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Silent Hill 4, yay? nay?

It's only worth it if you were a HUGE fan of the previous three games, and (extremely minor non-story spoiler)
don't mind that you have to go through all the areas in the game TWICE before you beat it.
 
Also, you have to not mind that, defying all reason, the designers adopted the old, awful Resident Evil limited inventory + stash system. There's also a lot more focus on combat this time out and less on puzzle solving. The story is decent but all things considered SH4 is definitely the weakest link in the series.
 
its gorgeous, but thats about all.

The pretty graphics lost their appeal once i realized I hated the controls, and the combat, and the story.
 
I found it to be the most disappointing of the series. Dull plot, tiresome first person mode, annoying apartment gameplay. It had its moments, but it wasn't something I'd recommend to most.
 
Nay

although if you love silent hill like i do, you'll probably play it anyway, but it was still disappointing considering (has a few good moments though). it's pretty short so at least it won't be that big of a waste should you choose, don't pay more than $15
 
By far the worst in the series, but I say "YAY" simply. If you are a Silent Hill fan, you'll be disappointed, but at the same time, there are some enjoyable segments. The apartments and hospital are the best areas and worth seeing...
 
I'm a huge Silent Hill fan but I must say nay. SH4 is, in my opinion, boring, uninteresting, too structured (!!), repetitive and ugly.

Go for Silent Hill 2 instead for a great story and athmosphere and Silent Hill 3 for a stunning, polished game witth a nice flow.
 
UltraMarioMan said:
I've heard good things about Alone in the Dark 4 are they true?
Click to expand...

Silent Hill 4 is better than that. :P It's nowhere as good as SH1-3 were (although they also were repetitive and filled with sluggish control too), but you should still give SH4 a try. Just make sure you can get it cheap.

Better yet, just go and replay Resident Evil 4 again. :)
 
If that isn't going to do it, try either Fatal Frame game (very good titles) or Siren (which is VERY VERY difficult, but worth fighting through).

SH4 is much better than AitD4, BTW.
 
I love every Silent Hill game. SH is a series more concerned (but not completely) about presentation, and presentation DOES affect the video game experience. If it's damn good (as it always is with the SH games), then it can lift mediocre gameplay. I don't think any of the Silent Hills were mediocre, but I felt SH4 was the most original since the first game.
 
I liked SH4 but will agree it was the weakest one in the series. It had its moments when it was really cool and creepy but lacked the atmosphere of the previous 3. The story was more of a slight murder mystery/thriller then the previous 3 were the town Silent Hill plays just as prominent of a role as the main characters themselves do. (Harry, James, & Heather) Although I do still think its worth a play though...but then again I MAY be a little biased :D
 
Chalk up another nay from me - I'm a huge fan of the first game in particular, liked the second one, but by part 3 I was starting to bitch. 3 starts off really slow and I think the first half of the game is really lengthy and boring. But it does pick up in the end and the latter half turns out pretty cool.

Now part 4... Let me just say once I started to play it, I became extremely forgiving towards the flaws in part 3. It's pretty much a straight forward suckfest. It isn't fresh enough in my mind for me to give you a good blow by blow account of it though - though I do remember this:
it sucked ass playing through all the stages twice over.

My advice is - and I know if you're a fan of the series and style, you're gonna get it anyway - just wait until it's dirt cheap.. It's not worth full admission price.
 
I would also like to recommend the Fatal Frame games if you haven't played them. Scary as fuck and some really nice, original gameplay.

Get the Xbox versions if you can.
 
I have mixed feelings about it, but you may want to consider Siren. It has a similar atmosphere to the SH series but the gameplay is more stealth/avoid from what I played of it.
I would also try to pick this up cheap, too.. I've seen it as low as 15 bucks.
 
Johnny Konami said:
I have mixed feelings about it, but you may want to consider Siren. It has a similar atmosphere to the SH series but the gameplay is more stealth/avoid from what I played of it.
I would also try to pick this up cheap, too.. I've seen it as low as 15 bucks.
Click to expand...

The story is extremely interesting, but presented in a very confusing way that requires you to really pull pieces together. It's pretty neat, actually.

Like I said, it's also really really difficult...and very lengthy.

You should try Siren, as it is dirt cheap.

Fatal Frame II would be a good selection as well.
 
