This game from Deep Silver is all about horror. As a lover of horror games, I am really excited about my chance to journey to the peak of this Cursed Mountain. The Wii is becoming a popular platform for horror games - Dead Space: Extraction and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories are both on the horizon - so high hopes are resting upon the experience that this game provides. Will this vanguard pave the horror road in gold or will it falter after the first leg? I wasn't expecting much from a relative rookie developer, but what I found was mind-blowing.

The story behind Cursed Mountain is refreshingly sophisticated and deep for the casual-game-oriented Wii. It starts out fairly run of the mill - your brother is lost somewhere on Chomolonzo Mountain and you have to go and rescue him. However, even before the first level, in a short playable section where you control the soon to be lost brother, you learn exactly how this very experienced climber got "lost" in the first place, while the story unravels a bit more when control switches to the main character you control for the rest of the game - Eric Simmons - and some unforeseen skulduggery becomes apparent. Exactly what this is I'll leave for you to find out, but it does add a welcome twist to what seems initially like a standard tale.

The game begins in a Tibetan village in the lower half of the mountain and you soon realise that something is amiss, filling your brain with questions; some are answered, some are not and some branch out into all manner of impossible solutions. I don't mean the little stuff like when is the next enemy going to jump out at you or wondering where extra ammo may be - these kind of frankly mundane questions ruin a lot of horror games (for example, Dead Space is not much more than in-your-face sudden shocks). Cursed Mountain, however, offers true terror, which is generated by the superbly executed amalgamation of various game elements. The first foothold on the mountain of fear comes from the clever use of uncertainty. Why is this village deserted? Is it deserted? Are these ghosts you keep seeing real or just high-altitude hallucinations? If they are real, can you kill them and can they kill you? Alright, on paper these questions have relatively straightforward answers - but if you really think about them closely then hidden questions spring up, causing more uncertainty and more paranoia at what might happen next. The game capitalises on this beautifully, and my favourite bit of trickery comes from the appearance of the ghosts. Their outlines are obviously human in nature so they must be human - right? But they're black in colour, so you can't make out any detail. Also, they don't move like humans and some of their limbs seem broken or out of proportion. Then more questions hit you: how did whatever they are become ghosts in the first place? And why are certain ghosts more colourful than the others?

It's not the exact questions that are the sticking point here - it's just that the game is getting you in the character's shoes, immersing yourself in the dreadful experience. The game clouds your mind to the obvious truth - enemies are coming towards you and you're going to have to despatch them to stay alive.

The enemies are ghosts. Exactly what they are spirits of is never clear although it is clear that they are not very happy with you or your brother. These spirits, although being on the wrong side of dead, can actually hurt you - most just claw you to death but some have other ways of making you squirm. Luckily, you find your brother Frank's ice axe which he had blessed by Tibetan monks before his ascent of the mountain and subsequent disappearance. It's not that handy as a weapon but you can at least hit the ghouls with it if they get too close. It's replaced as your weapon of choice by a funny-looking Tibetan magic hooked knife called the Kartrika. This handy tool acts as a gun/axe hybrid - you can still swing it when in close quarters but you can also aim it and shoot. To shoot, activate your Third Eye - an over-the-shoulder view that can reveal hidden objects - and point the Wiimote at the TV. This brings up a crosshair. Position it over the ghost, hit A and an orange bolt of religious energy streaks towards the wandering dead. Individually, ghosts are pretty easy to kill if you keep your wits about you. In groups or if they appear right behind you (they have a nasty habit of doing this), they become a nightmare to handle.

As I mentioned, this game sucks you in and really immerses you in the game world. A large part of this is the innovative controls and how they are exquisitely blended with the mountain environment. Firstly, movement is controlled with the analogue stick equipped Nunchuk. The really exciting feature about the movement is that there is a genuine feeling of friction to the whole thing. Walking up a steep slope sees Eric struggling forward against the harsh mountain wind or high-altitude environment. For gamers who love nothing more than skipping about at ludicrous speeds blasting foes in a heartbeat, it will probably seem annoyingly slow. Cursed Mountain just isn't a fast-paced game though. It sets up a dark and disturbing atmosphere that grabs you the moment you begin play. While I would have liked the ability to turn your character round 180 degrees quickly as in Resident Evil, I think the limited speed of movement and sense of effort it conveys work remarkably well in this terrifying horror game.

