Last week Daan gave an in-depth preview for the upcoming European version of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, known on that side of the pond as Project Zero. Much of what was discussed in his recount of the first few chapters of the game rings true with my opinions so far, so for a more detailed analysis go check it out. I'm going to instead focus on the differences between this game and its predecessors, from the perspective of someone who loves this series more than a guy should love a videogame.

For those new to the table, here's a quick run-down of Fatal Frame series staples: Your character, usually an attractive high school girl, finds themselves in a creepy, abandoned Japanese location teeming with ghosts. Some ghosts are mere flashes of hauntings showing a person as they were at the moment they died, and some are innocent and helpful, pointing wayward travelers towards important items or warning them of danger. Many, however, are bitter, malevolent spirits that were killed in some horrible disaster or ritual, and want nothing more than to rip your soul out. Your only defense is the Camera Obscura, an antique camera that can see the unseen and deal damage to things from the Netherworld. As you explore, your camera absorbs Spirit Points from the ghosts you snap, allowing you to level up your equipment and abilities. Along the way you learn of the location's gruesome history while trying to complete your “ghost list”, a chart of all the supernatural entities in the game. You'll occasionally have encounters with one big, bad, invulnerable boss ghost that's usually at the center of the whole ordeal and you’ll have to run for your life until the big showdown at the end.

The religious belief that a camera can steal your soul is one of the most culturally widespread of superstitions. Twisting this idea into using a camera to fend off vengeful ghosts was a stroke of genius, and a concept that isn't explored in survival horror to such an intricate perfection as it is in this series.

In the fifth entry in the series, the story focuses on the connecting journeys of three separate characters, Yuri, Miu and Ren – apparently Camera Obscuras are mass-produced these days – and each of the playable heroes have their own motivations for visiting the harrowing abandoned resort on Mt. Hikami, based loosely on the suicide forests of Aokigahara in Japan. A local legend tells that those who witness the sun setting behind the mountain are inflicted with an uncontrollable compulsion to enter the forest and commit suicide, and it appears that there may be some truth to the legend as your characters are swept up in the macabre mystery of a dark and horrible past.

There are no save points like in previous games, rather the game autosaves at checkpoints throughout each chapter. These chapters seem a little more streamlined and linear compared to the earlier Fatal Frame titles as well, as the story swaps back and forth between the playable cast. Don't worry though, there's still plenty of backtracking to previous areas and the chapter levels are quite large, allowing for some leeway of exploration and discovery, especially after the initial four or so levels. Instead of having to reach a lantern to keep one of your photos, you can simply open up your film roll and move it into your permanent gallery at any time.

The three characters have varying degrees of psychic powers, which throws a few interesting new elements into the traditional Fatal Frame mix. You have the power to follow Traces, residual hauntings that can show you the path that living people once took, leading to items and progression through the level. Using it too often is dangerous though, as it attracts more ghosts to your vicinity. You also have the ability to touch a defeated spirit before it dissipates for a Fatal Glance, usually a playback of a scene from that character's final moments or a flashback to a strong memory in their past.

Given that the game revolves around the theme of water and drowning, the ghosts of Mt. Hikami have a special connection with all forms of water. Your character has a “wetness” gauge that fills up when coming in contact with bodies of water, rain or attacks from watery spirits. The wetter your character becomes, the more damage they'll take and the more ghosts will appear to attack. Becoming completely drenched can quickly turn a grim situation into a dire emergency. Some ghosts can even corrupt you with Dark Water, which will stick to your body and continually sap your health until you manage to either escape to a dry place and heal up with items, or defeat all the ghosts in the immediate area.

As with the two previous games on the Wii, the motion controls have a noticeable learning curve. Tilting the GamePad like a camera can be a little twitchy and inaccurate, but it's important to note that these controls work better as an enhancement rather than a core control scheme. To explain it better, it's often best to use a combination of motion controls to aim in the ghosts' general directions, and then use the lock-on and right analogue stick to fine tune your aim. Twisting the camera allows you to take tilted shots or full-body portraits, which rewards added points and damage for creativity. It doesn't take long to get the hang of the motion, and after a few chapters it's almost second nature. Purists can of course choose to turn off the motion entirely and play with a classic analogue control scheme like in the PS2 era.

One of the biggest praises I can sing to the game so far is the inclusion of an option for Japanese dialogue, something that was sorely missing from the Wii port of Project Zero 2. There is an English dub that gets the job done, but it just feels more natural to have Japanese people in a Japanese setting, with Japanese signage all over the place to speak, well, Japanese. The subtitle option appears to be a direct transcript of the English dub and thus isn't completely accurate at times, but it's a trifling cost to pay for the huge gain of having a language option in the first place.

The trial version of the game contains the prologue, the entire first chapter and most of the second chapter, culminating in a clash against the game's first boss, the spirit of Fuyuhi Himino, who you had been escorting through the level before before she had an unfortunate parting with her jugular vein. Upon reaching the end of the trial version, you're treated to a trailer video advertising the remainder of the game, and if you purchase the whole thing your progress in the demo will transfer into the full game. Unfortunately the saved checkpoint in the trial is right before the boss fight, meaning you need to battle with Fuyuhi again to complete chapter two. It's a cool fight and a scary ghost, however, so it's not too much of a loss to experience it over again.

So far the game is shaping up to be a lot of fun, and a triumphant return of the series to North American fans who missed out on the last two games. Be sure to keep a look out for our full review of Fatal Frame V, coming soon!