Can you feel the... intense HORROR?

Lately, I don't have any interest game to play- either online or console, so I decided to mess up my CD album hoping that I would find a game that would interest me enough and finally I found what I have been looking for...

I still remember years back before I owned a PS2, I always urged my friend to lend me theirs so that I could play this one game without knowing the outcome I will get by playing it- Fatal Frame. So as soon I got my own console, I straightly bought all the Fatal Frame's series (there are only total of three series for the PS2 console).

Some information about the series:

Fatal Frame (2001)
After having received no news for over a week, Miku Hinasaki goes into the Himuro Mansion to look for her missing brother, Mafuyu Hinasaki. She finds no trace of her brother, except for her mother's old camera that Mafuyu brought along with him. Realizing that she is now trapped within the mansion, Miku continues searching for her brother and a way out. The game was later ported to the Xbox. The Xbox version included smoother graphics, more costumes, more ghosts and an exclusive "Fatal Mode" that can be unlocked by completing the main game.

Storyline:
"I wonder how long it's been... since my brother and I... began to see things that other people couldn't see..."
―Miku Hinasaki

Nine days have passed since Mafuyu, brother of Miku Hinasaki, had disappeared. It all began about a month ago. The media reported that the famous novelist Junsei Takamine disappeared while gathering research for an upcoming novel. Mafuyu, an aspiring journalist, suspected that something was wrong. Why would his mentor simply vanish into thin air? Mafuyu decided to conduct a private search for his friend, with the investigation eventually leading to the grounds of a secluded mansion. The Himuro Mansion stands silent and imposing deep within the forest. It's said that years ago the mansion belonged to a powerful landowner who had absolute control over the area. But now it's a shadow of its former self, dilapidated and desolate...

As Mafuyu searched the mansion, he found scraps of paper left by Junsei and his staff throughout the mansion. The writings recounted a number of ominous events that happened in the mansion's dark past. Eager to find additional clues within the mansion, Mafuyu rushed in and suddenly realized that he wasn't alone...

Miku came to the Himuro mansion in search of her missing brother. But she had no idea what she was getting into...

- Opening description from the "Fatal Frame" Manual

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (2003)
Twin sisters Mio and Mayu Amakura are visiting a childhood play spot, when Mayu follows a mysterious crimson butterfly deep into the forest. Concerned for her twin, Mio follows Mayu and the two girls are led to a lost village. When they reach the village they enter an old house, where they find the Camera Obscura. Mio must uncover the mystery behind the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual whilst chasing her sister, who is becoming increasingly possessed by the evil spirit of Sae, the last girl to be sacrificed. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003, a Director's Cut edition was later released for the Xbox in 2004. The director's cut added several updates to the gameplay, such as a first-person play mode, a survival mode, a new ending, enhanced graphics, and a greater number of alternate costumes to unlock.

Storyline:
"Didn't we always promise each other... that we would always be together?"
―Mayu Amakura (to Mio Amakura)

Mio and Mayu, twin sisters, are visiting their childhood home. This spot, a secret hideaway for the pair, is due to be swallowed up by a lake come the end of the summer. Lost in her memories, Mio finally raises her head to find that Mayu has vanished. Looking around, Mio spots her sister following a crimson butterfly deep into the forest.

Mayu flees through the forest as if being led on by the fluttering insect. As she runs, her fleeting form begins to be overlaid with that of a woman dressed in white.

Chasing after her sister, Mio suddenly finds herself alone on a foggy mountain road.

Carried on by the wind, a sad song floats towards her ears. Then, she starts to see lights through the gaps in the trees.

As though accepting their unspoken invitation, Mio follows the road of festival lights.

However, when the dense forest opens into a clearing, it is Mayu who is standing there, alone, surrounded by countless crimson butterflies,

"...Mayu?"

Responding to Mio's call, Mayu slowly turns around. The crimson butterflies dance away as one,

"The Lost...Village..."

Spreading there before the twins, crouching in fog and darkness lies a mysterious village...

The vanished village, "All God's Village."

The village is said to have once stood in the forest, deep in the mountains. This forest is soon to be lost due to the creation of a new dam.

The story goes, that on the eve of a special festival, the village suddenly vanished, leaving the forest wreathed in thick fog.

Many also say that should you happen to get lost in this forest, you will be spirited away to the lost village.

The village where the crimson butterflies dance. The village held forever in the grip of a never-ending night.

- Opening description from the "Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly" Manual.

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented (2005)
Released only for the PlayStation 2, the game follows Rei Kurosawa, a 23 year old freelance photographer. While on a freelance assignment taking pictures of a supposedly haunted mansion, the image of her deceased fiance appears in a photograph. Afterwards, Rei begins having strange recurring dreams of an old Japanese manor during a heavy snowfall and observes her fiance entering the house. She follows his figure into the house, where the dream becomes a nightmare.

