Haunting Grounds (PS2)

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery than certainly the boys and girls at Capcom have plenty to be flattered about. A decade ago now Capcom launched its Playstation title ‘Resident Evil’ upon the gaming population and spawned an entirely new genre in itself; Survival Horror.

Since then countless developers have attempted to replicate what has become one of Capcom’s most lucrative franchises, only with mixed results. Even Capcom’s own attempts to expand and evolve the genre they alone created have proven mostly futile, mainly due to a few clichés that love or hate have managed to manifest themselves into a genre that despite attempts too provide gamers with a genuinely nerve jangling experience are now as predictable as they are cumbersome.

Dog’s jumping through windows, abstract puzzles, abandoned mansions, stiff and awkward control scheme’s and claustrophobia inducing environments are but a few of the genre’s staple ingredients. Attempts have been made to breathe some new life into the genre but only few have managed to make any form of break away from what is mostly another tedious stroll through zombie and monster filled pre-rendered clichés.

Resident Evil Code Veronica on Dreamcast was the first major breakthrough, introducing 3D environments, yet this didn’t provide a move away from fixed camera positions and awful load times when moving from one room to the next. Silicon Knight’s attempt, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem was a far more genuine attempt at providing something new, its sanity effects effectively transferred the on screen characters emotional state onto the players own, manipulating and distorting the player’s view of the game. Resident Evil 0 introduced a 2 player controlled experience that was essentially just another Resident Evil title with 2 times the annoyances. The only true attempt to refresh the genre came in the form of Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 4 is the one title in the Resident Evil franchise and survival horror genre that has made any truly note worthy advancement and in doing so raises the question of whether it could even be considered survival horror? Regardless of its genre Resident Evil 4 is the first title to truly take a step forward, reinventing the genre and rekindling the love of the franchise all over again.

So what does all this have to do with Haunting Grounds? A lot actually. Haunting Grounds isn’t quite the step forward Capcom made when they created Resident Evil 4; it is however a homologation of the best elements of all previous survival horror titles. That said, Haunting Grounds never removes itself far enough from previous survival horror titles that you can expect a cliché free experience; just that it’s a refinement of all previous attempts put together with just enough finesse to make you believe there’s life in this stale hardened genre yet.

Haunting Grounds introduces an all too familiar scenario: a sexy young heroine (short skirted and Hindenberg sized mammaries a given) trapped in the dungeon of a large mansion (possibly castle). Why is she (you) here? Who’s behind this? How does she (you) escape? Naturally the only way to solve these and other questions is to navigate your way through locked doors that open only from the one side, gates that cant be opened until the crate behind it has been pushed aside and the occasional abstract puzzle that would defy any real world logic. It’s worth reiterating that I had already stated this was a refinement of the genre, not a reinvention.

Player control has always been an issue with survival horror titles, Capcom’s own Resident Evil being one of the worst offenders for its clumsy and awkward system. Haunting Grounds improves upon all previous incarnations of Capcom’s survival horror titles, albeit only marginally. Where movement was once restricted to pressing up to move forward, down to back peddle and left or right to turn; players can now move in the direction allocated via the analogue control stick. The movement of the characters themselves are noticeably less stiff and awkward as previous attempts yet are still not as convincing as they could be. This is a problem long standing in all survival horror games and it’s partially due to the restrictive camera settings that again make an unwanted appearance. The backgrounds are at least 3D and allow for the camera to trail according with the on screen action but again improvements appear to be only minor as camera’s provide only fixed angles. Mercifully however there are no load times in Haunting Grounds beyond the initial load time when restarting or loading a save game, an inclusion that will excite many. This lack of load times while hugely appreciated is actually implemented not so much as to prevent player’s minds wondering off but as an integral part of the play mechanics.

There are no zombie’s to be found in Haunting Grounds, no demons and no genetically altered lab technicians; instead players deal with only one of the mansions subordinates, a creature that has more in common with the hunch back of Notre Dam than any other horror flick creation. This behemoth’s level of stupidity can only be matched by his persistence and will show up throughout the game time and time again. Being the only living obstacle you will face throughout your mansions excursion he cannot be killed, nor will you ever obtain an item capable of doing so. Avoiding this monstrosity is where the survival portions of the game come into full force; it’s also where Capcom have attempted to transfer your on screen characters fear onto you, the player. When being stalked by the mansions not so bright monstrosity your level of anxiety increases; your heart races, you can hear it thumping in your chest and your mind begins to play tricks on you till your anxiety reaches such point you begin to have a panic attack: colours bleed and fade from the screen, entire moments of time appear to disappear, you lose your sense of direction and you become so overwhelmed that the game world seemingly disintegrates into an erratic, uncontrollable mess. The effect with which this is pulled off is glorious even if it doesn’t quite have the same effect on the person at the controls as it does the on screen character. Calming again is a matter of calming down the on screen action, using some form of anti-anxiety herb or avoiding your attacker altogether. You can never do any real amount of damage to your attacker but you can at least kick them away, charge them knocking them down and running or setting ‘Hewie’ loose on him.

Hewie is your canine companion whom you meet earlier in the game. You never directly control Hewie but you are able to issue him commands and give him positive or negative feedback. Like any dog, Hewie has a mind of his own and he will often do what ever it is he wants to do short of shagging your leg. Disciplining, rewarding and talking to him are your primary means of keeping Hewie obedient. A more obedient Hewie is easier to manipulate; sending Hewie into spaces you otherwise couldn’t reach in order to retrieve items you need as well as solving other puzzles. He is for the most part of the game rather intelligent and while the idea of sending in what is a principally AI controlled character will cause alarm bells to ring in many, the AI controlling Hewie is intelligent enough not to frustrate. If Hewie is however being disobedient or seems otherwise withdrawn there’s generally a reason for that: maybe he can sense the presence of someone other than yourself in the area? Maybe he’s spotted something you haven’t or maybe he’s being annoying because you kicked him (and serves you right)?

In many ways, Haunting Grounds has more elements of ‘survival horror’ than any previous title before it. It never relies upon some sort of freak zombie that some how survives a bombardment of acid grenades, never out numbers you and never leaves you in a claustrophobic room with four mutated otters and only enough bullets for three. You survive in this game by avoiding confrontations and overcoming your characters on screen psychological torment; not by carrying the largest weapon you can find and making sure you have enough ammo to pump into it.

The release of Haunting Grounds may be that little bit too late at a time when Resident Evil 4 has opened up a new chapter in the way we play survival horror games. That said it’s certainly one of the fresher and well conceived titles of the genre. Again it succumbs too many of the faults evident through the back catalogue of survival horror titles but any avid fans of the genre should definitely give this title a look; as should those that have absolutely any interest in the genre. A solid attempt at bringing something new to the table but for some may not differentiate itself enough to warrant the full price.

Graphics: 3.5/5 – Washed out colours, aliasing and some low-res textures. Panic effects however are brilliantly handled.

Sound: 3.5/5 – Like the graphics nothing spectacular but certainly has its moment.

Gameplay: 4/5 – Solid attempt to stand out from the crowd and is well executed. Whether that’s enough to attract anyone away from RE4 long enough to care is another matter entirely.

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