I dont really get all the Silent Hill 4 hating, sure it was flawed but so were the other SH, IMO SH4 was very original in concept, the storyline was amazing (if you understand it) and gameplay-wise it was the most solid SH game with improved combat and easier to grasp controls (still weird tho)

IMO it goes like this:

SH2>SH4=SH1>SH3

Just like black_13 said, who I think is siah from TXB boards.
 
I'm gonna be the minority and say YAY.

It was an interesting experiment by Team Silent, although by now we know that it was originally intended as something 'outside' of Silent Hill (originally it was to be a 'traditional' Japanese horror tale, but KCEJ decided, about a quarter thru development, that it would make more money as a SH- hense certain additions).

Regardless of the cash-cow alterations, I still think it's important because of how different it still feels.

The voyueristic elements of 'the room', IMO, are brilliant- that feeling of 'the normal outside world right outside my window and no matter what I do I can't communicate'. The thematic idea of being
the 'viewer', ala Henry being wisdom, not specifically the MAIN character, but the observer that witnesses the final act in a long psychotic masterpiece
was an interesting twist. It also tried not to rely on fog, radio static, and darkness to depict fear... which SH1-3 did so well. Unfortunately, in losing those, it did lose a very important aesthetic of the series in general.

My significant complaints, as a fan of the game, are as follows:

-a completely underused soundtrack by Yamaoka. As anyone who's listened to SH4's two main soundtracks (disc 1 of them OST and the 'extra tracks' that made their way online, some of them being on the US 'pre-order' promotion) knows, the man made some fantastic music for this game. Maybe 1/4 of it is actually used in-game. Many of the songs could have been used to make the overall cinematic elements of the game much more powerful.

-Yamaoka falling to sleep on sound effects. After 3 games of brilliant sound effects, SH4 falls back on stock sound- cougar noises for dogs, burping noises for arguably the coolest visual enemy of the game- the 'nurses' (or 'patients' as some call them), and monkey noises for the GumHeads. Not even distorted... just straight monkey noises. Not to mention the bizarre piglet squeeling of 'The Twins' used in the earliest trailers was left out of the final game all together.
I wonder if he originally used these noises because this wasn't intended to be a SH... so he used them to further distance the 'Room 302' game from the SH series? Was he just too lazy to change them after it became a SH?? Either way, sloppy.

-Step down in visuals/presentation. SH2 was an amazing looking game when it debut on the PS2 in 2001, hell, I still think it's fantastic looking. SH3 stepped it up a notch in in-game character modeling and atmosphere effects. SH4 never really got to the visually impressive level that it's predecessor's did. Again, the 'room' was very effective, but the 3rd person parts, with the exception of the hospital, left a bit to be desired... which leads me to:

-Backtracking. It didn't bother me as much as others, but I think it would have been MUCH more universally accepted if it at least turned the backtracking areas into deteriorating 'alternate' SH type stuff. Adding effects that made the settings different the second time around, IMO, would have helped. Sadly, the best place in the game, the hospital, you only visit once. This just seemed a bit sloppy... and didn't nail home the idea that
Walter's plan was almost complete. I'd like to believe the closer it was to the last victim, the more influence Silent Hill would have had on the settings... hense the atmosphere changing on Henry's second run through all the areas
.

-Lackluster creature designs. With the exception of the nurse/patients and The Twins, the rest of the enemies were very uninspired. The ghosts were a good idea, but they would have served better if the story kept with the original project of the 'traditional Japanese horror story' that was ROOM 302. As a Silent Hill, they just didn't work nearly as well.
The lack of SH1-3 creature designer Masahiro Ito was greatly missed.
Hopefully he returns with SH5.

Overall, I think this game is critically slammed because it didn't produce the same overall quality of SH1-3... and was substantially different. If you are a fan of the series, don't just form an opinion without playing it and decide to skip it. Try it out. If you aren't particularly a fan of the series, try it out anyway. The game had a lot of potential that it didn't capitalize on... and I believe a lot of that can be blamed on KCEJ wanting to rush it out to the market, but it's still worth at least renting.

SH3 and SH4 split up Team Silent- so hopefully the whole team is concentrated on next gen's SH5.
Regardless, I can't fucking wait to see how SH5 looks on PS3/X360.
 
Jolly Corner, I couldn't have said it better.

I can't wait for SH5, with all the fan feedback from all 3 PS2 games they must be making a hell of a game now!
 
I just want to add another yay in here to balance out the nays. After how uneventful SH3 was, the first half of SH4 had me doubting the series. My faith was restored by the game's midpoint, despite
escorting and backtracking
.
 
I'll say yay!

