It's no secret that the Wii had a dry 2012. North America got the amazing Xenoblade Chronicles, PAL got Pandora's Tower, and we both got The Last Story, Mario Party 9, Just Dance 4, Skylanders Giants, and Epic Mickey 2, but that's a scant lineup for a whole year. And yet, despite the shortage of noteworthy titles, another PAL (and Japanese) only release flew right under the radar, and yet is probably the best Wii game of the year excepting Xenoblade. That game is Project Zero 2: Wii Edition.
The premise of the game is simple; fight ghosts with a magical exorcising camera and escape a haunted village before the young girl you control and her sister become sacrifices.
The original Project Zero 2 was on the PS2, but this Wii Edition isn't just a port with motion controls. The camera system, gameplay mechanics, and visuals have all been redesigned as well, and as a result it feels like an altogether new game.
It's also downright terrifying. In an era where horror has been largely replaced by action, Project Zero 2: Wii Edition is a masterfully orchestrated slow burn of creeping dread. The very act of picking up items becomes an unsettling task, as you have to hold A to slowly extend your hand, while being ready to let go and withdraw your hand at a split second's notice if a ghost tries to grab you. The way ghosts teleport about and move through walls to flank you as you try to frame them for a shot makes every fight a nerve-shattering experience, and everything down to the sound of picking up an item is calibrated to be chilling. Even the sounds of the Wii's disc drive at key moments and the unearthly murmurs coming from the Wiimote speaker make it feel like the game's supernatural menace is escaping into the real world. Few games generate such a pervasive atmosphere of despair and terror.
It's fundemantal design, (explore dungeon-esque houses, find keys to access areas) is fairly old school, but old school in a tight and efficient manner.The intentionally murky and grainy visuals work well, (especially the remarkably detailed main characters) and there's a half dozen endings to uncover, some of which are achingly poignant. The controls can take some getting used to, but after a while become second nature.
All told, this is hands down one of the best horror games of the last 7 years.
According to VGChartz, a whopping 2000 people or so bought it in Europe. It's a crying shame, because it's a game that deserves far more exposure than that.
