PixlBit

Put that phone down!

As I sit once again in my comfy recliner, with a roaring fire going in my fireplace, I try to gather my thoughts in trying to speak of my number four pick for this year’s Halloween Gaming List. I’ve been playing it off and on over the course of the month yet I still can’t quite find the words to help fully articulate my thoughts on this game that sits at #4. It seemed like an interesting game to try after the research I put into it for finding this Wii game title. It even had some similarities to a previous Halloween game that’s been on my list many years back that I really enjoyed. Even now I’m still thinking about this game for hours after I’ve finished playing it. That’s either a good or bad thing depending on how you view this title. The game I speak of is of course my number 4 choice for this year’s list: Calling for the Nintendo Wii

Calling follows the similar concept that’s made itself known when it comes to the Asian horror genre. You can find the same staples to that genre from the American remakes of “The Grudge”,  “One Missed Call” and to an extend “Shutter”. Again if this is a good or bad thing depend on the player of this game. The only reason why I mention these movies is because it’s helpful to have them in mind when you try to wrap your head around the game’s plot. It has the usual staples that are associated with movies mentioned above: Phone calls from ghosts, a creepy little girl, spooky high school classrooms, creepy dolls, etc. “Calling” tries to create its own method of Asian horror with a different take on an urban legend which consists of four people visiting the internet website that is called “The Black Page”. At first the site seems unimpressive given all that’s there is a simple counter that is said to show the number of people who have died upon visiting the page. Though not made known immediately it turns out these four people came to this site for various reasons, ranging for morbid curiosity to tracking leads on a mysterious death. Eventually they all end up meeting up in a chat room on the website to speak of “The Black Page” only for their various telephone devices to ring. Upon answering them they pass out only awakening into a mysterious world that they must escape from.

The premise might sound cheesy (okay it does) but oddly this simplistic approach to the supernatural does set up well in creating the unknown atmospheres that the characters you play as must explore in order to escape. So what makes this game a good choice? Despite the silly set up the game plays much like “Slender” in most regards. You have to control your character in a first person view while you use the Wiimote as your flashlight and use the Nunchuk controller to guide your character in the direction you’re looking.  From there you have to explore the area that you’re in to find the exit. Along the way you have to look for items to progress further in the game as well as avoiding supernatural terrors that appear at random. During the moments that are scripted you’ll be forced to actually confront certain ghosts if only to find out why the ghosts are there in the first place. As a first person survival horror title this concept is interesting. “Slender” had you trying to avoid the Slender man as you searched for 8 pieces of paper in an large environment. A sound concept for a survival horror game and in the case of “Calling”, those ideas carry over well along with adding more of a plot as to why you want to help these people out of the predicament they are in.

 

The game is able to set the mood perfectly if you’re in the mindset to wander around in dark, enclosed spaces. The darkened areas do indeed look dark enough that it makes you think twice about venturing forward until you’re able to find a flashlight to use. The game really does drop you into the character’s scenarios much like how you’d feel if you suddenly woke up in an unfamiliar location and had to stumble about just to find your bearings. But the best part about this game for me was the ingenious way the game uses your wiimote as a cellphone during certain segments of the game. Occasionally as you’re exploring, your wiimote will make a cellphone ringing noise from it’s built in speaker, prompting you to answer it. When you do you’ll get a ghost-like voice answering you with either helpful hints on where you need to go or taunts of your eventual doom. It helps to add a hint of realism to the game as you also use your phone to take pictures to later send to the Wii’s photo posting board and possibly use it to call numbers you might find in game.

During the entire time the game can keep you own your toes with occasional scares that you might not expect. Yes this game is jump scare heavy and played best at night. There are moments when you’re walking in a quiet room or hallway and you’ll get a flash of a ghostly image on screen. Other times during load screens you might see a ghostly face among the swirling clouds. It even adds a little psychological when it throws out an unexpected bump or noise in the distance. Throughout this game I kept getting the feeling that I usually feel during certain events in my life when I happen to be somewhere in the dark using a mere flashlight to help me get to one place or another. That fact alone was enough for me to enjoy this title this Octoberween.Plus it is creepy that the game will send you a photo picture directly to your Wii's mailing system to show you what fate your character has after beating their chapter.

 

Though it is number 4 on my list it can’t be left unsaid that this game may not be for everybody. Much “Ju-On: Haunted House Simulator” a few years back this is the kind of game you have to have the mindset to play. If you’re not one for Asian horror movies (either the original or the American remakes) this game might not do much for you.  And even then if you are you have to get over several minor issues with this game if you want to enjoy it. For starters even though the game starts you out on the first level that is small, the game does have bigger levels making it easy for you to get lost. You’ll be constantly checking your map to get your bearings. And even if you do you’ll find yourself doing A LOT of exploring until you find either the item you need to progress in the game or the triggering event that moves the plot forward. To its benefit the game does give you full reign to explore all that you can but if you don’t follow the path you’re supposed to go, you’ll find yourself getting bored quick as you enter the same rooms with nothing happening in them or to you.

What also hurts this game is the controls. The Wiimote is very floaty to the point where if you even move the Wiimote a little in either direction, it’ll cross the entire length of the screen. This game would’ve worked better if it was on the PC if only to use the mouse or if this game used the Wiimotion Sensor Plus for 1 to 1 movements. You also have to focus on an interactive item you want to interact with and use wiimote gestures to open/close doors, drawers which can get old real fast when you search an entire desk only to find nothing. And given that you can only move forward in the direction you are looking I almost got motion sickness just trying to keep myself walking straight. Along with loading screens that happen constantly whenever you either visit a new area or have a new triggering event can really drag out the whole experience. But the oddest part of all about this game is that despite the ghost encounters you really have nothing to fear when they attack you. During the times I’ve played the game they’ve been more of a nuisance than general threat. Sure they freak you out but they don’t seem to offer you much damage to your heath or sanity. During my playthroughs I’ve yet to die from a ghost encounter. Hopefully this will change in later levels.

Despite this game’s flaws I still found this game to be a fitting number 4 pick for this year’s Halloween Gaming List. I’m really into Asian horror if you haven’t guessed and I did enjoy “Ju-On: Haunted House Simulator” back in the day. It’s easy enough to pick up and play thru a scenario on a dark night while not wearing out its welcome with its cliché plot and occasional hang ups. You might have a hard time finding this game at a decent price though. When I searched for it the cost ranged between anywhere from $20 to $60!!! I was lucky enough to find this copy at a gamestop for $20 used, case only, so it’s not impossible to find it somewhere at a decent price. Like I said though if you’re not one for Asian horror, don’t have the mindset to play this game or get motion sickness easily then this might not be the game for you. But if you want to try something different with First Person Survival Horror you can’t do any worse with Calling. I know this game gets a bad rap yet despite knowing this I still enjoyed playing it. “Calling” might get old if you try to play it in one sitting, yet I still find myself answering the call this year for an occasional evening thrill. .

My Top 11 Halloween Games for 2013

#11) Resistance Retribution – PSP: $8 used.

#10) The X-Files Video Game – PSOne: $10 used.

#09) Corpse Killer – Sega CD 32X: $14 used.

#08) Doom 64 – Nintendo 64: $14 used.

#07) Castlevania Judgment – Nintendo Wii: $5 used.

#06) The Last of Us Folklore – PS3: $20 used.

#05) Resident Evil 2 – Nintendo 64: $14 used.

#04) Calling – Nintendo Wii: $20 used.