Haunting Ground - The JAVE

Survival Horror/Console

May 2005 (US)
April 2005 (Japan, under the title Demento)

Third Person

"After a horrible car accident - resulting in her parents’ deaths - 18-year-old Fiona Belli wakes up in a cage in the basement of a castle. The problem is, she has no recollection of how she got there...Four people reside on the castle grounds: Debilitas, the gardener; Daniela, the chamber maid; Riccardo, an ominous hooded figure that will introduce himself as the castle keeper; and Lorenzo. Lorenzo will seem to want to help Fiona, but does he have another, not so friendly, agenda? The rest are less complex – they just want Fiona dead!

"...Haunting Ground is a 'defense' game...Only those who want something will be after Fiona...They will only appear one at a time, and they cannot be killed – at least, not in a regular way. They roam around the castle in real time, and can appear and start chasing Fiona at any time...she can defend herself, either by kicking the enemy (kicking doors in their faces works too!) or by using certain defense items she will find scattered around...The other thing Fiona can do is run and hide!

"Fiona’s primary weapon against her enemies though is Hewey...a white german shepherd who will be found by Fiona in the castle gardens early in the game. Hewey looks and acts like a real dog...He will attack and bite Fiona’s enemies...He will reach items that are beyond reach for Fiona. He will uncover hidden items by sniffing them out. And he will growl to warn Fiona when an enemy is close or when a trap lies ahead.

"When an enemy attacks her, Fiona starts to panic. As she panics more, the screen becomes grainier and gradually fades to black & white, while frames begin to skip and her heart beats faster and louder. Eventually she will reach a peak of total panic, at which point she will start to run uncontrollably, stumbling upon everything in her way and falling on the ground. The state of total panic does not last long, but if she is attacked by an enemy during that time she will fall on the ground and the next hit will be fatal.

"When it comes to puzzles, Haunting Ground was a very pleasant surprise. The overall level of the puzzles is higher than the average survival horror game...the biggest of the pleasant surprises is that each enemy eventually becomes a boss fight, which can only be beat using brains not brawl – although the enemies themselves will use plenty of the latter!

"In the visual department Haunting Ground scores pretty high. For the capabilities of the PS2, I would say Haunting Ground pushes them to their limits...On the downside, the 'usual suspect' makes its presence here as well: clipping. In some cases pretty severe, to the point where Fiona’s foot would disappear in a flight of stairs, while, if Hewey is in her way she would have no problem walking through him!

"The cut-scenes are probably among the prettiest I have ever seen in a game...One small but very important detail during cut-scenes is that they can be paused.

"Overall, Haunting Ground is like a breath of fresh air in the survival horror world...It will probably appeal to adventurers who want to try out survival horror, but not as a representative of this sub-genre, as well as survival horror fans who want something different – as long as they are equipped with a lot of patience!"

B-

box front and back (US)

FAQs - both General and Technical
Message Board
Developer Interview
Desktop Wallpaper
Videos (10 of 'em!) - WMP and Quicktime formats
Movies - click on "English" to gain access
Official Trailer 2
Another Trailer - 4.8 MB, WMP format
TGS (Tokyo Game Show) 2004 Trailer - 48.1 MB, Quicktime format, captioned in Japanese
Easter Egg
Cheats

- Compatible Peripheral Features:

Analog Control
Memory Card

DVD-ROM

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	Survival Horror/Console
	May 2005 (US) April 2005 (Japan, under the title Demento)
	Capcom Capcom
	*Third Person* "After a horrible car accident - resulting in her parents’ deaths - 18-year-old Fiona Belli wakes up in a cage in the basement of a castle. The problem is, she has no recollection of how she got there...Four people reside on the castle grounds: Debilitas, the gardener; Daniela, the chamber maid; Riccardo, an ominous hooded figure that will introduce himself as the castle keeper; and Lorenzo. Lorenzo will seem to want to help Fiona, but does he have another, not so friendly, agenda? The rest are less complex – they just want Fiona dead! "...Haunting Ground is a 'defense' game...Only those who want something will be after Fiona...They will only appear one at a time, and they cannot be killed – at least, not in a regular way. They roam around the castle in real time, and can appear and start chasing Fiona at any time...she can defend herself, either by kicking the enemy (kicking doors in their faces works too!) or by using certain defense items she will find scattered around...The other thing Fiona can do is run and hide! "Fiona’s primary weapon against her enemies though is Hewey...a white german shepherd who will be found by Fiona in the castle gardens early in the game. Hewey looks and acts like a real dog...He will attack and bite Fiona’s enemies...He will reach items that are beyond reach for Fiona. He will uncover hidden items by sniffing them out. And he will growl to warn Fiona when an enemy is close or when a trap lies ahead. "When an enemy attacks her, Fiona starts to panic. As she panics more, the screen becomes grainier and gradually fades to black & white, while frames begin to skip and her heart beats faster and louder. Eventually she will reach a peak of total panic, at which point she will start to run uncontrollably, stumbling upon everything in her way and falling on the ground. The state of total panic does not last long, but if she is attacked by an enemy during that time she will fall on the ground and the next hit will be fatal. "When it comes to puzzles, Haunting Ground was a very pleasant surprise. The overall level of the puzzles is higher than the average survival horror game...the biggest of the pleasant surprises is that each enemy eventually becomes a boss fight, which can only be beat using brains not brawl – although the enemies themselves will use plenty of the latter! "In the visual department Haunting Ground scores pretty high. For the capabilities of the PS2, I would say Haunting Ground pushes them to their limits...On the downside, the 'usual suspect' makes its presence here as well: clipping. In some cases pretty severe, to the point where Fiona’s foot would disappear in a flight of stairs, while, if Hewey is in her way she would have no problem walking through him! "The cut-scenes are probably among the prettiest I have ever seen in a game...One small but very important detail during cut-scenes is that they can be paused. "Overall, Haunting Ground is like a breath of fresh air in the survival horror world...It will probably appeal to adventurers who want to try out survival horror, but not as a representative of this sub-genre, as well as survival horror fans who want something different – as long as they are equipped with a lot of patience!" -
	B-
	box front and back (US)



	FAQs - both General and Technical Message Board Developer Interview Desktop Wallpaper Videos (10 of 'em!) - WMP and Quicktime formats Movies - click on "English" to gain access Official Trailer 2 Another Trailer - 4.8 MB, WMP format TGS (Tokyo Game Show) 2004 Trailer - 48.1 MB, Quicktime format, captioned in Japanese Easter Egg Cheats

	*- Compatible Peripheral Features:* Analog Control Memory Card
	DVD-ROM