SlasherJPC
Banned
I'm one of the people that really enjoyed SH homecoming for what it was and even when I played it about a month ago enjoyed it but Downpour wins over it hands down.
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Silent Hill Downpour |OT| Rain, Rain, Go Away
- Thread starter brandonh83
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WiiredShawn
Member
There's six, actually, if you don't count the bosses. They change forms slightly, but the difference is negligible. Needless to say, this isn't a game you play to experience incredible monster design and variety.
I felt disappointed by Homecoming the first time I played it, but after giving the second and third playthroughs a two-year berth, I think there's merit in the title that I didn't see before. If enemies had been less aggressive and plentiful, the game would probably be more scary and less frustrating. Homecoming had an interesting story and decent thematic principles (is Alex just living out a male power fantasy?), but it lacked any semblance of puzzles (save for the end, which wasn't much of one), slipped a little too far into action-game territory, and tried too hard to integrate elements of the movie (Pyramid Head, otherworld transformation, cult shenanigans), alongside questionable Western-isms such as the comedic-relief Black man (I like Wheeler, it's just that his character type doesn't belong).
Downpour is more consistent in its tonality and features, I think, which arguably gives it an edge over Homecoming, with its better individual features and more apparent problems.
Acquiescence
Member
I completed this a couple of days ago, and I really enjoyed the story overall, even if it
Poor ol'
didn't have nearly the same emotional pay-off that Shattered Memories had.
Murph though - he really has got to be the most tragic Silent Hill protagonist of them all.
WiiredShawn
Member
I really like Murphy, but I think they tried to accomplish too much with his narrative arc. After multiple playthroughs, I'm less convinced that the team weaved his three central conflicts together well, instead opting to disjoint them in the narrative for the sake of an easier progression (I can understand the appeal as a creative writer, but it's still not very ambitious). The result is a less-than-clear indication of Murphy's psychological state: I can understand why the world seems to visualize his sense of loneliness and fear of being caged, but I wish the monster design and otherworld contained a deeper relationship to his three internal conflicts (i.e.,
losing his son, murdering Napiere and assisting Frank's destruction
his relationship to his wife very deeply, or how he dealt with the presumed divorce
"Gramophone" quest suggest that he thought about killing his wife?
What I don't get is
why does Murphy blame himself for the murder of his kid? It's not like anything he does directly causes him to be molested, killed, and tossed in a lake. For that reason alone, why does he belong in Silent Hill, or why did Silent Hill "call" him to the town? It doesn't seem right that Murphy would be a victim of the town.
Easily the best. Homecoming was actually enjoyable, but so by-the-books and un-ambitious.
Shattered Memories doesn't even deserve to be considered a Silent Hill game. Once you take it out of that equation, it's certainly an interesting (if utterly flawed) attempt.
Origins was what it was. I actually think, in terms of gameplay, it feela the most like a sequel to the first game than any other attempt we've seen since.
Worse than homecoming seems impossible.
Homecoming was such a disgrace to the series. Fighting humans smh...
Though open world games should NEVER lack places to actually save. That was real stupid in Downpour, though I know exactly why they did it: to remove that safe zone of knowing you just need to make it to that save point and save. Now since you don't know when it will save, you're more vulnerable and truly afraid of dying. But it's still an annoyance, a bit "too" hardcore.
WiiredShawn
Member
I think we can assume that
any loving parent would feel somewhat responsible for their child's murder and molestation, even if only reminding themselves that they could have been a better parent, or picked him up from school that day, etc. We could also infer that Murphy felt duped by the fact that Napier, his neighbor, managed to hide his pedophile ways until it was too late; so he could be blaming himself for not "seeing it sooner." The problem is, the game is never entirely clear about what Murphy thinks he could have done.
Although in one of the "bad" endings,
we find that Murphy actually killed his own child, which would raise some really interesting questions about the story. In that case, the town is forcing Murphy to realize his horrible actions (although his motivation for murder is totally unclear), while Murphy might be resisting acknowledgment by trying to imagine himself as a "good father" looking for his kid.
