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SIlent HIll 4: The Room (Eurogamer JP import review)
- Thread starter Ill Saint
- Start date
Well, we'll see...
It's hard to find people to agree with you in regards to Silent Hill. SH2 is my favorite in the series, but I know damn well that many disagree with me. I also recall hearing plenty of bad things about SH3 prior to release, and that turned out to be a very good (albeit VERY short) experience. My game clock never reached 5 hours in SH3...and I did not rush.
I honestly don't mind the re-using of environments, to tell you the truth. Even if it is an artificial game extension, at least there is more story to finish up. SH3 was simply too short.
The comment on Project Zero 2/Fatal Frame 2 is interesting...
The game really IS very good (and probably offers the very best gameplay the genre has ever seen)...but the actual aesthetics just can't match the glory of Silent Hill. In comparison, they simply feel "cheap". Still, I can't deny the high quality of the game. I'd like to throw Siren up there as well, but the damn game is just too frustrating at times (in a trial and error sort of way). One mistake and it's all over.
Regardless, SH4 is still one of my most anticipated titles. I do so hope the XBOX version is released alongside the PS2 game this September, though. I would really prefer 480p this time. Hopefully the XBOX version won't be lacking anything this time (unlike SH2 XB, which was lacking various graphical elements found in the PS2 version). If we can get a perfect port + 480p, I will be thrilled.
It's hard to find people to agree with you in regards to Silent Hill. SH2 is my favorite in the series, but I know damn well that many disagree with me. I also recall hearing plenty of bad things about SH3 prior to release, and that turned out to be a very good (albeit VERY short) experience. My game clock never reached 5 hours in SH3...and I did not rush.
I honestly don't mind the re-using of environments, to tell you the truth. Even if it is an artificial game extension, at least there is more story to finish up. SH3 was simply too short.
The comment on Project Zero 2/Fatal Frame 2 is interesting...
The game really IS very good (and probably offers the very best gameplay the genre has ever seen)...but the actual aesthetics just can't match the glory of Silent Hill. In comparison, they simply feel "cheap". Still, I can't deny the high quality of the game. I'd like to throw Siren up there as well, but the damn game is just too frustrating at times (in a trial and error sort of way). One mistake and it's all over.
Regardless, SH4 is still one of my most anticipated titles. I do so hope the XBOX version is released alongside the PS2 game this September, though. I would really prefer 480p this time. Hopefully the XBOX version won't be lacking anything this time (unlike SH2 XB, which was lacking various graphical elements found in the PS2 version). If we can get a perfect port + 480p, I will be thrilled.
Cant agree with the 7 score, in light of the 9 they gave to both SH2 and 3.
SH4 will turn off a good number of old fans, with some discutible innovations, but Id not call it objectively inferior to the other games.
An (incomplete and inaccurate, got no time now to think much over it) list of the advantages and disvantages of the games in the franchise, as I see them:
- Scares:
SH1 was the best: new ideas, darkest and complex environment made the flashlight and radio matter, an appropiate number of creatures.
SH2, 2nd best; scary even if a the end you realied you were alone most of the time.
SH3, 3rd. Somewhat scary, but excessively numerius and noisy enemyes caused assuefation.
SH4, not scary at all.
- Area design, structurally:
SH 1 and 2 offer the most immersive (large and streaming) outdoors. SH3 is limited in this regard. SH4 even worse, breaking all outdoors and even some corridors in small "rooms".
Id rank SH1 top since it doesnt have noticeable drawbacks, well designed areas, and only one dull IIRC (sewers).
SH4 is tricky and subjective to rate. 2nd best for me.
Advantages, it reduced the number of broken doors, making the world more interesting; added the unique Room area; some levels are structurally the most interesting in the series (commercial center with twin lifts, circular prison, freedom to complete sections of the Woods in any order).
Disvantages, the world is broked in smaller areas, some excessively long stairways.
A note on the common complain of having to revisit areas. I think is an acceptable sacrifice for the sake of the levels themselves being more cured. Less content, but more carefully designed.
SH3 had allright architecture.
SH2 design was imo the worst, being too often simplistic: plenty straight corridors with eventual side rooms.
- Area design, artistically:
SH1 is my favorite for introducing the school, hospital, alternate world. All around ispired design, with only one area (sewers) looking uninteresting.
SH4 is my 2d fav, due offering most original areas since the first game.
SH2 was overall good. Remarkable boss rooms, good design on all areas. Main drawback, some areas and themes not only recycled from the first game, but also overused in this, and became repetitive
SH3 is a mixed bag. Some good rooms, coolest SFX, but the greatest percentage of dull areas ever (subway, tunnels), and nothing that would really get under my skin.
- Characters:
SH2 wins here. Psychos and credible.
SH4 may be - barely - behind. Good stuff.
