Editor’s Note: Both Vespaa and Naomi had the chance to review Cursed Mountain by Deep Silver.  Since they’re different kinds of gamers, we wanted to give you the opinion from both of them.  Below, you’ll see comments on the game from Vespaa (in black) and Naomi (in blue).  Enjoy!

Rating: M (PEGI: 16)
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: Survival Horror
Players: 1
Release Date: August 25th , 2009

RENT

Deep Silver brings back a genre of gaming seldom seen on the Wii (as well as being exclusive) with their survival horror title, Cursed Mountain. While the game reminded me a great deal of the Silent Hill series, I felt it fell short in capturing the terrifying atmosphere said games immerse the player in. That being said, Cursed Mountain provides players with it’s own unique brand of horror, built around a storyline involving ghosts in presented in a manner few games have even attempted before. The accurate portrayal of Buddhist/Malaysian history and religious involvement and how it pertains to the storyline made me appreciate it all the more. I enjoyed the game quite a bit, and felt it was a good addition to the Wii’s library of games, and definitely worth a play through.  0000ff">People who love the horror genre will no doubt be happy with this game. The graphics are good, and the sounds are scary enough to be real. The game was dark, not just in theme but as you are playing through the chapters themselves. The story itself is strong enough that I could see a sequel (of sorts) being made should Cursed Mountain become popular.

33cccc">0000ff">So what do you do when your brother goes missing on a climbing expedition in the Himalayas? Well if you love him enough, you go to the Himalayas and try to find him yourself. That is exactly what happens to Eric Simmons. 000000;font-style: normal">Players assume the role of Eric Simmons, during his ascent of Mount Cholomonzo in the Himalayas to find his brother, Frank. The game makes full use of the Wii Mote’s many features; players will receive commands through the microphone when appropriate to the story. In order or defeat, or exercise spirits, players will use various specified swipes with the Wii Mote and Nunchuk, such as “The Compassion Ritual” which will defeat ghosts while healing you. The game’s implementation of the ghosts starts off strong, cutting in with a haunting cut scene of a ghost passing Eric through an alley. However, you’ll only encounter one type of ghost for the first two sections of the game, quickly desensitizing the player from building any apprehension or fear while playing.

33cccc">0000ff">The towns Eric must visit are dirty, dark and abandoned – apart from the cursed spirits that occupy some of the buildings. He needs to collect weapons and learn how to use his third eye if he is to protect himself from falling prey to them. Eric also must collect journals and books to gather more information on his surroundings and what was going on with Frank before he went missing. 000000">The environments are highly realistic, although they still have some clipping and choppiness in from certain distances, but they utilize color and shadow extremely well. In areas inhabited by powerful ghosts, the lighting will fade to black and white. In other areas of the game, the lighting will shift to a hue of chromatic gray highlighted by splashes of color to accentuate certain things, such as Eric’s jacket or part of a building. It gives the game a very eerie feel, and serves to create shadows and interesting shapes in the scenery to mess with the player a bit.

33cccc">0000ff">Eric does meet a few living souls amongst the cursed and supposedly dead. Luckily these folks are happy to help with whatever it is that Eric needs to give him more insight into the situation as it is and for what is yet to come.0000ff"> The games cut scenes and story are presented rather erratically, randomly splicing into game play and sometimes not directly relating to what’s happening at the present time in the story. Such as footage of Frank’s sexual trysts with a woman living in Cholomonzo randomly interrupting game play as you enter a building. (Probably to show the player what happened there as he follows Frank’s trail, but it’s not really explained why Eric can pick up on these things.) The cut scenes themselves, however are very well executed presented to the player like an old movie reel. The only problem with this is that all cut scenes are formatted this way, which included flash backs, and what’s currently going on with Eric as you advance through the story.

The first weapon Eric receives is an Ice Axe appropriately, followed by the “Kartrika” an attachment for the Axe, to exercise spirits. I rather liked how the game avoids guns/ammunition, and really taps into the survival aspect of survival horror, which few games do anymore. Players will use the Ice Axe combined with the Kartrika to blast ghosts with spirit energy. Using the Wii Mote, you’ll also have to shake ghosts off of Eric, and it will become more challenging to do so as they increase in difficulty.

Ripe with puzzles and various quest objectives to complete, players will have to break seals to enter new areas, by locating and then executing the correct swipes with the Wii Mote and Nunchuk to advance. I felt this was a very good addition to the game, and some of it’s best innovating so far, as it increases the tribal and ritualistic motif the game drops you into, especially for a game of this genre, exclusively on the Wii. One section I particularly enjoyed was the “Ghost Korlo” which locks you in one area, while sending infinite waves of ghosts after you, while damaging your health over time. The Ghost Korlo isn’t completed until you find various seal fragments scattered throughout the area and combine them to escape.

The game’s musical score supports the creepy atmosphere of the game quite nicely, and while some of the voice acting isn’t great, Eric’s voice actor is very good, and endears him to the player while on his quest. His narrative of the events conspiring in the game sets the foundation of the plot nicely.

During Eric’s ascent of the mountain he will encounter many boss fights, which each seem to require an element of strategy. The first boss, a haunting Griffon like Idol calls for three vulture statues to be simultaneously deactivated before you can defeat it. After deactivating the statues, the player must perform a decently long string of specified Wii Mote and Nunchuk swipes to finish off the boss with Eric’s Kartrika.

0000ff">I have not finished it, nor do I intend to. I got stuck (as usual) and got killed quite a few times, therefore I had pretty much gotten my fill by that point. I’m sure it gets scarier the further you get. Yes, I don’t like horror at all and needless to say I played with the lights on. The whole time . As a whole, I feel Cursed Mountain is a very solid game. The game play is still unique enough and interesting, regarding the manner in which you use the Wii Mote and Nunchuk. If you’re a fan of survival horror, I would actually recommend buying this game, and even if you’re not a huge fan of the genre, it’s still worth a play through. I couldn’t justify giving the game a buy simply because there’s not much else to do in the game after completing it the first time. Despite it’s lack of replay value, it’s still a good addition to the Wii library and would also serve as a great introduction to a genre of gaming rarely seen on the Wii, for the console’s many casual gamers. 33cccc">

0000ff">I have not finished it, nor do I intend to. I got stuck (as usual) and got killed quite a few times, therefore I had pretty much gotten my fill by that point. I’m sure it gets scarier the further you get. Yes, I don’t like horror at all and needless to say I played with the lights on. The whole time.  Much to my own amusement, I found myself considering that if you took out the “SURPRISE!” atmosphere when you happen upon a cursed foe (you know, someone sneaks up from behind and manages to scare the angel dust out of you), you might have a game I wouldn’t mind playing should I be in the mood. That and I feel I’m too young to consider buying adult diapers to accompany my game. There were a few expletives expressed and heart-racing moments experienced in this game.  The PEGI rating for this game is “16” and says it contains violence (which I can assure you there is plenty of) and sex (which I did not come across for the amount of time I gave this). If you are prudent as to how you spend your money then take the above into consideration, especially if you mean to buy it for a young impressionable someone.  If you think you can withstand this game, then I would recommend you give it a go. It’s possible that this could be one of those games people remember when they talk about what stood out for this console.

Naomi’s review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of her review.