In any case, I'd argue that Murphy's arrival in Silent Hill is mostly coincidental - but perhaps
as he passed the border, the town sensed his inner turmoil and it was strong enough for the town to ensnare him.
It that was the intent, then I'd say it failed. Not having a save point doesn't really add to the fear when "Saving" pops-up in the corner every few minutes. I would have thought it was one of those "expected features" of third-person action games to prevent people from forgetting to save, as well as a way to avoid having to contrive a reason for something as "gamey" as a save point, which some designers probably see as "breaking immersion."
kunonabi
Member
I liked Alex and the otherworld transitions. I felt that they were really creative with their placement. Always felt really unexpected and in a better game would have done great job in keeping the player unbalanced. I thought Alex's house was a legitimately creepy and unnerving location. I also liked how the endings gave completely different spins on what had been going on. EVERYTHING ELSE was a total train wreck though.
Downpour had much more going for it but it just didn't take advantage of it. Heather is a far more messed up protagonist than Murphy.
Why do would you need savepoints in downpour? The game autosaves like every three seconds and dying is incredibly hard to do anyway.
Downpour had much more going for it but it just didn't take advantage of it. Heather is a far more messed up protagonist than Murphy.
Why do would you need savepoints in downpour? The game autosaves like every three seconds and dying is incredibly hard to do anyway.
WiiredShawn
Member
To be fair to Murphy, few people can really be as fucked-up as Heather. She is the only one with a truly supernatural backstory, and the torturous childhood she experienced in her earlier incarnations is really not feasible in characters striving for psychological realism. Murphy didn't need a soul-crushingly horrible motivation, but they could have explored his regrets more intimately and with tighter focus.
Mainly, I want save points for control. I appreciate autosaves, but I don't like games that wrangle away control because it's trendy to do so. Plus, I would have liked to have earlier save points that I could go back to for finishing Murphy's journal, but the save system basically forces you to do it in time or start over.
I'm really surprised Homecoming is this unpopular. The game felt really great to play. This game is a constant struggle to not throw up for me...between the resolution, the AA, the framerate, the hitching, the awful controls, the beam being way too low, the game being unable to tell me WHAT I'm trying to pick up, the AWFUL scrolling in the menus, the embarrassing enemy designs, the awkward silence of 90% of the game...
What is so redeeming here? That you can walk around an empty, poorly detailed city and do "sidequests" while the game puts along at 20fps? This is not enjoyable. It's barf inducing.
Nothing is easy. The Otherworld stuff is also genuinely disappointing and terrible.
I did just do the Centennial Building and that was the only time I thought to myself that this was a satisfying game.
Homecoming had a lot of problems-- there were too many enemies and there was a focus on combat (even though it was, for once, competent and somewhat visually satisfying), the puzzles were on the lighter side and didn't stump me, and yeah, it focused too much on mixing movie elements with Silent Hill 2's themes-- but everything else worked. The locations were great, Yamaoka's score was great, the game was pretty good looking (except for poop hair), the story was good (though as I said not original), the bosses were good, the transitions were good...I just don't get why everyone hates that game so dramatically.
It's rated more favorably than Downpour by the media.*
*I made this up and am going to go check it now
*It's true
Totally agreed on all points here. I think that DESPITE all of the fan service Homecoming has, it's still a stronger outing than Downpour. The story and the way scenes played out were much better than what's in Downpour. Homecoming at LEAST had a worthy ending to the story that certainly got an "oh shit" from me, even if it was similar to SH2's.
You lost me here. Downpour's environments are incredibly detailed.
The game actively lies to the player about saving. Some saves are for if you die and restart, others are for if you actually quick the game and come back later.
When the player has no real way of knowing of it's safe to quit the game or not, that's horrible.
Hmmm, I thought every time you enter/exit a new location, it saves, meaning if you turn off your system and come back, you'll be at the entrance/exit of the location. It also saves if you pick up story specific/important items, so you don't have to acquire them again.
How can you tell? Everything is blurred to hell and back. I really get headaches playing this game.
You and I must have played entirely different games.