SH3, not too bad, but neither too good. Some sillyness takes something away
SH1, worst in this category. Barely developed.
- Story:
SH1: best story, thanks the original conception of the world, mistery, strong motivation (helping your kid), surprises, and meaningful involvement of secondary character (Lisa, your daughter).
SH4: 2nd best. Cruel, weird, misterious, slowly unvealed. I have to restate: Cruel.
SH2, not that good anymore. Interesting idea, but simplistic and stretched a bit thin. Best endings, thought.
SH3, worst. Predictable, poor pacing, banal Chase And Revenge motive.
- Sound effects:
SH1 and 2 make the best use of them, to increase tension and give you hints on the mosters number and location.
SH3 isnt nearly as good. Mosters make a hell of noise, and the sublety is lost.
Similiar issue for SH4, the annoying noises are gone, but no radio or scares are present.
- Camera:
SH1 and 4 are best, just because in 2 and 3 it sways so much to give headaches.
SH3 is particularly bad, with a couple istances where you cant see key items unless you move to a specific and apparently empty spot to trigger a new PoV, and the risk to fall into instant-death holes when it lags behind you.
- Controls
SH3 wins: simple and responsive, weapons that can be aimed, good blocking system.
SH4 is the best in theory, with charged attacks and dodges, but a shoddy implementation (poor collision accuracy and slow response) brings them down. I guess still better than SH2 for me, but depends on tastes.
SH1, I have a hard time rating.
Tank controls, which in itself is bad in this age. But they were nicely implemented, with a heavy reliance on dodging and strafing, that made combat interesting.
SH2 work well, but overly simple, so I consider it the worst. However I expect its simplicity to earn it a #1 or 2 ranking from many.
- Enemyes:
Visually, SH1 and 2 win for their sublety. Again, I prefear SH1 for being more innovative.
SH 4 comes after, even if its bosses are low profile, while 3 is imo the worst being most generic.
About attack patterns, ghosts raise SH 4 to the top: surprise spawn, flying, immortal, some unique attacks, and the use of a rare and unique wepon to impale them on place; an unique enemy that actually follows you also is interesting, but on the other side, the creatures that grown from the floor and just stand there are an annoyance.
SH1 comes next, thanks to interesting flying enemyes that try attacking from different angles and eventually run away, and creatures that charged you.
SH3 was also good, with flying enemyes charging when damaged, and others requiring a skilled use of the block move if you were to melee them.
SH2 is the worst. Interesting how some creatures crawled when knocked down, otherwise dull.
- Puzzles:
SH1 is my favorite. I stille remember of the tale of mute birds, and astrological puzzle.
SH2 and 3, cant remember which Iliked most.
SH4 is the worst. No riddles, no puzzle difficulty setting.
- Gameplay quirks:
Nothing to mention on SH 1 and 2.
SH 3 loses a point for istant deaths, gains one for some original death sequences.
SH 4... lots to say here.
Loses points for the limited inventory, load times before and after saving, poor hotspot detection in the Room.
Gains for the real time inventory, secondary char to protect (thought someone may not like it), exorcism.
- SH4, overall:
May be a chore to replay, due the slower pace and some issues, but the first time thru, enjoying the story, was definitely good for me.
PS: The first Fatal Frame is still King of the genre.
SH4 will turn off a good number of old fans, with some discutible innovations, but Id not call it objectively inferior to the other games.
An (incomplete and inaccurate, got no time now to think much over it) list of the advantages and disvantages of the games in the franchise, as I see them:
- Scares:
SH1 was the best: new ideas, darkest and complex environment made the flashlight and radio matter, an appropiate number of creatures.
SH2, 2nd best; scary even if a the end you realied you were alone most of the time.
SH3, 3rd. Somewhat scary, but excessively numerius and noisy enemyes caused assuefation.
SH4, not scary at all.
- Area design, structurally:
SH 1 and 2 offer the most immersive (large and streaming) outdoors. SH3 is limited in this regard. SH4 even worse, breaking all outdoors and even some corridors in small "rooms".
Id rank SH1 top since it doesnt have noticeable drawbacks, well designed areas, and only one dull IIRC (sewers).
SH4 is tricky and subjective to rate. 2nd best for me.
Advantages, it reduced the number of broken doors, making the world more interesting; added the unique Room area; some levels are structurally the most interesting in the series (commercial center with twin lifts, circular prison, freedom to complete sections of the Woods in any order).
Disvantages, the world is broked in smaller areas, some excessively long stairways.
A note on the common complain of having to revisit areas. I think is an acceptable sacrifice for the sake of the levels themselves being more cured. Less content, but more carefully designed.
SH3 had allright architecture.
SH2 design was imo the worst, being too often simplistic: plenty straight corridors with eventual side rooms.
