Here comes another classic in the survival horror genre! Creating tense atmosphere, stressful chases and constant unease. Haunting Ground, what I used to refer to when I was younger as `CAPCOM's` version of HELLNIGHT.
After a terrible car crash the young Fiona Belli loses both her parents, and wakes up in a cage inside the disgusting kitchen of an incredibly Gothic castle. Accompanied by a dog named Hewie she tries to find a way to escape - constantly trying to escape the castle member that is trying to kill her at each moment.
Technically the 4th game in the Clock Tower series, Haunting Ground develops on the panic and hiding system of Clock Tower 3, and breaks away from any of the previous Clock Tower storylines, forming it's own, completely new story.
Haunting Ground's panic system is great for creating atmosphere and making the player genuinely panic. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to do something quickly that'll allow you to escape the clutches of whoever is chasing you - only for Fiona to trip as you approach it. Filling you with tension as you hope you still have time to hide.
The enemy AI is great, it constantly listens out for you, making you scared to make loud noises. And learns from it's mistakes - so no hiding in that same wardrobe again and again just to get away! And unlike the previously reviewed HELLNIGHT, Haunting Ground introduces it's own unique form of battle system.
By issuing commands with the right Analogue stick to your canine companion to attack, distracting the enemy whilst you let out a feeble kick. This both works amazingly for the game... but also really lets it down. Hewie's AI is an idiot. While it's understandable that it's a dog, it can't completely understand you etc. This is one incredibly stupid and smart dog all at once. This will leave you getting incredibly angry and frustrated as you scream at the dog to stop screwing around and do what your saying (and if you're like me you'll end up just kicking the dog despite how actually awful you feel). However, the terrible AI of Hewie is redeemed slightly by his adorable nature and the fact that how you treat him affects how well he listens to you.
While Haunting Ground is a well rounded game with good, tense gameplay. The story is pretty weak and at times laughable. With some of the enemies failing to come across as weird and messed up, but more silly and basic.
Technically there's loads of replay value to the game, what with all the unlockable costumes (some of which are just... well... sexy?) and secret items to be found (or most likely googled), there also really isn't any replay value. All this extra items (including one that makes you invisible if you stand still long enough) just takes away any element of fear to the game - making you feel like you're just playing the game for the sake of playing it, as opposed to the experience that you can get from your first playthrough.
Haunting Ground is a great game that unfortunately seems a little rough around the edges, but hey, personally I find that all the Clock Tower games feel like that almost like it's part of their charm - and technically this is a Clock Tower game so maybe it was on purpose? Either way it lets it down a lot. Still the first couple of playthrough's are great and will definitely give you some October shrieks at night.
No comments:
Post a Comment