Storyline:
"I heard this house was haunted...too bad it's not."
―Rei Kurosawa (to Miku Hinasaki)

"Why did I survive?"
This thought has haunted Rei ever since that day... The day she lost her fiance in a car accident - while she was at the wheel.

One day, freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa receives an assignment to shoot pictures at an old Japanese manor. Rumor has it that the manor, situated deep in the mountains and miles from anywhere, is haunted.

During her work that day, Rei sees something inexplicable: her fiance. Yuu Asou. As far as she knows, he is dead. Setting off in pursuit of her dead lover, Rei finds herself wandering deeper and deeper into the ruins of the abandoned mansion.

At the end of a crumbling passageway she turns a corner, and suddenly the scene around her changes. Snow is falling heavily, and reaching out ahead of her are rows and rows of countless gravestones. The scene bears no resemblance to the abandoned house where she has been taking pictures.

"Where am I? What is this place...?"
Afraid and confused, Rei begins her search for Yuu...

- Opening description from the "Fatal Frame III: the Tormented" Manual.

Total story background and history:
Throughout the series, references are made to Kunihiko Aso, a fictitious Japanese "Occultist" that lived during the late nineteenth century. Using western technology, he developed inventions that would allow him and others to make contact with spirits in the "other world."

His inventions include the Camera Obscura, the primary weapon used to defend against ghosts throughout the series, the spirit stone radio, introduced in Fatal Frame II as a means to listen to the thoughts and memories of spirits that had been stored in special crystals, and a projector capable of displaying ghostly images captured on film that motion picture cameras could not see.

According to Fatal Frame III, Aso's various inventions were eventually scattered about Japan and are now heavily sought after by collectors. The Camera Obscura used by Miku in the first game had once belonged to her mother, and Mio finds a different Camera Obscura while exploring the lost village, whilst the camera used in Fatal Frame III was discovered in the ruins of the Kuze Shrine by Kei Amakura.

source: wiki

So, what's basically the game all about? It's a horror game, where you have to survive against ghosts using your camera (Camera Obscura)- the only weapon you have for the game. In order to kill those ghosts, you have to take picture of them. They'll get damage whenever you take a shot. Easy? You wish it's that easy. I did mentioned that camera is the only weapon for your survival right? Well that's not all. Same like a normal camera (not the digital camera), you have to make sure that you have enough film for those shot. And you can't just simply take the shot, else you will ended up wasting those film. Why? You have to make sure that you take the shot when the ghost is REALLY near from you- in the game's term, you need to do the Fatal Frame's shot. And that ghost is not that stupid to just stand still there, doing nothing except cutely posing around and let you take the shot. It moves, and yes they will surely KILL you without any doubt if you think that its harmless. To make it more frustrating, you starts off with a limited amount of film so you have to search everywhere for it. Worst, your analog controller will starts to vibrate like crazy when there is a scene involving ghost (it'll vibrates even wildly when it comes to a story scene).

Anyway, I'm currently playing Fatal Frame III now and I will ONLY play the game during daylight. I don't even dare trying to play the game at midnight, I think I would have surely pee inside my pants or I would have died if I have a heart attack. Funny? Take a look at the cinematic movie below, and if you don't feel a thing by watching it then try beat the game- or just simply play it *evil laugh*. If you beat the game all alone, without even feeling scared... congratulations, you just overcome your own greatest FEAR. As for me, I still turns on the light (even though it's during daylight) ,struggling to finish the game, and keep wishing myself good luck!

.....

*giggles*

How To Safely Rob A Cyber Cafe.

Thank god finally it's time for me to actually writing this entry. I can't remember how many times I've been "harassed" by the customers when I was having my precious lunch awhile ago. They always come to the side of the table(my work spot i.e cashier area) when they were asking for a computer, topped up the time, or when they were going to pay for the computer usage. Why can't they just stand in front? Do I have to spoon feed everything to them? Thanks to them, I lost my appetite. Why can't I even enjoy my lunch, sigh...

To make it even worst, there's a new system for cashier. I have to count total of how many computers are currently being used every 30 minutes. The system is called Daily PC Traffic Tracking Report. Honestly, this is probably the gayest shit I've ever heard. It's definitely a joke, a nuisance, and yeah it's annoying! I was once a full time cashier at another cyber, they don't have this kind of gay system over there. Who came up with this stupid idea anyway? Can't they come up with something more useful, like how to fix the noise pollution here? How to teach retarded kids who were always running, shuffling(glam- shit poser!) inside the cyber? Or at least teach those customers the right way where the cashier area is located, instead of whistling for me from afar. For heaven sake, I only have a pair of eyes! How the heck am I suppose to know what's the number of the computer they're asking me to open?! Geez I wonder how much longer I have to bear, suffering stupid never ending issues like this.

