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A few Octoberweens ago I tried out the first Corpse Party on the PSP. In truth I was able to purchase both Corpse Party and it's sequel of sorts, Book of Shadows, during a PSN Sale with intentions of playing both for an Octoberween season. That obviously didn't happen as I only covered the first game for reasons I believe I explained back then at this time. As time passed I neglected to give the second game a try. More so when I wasn't able to transfer my save data over to my new fancy memory card that incorporated two 16 GB micro SC cards into a memory card duo adapter to maximize my memory capacity of my PSP. It was my plan to do such when I learned that any data unlocked from the first game could be transfered over to the second game for additional unlocks. So as much as I'd like to speak about those said unlocks I fear I didn't get the chance to see what would come of that. Because of this I didn't get around to playing Book of Shadows until later on in the hopes of replaying the first game over again. In the end I didn't feel up to replaying the original but at the same time I wanted to return to Heavenly Host Elementary School if only refresh my memory of what I expected with the hope of learning more of the main character's fates. With that I give you my #3 choice for this year: Corpse Party: Book of Shadows for the PSP.

Corpse Party: Book of Shadows has you returning back to Heavenly Hosts Elementry School but not in the way you'd think. Though the location, characters and situations haven't quite changed, the presentation as well as plot elements and character development get an overhaul that helps flesh out the characters you first helped out from the first game. The player chracters in this drama appear to still be stuck in Heavenly Hosts Elementary from the events in the last game where someone had the bright idea to perform a charm ritual, thinking it'll bind them all as friends forever. Instead it entramps them on the haunted grounds within Heavenly Hosts as a demented spirit toys with them to the point of brutal death/insanity. Despite the time paradox plot offered it's business as usual. But at the same time it leaves you with more questions on what all hapepned at the end of the first game. I am unsure if any of the saved game data from the first game would've helped set the stage better but when I first booted up the game I had to watch an unskippable intro to the game that basically told the story of one survive from the first game trying to come to terms in how despite her knowing one friend of her's existed, it seemed that others in her life around her, like her mom, didn't have any recollection of her friend. As if they were erased from existance in the fashion from the anime series "Another". It's from this intro alone I was introduced to a completely different beast that was the last Corpse Party.

The UpSide
Book of Shadows decides to forgo the 2D dungeon level-like playstyle of the first game and instead decides to play out like a graphic novel. Instead of being able to move around in a 2D world, your allowed to move from screen to screen with the help of a grid map that your able to call up by pressing the left trigger button. While this does slow down gameplay a bit, it adds a level of point-and-click style gameplay when you have a chance to survey the area you are in by moving a target cursor around a static image of the location you are in. Be it a hallway, classroom, bathroom, infirmary, lockerroom etc this is how your left to explore Heavenly Host Elementary. It takes some getting use to given that this is also how your supposed to find clues, avoid traps and gather items with each character you play as. You wouldn't think this would add to the gameplay but in truth it left me with a more "intimate" experiance as I played. By going with this route it makes the game more of the type where your better off playing it in the dark with headphones on than out in the open or connected to a tv minor like how I played the first Corpse Party. It adds to the atmosphere by doing this. Despite it not being graphic like you'd expect in other survival horror titles it does show you grizzly pictures that is a hallmark to the series. The voice acting which envokes the horror of their circumstances does help drive home how it would feel to be hung by a rope, throwing up long strands of hair or being mutlilated in a variety of ways. The character's graphic descriptions of what they see, or what's been done to them, also helps add to the horror of what they face and make you wonder how you would cope by seeing such carnage. They maybe just still images but the added look and sounds accompanying the actions drive home the viseral outcomes on screen.

                                                            "But I got better....."

What also adds to the atmosphere and feel of a graphic novel is that most of the game has voice over dialouge from the charters you play, as well as text bubbles to read as they think out loud about their current situation. The voice acting is done rather well despite me being unable to understand a word their saying without the help of their text bubble popping up as a means of subtle subtitling. I think the game might've served itself better if it had an english dub to add in the dialogue. By the game doing this it gives it more of a "ghost story" type feeling of story telling that translates well for a horror game such as this. Instead of the game just giving you an exposition dump of plot and circumstances, which admitantly it does at times espeically when it comes to chapters you rememeber playing before in the first game, it tries to tell the story of the game and it's characters from their perspective. You see thru their eyes, you hear their thoughts even before they speak their mind on the issues at hand. It better helps explain how they are handling their situation and how their able to cope mentally over the terrible circumstances they must overcome, or in some cases prolonging their inevitable demise. This not only helps to flesh out their characters more but helps to make them more three dimensional than just your atypical anime school kids archtype. It also helps to explain why they end up doing stupid things in gamewhen the player themselves playing the game are not in their shoes despite seeing the world thru their eyes. Because of these attempts to make the character more human and the world more descriptive it makes Book of Shadows have depth which adds to the scary factor as your unsure if you should turn a level or skip by several tiles on the map with fear that you might trigger something that could lead to a "Wrong End".
The music once again adds itself to the world of Book of Shadows that most of the tracks heard add to the level of uncertainty as you explore. Mysterious tunes play at the right times to certain events to keep you on your toes while also add the jump scare effect when an abrupt situation comes to play, be it from a timed event or a multiple choice decision moment. Though there are some tunes that don't fit quite right during some character chapters, the rest of the game makes up for it overall.

