Haunting Ground places you in the roll of a waif-like young lady named Fiona, who finds herself trapped in a castle after her parents' tragic death in a car accident. It just so happens that you are the heir to the castle, but that doesn't stop all the weird things inside from wanting to see you more dead and less alive. That's the basics of the story, but it's more complex and weird than that. There are family secrets, alchemy, crazy maids, evil spirit things and a giant grounds keeper who wants to make you into his own personal doll. While I was playing this game, I spent a lot of time with a puzzled look on my face whenever I reached a new plot point. I can only assume that some thematic elements didn't make it through the translation entirely intact.

But the let's be honest here, the story is only secondary in a game like this. The real point of Haunting Ground is to take a few years off your life by scaring the heck out of you. And I'm not entirely convinced that Haunting Ground accomplishes this. Sure, there are "jump" moments, but they are fairly obvious. Big empty room with a sparkling trinket at one end? You're going to get attacked. Long dark hallway with a flickering fire at the far end? You'd better believe there's something waiting for you down there. I'm sure part of this is due to me being a jaded video game player and horror movie fan, but I would have liked to have seen a little more originality in the scare tactics. However, people that scare easily will probably find their heart rate increasing quite often, since danger is around almost every corner.

One of the things that Capcom added to Haunting Ground to set it apart from other survival horror games is something they call a "panic meter." It is offscreen, and you have no way of checking it, but when scary stuff starts to happen Finoa freaks out. When she does this the screen gets fuzzy and grey, the controls don't work as well, and she's prone to stumble and fall. And all the while your controller is thumping in time to her heart rate, and you can hear her labored breathing coming through the speakers. The first few times it happens it makes whatever is going on much more intense, but once you get used to it, the panic meter really does little more than complicate enemy encounters. Finoa's only other metric is her "stamina meter," which is also hidden off screen. Your stamina decreases as you dodge, shove, kick or run from your enemies. If it runs out, you'll find that you can only shuffle along and can't use any of your moves. You can't defeat any of the enemies in the game, actually. The best you can do is outwit them and hide. Closets, beds, bathtubs, barrels, counters and various other things will become your hiding places as you attempt to stay alive. If you try to hide in a place too often, the bad guys catch on and you'll get caught. The game's combat is little more than a game of hide and seek, where you're always the one being stalked. That doesn't mean you are totally defenseless, however.

The central gameplay element in Haunting Ground is a white German shepherd named Hewie. Early in the game you rescue Hewie from capture and he returns the favor by becoming your faithful companion (I don't think he knew what he was getting into). Hewie is your guardian, your explorer, your friend. He can attack enemies so you can get away, he can reach items that you can't, and his acute senses can warn you of approaching danger. But, you have to train him to be good at these things. When you first rescue Hewie he's practically worthless, wandering all over the screen and ignoring you. You've got to pet him and praise him when he does something right, and scold him when he does something wrong.

However, the system is vague. It is hard to know what's the right amount of praise to give, or what actions deserve a scolding, or even if an action was performed that the game would recognize praise or scolding for. In a lot of ways, it's like owning a real dog. Especially when the stupid thing just sits there and stares at you while you go blue in the face trying to get it to do something it's done a million times before ... as Hewie is often inclined to do.

For me, Hewie was a nice addition to the game, but one that fell into the category of the panic meter just as fast. Once you became used to how to use Hewie effectively, the novelty wore off. I was never a fan of the digital pet games, and dealing with Hewie is very similar to dealing with those things. There are a lot of repetitive actions that go into making Hewie behave. It felt too much like work for me to enjoy all but the initial novelty factor of it.

While Hewie may not play that well, he certainly looks amazing. He has some of the best animations I have ever seen in a video game; his mannerisms are amazing. Visually, the whole game is spectacular. The environments are big, creepy and detailed; the three things that a game of this kind must have. There are no load times while moving between areas which makes the old castle seem nice and seamless as you explore the grounds and run from various nasties. The character designs are some of the best I've ever seen. Haunting Ground is a joy to look at.

It is also a joy to hear. Sound plays an integral role in this game, but its one that lots of players are likely to miss. The game has small little audio clues that help you stay safe. Hewie will whine and make noise when someone approaches, and some of the enemies will make noise as they get close too. Plus, changes in the atmospheric sound will cue you in to things that are about to happen. Personally, I found that the game was best played with a nice set headphones in a dark room. It brought out the best aesthetic parts of the game.

Haunting Ground is a breath of fresh air for the survival horror genre, but Hewie can only carry the game so far. The underlying puzzle structure is still there, forcing you to complete bizarre tasks that don't make a whole lot of sense from a pragmatic perspective, and the hide and seek nature of the game can start to wear on the player. Luckily, the game is short - 10-15 hours according to Capcom - but it can be beaten in less once you know what you're doing. Replay value is fairly non-exist, but there are different endings that offer up some alternate costumes for Fiona and Hewie. Players should be cautioned about the rating, though. The M rating here is well earned. Not for gore or violence per say, but more for the overt sexual content revolving around a young girl. This is not a game for young children. Haunting Ground will appeal mainly to fans of the survival horror genre, but the addition of Hewie and the gorgeous graphics should appeal to a larger audience. But a rental might be a good idea before you lay out the cash for this game, if you aren't a survival horror fan or are new to the genre.