
Sometimes, though not often, I’m exhausted by the preponderance of violence in videogames. Fret not, I’m not about to go on some tirade about the ten billion plus war simulators available on every game playing device known to man corrupting the world’s youth, turning them into desensitized monstrosities. Hell, if you’ve ever glanced at this blog before, you’ve probably noticed that I’m something of a glutton for the ol’ ultra violence. But still, sometimes I long to turn on a game and not have to destroy, break, mangle, or kill things. Variety tends to cure these murder-doldrums, though. For example, when I look at Bayonetta, I think, “Why, sure, that precocious young woman has guns. Many guns. But killing things with hair sounds quite refreshing!” Or take the original Klonoa! Nothing says change-of-pace like using a disembodied moon prince as a projectile to inflate doofy but malicious critters until they explode. This is why I’m getting excited about Cursed Mountain.
Survival horror’s not new to Wii. In fact, Wii’s Fatal Frame 4 is another great example of alternative fighting, what with its camera based ghost-defeating. But in Cursed Mountain you humiliate ghosts with an ignoble second death through the power of Buddhist prayer. Buddhist. Prayer. That is awesome. Now, I realize that Buddhist prayer isn’t totally foreign from game violence. Sailor Mars has thrown down in a few Sailor Moon games and Pocky of Pocky & Rocky fame isn’t exactly a nun I’d want to mess with. But Cursed Mountain sounds like an all around different experience. You scale a Himalayan peak as a fella trying to find his lost brother and find a desiccated pagoda filled with angry spirits. As far as game premises go, fighting ghosts at altitude by wrenching prayer out of them and following a story steeped in Tibetan mysticism sounds downright novel.
1UP’s Torrey Walker posted a preview of the game yesterday so head on over to check it out. And treat yourself to this trailer while you’re at it.
Related links:
Resident Evil 5: Continuing on the Transformation Trail From Horror to Suspense
Question of the Day: How Do You Make a Horror Game Horrifying?
Unknowable Horrors and Spiraling Madness: H.P. Lovecraft and Videogames
Running for Your Life!
Indie Dev Moment: Virtual Silence and the Art of Discomfort