The Nunchuk is used in combination with the Wiimote superbly, you'll quickly realise that developing this game for any platform other than the motion-sensitive Wii would have been impossible. If you're climbing up a near-vertical cliff face and you suddenly slip, flick the Wiimote forward and smash an ice axe into terra firma to save yourself from the deadly drop. Another cool part is when a ghost grabs you - whipping the Nunchuk and Wiimote back and forward in alternate directions shakes the ghoul off before he can suck out some of your blood. However, the most ingenious idea is the magic seals, which appear as glowing red circular symbols only visible with your Third Eye. For the most part they are on the chests of ghosts after you've hit them enough times (either through zapping using the Third Eye or via melee combat). Aiming at the seal and pressing A brings up one or more "gestures" that must be performed to break the invisible bonds. These gestures are simply directions you need to move the Wiimote or Nunchuck. For example, one seal may require a diagonally downwards swing of the Wiimote followed by a push of the Nunchuk towards the screen. All the sequences are different so you never know what's going to come up. Unfortunately, they do not appear randomly chosen, each seal having the same series of gestures every time you restart the game.

When you break a ghost's seal, the unseen bonds tethering their spirit to Earth are broken and they are released from limbo - the realm between this world and the afterlife. A release from limbo means the spirit trapped there can now freely rise up into Heaven and be at peace. This is obviously a good and kind act so is rewarded by Eric gaining an often life-saving bit of health. The only other way to regain health is by collecting and using Incense Sticks in special religious shrines. Tibetan monks use lighted sticks that give off welcoming fragrances when burnt in various religious ceremonies. Again, this game remains true to its central theme which is excellent to see.

It must be said that the game is certainly not as pleasing on the eye as some of the high-definition marvels hitting the shelves. The visuals are of reasonable quality by today's standards, matching the level of some of the later Silent Hill games, sharing the same dark and gritty style. I do love the contrast created by the bright coloured snowfall or small flags blowing violently in the wind. Disappointments include the blood spurting from Eric as he is struck - stylised red balls - and the very square sparks that fly out from the impact of a sharpened ice pick on a solid brick wall. Also some areas are extremely dark, far too dark to see where you are going - thankfully a rare occurrence yet still irritating.

The between level cutscenes are a highlight. They are never overly long and are shown in a comic book fashion with static images fading out into others to tell a story. All these images are displayed in washed out colours - light browns and pale yellows - often with large black areas around the outside. Some objects are brightly coloured, immediately catching your eye but what I really enjoy is the feeling that you're always missing something. When they are over you're left thinking that everything you've discovered fits into a bigger puzzle.

I've been saving the best until last as the sound in this game is truly phenomenal - it really is the best sounding game I've played all year! The voice-acting is amazing, especially the lead character Eric. He sounds very British and rough and ready. He's an experienced climber that has no fear of the climb ahead of him yet is obviously terrified and confused at the events happening around him. He's also angry at having to rescue his overambitious brother. Other characters also sound fantastic such as the Tibetan Shaman sounding old, wise and a tad frightening, although Eric is definitely the star of the show.

The ambient sound effects don't let up on the avalanche of coolness. In some levels most of the sound is realistically drowned out by the ferocious mountain gales. In these areas people communicate with you via a microphone making the sound come amazing clearly through the Wiimote itself! In more sheltered interior levels you get the cries of unseen women, the thump of your heart when at low life, inexplicable footsteps near you that stop when you stop and some eerie dripping sounds. My favourite comes when you've just seen a ghost round a blind corner. You give chase, weapon equipped, ready for a fight. You round the bend and check the room - nothing. Suddenly the sound of plates crashing behind you makes you wheel round in terror, only to find an empty room, no plates on the floor and no ghost. Ghosts are incredibly tricky to track down when they want to be - they can appear at any point, any time and even walk through solid objects. There is simply no way of knowing when one, two, three or an entire army of the dead is going to reveal themselves. There could be one behind you right now.

Continuing the audio superiority, the music is suitably scary in nature. It's quite difficult to describe; it's slow and mysterious with what sounds to be moaning or chanting in the background. It also sounds as if there is someone quite close breathing faintly - disturbing! As usual though, it suits the game's theme perfectly. The music also changes to a slightly more upbeat and panicky rhythm when ghosts pop up, getting you mentally prepared for combat.

Lifespan is the place where this game drops a few feet in the uphill struggle to greatness. The single player game is a fair length, not super short but also not extremely long. Once you've completed it though, that's the end. I simply cannot think of anything that could keep you playing - there's no multiplayer, no random encounters, nothing. Some sort of timed mountain climbing challenges or even a cooperative climb mini-game would have been an improvement. Cursed Mountain is like a well-written horror novel. The story it tells is excellent but after you've read the last sentence, there's really nothing more you can do.

Cursed Mountain is a remarkable horror game - for pure unrelenting terror it is way above the recent high-tech offerings of Resident Evil 5 or Dead Space. The clever use of uncertainty in the story, the impeccable sound and the immersive gameplay ensure horror fans are in for a real treat. However, I don't think it's going to convert anyone to the horror gaming genre. The general slow-pace and restrictive movement speed will undoubtedly start to annoy more action-oriented gamers. The replayability is minimal and the graphics certainly won't win any prizes. My advice is that if you love horror games, buy this game as soon as possible. If you really can't stand being scared, steer well clear as scares are guaranteed.

Reviewed by Tom Clark for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).