AMFP Member Review Thread

[silentmumbler]

When I first played it, I'd have given it a 6. It seemed like a decent game that was just lacking in a lot of areas (Namely scares and freedom).

Having played through more times, however, I've come to appreciate AMFP in the same way I do Silent Hill 2 (and I freaking LOVE Silent Hill 2). Sure, it wasn't scary, but it wasn't really trying to be (except for those random popping pig masks when you climb ladders, which still make me ask why). The experience is in the story, the atmosphere, the music (Oh GOD, the music!), and the incredible depth that can leave you analyzing anything and everything that happens in the game and seeing things that make you wonder what else is there.

The ocean of possibilities in theorizing about this game are the most tantalizing aspect of it. While the story is generally straight forward and explicit, there are so many things (such as aspects of the characters and the significance of odd events which occur in the game) which can be interpreted in entirely different yet equally justifiable ways.

As someone who has deeply missed the brand of horror which was lost not long after Silent Hill 2, AAMFP was a breath of fresh air and an opening for hope as to what the future holds for psychological/narrative-driven horror.

As a final score I'd give a 7.5 or 8. Why not higher? Despite all it's merits, it is still very lacking gameplay-wise, most notably in the completely stupid puzzles (Oh, it's missing a cog? Let me just grab this one that's right next to the machine I need to fix.). TDD's puzzles were simplistic, but they weren't stupid.