I generally associate developer Hudson Entertainment with Wii mini-game collections, Bomberman titles, and that big-eyed bee they use in their logo. So, I never expected this maker of family friendly products to brand my brain with images of creepy ghost children, things that go bump in the night, and Japanese survival horror-style scares. That’s exactly what they did, though, when a preview copy of Calling mysteriously appeared in my mailbox (Ok, I’m pretty sure the FedEx guy just put it in there.) Anyway, the cardboard sleeve containing the demo disc featured art of a terrifying little tyke and, of course, that too-happy bee ogling me from the bottom corner.
Intrigued, I popped the disc in my Wii, where nothing even remotely scary had passed through its glowing blue slot since Cursed Mountain. The demo began with one of four playable characters hanging out in what appeared to be the bedroom of a haunted house. According to the literature accompanying the game, the young man I was controlling from a first-person perspective was Shin, an anime fan and action figure collector. By pointing the Wii-mote around the dark room, I was able to move Shin around and have him investigate items. Almost immediately I had him grabbing--with the A button-- a ringing cell phone.
Although the object didn’t appear especially important at the time, Calling promises phones will play an integral role in the game. Using the Wii-mote as a cellular device is nothing new; hell, Wii launch title Red Steel had us chatting into the white wand. However, based on the game's very telling title, it seems their use will play much more than a gimmicky role in Calling‘s gameplay and narrative. With the phone in hand, I steered Shin out of the room into a typically creepy hallway. Dim lighting and a definite sense of foredooming instantly had me searching for an exit.
With the game’s eerie setting beginning to work on me, I entered a room hoping for some comfort, possibly in the form of a light switch. While I wasn’t that lucky, I did find a flashlight. With the security of a glowing cone now lighting my way, I began to search my dark surroundings with a bit more confidence and backbone. After a few minutes of trying locked doors and hitting dead ends, though, some frustration began to set in. The survival horror genre is one of my absolute favorites, but I have little patience for aimless wandering. Thankfully, my increasing aggravation was short-lived, as I stumbled across a context sensitive cue urging me to peek through a door crack.
My curious glance through this slice of light yielded a nice little adrenaline jolt as I spied what appeared to be the corpse of a woman on the floor. Things got even freakier when another look revealed a macabre line-up of doll heads (Why are beheaded dolls so damn creepy?). This freak show was followed by my first spectral encounter; as I retreated from the corpse, I was attacked by a pissed-off poltergeist, and only some rapid Wii-mote waggling would get the sucker off me. While the ghost itself wasn’t particularly horrifying, the surprise attack did give my nerves a solid stir.
Aside from more dark corridors and yet another creepy doll, the rest of my time with Calling didn’t reveal much. Based on what I played and have heard about this title, it seems my bit of ghost-busting may be indicative of the game’s limited combat. Clearly influenced by Japanese horror series such as Siren and Fatal Frame, Calling seems content with building atmosphere and foreboding, but never placing traditional weapons in players’ hands. This makes me a little skeptical. Don’t get me wrong; I love a puzzle-filled, atmospheric adventures as much as any fan of frights-over-firefights series like Silent Hill. And, even as much as I’ve enjoyed Resident Evil’s transformation to more action horror, I don’t need to blow the head off a zombie at every turn. But without traditional combat, a game’s pacing, story and puzzles need to be spot on.
Cursed Mountain and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories are two recent efforts that treaded this tricky path. And while I enjoyed both, I also found myself craving some faster paced moments where I could send some monster heads rolling with a bat or spill some demon guts with a gun. Still, Calling‘s premise shows plenty of promise. In addition to the potentially unique cell phone play, it boasts interesting story twists delivered from four different playable characters. In addition to Shin, there’s a grief-stricken widow, an investigative reporter, and a car accident victim. Even more intriguing is the cryptic Black Page, a web site that supposedly allows its visitors to communicate with the dead. An interest in the mysterious--and possibly deadly site--is seemingly the only thing the four protagonists have in common. If Calling can build on this possibly terrifying concept with proper pacing, exploration, puzzle-solving and, of course, spine-tingling frights, survival horror fans could have a new reason to soil their skivvies when the game arrives this spring.