It does, but there are certain times when you're within a location that it'll pop up "Saving" in the corner, and if you quit the game it won't actually have saved, you'll lose progress. Certain times it saves are only "checkpoints" so that if you die, you'll restart there but not if you quit outright. It can be frustrating because the game provides no distinction between the two. I ended up just hitting load and checking to make sure it actually saved before quitting.
Acquiescence
Member
I agree with you in relation to Murphy's inadvertent destruction of Coleridge (depending on what ending you get anyway - I got 'Forgiveness'). It was a bit rushed, seeing as how it was part of the reveal for the game's climax, and it might have felt like the writers were cramming in a bit too much. But at the same time it does piece together nicely, in the sense that if Murphy hadn't had made a deal with the devil, then Coleridge would still have been alive and well, depending on whether Sewell managed to find another scapegoat or not before the investigation into his corrupt ways began. As such, Murphy enacting revenge towards Napier and the ending of Coleridge are directly linked, and not seperate conflicts at all. Depends on how you perceive it maybe?
Regarding Carol, I got the impression that the writers were purposefully ambiguous in her portrayal in order to misdirect the player, which is a bit cheap really. Maybe they felt that by delving into her relationship with Murphy, it would've revealed too much. I mean, you see her for a split-second in one of the early(ish) flashback scenes and she really does bare a resemblence to Cunningham. So in that respect I personally interpreted it to mean there was some hokey twist coming which involved Anne being Murphy's wife and that's why she has this personal vendetta and what not. I'm with you though - I would've liked to have seen that relationship explored more. All you really get is that sole letter found in the prison that just portrays her as unfairly harsh.
Regarding Carol, I got the impression that the writers were purposefully ambiguous in her portrayal in order to misdirect the player, which is a bit cheap really. Maybe they felt that by delving into her relationship with Murphy, it would've revealed too much. I mean, you see her for a split-second in one of the early(ish) flashback scenes and she really does bare a resemblence to Cunningham. So in that respect I personally interpreted it to mean there was some hokey twist coming which involved Anne being Murphy's wife and that's why she has this personal vendetta and what not. I'm with you though - I would've liked to have seen that relationship explored more. All you really get is that sole letter found in the prison that just portrays her as unfairly harsh.
On Homecoming:
It's true that if you take out the last 20% of the game, Homecoming would be an ok Silent Hill wannabe experience with a focus on too much combat and a story that feels more like a new Halloween movie than a David Lynch film. It has some fun environments, a couple of cool looking otherworlds, and the combat is decent.
Then you get to the house and solve that sliding block puzzle and everything goes VERY WRONG. Suddenly you get a cutscene of cultist elite squad attacking the house with gas masks and stuff in military formation. It's like a horror Call of Duty. Then you wake up in EVIL CULT BASE and have to fight your way out beating off the evil cultists dudes with a crowbar. It's suddenly an action thriller based in reality where there's no mystery, no supernatural, just BAD GUYS VS YOUR CROWBAR. This is not Silent Hill. It just gets dumber and dumber until it's over.
I don't know how anyone could say Homecoming had a good story. For a Silent Hill game, it was really dumb and not Silent Hill feeling at all. Definitely the worst story in the series and since Story is kind of important, that really sinks it along with the action heavy gameplay and general lack of creative anything in the game. Even the music, while it does the job, feels totally phoned in by Yamaoka. Same thing with Shattered Memories. It's like by that point Yamaoka had given up on Konami's treatment of the series and was just doing the music for the paycheck until he could leave the company. There's not a single thing outstanding about Homecoming at all. At least Climax UK's two Silent Hill games had some things going for them (music and environments in Origins, Story and non-chase gameplay in SM).
I also think Double Helix, based on Homecoming & Front Mission Evolved, is not a good Developer.
On Downpour:
I'm only a couple of hours in so I can't say a whole lot, but what it does well in the first two hours:
-Atmosphere: VERY oppressive, creepy, unsettling. Truly uncomfortable moving around with a lot of good scare moments. This in itself makes every moment of "playing" the game enjoyable. Just soaking in the atmosphere as you explore.
