The horror genre of movies, as well as video games is all about the fun of scaring yourself, and that's just what players get in Ju-On: The Grudge. Based on the Japanese film "Ju-On," which was turned into the popular "The Grudge" film series in the west, Ju-On: The Grudge brings this same type of fun to the Wii gaming platform like nothing before it. The first haunted house simulator for Wii, within this fright-fest individual players, and in some cases a second player, explore terrifying game environments with only the light shining off their Wii Remote to guide them as they are compelled to move forward or fall prey themselves to a curse that lingers in the dark. Story
It is said that when a person dies with a deep and burning grudge, a curse is born. When an average housewife in Nerima, Japan, was murdered in a grisly fashion, it gave rise to a curse so powerful that it threatens to kill at a pace thought unimaginable before. The curse manifests on those who encounter the curse by any means, such as entering the house where the housewife met her violent end or being in contact with somebody who was already cursed. Once Erika Yamada is exposed to the curse while searching for her dog in an abandoned warehouse, the entire Yamada family is put in grave danger as soon as she reunites with them at home. They must now face their individual challenges alone, and only by overcoming the curse together will their family truly be free again. Gameplay
Ju-On: The Grudge is the Wii’s first "Haunted House Simulator". Controls are intuitive and accessible, contributing to an immersive, intensely terrifying experience. Using the Wii Remote as a flashlight, players move forward with the touch of a button and explore haunted areas such as an abandoned warehouse, a dimly-lit hospital, and a fashion design studio littered with mannequins. Much like a haunted house, the player must continue forward, pressed on by fear and an overwhelming urge to explore and escape.  The first haunted house simulator for Wii.
View larger. | Key Game Features - Unique Haunted House Simulator – Unlike any other product on Wii, this game foregoes slow-paced story elements to offer immediate gratification with scare after scare.
- Easy to Use Controls Allow Anyone to Play – Use the Wii Remote as a flashlight, exploring dark corners and creepy environments. Move forward and take actions with the press of a single button. It’s fun to get scared, but even more fun passing the controller to someone else and watching them jump!
- Second-Player Functionality to Satisfy the Evil in All of Us – While a friend is playing the game, grab the second controller and push any button to instantly activate terrifying on-screen events to have that player hate you forever.
- Based on the Hit Horror Movie, The Grudge – This title is based on JU-ON, the Japanese inspiration for the hit horror film, The Grudge, with the original director, Takashi Shimizu, acting as a consultant on game development.
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1st-person perspective.
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Problem solving action.
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Limited 2-player support.
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Haunted house fun.
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 Controls are terrible. |
| Review Date: January 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Lloyd Christmas, Canada |
| I spent 15 minutes trying to walk to where I want to walk, not because of the difficulty of the game, but rather the difficulty of the controls. It's horrible -- the worst controls I've ever experienced on any game from any platform. It's the most frustrating thing. I've no idea how this is actually on the market. |
Ju-On: The Grudge For Wii - Acceptable as a Party Game For Teens Or Those Who Startle Easily
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| Review Date: January 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Mark, East Coast |
JU-ON: The Grudge for Wii is definitely not the "thrill-a-minute" scare-fest that some would have you think it is. But while this is not a very good game for serious gamers, it does fill a certain niche. If you are having a party, this can be a funny way to pass an hour or two. It's not going to scare everybody in the traditional sense, but it will startle you with the ghosts jumping out at you.
THE GOAL
This game has different levels, all based on the point of view of a different member of a family. However, the object of the game is to guide yourself through each stage and figure it out. The first level is simple: your dog runs into a factory so your object is to get him back. Other levels have different settings, such as a hospital, a spooky house, and so on.
As you guide yourself with your flashlight, you have to keep finding batteries to keep your light lit. If you run out of battery power without finishing the level, you're dead meat. You also have to find keys to access different rooms. There are also a bunch of smaller random objects that play into each level.
Sometimes you will find a flashlight, but the game sees those as batteries too. It's one of the things that was definitely not as thought out as it could have been.
THE GAME PLAY
First and foremost, this game is not an open world game in the sense that most FPS games are. It is true that you get to walk around the levels to find things. However, there are predefined limits that mature and experienced gamers will notice right away. There are also no realistic physics to govern how you interact with your envinment. You don't have to worry about falling over the edge of a railing when you're up on a metal cat-walk. And if you see something on top of a pile of crates there is no way to climb and see if there is something up there.