- Area design, artistically:
SH1 is my favorite for introducing the school, hospital, alternate world. All around ispired design, with only one area (sewers) looking uninteresting.
SH4 is my 2d fav, due offering most original areas since the first game.
SH2 was overall good. Remarkable boss rooms, good design on all areas. Main drawback, some areas and themes not only recycled from the first game, but also overused in this, and became repetitive
SH3 is a mixed bag. Some good rooms, coolest SFX, but the greatest percentage of dull areas ever (subway, tunnels), and nothing that would really get under my skin.
- Characters:
SH2 wins here. Psychos and credible.
SH4 may be - barely - behind. Good stuff.
SH3, not too bad, but neither too good. Some sillyness takes something away
SH1, worst in this category. Barely developed.
- Story:
SH1: best story, thanks the original conception of the world, mistery, strong motivation (helping your kid), surprises, and meaningful involvement of secondary character (Lisa, your daughter).
SH4: 2nd best. Cruel, weird, misterious, slowly unvealed. I have to restate: Cruel.
SH2, not that good anymore. Interesting idea, but simplistic and stretched a bit thin. Best endings, thought.
SH3, worst. Predictable, poor pacing, banal Chase And Revenge motive.
- Sound effects:
SH1 and 2 make the best use of them, to increase tension and give you hints on the mosters number and location.
SH3 isnt nearly as good. Mosters make a hell of noise, and the sublety is lost.
Similiar issue for SH4, the annoying noises are gone, but no radio or scares are present.
- Camera:
SH1 and 4 are best, just because in 2 and 3 it sways so much to give headaches.
SH3 is particularly bad, with a couple istances where you cant see key items unless you move to a specific and apparently empty spot to trigger a new PoV, and the risk to fall into instant-death holes when it lags behind you.
- Controls
SH3 wins: simple and responsive, weapons that can be aimed, good blocking system.
SH4 is the best in theory, with charged attacks and dodges, but a shoddy implementation (poor collision accuracy and slow response) brings them down. I guess still better than SH2 for me, but depends on tastes.
SH1, I have a hard time rating.
Tank controls, which in itself is bad in this age. But they were nicely implemented, with a heavy reliance on dodging and strafing, that made combat interesting.
SH2 work well, but overly simple, so I consider it the worst. However I expect its simplicity to earn it a #1 or 2 ranking from many.
- Enemyes:
Visually, SH1 and 2 win for their sublety. Again, I prefear SH1 for being more innovative.
SH 4 comes after, even if its bosses are low profile, while 3 is imo the worst being most generic.
About attack patterns, ghosts raise SH 4 to the top: surprise spawn, flying, immortal, some unique attacks, and the use of a rare and unique wepon to impale them on place; an unique enemy that actually follows you also is interesting, but on the other side, the creatures that grown from the floor and just stand there are an annoyance.
SH1 comes next, thanks to interesting flying enemyes that try attacking from different angles and eventually run away, and creatures that charged you.
SH3 was also good, with flying enemyes charging when damaged, and others requiring a skilled use of the block move if you were to melee them.
SH2 is the worst. Interesting how some creatures crawled when knocked down, otherwise dull.
- Puzzles:
SH1 is my favorite. I stille remember of the tale of mute birds, and astrological puzzle.
SH2 and 3, cant remember which Iliked most.
SH4 is the worst. No riddles, no puzzle difficulty setting.
- Gameplay quirks:
Nothing to mention on SH 1 and 2.
SH 3 loses a point for istant deaths, gains one for some original death sequences.
SH 4... lots to say here.
Loses points for the limited inventory, load times before and after saving, poor hotspot detection in the Room.
Gains for the real time inventory, secondary char to protect (thought someone may not like it), exorcism.
- SH4, overall:
May be a chore to replay, due the slower pace and some issues, but the first time thru, enjoying the story, was definitely good for me.
PS: The first Fatal Frame is still King of the genre.
Sadly, it isnt.
It does have its own kind of atmosphere, somehat like an adventure in a twisted world. But scary, not really.
I gave SH3 a short try after completing SH4, played the alternate commercial building, and it felt almost terrifyng in comparison. To think that, when it came out, I found SH3 to be the least scary of the series...
For the record, the other impressions replaying SH3:
- Much smoother combat, almost an action game in comparison.
- Going back to a separate inventory screen was annoying.
- Camera-induced headache.
It does have its own kind of atmosphere, somehat like an adventure in a twisted world. But scary, not really.
I gave SH3 a short try after completing SH4, played the alternate commercial building, and it felt almost terrifyng in comparison. To think that, when it came out, I found SH3 to be the least scary of the series...
For the record, the other impressions replaying SH3:
- Much smoother combat, almost an action game in comparison.
- Going back to a separate inventory screen was annoying.
- Camera-induced headache.