-Exploration: Not being restricted to corridor after corridor and actually running around town figuring out what to do with your own brain is satisfying.
-Story: Seems interesting so far in a Twin Peaks way, which is how a Silent Hill story should be. Murphy seems like a character you want to know more about.
-Sound: Good use of silence and occasional music.
-Visuals: On a tech level the visuals are beyond shit. On an artistic level, the environment is pretty nice.
Things it does not do well:
-Combat/Saves/Enemy Design/Not knowing what you're picking up/FRAMERATE (though playing in 3d has helped soooo much to make it a smoother enjoyable experience).
It's definitely got its flaws, but so far Downpour has "felt" like Silent Hill. It's been a dreadful unsettling experience and yet I don't want to put it down.
Ending D tries to justify why she would be filled with such contempt for Murphy, but it's done in such an awkward, rug-pulling manner that it doesn't add up in a satisfactory way. You know what they're going for with the whole "Murphy actually killed his son" switcheroo, but it's not supported by anything that happens during the course of the story. It's just a very cheap resolution all around.
I honestly felt that Ending B (Truth & Justice) was the only one that brought everything together; Murphy was forgiven, but there was no way that Cunningham would have let the knowledge of who actually mutilated her father slip by like that. It's completely at odds with what she was willing to resort to in order to get the guy she thought did it in the first place.
I honestly felt that Ending B (Truth & Justice) was the only one that brought everything together; Murphy was forgiven, but there was no way that Cunningham would have let the knowledge of who actually mutilated her father slip by like that. It's completely at odds with what she was willing to resort to in order to get the guy she thought did it in the first place.
If you're playing in 1080p mode stop immediately. The game seems to be using crazy amounts of FXAA or something and the upscalling really makes the game a blurry mess because of it. The game is seemingly native 720p anyways so put it at that for best results.
But how is the player supposed to know thatand are we saying that I, as a player, have to manually keep track of that? The game constantly says "saving" in the corner; if it's telling me that, it damn well should be saving.
I had like four times where I lost actual progress due to thinking the game had done a full save and it hadn't. I also had times where I really needed to quit the game, but had no real clue what the quickest option for getting a full save to happen would be.
Got to the Apartments. Man, some of the areas in this game are TOO DARK, like literally I can't see anything outside my tiny flashlight circle. I went into a basement with a creepy girl crying and pitch darkness and ffffffuuuu that was scary.
And there's waaay too many screamers on the street, jesus. I was just walking around a house and get cornered by 3 of them and then see another off in the distance WTF, is this really a Silent Hill game I'm playing? I don't ever remember seeing more than 1 enemy at a time usually on the streets of SH and maybe 2 max. And so I run and run and they keep screaming and jumping on my back and I just take a hell of a lot of damage and it makes me not want to explore
I feel like all the post-SH4 Silent Hill games have way too many enemies. But then I haven't played SH1-4 in a long time.
And there's waaay too many screamers on the street, jesus. I was just walking around a house and get cornered by 3 of them and then see another off in the distance WTF, is this really a Silent Hill game I'm playing? I don't ever remember seeing more than 1 enemy at a time usually on the streets of SH and maybe 2 max. And so I run and run and they keep screaming and jumping on my back and I just take a hell of a lot of damage and it makes me not want to explore
I feel like all the post-SH4 Silent Hill games have way too many enemies. But then I haven't played SH1-4 in a long time.Roland Stiles
Member
You're assuming that Murphy
is the one shaping Silent Hill this time around. Did he really do anything unresolved that would land him here? While Howard directs Murphy somewhere he can earn absolution... does he see anything he doesn't already know? Or does he just re-enact the events that landed him here? What about the scenes he sees outside of that location... are they really meant for him, or someone else? Is he just "living his life inside someone else's lie?"
Or is it all a trap? After all, where is Murphy going to go in that boat? What's on the other side of
Or is it all a trap? After all, where is Murphy going to go in that boat? What's on the other side of
EDIT: Bebpo, I think it's been a long time since you played SH1.
