Curse: The Eye of Isis

Platforms: PS2, Xbox, PC Release Date: 2003-12-08 Regions: USA Europe Chris’s Rating: ☆☆☆☆ A poor game with a couple of oddball, but ultimately ineffective, ideas. One of the best ways to learn about game design is to play games that aren’t fun. While parsing a good game can be difficult, it is much easier to […]

Kyoufu Shimbun Heiseiban Kaiki! Shinrei File

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-08-07 Regions: Japan Translated by IGN as “Kyoufu Shimbun (Heisei Version): Mystery! Spirit File.” This game sounds like a blend of Kamaitachi No Yoru and Fatal Frame. The game is based on a manga series about a mysterious newspaper that reports on deaths and calamities that will occur in the future. […]

Resident Evil: Dead Aim

Also known as: BioHazard – Heroes Never Die Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-06-17 Regions: USA Japan Europe Technically a gun game, but since it has a strong 3rd person mode I’ll include it here.

Hungry Ghosts

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-07-21 Regions: Japan From 1Up.com: It’s hard to imagine a darker adventure game than Hungry Ghosts. As the game begins, you are dead, and what’s worse, you were such a bastard in life that although you’re currently tooling around in the land of the dead, your ultimate destination is Hell. There’s […]

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Also known as: Rei: Beni Chou Platforms: PS2, Xbox Release Date: 2003-12-10 Regions: USA Japan Chris’s Rating: ★★★☆ This sequel perfects the format defined by the first Fatal Frame, and its unique game mechanics are complemented by fantastic art and atmosphere. If you liked the first Fatal Frame, you’ll enjoy Fatal Frame 2. The mechanics […]

Resident Evil 0

Also known as: BioHazard 0 Platforms: GameCube, Wii Release Date: 2003-03-07 Regions: USA Japan Europe Chris’s Rating: ★★★☆ Seemingly minor tweaks to the rapidly-aging Resident Evil formula end up changing the traversal strategy considerably. Describing how Resident Evil 0 works is a little difficult. It has a whole bunch of crazy new features that set […]

Siren

Also known as: Forbidden Siren Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-11-06 Regions: USA Japan Europe Chris’s Rating: ★★★★ Extremely innovative–and extremely difficult–entry into the horror game hall of fame. A masterpiece for those who can muscle their way through it. Siren is a really interesting game. It is quite clearly survival horror, and yet it is […]

Ghost Hunter

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-12-05 Regions: USA Europe Chris’s Rating: ★★★☆ A light-hearted shooter dressed up as horror that’s more fun than it should be. I expected Ghosthunter to be a pretty terrible game. The design of the main character was boring (goatees usually equate to angst and generic rage), the title seemed uninspired, and […]

Clock Tower 3

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-03-19 Regions: USA Japan Europe Chris’s Rating: ★★★☆ A solid, if simple, exercise in hide-and-seek scares and fantasy horror. Clock Tower 3 represents a departure from the Clock Tower formula. The previous three games (two on Playstation 1 and the one on SNES) all relied on point-and-click control schemes and complex […]