, I was thinking. I began pondering going on to Fatal Frame 2 when I happened to glance over to THE STACK sitting off to the side.

And what, pray, is THE STACK? THE STACK, you see, is that pile of games that I haven't had time to try out or been in the mood to play yet. The games that looked really appealing a year or two ago that I finally picked up when I caught them on sale. The games that I've heard some of you guys mention being really great, and decided to buy. In THE STACK there currently resides copies of Destroy All Humans, Kingdom Hearts 2, Siren, and Ghost Hunter, along with Okami (which I actually WANT to finish, except for the demise of my saves due in part to a small, destructive force in my home known as the SpookSpawn). There's the box for Dragon Warrior 8 that 'spouse is playing that looks fun, but I'm just not in the mood for. THE STACK shares space on the TV stand directly next to THE RACK, which contains the games that we tend to pull out every so often. There's Spooksspouse's copy of GTA: San Andreas, Final Fantasy Tactics, my Silent Hill collection (and of course the Fatal Frame games). There's FinFan7, several Onimusha and Castlevania titles, and Guitar Hero. THE RACK is the stuff that I would be happy to have if I were stuck on a desert island, if we assume that said island has a supply of electricity, a working television and a PS2. I simply enjoy playing the same old stuff repeatedly. Even with a stack of fresh games (some still in the shrinkwrap) why in the heck do I insist on playing Old Faithfuls instead of New & Exciting?

Sorry, girls, I still recognize you.

Maybe I don't mind replaying games because I didn't have a lot of titles growing up, and I just got into the habit of enjoying a single game more than once. Or maybe I could make an argument for the titles in particular, and try to convince you that these are just the GREATEST games ever made on the planet. I could possibly even say I'm just not interested in anything new right now. Whatever the reason, I find that I tend to be in the minority when it comes to playing titles through more than once or twice. Perhaps it involves a certain type of mentalitiy; maybe you're the sort that has to find every unlockable, and you don't mind repeated play-throughs to get the goods. Or maybe you're the sort that sets an "independant goal" outside of the strict parameters of the game itself, like those that do speed runs through a game. The game may not require you to finish in a few hours (although it may open up an Easter Egg or two) but you just want to see how fast you can do it. But for every person I know that does enjoy going through their older titles, I see about 10 posts from people that sell or trade off their old titles as soon as they're done with them. On the other hand, I tend to not buy that many games, but I hold onto what I do have. I should note that I'm not talking about old-school games, although they do fit the bill admiriably - I'm talking about playing ANY game, old-gen or new-gen, more than once or twice.

The particular aspect of my personality that drives me to get EVERYBODY'S money's worth out of a game is one that reflects itself into other entertainment avenues. I'll watch a great movie several times (even though there's HUNDREDS of great movies I wouldn't mind seeing, and a few that I still have, yes, still shrinkwrapped, I'll watch one of my old anime flicks over and over even though I know the storyline with the thouroughness of a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan). I'll re-read a book that I finished ages ago. I enjoy re-visiting some of the worlds that my mind has traveled to, and it seems sad to me that there's a segment of the population that just tosses away experiences that have only been tasted once. Talk about a disposable society! What a waste, to just dump an experience because you've done it one measly time! (Certain jokes involving procreation are springing to mind right now, but I think we'll leave that angle alone for the nonce.....). I'm not adverse to new things, but I can be perfectly content doing something I've done time and time again.

So tell me, what to you makes a game (or anything) worthy of replay? Or if you're not into replaying old games, why not? I want your comments!