Sometimes, the policemen will "pay a visit" at the cyber. Funny thing is, they will ask you some stupid questions like "Is there any strange event occurs here lately?" etc. Deep down inside I'll answer, "Yes, seeing you coming here and I happens to know what is exactly that you want". By asking you questions, they are actually trying to cover up their motive especially when they notice someone else is working at the counter; me. What they actually want is, some pocket money or in current term we always use now- duit kopi. Their act sometimes despise me. I'm not that really stupid to be fooled with, so I'll eventually come up with an act to piss him off. It's easy though, just act like you can't get the hint. And accompany him while he's talking about some boring issue. In short, play along! He'll leave soon enough. But there are some, in rare cases, they will stay until they get what they want. Sad, huh? Once, they came here with a patrol car. They were asking for the usual, but the other staff here refused to give it to them. He said if you guys came here for the money, straightly ask from the boss. Then they changed their mind, they asked what kind of drinks we had in the refrigerator. We had couple of choices, but the staff lied and said we only had mineral waters for now and they said it was OK. My poor friend had to write a note at the item list; 3 minerals "donated" to the cops. They kind of had simply sold their dignity for 3 bottles of mineral(?!).

It's time to starts counting the sales, which means goodbye for now. After what had happened today, I don't think I have the mood to make my entry looks like an essay anymore. Bye folks =)

Rest. Assured. You. Airhead!

Fancy headline, yeah whatever.

It stands out for RAYA, well Eid ul-Fitr just passed weeks ago. Nothing much happened during those celebration days. I still remember on the 1st of Syawal, my brother and I were on our way to the mosque for Eid prayer and by the time we reached the mosque, we realized that we were already too late. It really surprised me, since it was only around 8.30 in the morning. Last year the prayer started around 9. Thus, we took a corner right after the mosque- we decided to waste our time at the cyber. We met Mok and Pisang on our way there (don't ask me about their names, that's what we've been calling them until now), and Mok insisted all of us to hang out at the playground nearby. According to Mok, that playground had been their official hang-out-spot every 1st of Syawal . Uh that sounds really promising. Later, Jay (he's a new star in the TV3 comedy show Bang Bang Boom!) came over and we talked about how "excited" this Eid going to be. I forgot how many cigarettes we had during the conversation, but one thing for sure- we were so damn thirsty and there was no mamak stall available! Noticing how thirsty we were, not to mention our hunger over food- we decided that it was finally time to go back home. And to my amazement,Odoy passed by with his wife and he gave each of us a "duit raya" after we wished him Eid Mubarak. Whoa that was the first time I got a "duit raya" from a friend :D

At the same night, we had a barbecue session at my granny's house. It was fun since I got to meet my cousins there. We planned to do something different this year- going to the beach and have some fun. The destination was set to Teluk Senangin, somewhere around Lumut. After the session was over, I rushed out to the cyber as usual. I was so happy to see many of my friends were there. Funny thing was, we had to take turns when we were playing DotA since we had more than 10 peoples! After couple of matches, we sat outside and laughed about the funny things happened in the games. I had some tears in my eyes just by laughing. Their jokes really killed me off!

barbecue session; my cousins and their chicken wings

The next day, I woke up at 8 in the morning because we were supposed to depart at 9. To be honest, I was still sleepy at that time. I waited for my cousins to come, since we promised to meet here. God I was so starving, I don't even have the time for breakfast. They reached my house exactly at 9, and we straightly left out for our journey after that. At first, I read some comics that my cousin brought along. He only had 12 of them so it didn't take me long to finish reading it. Next, I found a book (OK I doubt I can finish reading this one since it was so thick!) about Gog and Magog (the other name for Ya'juj and Ma'juj ). I stopped reading the book halfway because some of the context kept repeating on every chapter. The book was actually nice to read, but too bad I was sleepy to fully understand what it was about.

cover from the book about Gog and Magog

We thought that we were almost reached to our destination, when we noticed that we accidentally mistook an intersection to Damar Laut. It was supposed to be Damai Laut, not Damar LOL! No wonder the road was so scary, pro drifters really going to love the deadly corners over there. It took us awhile to turn back into the right direction and once we reach the beach, I gasped by its beauty. The view was simply breath taking! And we made the wise decision to depart early because there were less people at that time. I rushed towards the white sand- oh it felt so good under my feet. The four of us (actually there was five people including me, but the other one was a girl and she didn't bring spare clothes with her) jumped into the water, the wave was quite big so we decided to swim near the shore. I don't know how long we had been floating (seriously, I'm not bluffing!) there but I stopped when I noticed that my hair already felt like a tree branch! We had trouble in changing our clothes, since there were no toilets there. Sweeeeeet! Once we finished, we hit the road looking for a place to eat. So far, the trip to Teluk Senangin was the only different thing I did this year- such a perfect getaway! The rest, bored like every year and I really don't feel like writing it. Anyway, I'm out.

upon arrival


notice that I did not jump- zero essence of youth!


took us awhile to finish the "masterpiece", should have been more artistic there


goodbye Teluk Senangin!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin =)




p/s: Sorry if the blog sounds boring to read, out of idea. This post had been edited, pictures were uploaded. Why all of them were black and white? I'm already dark and I don't want to reveal it's color ;p