Announced at a time when the Wii seemed starved of "mature" titles, it was great to see developers Sproing and Publishers Deep Sliver not only attempt to make something for the "hardcore" audience but also try something new and actually make an effort push the Wii in the graphics department. And so they came up with Cursed Mountain a survival-horror game based in the unique setting of the Himalayan Mountains. However return to the present when the game is finally released and we now find ourselves with a growing choice of survival-horror or horror based games on the horizon of the Wii's release schedule. With games from already established franchises such as Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories promising to make players hair stand on end does the new IP of Cursed Mountain have enough to convince players to try something new?

Set in the 1980's on a mountain called "Chomolonzo" which is in fact a real mountain in the Himalayas (however other locales such as cities, towns etc in the game are fictitious) you play the role of seasoned mountain climber Eric Simmons who is in search of his brother, Frank, who has gone missing during a climbing expedition near the summit of Chomolonzo while in search of an ancient Buddhist artefact, known as a "terma". But as you might expect there is more to it than just a game of search and rescue as you quickly find out that all is not well on the mountain and the ghosts of those stuck in the Bardo (limbo) have developed a disliking to those still in the living world. The locals have all fled, some have joined the ghosts and you're left all on your lonesome.

It turns out Chomolonzo is more than just a mountain to the local people it is considered the sacred place of a Goddess (or the Goddess herself). With all that is happening it would appear someone or something has upset this Goddess. As the game progresses you slowly learn more about what happened to both the mountain and your brother; from the few characters you will come across and the numerous notes and diary pages (think "files" from Resident Evil) that are to be found throughout. Cut scenes are shown using semi-static artwork which at first gives the impression the developers were trying to cut corners (which may be the case). But you quickly find them helping to add to the atmosphere of the game as the images flash by, almost erratic in a way that might still leave you a bit confused as to what happened in some but so is your character and thus the game will have succeeded in taking you the player into your characters shoes. The additions of information on Buddhist beliefs and rituals is the icing on the cake that draws the player further into the story and up the mountain as you try to learn more, find your brother and also to summit the mountain yourself.

From the get go the game creates a great atmosphere to unnerve the player as you begin to explore the deserted city of Lhando. Even though it is day time and the sun is bright there is a general uneasy feeling as you make your way through the ominously empty streets until you have you first ghostly encounter. A smoky-shadowy figure walking round a distant corner, you follow preparing yourself for an attack as you get closer, the colours begin to fade to a greyscale and you start to hear strange sounds. Only to exit the alley and things return to normal. It's this unpredictability of being unsure when the enemy will attack that works really well and helps make Cursed Mountain stand out that bit more.

Whereas in other games you are dealing with zombies or some sort of creature you can usually tell when their near, either by visual or aural reference. But here you are dealing with ghosts, you might think you hear them nearby but nothing happens; you might think you're safe when suddenly one appears right in front of you with no warning. Unlike the standard survival-horror affair you're not going to have any kind of conventional firearms to help you out. What you do have is a blessed ice-axe that you find early in the game. You can swing it with a press of B to hit ghosts if they get too close. Later in the 1st level you will find an upgrade for it that will allow you to fire spiritual energy to fend off the spectral attackers. You do this by using your "third-eye", basically hold C and Eric holds the axe ready to direct/fire its magic (similar to readying Leon's gun in Resident Evil 4). You can move the camera with the analogue stick on the nunchuck and aim with the pointer of the wiimote. When a ghost is sufficiently weakened you will see a symbol appear on it, target this and press A and you will perform a "compassion ritual" by following on screen prompts for how to swing/move your wiimote or nunchuck to make Eric move his arms/hands accordingly to perform the ritual and banish the ghost. The number of prompts depends on the strength of the ghost and as far as motion recognition goes it actually does work so long as you have the right technique. Any sideways motion should not provide any issues but at the beginning I found great difficulty with the prompts that required you to push the controller towards the screen. At first I cursed the developers for not getting motion control right, until I realised I was doing it wrong. If you continue to hold the wiimote/nunchuck horizontal and push forward the motion will likely not be recognised because you are actually meant hold them vertical pointing upwards then push forward. Doing it this way it will be recognised every time. I have not had an issue with the motion recognition since.