Got to the Apartments. Man, some of the areas in this game are TOO DARK, like literally I can't see anything outside my tiny flashlight circle. I went into a basement with a creepy girl crying and pitch darkness and ffffffuuuu that was scary.
And there's waaay too many screamers on the street, jesus. I was just walking around a house and get cornered by 3 of them and then see another off in the distance WTF, is this really a Silent Hill game I'm playing? I don't ever remember seeing more than 1 enemy at a time usually on the streets of SH and maybe 2 max. And so I run and run and they keep screaming and jumping on my back and I just take a hell of a lot of damage and it makes me not want to explore
I think you need to play Silent Hill 1-3 again dude, there are tons of enemies on the streets. I've been playing Silent Hill 2 and there are many times where there will be 3 nurses and 1 ..I don't even know what to call it, mannqeuin with 4 legs thing. It probably just seems less noticeable because in SH 1-3 they don't seem all that concerned with your presence and you can just go about your business without them even getting close to you whereas in Downpour they get right up in your ass.
I think one of the most intriguing parts of this SH is that the whole town is not only influenced by Murphy but Amy too, I think SH attracted Murphy to purge him from revenge and Amy for, well, the same. Also, I like how it's the only SH game with a really happy good ending, that felt satisfying.
Yeah, that's it. I remember you'd see mannequins on the street in the old games but they wouldn't pay much attention to you and even if they did, they were slow so it wasn't an issue unless you trapped yourself.
I dunno why they made the screamers faster than you if they are the infinite numbers grunt enemy of the game. Makes it a pain in the ass to run from them all the time.
Got mine in the mail today.
So far i'm loving it!
Plus, playing in 3D on me HMZ-T1 adds to the immersion.
3D picture is good.
but at the start around the charactors bodies outline in the cutscenes, had about a couple of mills of background scenery stuck to them :O
Haven't seen the problem since though.
Really setting the mood, and i'm taking my time with this one.
Freaky as hell
So far i'm loving it!
Plus, playing in 3D on me HMZ-T1 adds to the immersion.
3D picture is good.
but at the start around the charactors bodies outline in the cutscenes, had about a couple of mills of background scenery stuck to them :O
Haven't seen the problem since though.
Really setting the mood, and i'm taking my time with this one.
Freaky as hell
They didn't. You can always outrun them, and often times run literal circles around them.
SlasherJPC
Banned
I've not had to many instances where I couldn't run away. I noticed Murphy tends to run faster when he has enemies that are chasing him, which I felt was a cool little detail.
Beat it. Overall I think I'd have to give it a 6/10 and even that feels a little generous.
I was sticking with it for the tension and story. However, the game never really picked up for me past the Centennial Building part which I thought was the highlight of the game. Story stuff wasn't so great either with some pretty rough cutscenes (
) and predictable plot points. The whole package just didn't flow well for me. Downpour has some great atmosphere in some places but it never kept the pace often letting me down in other areas.
Visually the town looked alright but the main 'mission stages didn't do much for me outside of the
, which had a really nice puzzle set piece that actually made me not want to play due to the creepiness. The otherworld stuff was decent in visual design but nothing too special and its not like you could really enjoy your time there much anyways. As everyone knows the enemy design is awful and often laughable outside of the final boss who is actually pretty creepy in it's own way.
The music was fine but not nearly as good as Yamaoka at all. The opening track in the prison was the best part for me. There were some tracks that raised my hair a bit later on which was fine. It's just weird to call an SH OST just 'decent'. Voice acting was ok but it all sounded like it was recorded wrong, like it was someone's first time doing VA direction. The main man of the hour, Murphy, just sounded bored half of the time to me (still not as boring as Henry thank god). He picks up more toward the end of the game but ends up just feeling alright. However, there were some nice little sound bites though when you were just walking around town.