I have played and beaten every game in the series and SH4, while probably the weakest in the series, is still a good play. It introduces some new things to the series such as first person perspective and fully lighted no flash light environments. The atmosphere pales in comparison to 2 and 3, but there are still enough moments in the game that will have you thinking that the developers must be some sick bastards. Go for it. It's probably cheap anyways.
 
I am stuck. Please help and try not to spoil. I finished the apartment level...and trapped in my room now...the 'hole' is sealed. what do i do?
 
beerbelly said:
I am stuck. Please help and try not to spoil. I finished the apartment level...and trapped in my room now...the 'hole' is sealed. what do i do?
Click to expand...

Use the demon card, then the plates
 
I really didn't like the parts where you had to shepherd Elaine (?) aka THE DUMBEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD to safety. Beyond gimping through the stages in high heels, she'll actually stop and attack enemies if she's given a purse or other weapon. It's great fun to dash to safety only to find out Elaine is tackling five zombies -- or whatever they are -- by herself.

And the perpetually "unclean" room. Sigh.

Edit: Eileen! So much for the repressed memory.
 
^Eileen.

And I agree about her AI. It sucks in general.

Didn't Team Silent play RE0 or Outbreak, both which came before SH4? =/
 
TheJollyCorner said:
I'm gonna be the minority and say YAY.

It was an interesting experiment by Team Silent, although by now we know that it was originally intended as something 'outside' of Silent Hill (originally it was to be a 'traditional' Japanese horror tale, but KCEJ decided, about a quarter thru development, that it would make more money as a SH- hense certain additions).

Regardless of the cash-cow alterations, I still think it's important because of how different it still feels.

The voyueristic elements of 'the room', IMO, are brilliant- that feeling of 'the normal outside world right outside my window and no matter what I do I can't communicate'. The thematic idea of being
the 'viewer', ala Henry being wisdom, not specifically the MAIN character, but the observer that witnesses the final act in a long psychotic masterpiece
was an interesting twist. It also tried not to rely on fog, radio static, and darkness to depict fear... which SH1-3 did so well. Unfortunately, in losing those, it did lose a very important aesthetic of the series in general.
Click to expand...

I actually do agree with this. The tension associated with your current situation within the room was actually rather compelling. Unfortunately, as with most other elements of the game, I felt that these aspects remained unexplored in the end. The build up was fantastic, but after a certain point, well, the tension levels.
Just in case someone hasn't played the game. As the Room begins its descent into madness, the initial signs are actually quite frightening. When combined with the usage of silence during normal room exploration, the addition of unfamiliar elements works very well. Up until the more grotesque appearances, I was hooked. When you finally realize how all of these elements are designed to work, however, they begin to lose their steam. The idea that your "safe zone" turns against you is interesting indeed, but those dangers fail to hold you after a while. I was especially disappointed in just how much was actually cut from the Room itself. The E3 2004 trailer was absolutely brilliant and remains one of the finest examples of game trailer creation I've yet to see. Along with the fact that there were far too many elements cut from the final game, they also managed to paint the more mundane scenes as something special.

-a completely underused soundtrack by Yamaoka. As anyone who's listened to SH4's two main soundtracks (disc 1 of them OST and the 'extra tracks' that made their way online, some of them being on the US 'pre-order' promotion) knows, the man made some fantastic music for this game. Maybe 1/4 of it is actually used in-game. Many of the songs could have been used to make the overall cinematic elements of the game much more powerful.
Click to expand...

This was a crushing blow to me as well. I snapped up the original Japanese soundtrack immediately upon release, and was generally pleased with it. There were some fantastic tunes present on the first disc. While I DO believe that the game made good use of the music when it chose to use one of the tracks, these moments seemed too few and far between.

-Yamaoka falling to sleep on sound effects. After 3 games of brilliant sound effects, SH4 falls back on stock sound- cougar noises for dogs, burping noises for arguably the coolest visual enemy of the game- the 'nurses' (or 'patients' as some call them), and monkey noises for the GumHeads. Not even distorted... just straight monkey noises. Not to mention the bizarre piglet squeeling of 'The Twins' used in the earliest trailers was left out of the final game all together.
I wonder if he originally used these noises because this wasn't intended to be a SH... so he used them to further distance the 'Room 302' game from the SH series? Was he just too lazy to change them after it became a SH?? Either way, sloppy.
Click to expand...

