Fear Effect

The Good
Those characters. Great voice-acting really makes them shine through, though they aren't as fleshed out as I'd like.

Graphically, it's lovely. Sure, it's quite low-resolution, so it doesn't look as good as it COULD, but you still get a lot of eye-candy from the excellent character design and fantastic pre-rendered backgrounds.

Sound-wise, as I've already said, the voice-acting is first-rate. Couple that with some nicely atmospheric music, and you're onto a winner in this department.

The Bad
Those controls, man. They're clunky. Never TOO clunky, but not exactly fluid.

At times, it feels like Dragons Lair, with some horrific trial-and-error sequences, and boss sequences from hell, which you actually end up in later in the game!

The Bottom Line
If you like your action games highly stylish, well-plotted and full of twists, then it's for you. Poor controls and some bad level design let it down somewhat, but never too much to ruin the game. A winner.