Cursed Mountain is a thinking man's survival horror game that by no means is for children. Unlike traditional games of this genre such as Resident Evil, Cursed Mountain is more of a surreal approach, taking slow steps rather than sprints and is set in the cold wastelands of the Himalayas.

With that said, the story is actually quite an immersing experience for a game that is not created by the big developers in the industry. It features strong lore and myth of those who inhabit around this legendary mountain. From ghosts to other Tibetan mysteries, Cursed Mountain is reminiscent of those old point and click PC games that has successfully made the journey to the Nintendo Wii.

The story revolves around Eric Simmons, a mountain climber who only has one mission on his mind, finding his brother who went missing climbing mount Chomolonzo. Of course there's more to this story than just fame as Frank was hired to find a sacred Tibetan artifact from this mountain. Obviously something occurred, whether it was nefarious in nature or an accident, you must now control Eric with the gaming environment in order to search for your brother. A really cool aspect of the game is sanity because at times, it may or may not be that Eric could be dreaming this entire episode up... or is he?

Unfortunately things go from strange to the supernatural for Eric and the horror is about to begin. The developers have obviously done some decent research into the creation of this game and some of the areas that you visit are quite impressive and reminiscent of the real-world as you speak with locals from Sherpa's to Tibetan Monks. As you investigate, you will soon stumble across a variety of clues in your search for Frank, however even more disturbing is the artifact that he was looking for.

The control system works quite well on the Wii and the motion abilities of these controllers have been well implemented into the gaming environment. Apart from exploring a variety of strange and mysterious places, you'll come across a variety of NPC's and of course supernatural characters.

Although the gameplay is generally quite slow, there are some action sequences in the game such as scaling walls and sometimes precariously balancing your way on a thin ledge which can be frustrating at times.

The combat of the game is fun and you use the Wiimote to basically hack and slash your way to victory and as you progress, you also need to use your third eye which crosses our world and the supernatural. While using this, you can even fire energy beams at your enemies.

Even though the control system works well the majority of the time, as you progress, your enemies and the ghosts that you encounter become more powerful and sometimes its a mad dash in trying to use the motion controls to defeat them. This can become frustrating for gamers which may tilt the fun factor of Cursed Mountain.

Graphically, the title does look a third-party title, however this is not to say that the game is bad. Rather it's lacking that polished appearance but certain gaming environments still look rather impressive and the developers have managed to capture the Himalayas perfectly. There are even some whacky effects in the game that highlight the supernatural world that you have ventured into and the game uses cutscenes, almost painted to progress the title.

The game contains a decent soundtrack that matches the genre well and add in a variety of absolutely creepy sounding sound effects and it's enough to give you the creeps. Even the little things such as the great background ambience from the cold winds of the Himalayas or the sounds or lack sounds in the villages and it's easy to get lost in the game.
 
At the end of the day, Cursed Mountain is actually a step in the right direction on the Wii and attempts to create something unique and strangely original on a console that is unfortunately dominated by high-end console ports or casual games.

At it's heart, the game in essence is an adventure game that meets the survival horror genre which comes across loud and clear unlike previous games in the past. The game does require some thinking on behalf of the gamer which is not a bad thing and the action at times is rather fun and interesting. So get your winter clothes, rug up and sit back and enjoy this well written tale of a man searching for his lost brother and gets caught up in something more than he expected!

Features

• Revolutionary - One of the first survival/horror games designed specifically for Wii, Cursed Mountain creates a terrifying setting in a stylized, atmospheric manner.

• Original Setting - With advanced graphics, Cursed Mountain places the player in a realistic Himalayan environment. Players will immerse themselves in the local Buddhist traditions and rituals. Everything in the game is based on real world facts and research…except of course for the outbreak of restless souls.

• Vertical Level Design - As players ascend the mountain, they will clearly see the summit in the distance, a looming reminder of their final destination, and they can also look behind to see how far they’ve come.

• Innovative Wii Controls - Designed to mimic the physical aspects of sacred prayer rituals, mantras, and gestures of Buddhism, combat is comprised of gestures that release the spirits from the curse. In addition, Cursed Mountain takes full advantage of Wii functionality, supporting the Wii Remote speaker, rumble and motion-sensitivity in a variety of triggered action events that mimic natural movements, such as climbing, running and balancing.

• Compelling Storyline - Players investigate the disappearance of their brother who vanished while searching for an ancient relic in the Himalayas. Players climb to the top of Chomolonzo to discover the fate of their brother as well as to stop the curse that’s interrupting Samsara – the Buddhist concept of reincarnation.

• Environmental Hazards - As players climb higher, the mountain itself becomes an enemy. Prone to the travails of altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation, players may not be able to tell the difference between real enemies and hallucinated ones.