Project Zero 3: The Tormented

Torment or treat?

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Cinema, done the right way, is an amazing medium. Alfred Hitchcock for example, is often regarded as the granddaddy of mystery and suspense. Inspired use of the camera, beautifully crafted scripts and a whole host of other techniques made sure the audience didn't ever go away unsatisfied. No one who has ever seen Psycho will forget the famous shower scene or the piercing soundtrack that accompanied it. It is perhaps, as the famous film critic Andre Bazin once prophesied, a 'Holy Moment' in film. With that in mind, however much film tries to engross us, videogames always have an element of interactivity that no amount of silly 3D glasses or other disposable props can replace. And this is what makes a game like Project Zero 3: The Tormented. You feel not like you are just controlling an onscreen 3D sprite but that you are Rei Kurosawa.

Kurosawa is a young photographer whose latest job is to take pictures of a mansion which is reportedly haunted. An opening cut scene shows her wandering around taking a couple of eerie photos, and then something very strange happens. Out of no where our protagonist spots a figure that appears to be her deceased fiance, Yuu. On seeing him she falls into a sort-of hypnotic state in which she is attacked by an angry spectre. On returning to reality she decides to investigate further in order to discover why these 'lost souls' are inhabiting her dreams. Why she didn't immediately get in touch with Scooby Doo and the gang before running for the hills, we'll never know. Would've saved a whole lot of trouble on her part, that's for sure.

She decides for the most part, anyway, to go it alone, and so your quest begins. Ghosts are tricky things, being transparent and all, so most of the traditional weaponry you're familiar with isn't going to be much use. No guns, no knives, not even a broom stick or a handy fire hydrant placed kindly amongst scenery which is obviously otherwise off limits is available here. Instead Kurosawa puts all of her trust into her camera, known as the 'camera obscura' in-game after one of the earliest forms of light capturing techniques and a prelude to modern photographic devices. Your camera obscura acts as a deterrent to the mansion's spooks who can be fended off by a combination of skilful camera use and often a bit of luck, too.

The process of capturing a ghost's image is cleverly implemented. Rather than letting you off with photographing one from the other side of the room (scaredy cat-style), you have to let them get pretty close before you make your move. With your camera at the ready you must wait until the moment known as your 'shutter chance'. At this point the central circular template within your frame turns red as a trigger for you to do what photographer's do best (that's, um, taking photos.) It's difficult to explain, but if you're right on the money then you'll have successfully defended yourself and gained experience. Experience points can be used as you progress to purchase upgrades to your camera, including longer lenses and a speedier shutter times. On the other hand, if you're too slow off the mark you'll be in the harassed position of being at the mercy of a ruthless ghoul. Put simply, this diminishes you're life and is not good at all. Nope.

The majority of the game consists of exploring the mansion room by room, progressing steadily towards the solution of the mystery that prompted you to do such a creepy thing in the first place. Hindering your exploration are a myriad of puzzles, some of which will certainly have you using a fair share of brain power. As imaginative as some of these are, often you're left with a clue and no idea what to do with it, that's my only gripe in that respect.

'Tormented' is the third in a trilogy of Project Zero titles and Tecmo, like Hitchcock in cinema, seem to have mastered suspense in the videogaming arena. Project Zero's claustrophobic, gloomy setting is enough to set anyone's heart racing. You could say that the game is told mostly in visual terms, since the sound of silence is amazingly effective in building up a feeling of anxiety at every turn. Frankly, if you can make it through this game without forcibly being urged to at least one toilet break due to a nerves affecting your bladder function, then you are either numb to any emotion or very, very brave. The aura that surrounds the environments is complimented suitably by a graphics engine that makes brilliant work of imposing fear. There are plenty of different ghastly-faced ghosts lurking in the shadows and some gorgeously mysterious lighting effects. Kurosawa is detailed and also has a fair range of smoothly animated expressions, though she does appear to have difficulty doing anything (particularly running) at speed.

It is this lack of urgency which hinders what otherwise is a fantastically constructed end to this Project Zero trilogy. Some of the mansion's ghosts only appear for a very short amount of time, certainly not hanging around long enough for you to point and shoot unless you knew they were there. Also a frustration is the confines of the building itself. Often when you have more than one ghost to attend to at a time it is difficult to find a suitable angle at which to snap at them. This leads to some unwelcome and arguably unfair deaths at the hands of an element out of the player's control. Diehards of the series might see these flaws as expected difficulties just because the environment is so confined, but it seems an unnecessarily overlooked problem rather than a challenge to be overcome.

Project Zero 3: The Tormented is a little gem of a game, one which proves the power and intensity of effect that some games can exert on the players. The 'ride' is certainly longer than that of a film at the cinema, too. The main game will take hours to plough through, your experience extended by a multilayered plot and the opportunity to control two of Kurosawa's buddies at different points in the game. It's only human nature to want to stress and test our senses (see theme parks for an obvious example), but if anywhere like Alton Towers is out of the question until the weather's a bit better here in Blighty, then Project Zero will do just as good a job. And it doesn't force you to pay over the odds for food and souvenirs, too. You could do far worse than 'snap' this one up and 'develop' a Project Zero experience of your very own... (and it was going so well - Ed).

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By Andrew Macarthy