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Clunky, frustrating combat offsets a brilliant story and eerie atmosphere, resulting in a mediocre play experience.
The narrative, dim lighting, and constant feeling of being watched all play into a strong horror setting.
One source of frustration is the change in inputs depending on mode. The game has two distinct modes: normal movement (third person) and using the camera (first person). Each mode maps buttons on the controller to different inputs. The problem is that in some important cases, the same control does completely different things in each mode. In the default control scheme, for instance, the left stick is for movement in third person, but controls the camera in first person! This forces you to make a huge shift in your mental model of the inputs for each mode. This is terrible! In the mode I used, the 'B' button is for running in third person, which I use all the time. In first person, however, the 'B' button is for the special shot, which you use very infrequently. First person does not support running at all. The result is that I would frequently hit the B button in first person mode, thinking I would make a hasty retreat, only to waste a spirit stone! Arrgh!
The unlocked content after beating the game is definitely enough to make you want to play again. However, after a few more frustrating combat encounters, I decided that the prospect of going through the whole game was not worth it. This is unfortunate because it was fun trying to get all the photos and read the descriptions, which add more depth to the world and narrative.
While Fatal Frame is a game not to be missed if you are playing some of the historical greats, the experience is diminished by the combat. Go into it knowing that ahead of time and you will be fine.
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