RSS
JU-ON: The Grudge
September 8, 2009 | 12:15 PM PST
by: Andy Pocock
Deep in the heart of London's bustling West End, in a secret location (so secret I walked past it 4 times) Rising Star presented a sneak peak of their latest offering from Japan - "JU-ON: The Grudge".
This new game (already released in Japan) is being touted as a "Fright Simulator", and shouldn't be confused with your standard Horror game. There is no ammo to find, and no monsters to shoot. There is only you, a flashlight and your wits.
Trapped in a pitch black room, and armed with a Wii remote I got to try one of the games' 5 "scenarios". These were all already unlocked, but I was told that in the final game you have access to one to begin with and the rest unlock as you progress. Each scenario is designed to last around 30mins, so you could feasibly make your way through in about 2 and a half hours.
Make no mistake, this game is not one to play alone. Not because of the scares, but because it'd be pretty short and boring. The game has been designed to play with a group of friends and in short bursts (which is why each scenario only lasts about 30 mins).
Controls are simple and straightforward - you use the pointer to aim your flashlight, "B" moves you forward and "A" interacts. That's it. Nothing complicated here, and for a pick-up-and-play title it works well, albeit a little clunky. It was very easy to lose the pointer off screen, but what pointer-oriented game isn't?
The scenario I played was an abandoned apartment complex. A short bit of text at the beginning sets up the premise and then you take over. Moving the flashlight around I noticed something glinting in the distance and slowly made my way over to it, shining the flashlight on everything as I explored the area. The shiny item was a battery, which was a good thing for if your torch runs out of power before you reach the end of the scenario, it's curtains for you. All the time that you're playing you'll find the battery level going down, so you better keep moving and pick up as many batteries as you can.
All around me were ambient noises - weird chattering, wind, crows cawing. The sound design really stood out as one of the best aspects of the game. All the sounds were recorded in actual derelict environments relating to the scenarios by the people involved with the making of the movies. I was told the signature "croaking" (you know what I mean!) was actually performed by the movie's director (Takeshi Shimizu) himself.
There was a lot of downtime between events, and this is where it becomes essential to have friends with you, for there is a multiplayer element designed to make you hate your friends. Anyone within reach of a second remote can trigger instant scares, like bugs swarming the screen or sudden images of the Screaming Ghost Boy, simply by pressing one of the buttons or directions. Once one of these random scares is activated you have to wait at least 20 seconds before another one can be set off, so there's no danger of spamming.
Once you're done with your scenario (whether it's by completion or failure) you get assigned a score based on how scared you were and how far you progressed. All the way through the scenario the Wii Remote is recording how much you're hand is shaking, and how much of a reaction you give when something makes you jump. Before starting the game it asks for your star sign, and at the end it gives a little advice tailored to how you've reacted matched with your star sign (that kinda thing's reasonably popular in Japan).
The graphics, whilst nothing special, are very good and functional. Everything is in near darkness and you have to rely heavily on the torch. Derelict rooms and warehouses are suitably grimy, random blood stains and weird hairy effects take you very effectively into the world of "The Grudge" as seen in the movies. You really do need to play in as dark a room as possible though to get the most of what's on offer.
Rising Star have no allusions as to exactly what they're offering here. It's basically a video game version of a "Ghost Train" at the funfair. You pay your money, go for a ride with a few friends, things pop out and make you jump, and as quickly as it started it's all over and you get off pointing and laughing as you rib your friends for jumping at plastic skeletons. A very simple, very social game coming out at the right time of year (aiming for Halloween '09) and priced at around £30.
It's a game for anyone who's ever had a few friends round to watch a movie and randomly shouted "BOO!" at the quiet bit.
This new game (already released in Japan) is being touted as a "Fright Simulator", and shouldn't be confused with your standard Horror game. There is no ammo to find, and no monsters to shoot. There is only you, a flashlight and your wits.
Trapped in a pitch black room, and armed with a Wii remote I got to try one of the games' 5 "scenarios". These were all already unlocked, but I was told that in the final game you have access to one to begin with and the rest unlock as you progress. Each scenario is designed to last around 30mins, so you could feasibly make your way through in about 2 and a half hours.
Make no mistake, this game is not one to play alone. Not because of the scares, but because it'd be pretty short and boring. The game has been designed to play with a group of friends and in short bursts (which is why each scenario only lasts about 30 mins).
Controls are simple and straightforward - you use the pointer to aim your flashlight, "B" moves you forward and "A" interacts. That's it. Nothing complicated here, and for a pick-up-and-play title it works well, albeit a little clunky. It was very easy to lose the pointer off screen, but what pointer-oriented game isn't?
The scenario I played was an abandoned apartment complex. A short bit of text at the beginning sets up the premise and then you take over. Moving the flashlight around I noticed something glinting in the distance and slowly made my way over to it, shining the flashlight on everything as I explored the area. The shiny item was a battery, which was a good thing for if your torch runs out of power before you reach the end of the scenario, it's curtains for you. All the time that you're playing you'll find the battery level going down, so you better keep moving and pick up as many batteries as you can.
All around me were ambient noises - weird chattering, wind, crows cawing. The sound design really stood out as one of the best aspects of the game. All the sounds were recorded in actual derelict environments relating to the scenarios by the people involved with the making of the movies. I was told the signature "croaking" (you know what I mean!) was actually performed by the movie's director (Takeshi Shimizu) himself.
There was a lot of downtime between events, and this is where it becomes essential to have friends with you, for there is a multiplayer element designed to make you hate your friends. Anyone within reach of a second remote can trigger instant scares, like bugs swarming the screen or sudden images of the Screaming Ghost Boy, simply by pressing one of the buttons or directions. Once one of these random scares is activated you have to wait at least 20 seconds before another one can be set off, so there's no danger of spamming.
Once you're done with your scenario (whether it's by completion or failure) you get assigned a score based on how scared you were and how far you progressed. All the way through the scenario the Wii Remote is recording how much you're hand is shaking, and how much of a reaction you give when something makes you jump. Before starting the game it asks for your star sign, and at the end it gives a little advice tailored to how you've reacted matched with your star sign (that kinda thing's reasonably popular in Japan).
The graphics, whilst nothing special, are very good and functional. Everything is in near darkness and you have to rely heavily on the torch. Derelict rooms and warehouses are suitably grimy, random blood stains and weird hairy effects take you very effectively into the world of "The Grudge" as seen in the movies. You really do need to play in as dark a room as possible though to get the most of what's on offer.
Rising Star have no allusions as to exactly what they're offering here. It's basically a video game version of a "Ghost Train" at the funfair. You pay your money, go for a ride with a few friends, things pop out and make you jump, and as quickly as it started it's all over and you get off pointing and laughing as you rib your friends for jumping at plastic skeletons. A very simple, very social game coming out at the right time of year (aiming for Halloween '09) and priced at around £30.
It's a game for anyone who's ever had a few friends round to watch a movie and randomly shouted "BOO!" at the quiet bit.
November 20, 2009
