Ascending a damned peak in the Himalayas may not be at the top of anyone’s To Do list, but sometimes your crazy younger brother manages to piss off an ancient goddess, and you have to go and try to save him. Such is the burden of one Frank Simmons, the main character of Deep Silver’s latest Wii title, “Cursed Mountain,” as he is tasked with climbing the fictional Himalayan peak Chomolonzo in search of his missing treasure hunter brother, Eric. As you may imagine, it’s not a smooth ride to the top, but for all its bumps, it’s a game unlike anything else on the Wii.
The Basics
Set in the late 1980s (a.k.a. the land before technology), Frank Simmons has set out in search of his little bro that was last seen heading up the once peaceful Chomolonzo, for an unknown reason. Right about the time that Eric disappeared, the ghosts showed up, and either scared off or killed most of the mountain’s inhabitants. Needless to say, the spirits aren’t a friendly bunch, and will do their best to keep Frank from reaching the peak.
As Frank makes his way upward, he'll interact with the few NPCs that are still left alive, some of which help him, and some of which do not. His journey takes him from mountainsides to Tibetan monasteries, and through abandoned villages, all of which are recreated as accurately as possible to represent their Himalayan setting. All the while, he only has one tool to help him along his way, an ice pick that serves as a melee weapon. Fortunately, it also doubles as a spiritual blaster of sorts, which allows Frank to attack, purify, and free the attacking ghosts that are trapped in a purgatory of sorts called Bardo.
The Highs
Story – The plot is well thought-out, and grips you right from the beginning, as you start you ascent up the mountain. While Frank’s journey may be less interesting than discovering what Eric did to get everyone in this mess, one balances out the other, and gives you reason to want to find out what happened next.
Weapon Development – An ice pick is just an ice pick, unless it allows you to shoot energy balls at spirits that aren’t even in your plane of existence. Frank's only weapon isn’t as interesting as the holy attachments that help improve your attacks on the game’s ghosts, who start off as slow moving figments, but eventually become more aggressive and powerful with a variety of attacks. As the game progresses you get to upgrade your ice pick’s spiritual attack capabilities four times, which contributes to the game’s use of minimalism as a tool to keep you focused on the story.
Setting – Sure, survival horror games have been set on spooky mountains or snowy towns in the past, but “Cursed Mountain” goes the extra mile to pull a lot of inspiration from Budhist and Tibetan mythology. Deep Silver created an atmosphere that many gamers in the western world may not be familiar with, and then emphasized it with well timed camera angle changes mixed with sudden cuts of horrific ghosts. The combination of which helped give the game an unexpected and eerie cinematic quality.
The Lows
Speed – It’s not traditional for survival horror games to be very fast, but that doesn’t mean that they need to be painfully slow. Don’t get me wrong, the pacing of the game's difficulty and story are on point, but Frank moves like he’s got ten pounds of rubble in his hiking boots. Running around at 18000 plus feet might be a horrible idea, but your brother’s life is at stake; pick up the pace a little bit.
Motion Controls – Deep Silver had the right idea keeping the Wii waggle to a minimum in “Cursed Mountain” only really breaking it out for the battle sequences; however, you really start to dread those sequences. In order to attack, you first have to hold “C,” which switches Frank into “Third Eye” mode where he can target the ghosts with a pointer. You then fire at them, hoping that the hit detection is on your side, or else things can take a turn very quickly. Then, after you’ve worn down your attackers enough, you have the option to “purify” them, which means you have to perform a series of motion-based quicktime events in order to free them from Bardo (the added benefit of purification is that it restores some of your life). While that may sounds all well and good, the switch to “Third Eye” mode renders Frank motionless except for his targeting, making him a sitting duck for any of the ghosts that are attacking him. This becomes a painfully frustrating problem when you’re battling multiple ghosts at once, and Frank ends up not being the only one that dies a little during each battle.
Fetch Puzzles – Frank’s speed combined with the game’s tendency to make you backtrack, a lot, result in a lot of puzzles that become challenging, and not in the way they were intended to be.
Final Word
“Cursed Mountain” is one of the very few survival horror games currently on the market for the Wii, and that’s going to work in the game’s favor. Overall, it is an enjoyable experience, with a creative story, in an interesting setting. As long as you can move past the quirky control it’s a great way for Wii owners who like a little fright in their games to pass the time until “Silent Hill” and “Ju-On” drop later this year.
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