Another major blow. The sound design took quite a nosedive here. Still superior to most other similar games IMO, but compared to the brilliance of the first three games, SH4 was decidedly lacking. The patients/nurses truly were well designed. Their tall, silent walk towards you was quite frightening. That burping sound, though...

-Step down in visuals/presentation. SH2 was an amazing looking game when it debut on the PS2 in 2001, hell, I still think it's fantastic looking. SH3 stepped it up a notch in in-game character modeling and atmosphere effects. SH4 never really got to the visually impressive level that it's predecessor's did. Again, the 'room' was very effective, but the 3rd person parts, with the exception of the hospital, left a bit to be desired... which leads me to:
Click to expand...

I felt that the game was very good looking overall, but you're right, it never did reach the visual intensity of the previous two games. There were some moments of visual brilliance, of course, such as the spiral staircase you traversed after each area or some of the final areas (monochromatic room). I also played this game on the XBOX, which ended up being a mistake. The PS2 version does indeed look better...

Regarding area preference. I also enjoyed the hospital greatly, but I found that the apartments were the most effective...particularly the second time. The apartments were the only place in the game that managed to restore some of the classic fear the series is so known for. The forested area and the water prison were simply awful, though. The exterior areas of the water prison were actually very neat (both in concept and design), but the interior was so...dull.

-Lackluster creature designs. With the exception of the nurse/patients and The Twins, the rest of the enemies were very uninspired. The ghosts were a good idea, but they would have served better if the story kept with the original project of the 'traditional Japanese horror story' that was ROOM 302. As a Silent Hill, they just didn't work nearly as well.
The lack of SH1-3 creature designer Masahiro Ito was greatly missed.
Hopefully he returns with SH5.
Click to expand...

The nurses/patients were easily my favorite enemies in the game. I wasn't a huge fan of the twins, though, as their animation was not refined when considering their size. SH2 remains the absolute best in terms of meaningful and terrifying creature design (with a certain knife dragging enemy standing out as the best in the series).

I agree with your final points as well. Anyone who would consider themselves a fan of the series should play the game. It is flawed, but should be experienced.
 
Silent Hill 5 should redeem the series, last interview seemed promising with them talking about the concept of "light" and they also ackknowledge their errors in design and probably Konami has learned that this is NOT a series that should be milked to death, also it should be noted that "The Room" project began as a PS3 title but Konami shouted a big no-no so maybe the game could have been an amazing next gen title.

Recent articles state that SH5 will be exclusive again, hopefully for PS3 cuz that's where the series belong, and OMG if it looked that good on PS2!!!
 
LOL. Speak of the devil.

I bought this game off of eBay for $5, it arrived two days ago and I've been playing it since. I've put in almost 9 hours. (I'm playing the PC version BTW; at a 1600 x 1200 resolution :D ). I'm up to the part of the game where you go back to the place with the water wheel a second time.

I really can't put together in my head what people don't like about this game. To me, this game is near perfection. The game controls way better than any previous SH game and the inventory management is a hell of a lot better too. I played SH2 and SH3 very recently for the first time and really liked them.

What I didn't like about 1 - 3:

-That whole "wandering around without being able to see two feet in front of you". Whether because of darkness or fog.
-Needing to find a map of the area to see anything on your map.
-Wandering around aimlessly while trying 1,001 random doors.
-Health indicated with a picture instead of a bar or number.

SH4 eliminated all that crap. :D

In this installment, they also brought back the "weird slanted camera angle" effect that was in the beginning of SH1, used a lot in SH2, and was absent in SH3. Two other things I like about SH4. 1)They give you more space. The halls in apartment building and hospital in the previous game were so cramped, you could hardly fit two of yourself in there side-by-side. 2)They didn't over use that whole blood-and-rust encrusted effect that they drenched all the enviornments in during the previous games. After a while, all of the rooms look the freaking same. I don't know if they meant it to be this way since the game doesn't take place in Silent Hill.

As for the story, I think it's pretty good. I've been able to follow this one a lot better than those of the previous games. It doesn't go over the top and get complicated just for the sake of being complicated. I think this game has a lot more characters than the previous ones as well and they seem to be pretty decent(in terms of voice acting).

If you ask me, this game is defintely worth playing. The only reasons I've heard people give for not liking it is it's storyline and art direction/graphical prowess. IMO, the game looks great. While the storyline is a bit more conventional(not TOO supernatural), it's still interesting.
 
That whole "wandering around without being able to see two feet in front of you". Whether because of darkness or fog
Click to expand...

That's one of the things that really killed SH4 for me, honestly.
 
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