The DownSide
Because of the new change in gameplay it does lose a little when it comes to direct action. You no longer can move your character to any area in the world like you could in the first game but are instead limited to movement in the "search mode" as you move from tile to tile. While this removes the notion of spamming the search button in the last game, this one just replaces you roaming your target relic around the screen till you find something that makes it change blue in color. Most of the time you might not find anything to begin with but your also unsure if you shouldn't fully search an area for fear of missing something. There is a way to speed up the crosshairs by pushing the square button but given that option is part blessing and part curse.

 

I say such because there are times when that and the texts/dialogue spoken can really drag the game down when your just wanting to progress to the next level. This isn't a game that you can just play in short bursts. It took me up to 30 minutes to be able to save my game when I first started it. Though you are able to fastforward these text and dialogue moments to speed up gameplay you end up missing out on the setting the game tries so hard to set. it's understandable to want to do this when your replaying a level to avoid the "Wrong End" you just made but the trade off is breaking the pace that helps Book of Shadows maintain it's dark and spooky feeling of direct story telling. It's welcome to fastforward but at the same time helps to rob the game of the world it tries to weave. It is a welcome option but one that you might be tempted to do more than once if your playing to just complete it 100% than set the mood for Octoberween play.

 

Another downside to playing that game is that despite you try your best to save the lives of the characters you are playing, you are given scenarios where in truth there is no way to save their lives but instead see them die in a varity of different ways. I'll spoil the first chapter for you by telling you that instead of keeping Seiko Shinohara from dying by strangulation from being hung with a hangman's noose, she instead looses her head in a differenet manner, the different manner you seeing coming a mile away thanks to the telegraphed thoughts and set up that lead to Seiko's demise.

                                                   And that's the "Good Ending".

Though there is a purpose for the character deaths, it once again feels like an action of futility since by the end of the chapter the person you tried to save only ends up dying either because of the wrong decision or the right one. Overall it drives the plot forward and is means to show the graphic deaths these characters face in Heavenly Hosts Elementary. For some that might be entertaining but for me it left me feeling like I might not be helping much in saving the characters than just moving the plot foward. Perhaps I have a God Complete to me when I play my games in hoping I can decide who can live or die than some game script saying otherwise. Something you can lose out on if you focus too much on that than the story at hand. It also doesn't help that you'll have to play the game chapters over many times if you want to get all the endings or replay the chapter altogether to ensure you don't make the same mistakes to get the same wrong ends at all.

 

The OddSide
Then theirs the issue of what exactly is being told by the individual characters. It's great that the game does all it can to flesh out the people involved but at times it may seem that they tried a little too hard in that department. Consider this a personal taste for myself but then again some arched their eyebrows at the mention of "ass cream" in the first game. Either this was a character trait or cultural differences there's something that can be said about knowing a bit too much. One scene in particular actually had me wondering if I was playing a horor theme games for Octoberween but instead something a bit...different.

                                              I will admit I wasn't expecting that.

Cultural norms notwithstanding it's on the plus side that it does help explain certain things that were said in the first game between two female characters but at the same time it made me wish I could skip the scene the first time around. Not that it would matter I'm sure for I can access that still image all I want thanks to the games bonus section. In the end knowledge I probably could've lived without. Chalk it up to fan service or cultural diferences. It's up to you.

Overall Corpse Party: Book of Shadows is indeed an unconventional choice for this year's list. Why it ranks so high up is because unlike other games in this year's list, it's not a game you can just pick up and play to set the Octoberween mood. it's not exactly survival horror nor is it action oriented to keep you on your toes. It's a game where you have to put alot of effort into making the atmosphere fit into your own to enhance the spooky story it tries to tell. Indeed you'll need to play it in the dark, with headphones on than trying to play it on a lunch break or in broad daylight. By doing this it adds to the overall experiance like it would when you watch a scary move or listen to a scary story on YouTube. I will admit it's not for everyone but if your into something different for Octoberween and want to try a portable outing into the realm of Octoberween gaming, you couldn't do much worse than this game. Just be prepared for some frustration mixed in with your possible scares as you learn how the Book of Shadows comes to play in this game. If anything just prepare for the time paradox involved due to the events from the last game. My advice is don't fight the plot, just let it take you in....

My Top 5 Octoberween Game Titles for 2017

#5: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood – Price $20 used PS4

#4: Doom – Price $20 new Xbox One

#3: Corpse Party: Book of shadows - Price $9.99 PSN Digital