Cursed Mountain Review for Nintendo Wii

System: Wii	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Deep Silver	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Deep Silver	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Aug. 25, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Mature	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Cursed Mountain looks quite good on the Wii. There are not a lot of humans (at least the friendly, living kind) to interact with, as you'll mainly be trudging at a slow and steady pace through all manner of spooky settings along the mountainside. The terrain and locales you'll pass through during your ascent progress naturally and have a consistent flow in their design. The smoky, dark aesthetic is gloomy, dismal, and perfectly suited to foster some scare tactics. There are moments where you'll likely jump in your seat, though the creepiness and shock of those initial ghostly encounters dulls some after the umpteenth time you've wrestled with them.

Cursed Mountain screenshot

It's always fun when spectral hands reach out at you from a wall or the camera changes to the perspective of something particularly evil stalking you from the distance. They're common horror movie tactics that work well in the game. Menacing background audio combines nicely with the overall art direction to form a thick atmosphere that feels fresh and very haunting. A mountaintop may seem like an unusual setting for a horror game, yet this is exactly why it works so well.

When you're not fighting off evil spirits, the rest of your time is spent exploring. You'll often stumble across journal entries and other documents left behind that shine some light on why your brother was one the mountain in the first place and what happened to some of the other residents in the area. In some cases you'll have to hunt around for specific items or accomplish set tasks to unlock the path ahead. The pacing is too slow at times, though the mystique and sinister nature of the journey does do a good job at drawing you further up the mountain and deeper into the plot.

As far as survival-horror games go, Cursed Mountain gets a lot of things right and manages to stay afloat through its unconventional setting, intriguing story, and well-designed atmosphere. The harsh environment and the desolate landscape evoke feelings of isolation and till the soil for some solid thrills and chills to grow. Minor control issues and occasional sluggishness in the game's momentum crop up but don't damper the overall spirit. This ghost story is worth paying some attention to.

By Nathan Meunier
CCC Staff Contributor

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.2

Graphics
The thick, oppressive atmosphere simply exudes creepiness.

3.4

Control
Sluggish and awkward at times.

4.0

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The spooky audio enhances the game's eerie vibe.

3.9

Play Value
Slow and steady exploration will keep you on the edge of your seat and progressing upward for some time.

3.9

Overall Rating - Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

One of the first survival/horror games designed specifically for the Wii, Cursed Mountain creates a terrifying setting in a stylized, atmospheric manner.

As players ascend the mountain, they will clearly see the summit in the distance, a looming reminder of their final destination, and they can also look behind to see how far they've gone.

Designed to mimic the physical aspects of sacred prayer rituals, mantras, and gestures of Buddhism, combat is comprised of gestures that release the spirits from the curse.

As players climb higher, the mountain itself becomes an enemy. Prone to the travails of altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation, players may not be able to tell the difference between real enemies and hallucinated ones.