Perhaps most frustrating is the slow pace at which you walk. No matter how hard you press the button you can't move faster. When the specters pop out to grab you, you have to shake the controller in order to start an "escape" where you finally speed up a little. But you cannot consciously speed up how fast you walk, which is annoying.
Game play is a huge weakness here for single-player mode. It's also the reason this game is more suited for kids. The slow pace and idiot-proof physics of the game add to the eeriness and make it easier for younger kids to make it through. But sooner or later everybody will notice how annoying it is that there's no way to fast-forward through going up those long stairs or walking back through that hallway again.
THE GRAPHICS AND SOUND
The graphics are average when compared to most video games. They are not bad, but they are not mind-blowing. The sparse dark visuals do help make the game a little spookier. It needs any help it can get.
If you look closely, as you explore the various levels you will see spooky evidence of the supernatural even when you don't see the ghosts. Fingerprints show up on windows and images of the ghosts are imprinted on various surfaces. Those images will disappear so you will miss them if you don't pay attention.
None of that is ground-breaking but they clearly did invest some time in the visual details of the game. If you like picking those things out it will at least help you enjoy the slower moments.
The sound is somewhat repetitive: every time you turn a knob the same sound chimes in. The sound effects associated with scares are more intricate.
THE MULTI-PLAYER MODE
While silly at times, the multi-player mode is fun for a party. The second player basically gets the ability to launch *scare* events to startle player 1. You have to press the B button in combination with one of the *panic* buttons (1, 2, +, -, A, control pad) - basically any button other than 'home.' You have to wait 15 seconds before repeating the same event. While they can be repetitive, they are also funny when well timed. It doesn't take long to memorize the *scares* in one-player mode, so the second player adds a much needed element of surprise. It won't keep you entertained indefinitely, but for an hour or two it's worth a few laughs.
THE ESRB RATING
This game's rating, M for mature, meaning 17 or older, seems overly strict. There is nothing in this game that would make me think that teenagers can't play it. Trust me, they've seen worse than this on network television. At first I made a point of trying to limit this game to the older kids in my family. Once we played it, it became obvious that most teens have played games with worse content than this. Actually, this game isn't really designed to be appealing to most people older than 17, unless they are novice gamers.
THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The product description claims that "unlike any other product on Wii, this game foregoes slow-paced story elements to offer immediate gratification with scare after scare." That's so untrue that it's laughable. There's nothing wrong with a slow pace in a role-playing game or mystery solving game, which is what this is. But they have over-sold this game, and that's why people will be disappointed.
CONCLUSION
Unless you are a die-hard fan of the original Ju-on movie or The Grudge remakes, you may want to rent this title before buying. I haven't played Silent Hill: Shattered Memories or Obscure: The Aftermath yet but I will be checking those out soon to see if they are a little scarier.
This game picks up a star because I think it's worth a few laughs for a teen's birthday party or a Halloween get-together. Just be sure to turn down the lights, and don't spoil the scares for those who haven't played it yet.
Enjoy.
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I wasn't expecting it to be good...
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| Review Date: January 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: M. Evans, Detroit MI |
| and it wasnt. The graphics are decent, but the movements are far to difficult to manage with the wii remotes, especially since you need to get places quickly before your flashlight battery runs out. Also, the second player option lets you "scare" the main player, but the these "scares" are just pop-up images that flash across the screen. This gets boring and predictable quickly. Save your money. |
Great for kids, Bad for adults.
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| Review Date: December 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: webshopper, |
| The only honest way to sum this game up honestly as an adult is that it sucks! Boring, hard to control, not the least bit scary, flashlight batteries run out too fast. If you wanna get scared buy the movies forget this game! Might be good for kids in the 9-12 age bracket but that's about it. Total waste of money! |
this game is bad
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| Review Date: December 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Phillip J. Medina, |
| just do a little research besides some of these fake posts by people trying to say its a good game, trust me its not. the wii basically has a ton a bad games and this one is the cream of the crop, makes me wonder about this person who wrote like a 4 paragraph review on this, because its a complete laugh for me to read it as they try to sell you on this game, so much so that i had to write my own review. |
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