E3 Hands on: Ju-on – The Grudge

Ju-on the Grudge, plays like an enhanced interactive movie. From the few minutes I had to play around with the game, I learned that the game puts you in control of one of four family members who are trapped under the curse. Just like in the movie in  Ju-on you follow the lives of family who are affected by a curse created by a murdered housewife in a house in Nerima.

It was said that when one person dies with a deep and burning grudge, a curse is born. The curse gathers in the place where that person has died or where he was frequent at (in the series’s case, the house in Nerima) and repeats itself there. The curse manifests on those who encounter the curse by any means, such as entering the house or being in contact with somebody who was already cursed. The curse’s manifestation is mainly death, where the victims’ body may or may not disappear. The following deaths create more curses and spreads the curse in other places.

The goal is inevitably to escape the grasp of the curse and get out of the house where the curse originated. The game play consists of you moving around the dark house with the only thing you have, a flashlight. You point the WiiMote at your telivision screen to shine the light around to find unique objects.

These objects are generally hidden on the floor or on furniture. Of course with any horror game or experience you have to keep track of some sort of health or sanity bar. Well in Ju-on, when you run out of batteries it is game over. Also, if you don’t avoid some of the timed events you will get a game over. Which is what happened to me when I opened a door, I got grabbed by the girl and couldn’t escape her grasp.

Overall, from the few minutes I got to play with the game, It deeply disturbed me. So if you like horror games, you should keep it on your radar.

An artist from New York. Will has been writing, designing, and loving video games since he was young. He has traveled across the United States, and parts of Canada in order to learn more about the world of gaming. After visiting E3 for the first time in 2009, he has vowed to return there and show off a game of his own. In his spare time he tinkers with electronics, programming, and of course collecting video games.