I'm writing this review from the standpoint that I have never heard about it or played it before. I also just finished the game and was eager to publish a review about it for others to research and enjoy.

Afterlife: The Second Dimension is an excellent suspense/horror game. After waking up at your school after an earthquake, the main character (Yuna) finds herself one of a very few survivors in a strange world where reality, mystery, and nightmares cross each other's path.

The graphics are very well done. I feel they give an excellent "gothic" feeling to the story even though there are some elements of sci-fi included as well. And that second element is where things really start to get interesting. The music is spaced in the right places and is both original and beautiful. The other effects, from just silence to blowing rain or a single heart beating, captures the moments of tension very well. There is some pretty fantastic artwork done with the characters and a story that keeps you coming back for more.

As I mentioned, I just finished the game. I got a decent ending but I think there may be more endings or just other secrets that I didn't explore enough. Now that I know what I know, I WANT to go back to discover more mysteries!

You'll invest a good 5-6 hours over the course of a couple days (at least for me) and it was always a pleasure to return. Combat is limited to bosses and gets quite creative in how you must defeat them. The rest of the time you'll be avoiding the angels of death and looking for places ahead that you can turn or escape just in case.. you never know when something is going to be there waiting for you. That anticipation along with the great ambient sounds and lights and weather make a very engrossing experience.

There are some puzzles and genuine scares akin to something you would find in Silent Hill or Resident Evil or Fatal Frame. All favorite games of mine and I certainly thought of those games at times but Afterlife still provided me with something unique and original to itself. By far the best part of this game is tied between the story and drama versus the atmosphere and effects.

The only cons to this game might be a very little bit of grammar issues and a few minor plot holes. The only other issue may include getting addicted and wanting to find out what happens next instead of, say, being on time for work. But that's part of many things that make this game great so I guess that last one isn't negative. If you think about a game and some of its cryptic ideas long after you shut it down, you know you've got a winner.

Afterlife does just what it name implies... finish the game and there will be an afterlife because you'll be thinking about it and going back again.