Cursed Mountain Wii – Sure To Send Chills Down The Spine

Sum n substance:

Thumbs up: killer graphics, outstanding voice overs, fascinating story line.

Thumbs down: controls aren’t upto the mark.

Inside the trunk:

• Platform Wii
• ESRB rating Mature – Violence
• Developer Deep Silver

THE WHIZ-KID SPEAKS:

What excited me about this game is the set up in the Himalayan mountains with a freaky story surrounding it. Talking about the setup here I go… its damn cold in the Himalayas.

There are hovering spirits all around you and all you have to do is keep on fighting or atleast defending yourself from them. It’s a slow engaging story setup in the Himalayas which will fill you up with frigid air right upto the bone. It’s a fascinating story about the Buddhist rituals and the sherpas. But if you are looking out for engaging puzzles and hot action this game would definitely disappoint you. I for one, loved the way of story- telling but then again was quite unimpressed with the unresponsive controls.

As a player, you play the role of Eric Simmons who is a popular mountain climber, searching for his lost brother who has gone missing while scaling the mount Chomolonzo. The missing tale of frank is also interesting enough. Actually Frank is a hotheaded climber known for taking risks, so when injured climber Edward Benett needed someone to scale the mountain and retrieve some valuable artifacts, Frank was his obvious choice. But then again the mountain Goddess is pretty much disturbed by the constant interruptions and intrusions. As you move ahead, you discover some various diary pages and climbers logs. The drama unfolds with  some stunning voice overs giving the answers to many questions like What is Frank’s fate? What is this relic known as a Terma? And why are you being assailed by spirits caught between this world and the next?

I almost got lost in the story al thanks to the brilliant story telling. The story is centered on several religious stories and rituals which make it all the more spookier. The genuineness of the people the customs really get you back on the track whenever you get lost. An aabssolutely spooky ambience is created and the makers of this game have done a brilliant job at that.

Cursed mountains almost plays like most of the other horror alfrescos that have come before. You have got to collect a lot of things on your way to the top and that’s exactly when the ghosts make an experience. The motion controls used in the cursed mountains have some real good concepts behind them. When you begin all you have with you is a pickaxe but ass you progress ahead you add more spiritual relics to the list. You definitely aren’t confined to a simple melee of attacks however; by using your third eye and peering into the otherworldly realm known as the Bardo, you can fire shafts of energy at your enemies or use an energy stream to essentially grab and yank them into oblivion. Such final moves, as well as a move called the compassion ritual (which replenishes some of your health as well as vanquishes a ghost), require you to perform a series of motion-based maneuvers. These movements are meant to represent symbolic rituals, which is a great idea, and there’s a pleasant balance between standard button taps and gestures.

The visual effects can get a bit obscuring and hazy at times, thus confusing your motion. And I believe that these effects just cause visual discomfort that’s it… when they were actually supposed to send some chills down the spine I guess. But then again more often than not the visual representation of the Cursed mountains has been more or less successful. I wont say the visuals are outstanding but they surely addd more to the storyline. Also Eric looks pretty much natural leaving aside a few jitters and complications. The sound representation surely deserves some applause. Its stupendously done and downright chilling. All the groans and Eric’s breaths are creepy and done in an outstandingly brilliant way.

Nitty- gritty:Brilliant story line, killer graphics, stupefying voice overs, loadsa of twists and turns.. what else does a gamer require to be probably hooked on to a game??? Brilliant controls is the answer I must say… now that is something Cursed mountains is lacking. The game on a whole is bloody brilliant and any whack job would have loved it, if only the control issues were taken care of. The attention that the makers have paid to the detailed storyline is outstanding.

I seriously wish they could have nailed the controls too. This is the kind of game that could make anyone go crazy over the Wii, very much unlike the usual fare. Still not withstanding the damage done to the controls I would personally give a shot because the game on a whole definitely transcends all the flaws. Kudos to the makers once again!!!!!

Random Posts

• January 28, 2010 -- Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W220 – cheaper sibling of W290 (7)
• September 3, 2009 -- Nokia Announces X6 And X3 (2)
• August 11, 2009 -- Review Of Samsung RFG297AARS French Styling Door Refrigerator (0)