3. Which pants-wettingly scary Japanese series gives players the Camera Obscura, capable of trapping the spirits of ghosts who lurk inside old, abandoned buildings?
From Quiz You Do It, Because I Won't
Answer:
'Fatal Frame'/'Project Zero'
If there's one game that you should never play alone and at night and in the pitch black, then it's a 'Fatal Frame'/'Project Zero' game. It's got all the things that I do not look for when it comes to enjoyable gaming: creepy atmosphere (check!), haunted buildings (check!), ghosts, spectres and the dead (check, check, check!). Say what you like about the Japanese, when it comes to video games, they definitely know how to make you wet your trousers in fright.
In much the same way that 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' robs you of all traditional weapons and defences, the 'Fatal Frame'/'Project Zero' series simply gives you a torch and a special camera, shoves you into a derelict building and runs away before the spookiness starts. This Camera Obscura, as it is referred to in each game, allows you to capture the essence of a ghost in the camera's film, thereby "defeating" it. But, surprise surprise, it's not as simple as just pointing the camera in the vague direction of the ghost and taking a snapshot. Oh no. First, you have to charge up the camera by keeping the ghost in the camera's frame until it gains enough power. Yes, that's right, you have to stand and look at an oncoming ghost as it screams or does whatever it is they do. If, by now, you haven't paused the game, switched all the lights on in the neighbourhood and telephoned a psychiatrist to make an appointment, you can let off a camera shot at the ghost. But this doesn't guarantee the ghost is defeated. No sir. It may take a couple of shots to do the trick, but the camera needs to "reload" between shots, taking up even more of your precious time. Taking a picture at just the right moment can set up a chain, whereby the need to reload the camera after each shot is removed and you can fire off shots in quick succession, provided you don't muck up the chain by shooting too early or too late, or the ghost disappears from your camera's frame, which would be very likely if it were me playing, shaking with fear.
To be fair, not every game in the series takes place in an eerie edifice. 'Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly'/'Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly' is set amongst a village and its nearby forest. Whatever the case may be, the series is considered to be one of the scariest in modern gaming. For the survival horror connoisseur, it's a veritable smorgasbord of fear and fright. For a weedy wimp of a person like me, it's probably best just to play something else, really.