Written By Predat0r & Wrecker
The Wii doesn’t have many game titles that would fit into the “Buddhist Survival Horror Adventure” category, but the Austrian team of Deep Silver and Sproing Interactive Media adds to this list with Cursed Mountain which has been developed exclusively for the Wii.
Cursed Mountain is the story of climber Eric Simmons and his quest to find his lost brother Frank who has disappeared while searching for an artefact on the Himalayan Mountain “Chomolonzo”. Eric discovers that his brother has been trapped by a curse placed on the mountain by an angry goddess and ventures up the mountain to rescue him.
The game is set in the 1980’s which helps to explain why Frank didn’t just use his iPhone to send Eric his GPS location. This enables this adventure to take some time, the old fashioned way, allowing Eric to explore the mountain and solve the mystery.
The atmosphere and tone of the game is immediately apparent from the title screen. The nasty dried up face with fangs and ghostly chanting of monks mean that this Wii game isn’t for the kids. To kick the game off, players actually start by briefly re-enacting Frank’s disappearance on the mountain before Eric’s central story arc begins. It is small touches like this that show that a lot of work has gone into the overall feel of the game.
The gameplay does take a while to gather pace and if you want to jump into some immediate action you are going to have to wait, as Cursed Mountain is geared toward the ‘adventure’ gamers. Players guide Eric around the base of the mountain, gathering clues from journals, climbing logs and other items which are scattered around the deserted buildings and temples.
Eric moves rather slowly and even when using ‘z’ to ‘sprint’ he only manages a brisk jog at best. For an experienced climber he is also a little limited in his skills about town and for those who have played Assassins Creed, some of the villages in Cursed Mountain are just crying out for Eric to scale and survey. This can become a little frustrating (for the more action oriented), particularly as there is no jump button to leap over small obstacles to access the goal on the other side and climbing a ladder is achieved via a short cut-scene. Patience is definitely required. But these small gripes are consistent with other games which fit loosely in this category – such as Resident Evil 4.
As Eric begins to ascend “Comolonzo”, navigating crevices, deserted Sherpa villages and pick-axing up icy walls, it is obvious that the mountain isn’t totally deserted and as the flashes of spirits and ghosts become more frequent an encounter is imminent. The initial combat is simple with Eric swinging his axe at enemies using the ‘b’ button. As the game progresses, players gain other weapons and a ‘third eye’ which by holding down ‘c’ enters a mode in which foes can be targeted with the pointer and shot (or grabbed) with a blast of Buddhist energy. These combat mechanics do let the game down a bit as although they are well designed, the motion controls required to execute some of them are often a little sluggish and unresponsive.
The game features an inventory which can be used to keep track of the journals, climbing logs and other items collected along the way. Eric can also collect Buddhist incense sticks from barrels and boxes (as well as from killing enemies) which can be used to replenish his health meter at the little shrines and alters scattered around the levels. An onscreen map is omitted from the game, and would have helped to avoid time-wasting backtracking after becoming disoriented.
The environment itself is reasonably interactive, but still tends to be a limited. For example you can smash pots and boxes, but not the stain glass windows which are right next to them. There also tends to be a lot of doors which cannot be opened which makes things a little frustrating when trying to find the ones that are accessible. In addition it would have been nice to see Eric placed in more danger in the open environments such as being able to fall off the cliffs or into the river.
The gameplay as a whole is a mixed bag. Some of the story elements are completed in a rather linear fashion which does get a bit repetitive, while in others, play is more interesting and ‘open’ with the ‘third eye’ mode forcing players to search around for entrances marked by secret symbols, which are then activated with Wii Remote gestures much like those from games like ‘Okami’.
The graphical elements of Cursed Mountain are quite well implemented and begin with cut-scenes (peppered with flashes of gruesome images) which provide a creepy insight into the back story. The horror images are also flashed during gameplay and in a similar fashion to other horror games like ‘F.E.A.R.’, spirits will glide around Eric only to disappear around corners.
The design of the spirits and other enemies is quite detailed, but when battling them, the combat collision detection is sometimes a little off and Eric often has to complete the animation of his swing before you can move out of the way. The animation also tends to skip a little as Eric is climbing stairs or other similar obstacles.
Although Cursed Mountain is set in very bleak surroundings, the colour palate and textures are perhaps also a little too dull and are awash with brown, grey and pale yellow. The towns and temples are of course intended to be lifeless, and once an area is cleared of ‘evil spirits’ then this dark cloud is lifted and the visuals do brighten up. Although it is clear that “none of the Sherpa’s set foot at the mountain they call the sacred one”, it would have been nice to have had a few more characters inhabiting the environment.
Particle effects look quite good including the snow blizzard and the swirling dust and dirt blown around when ghosts appear. The shadows and fast moving sky add to the creepiness of the game and the reasonable draw distance is used to great effect to give glimpses of events happening further up the mountain. In addition to this, the game camera will sometimes swing around to focus on these events, such as beams of light in the distance, as Eric walks around a village in the foreground. The camera is also used in other creative ways such as to indicate danger by tilting off camber and fading to grey when enemies are near.
The use of sound in Cursed Mountain is an integral part of really bringing the game to life. The wind is ever-present in the outdoor environments, while indoors there is spooky chanting and elusive shuffling spirits. There is some stand out voice acting from the actor playing Eric, whose raspy Scottish voice is laden with desperation, but some of the Monks sounds muffled and can be difficult to understand.
The game also features innovative use of the Wii Remote speaker and in the initial cut-scenes Frank communicates with the static and voices squawking from the Wii Remote, while in later levels information is provided to players from the speaker over howling winds.
The general sound effects while walking around are not that spectacular, but throw in the occasional whispering monks, a few well timed screams and some ambient music, which is both suspenseful and creepy, and the audio packs a bit more of a punch.
The Final Verdict
Cursed Mountain is a breath of (icy) fresh air and provides the Wii with a decent and quite unique horror adventure. The pace and action is somewhat slow and at times linear, but the game draws you in and compels you to unravel Frank and Eric’s tale.
While the exploration and relic hunting are not in the same action orientated style as Tomb Raider or Assassin’s Creed, players who prefer to be immersed in an adventure will enjoy searching the towns and sifting through evidence of Frank’s disappearance.
There is a still a reasonable amount of action to be had which involves some good ideas for the motion controls, although not always executed properly. The game itself is not terribly difficult, and if you persist through the rather slow-paced levels at the beginning you will be rewarded with some interesting twists towards the end.
A lot of thought has gone into the development of Cursed Mountain and for the most part it does show, particularly the attention to detail in the back story and religious references. The atmosphere and environments are very well implemented through the somewhat sombre graphics and the creative use of sound. Cursed Mountain is a recommended title, but only really for single player adventurers.
Gameplay
6.0/10
Unique and atmospheric, but slow-paced, with occasional sluggish controls.
Graphics
7.5/10
Some good effects, cut-scenes and scenery but not outstanding.
Sound
8.0/10
Excellent use of sound, particularly in ambient effects and in using the Wii remote as a radio.
Value
6.5/10
A good offering for adventurers, but with no multiplayer there is little re-play value once the single player quest is completed.
Overall
7.0/10