Here are my impressions after roughly an hour of gameplay. Keep in mind that I\'m more of a casual gamer who has only played a handful of games on the PS2 so far. I wish I could have played longer, but I had to go to a Pampered Chef party. It\'s not so easy being a female gamer.
You start by selecting an action (monster) difficulty level, and a puzzle difficulty level. I set both on Normal. The first sequence is meant to impress. James talks for a few minutes, then looks silently into a mirror, and appears to be preparing to say something else. After waiting for 30 seconds or so, I realized I had control of the character. The graphics are great! James looks a little washed out, but I guess that\'s understandable, considering the circumstances.
Fog: The fog effects are unlike anything I\'ve seen in a videogame so far. It actually moves as if there\'s a slight breeze. It\'s not flawless, though. Sometimes it looks like the camera\'s dirty, and occasionally the fog will pop up, a la Crazy Taxi.
Controls: The controls are very easy to learn, the setup is very similar to the first SH. Up is always forward, down is always backwards, etc. I had been playing MGS for the past several days, so it took a wee (and I do mean wee) bit of getting used to. (Unlike Oni, who looked like an anorexic having a conniption fit every time I tried to shoot or run from an enemy - that game is no longer part of my collection.)
Save Points: You have to find an actual save point, as expected, but the way it\'s executed is kinda original, and it doesn\'t take more than a few seconds.
Monsters and Weaponry (after one hour): I only have the plank with nails so far, and I\'ve only come across one kind of monster. They\'re not so easy to kill, and I\'ve found that avoiding them is probably best. Plus, James takes quite a bit of damage if you get vomited on, and the health drinks hardly make a dent. James leaves bloody footprints if you happen to step through the blood of a monster carcass.
Sound: Ooooh, the sound is great (even w/o 5.1)! They managed to make the static on the radio even creepier than before. The music is appropriately chilling. The creature sounds make me want to cover my eyes until they finally reveal their wobbling bodies through the fog. There is a ****roach (which I don\'t consider a monster), that sounds like a wind-up toy.
Gameplay: The gameplay has been pretty easy SO FAR. Invisible boundaries keep you on your path. There aren\'t many doors to open, and I haven\'t come across any puzzles yet. This game is REALLY creepy. There have already been a few times that I\'ve jumped from being startled, and during my last 30 minutes of gameplay, I was on the edge of my seat.
I\'m having a LOT of fun so far, and I can\'t wait to get home and keep playing!!
