Do you remember the old TV show Lassy? It was a heartwarming tale of a boy and his dog, going on all sorts of adventures. Now imagine an episode of Lassy where instead of trying to get Timmy out of the well, Lassy has to guide Timmy through a mansion with deformed freaks, zombie women with barren women parts, and freaky old coots in wheelchairs. Well you don’t have to imagine it anymore, welcome to Capcom’s latest foray into survival horror—Haunting Ground.
Overview
The star of Haunting Ground is the young and incredibly hot Fiona. The game starts with Fiona in a horrible car crash and a shadowy figure pulling her from the wreckage. Next thing she knows, Fiona wakes up locked in a small cage wearing nothing but a bed sheet. Fiona now has to make it out of this strange place alive, and she’s not exactly a tough fighter. Enter the real star of the game, Hewie the German Shepard. Hewie saves this game from just being another survival horror game and puts a new twist on the genre. You won’t be able to get through the game without him and how loyal he is to you will depend on how you treat him. The game also has a hide and seek element to it that’s new to the genre. Borrowing from classic horror movies, Fiona hides under beds and in closets, watching as her enemies tear up the room looking for her. To add to the suspense, the enemies are smart and will catch on to your hiding spot.
Graphics 8/10
The Playstation 2 really has come a long way in terms of graphics. Haunting Ground is a very pretty game with extremely smooth looking characters. The opening cinema in the game has some of the best looking cloth effects I’ve ever seen and skin textures that look like they came right out of Final Fantasy: Spirits Within. The in game graphics are no slouch either. The textures are slightly pixilated, but it hardly takes away from the game. Animations are extremely smooth; the motion capture people for this game really are gifted. Besides the perfect breast animations on Fiona, the animation on Hewie is very lifelike. I believe this is the first game I’ve ever seen that had a dog listed as one of the motion capture actors. The environments in the game are good, not spectacular. Like Capcom’s other survival horror games, the camera is at a fixed angle when you enter a room. One really interesting thing they did with the game is to have the graphics change depending on how scared Fiona is. If you’re startled by something, everything gets slightly blurred out. If you’re completely panicked and running for you life the graphics pulse with your heartbeat and everything gets this white, washed out look. The graphics definitely succeed in setting the mood for the game.
Gameplay/Controls 6/10
The gameplay in Haunting Ground is run of the mill survival horror. Walk around, open doors, solve puzzles, pick up items, and run for your life. The game does innovate in a couple areas though. I’ve already mentioned the hide and seek system, so I’ll go more into Hewie. You give Hewie commands with the right analog stick; you can command him to stay, search, scold him, or reward him. In conflict situations you can order him to attack your enemies as well. Fiona herself has a couple moves like a weak kick and a running shoulder charge, both of which are generally useless. Rather than a health meter, Fiona has a fear meter. The more scared she becomes, the harder it is to control her. When Fiona completely panics, she mindlessly runs for her life and you lose any kind of control. Fiona can use some items as weapons that will only stun an enemy. More powerful items can be created through an alchemy mini game. There are also a couple boss battles that are fought using your environment.
Sound/Music 8/10
The sound department is where this game really shines. Haunting Ground uses Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and it is VERY effective. Through most of the game there isn’t any music, but that adds to the fear. You’ll be walking down a hallway and hear the footsteps of your pursuer… and as they get closer the music kicks in and just adds to the feeling of panic in that situation. The voice acting is also pretty good, although sometimes Fiona has a British accent, and other times she doesn’t. The sound guys really got the job done to set the creepy atmosphere, but it falls short of the stuff that will really play with your mind like in the Silent Hill games.
Replay Value 9/10
Haunting Ground is a game that is designed to be played more than once. There are 4 different endings you can get and there are also multiple costumes to unlock for Fiona, Hewie, and even the enemies. My first time through the game was only about 9 and ½ hours, so it’s definitely good for people with short attention spans. The game is also designed so that events don’t always occur in some exact order and different things will happen depending on what different conditions you meet. There’s also a slew of hidden items to scattered throughout the game. After beating the game you unlock Hard Mode, Secret Room, and a Hewie mini game. Hard Mode is exactly what it sounds like, it’s the same game, but the enemies are faster and can find you better. Secret room lets you view different costumes, watch cutscenes, look at concept art, and play the Hewie mini game. In the mini game it’s a sort of role reversal, you’re in direct control of Hewie and you must give orders to Fiona. The goal is to guide Fiona through mazes without getting her killed. I should also note the alternate costumes aren’t just for looks, they change the game. Fiona’s Texas Cowgirl costume lets her use a six shooter, and her Illegal in Some State costume gives you an S&M whip. Hewie will become stronger, but harder to control when you switch him to regular German Shepard colors, or he becomes invincible in his stuffed dog costume.
Overall 8/10
Haunting Ground is a great game in the aspect that you can either rent it and beat it in a weekend or buy it and play through for all the extras. While there’s really nothing that’s technically bad with the game, it fails in the most important aspect of survival horror—being scary. The game is really good at building tension with the hide and seek aspect, but there are no jump out of your seat with fear moments. The only thing that makes the game redeemable is Hewie. Hewie will react to how you treat him… feed him and pet him and he’ll be your buddy. Kick him and abuse him and he might turn on you; you can even kill him. You can even play fetch with Hewie and at the end of the game you’ll get a ranking depending on how you treated him… I’m a “dog lover”. When it comes to being scary though, this game can’t even come close to competing with Resident Evil and Silent Hill. With Capcom’s awesome job on Resident Evil 4, there’s really no excuse why this game couldn’t be that good. If you really have nothing better to do and you like dogs, you should check out this game… otherwise just wait for the PS2 port of Resident Evil 4.
- by Soy Beanie Weenie