At the beginning the ghosts are easy enough to deal with as you only encounter one at a time but it iswhen they start to attack in packs that you have to keep your wits about. They also move fairly fast (faster than your average zombie anyway) and also have the ability to teleport to vanish and appear behind you in an instant. Also regular survival-horror fans who might be used to the tactics of putting a table or wall between you and enemies will find that useless here as the ghosts will walk through any obstacle you try to hide behind.

Controlling Eric's movement is again reminiscent of controlling Leon in RE4, with the camera following him in a similar style, as you use the nunchuck stick to direct him where to go. If you want to move faster hold down Z and Eric will jog. That's right jog not run, Eric isn't quite as fast as Leon and some might think this makes the game too slow. But this isn't a game about fast paced action, as such the slower pace works in the games favour to maintain its atmosphere and tension throughout. Plus you could also argue that with the task of climbing a mountain ahead of him Eric might be conserving his energy for the long trek upward. The one problem I do have with the controls though is you cannot make Eric turn around 180 degrees quickly like you can with Leon in RE4 which can get very annoying especially if your trapped in an enclosed area fending off numerous ghosts.

Graphically I can say this is one of the Wii's better looking games as you can tell Sproing have put in a great effort to build a world full of detail not just in the immediate areas surrounding the character but further out far into the background. And I do mean far into the background. From the moment you take control of Eric you are able to look upwards and see the mountain top and as you climb higher you can look back and see where you were earlier in the game. It's a strange feeling as a gamer not just knowing from the beginning where the games end will be but being able to see it also. From time to time the camera angle will change to a fixed view point just to give you a better view of the area and provides for a few "wow" moments like on entering "Dege Gonchen Monastery" when the camera moves low to the side of Eric and follows him as he enters looking upward revealing the giant building as it comes into view. This camera change is also used sometimes for some classic horror movie style angles, placing the camera further away and having a smoky figure glide past or occasionally the camera is actually the from the view point of a ghost watching you. Eric's animations are nice and smooth and will even alter his step on steep inclines as his struggles to keep his footing.

The sound is also very good, no catchy tunes to be found but obviously in this type of game you wouldn't expect any. At the start the sound is taken up by the howling wind and the sound of your footsteps with other sounds entering with just the right timing to increase the sense of tension and uneasiness, from eerie bell chimes, muffled groans or chanting or even the echoing cries of a women from inside a locked house in a small village, which then stops when are able to open the door. Voice acting is superb through-out mostly from the main character who also does the narration through the game in the form of his "climbers log" which he records on his tape recorder between sections. He's also prone to talk to himself from time to time. Other characters while not seen or heard much do also have some good voice acting behind them which keeps the games aural standards to a good level.

While the enemies do get progressively harder the further up the mountain you climb and boss fights offer a good challenge you do still tend to feel it a bit on the easy side overall. The game would clock in at about 8 to 10 hours which is pretty good for its genre but you can't help but feel it could have lasted longer. This is because it is unfortunately a fairly linear game. On starting the game it appears to be very open as you start to explore the empty city, but you soon realise this is not the case as although there are lots of doors, the only ones that open are the ones you are meant to go through to progress. It would have been nice to have more rooms open up to allow the player to explore and give more possible scare moments. That said in late sections of the game as you begin to towards climb snow capped peak you have more opportunities to explore or choose between paths, usually these will just lead to a dead end or if you're lucky a new note item to read but it's still nice to at least have a choice rather than a lock door or blocked path.

Cursed Mountain might not be filled with action so if that's what you're looking for this is not the game for you. If however you enjoy a nice slow paced horror title with plenty of tension and a good story you would do well to pick this one up. It does have a few "jump" moments at the beginning but there's not a lot of good scare moments towards the end. It does however still maintain its unnerving tension which will keep you guessing and uneasy throughout. There is unfortunately nothing to unlock by completing the game and the only real incentive for a second playthrough being if you had not found all the dairy notes and are one of those gamers who like to find everything there is to find. However it is still a good and enjoyable game while it lasts as you push forward to summit Chomolonzo and find your brother.