Gameplay fell short too. The combat was awful and it was just easier to run away because Murphy would suddenly develop super speed for some reason. If you got blocked in a corner it was difficult to get out of because of the enemies chain hitting you. Aiming a gun was weird as well because of the hovering dot deal. The Otherworld chase sequences were boring and I never felt like I was really in trouble. I would have preferred to walk around at my own pace without a one hit kill button. The puzzles were pretty fun in a lot of cases. I enjoyed the solutions as well as how they visually fit into the game. Was' pretty stumped on some of them too which made for a more satisfying conclusion when you conquered a particular problem.
There are no bosses either in the game outside of the last guy which is pretty strange. I felt like there wasn't a big payoff for finishing a level. Oh, and it was also hard to tell when you could save and quit due to the weird nature of how the developers chose to handle the checkpointing
The exploration and side quest stuff was the best part of the game and I'd like to see it taken further. Most of the 'quests' felt unnecessary though and didn't have great story payoffs. There are some real neat ones with Dead Mans Hand and The Cinema one's being my favorites. My main issue comes from the quests feeling like padding and I would have gladly gotten rid of them for more involved story missions/ better framerate. I like the idea of the sidequests but it just wasn't handled as well as I would have liked.
This Silent Hill is a technical mess. Downpour always stuttered constantly out in the town and even in some contained missions areas. I'm usually ok with lower framerates but this game was moving like a slide show at too many points. Some bland colors and bad texture pop in didn't help.
I felt too bored and by the end of the story I didn't really care so much for anyone involved. I kind of liked the whole
but by then I just kind of wanted it to end. Every Silent Hill to me has offered something great which is why I love the series. Downpour just never raises above mediocrity in any part of its design.
I was sticking with it for the tension and story. However, the game never really picked up for me past the Centennial Building part which I thought was the highlight of the game. Story stuff wasn't so great either with some pretty rough cutscenes (
like in the monastery with Murphy's kid and the little girl
Visually the town looked alright but the main 'mission stages didn't do much for me outside of the
Church
The music was fine but not nearly as good as Yamaoka at all. The opening track in the prison was the best part for me. There were some tracks that raised my hair a bit later on which was fine. It's just weird to call an SH OST just 'decent'. Voice acting was ok but it all sounded like it was recorded wrong, like it was someone's first time doing VA direction. The main man of the hour, Murphy, just sounded bored half of the time to me (still not as boring as Henry thank god). He picks up more toward the end of the game but ends up just feeling alright. However, there were some nice little sound bites though when you were just walking around town.
Gameplay fell short too. The combat was awful and it was just easier to run away because Murphy would suddenly develop super speed for some reason. If you got blocked in a corner it was difficult to get out of because of the enemies chain hitting you. Aiming a gun was weird as well because of the hovering dot deal. The Otherworld chase sequences were boring and I never felt like I was really in trouble. I would have preferred to walk around at my own pace without a one hit kill button. The puzzles were pretty fun in a lot of cases. I enjoyed the solutions as well as how they visually fit into the game. Was' pretty stumped on some of them too which made for a more satisfying conclusion when you conquered a particular problem.
There are no bosses either in the game outside of the last guy which is pretty strange. I felt like there wasn't a big payoff for finishing a level. Oh, and it was also hard to tell when you could save and quit due to the weird nature of how the developers chose to handle the checkpointing
The exploration and side quest stuff was the best part of the game and I'd like to see it taken further. Most of the 'quests' felt unnecessary though and didn't have great story payoffs. There are some real neat ones with Dead Mans Hand and The Cinema one's being my favorites. My main issue comes from the quests feeling like padding and I would have gladly gotten rid of them for more involved story missions/ better framerate. I like the idea of the sidequests but it just wasn't handled as well as I would have liked.
This Silent Hill is a technical mess. Downpour always stuttered constantly out in the town and even in some contained missions areas. I'm usually ok with lower framerates but this game was moving like a slide show at too many points. Some bland colors and bad texture pop in didn't help.
I felt too bored and by the end of the story I didn't really care so much for anyone involved. I kind of liked the whole
twist with the wheelchair guy
I never had any issues escaping any battle; the speed boost you get when you're being pursued makes it close to impossible to be caught without the assistance of dead ends.
TheJollyCorner
Member
Not too far into the game (recently got through only the second 'otherworld' conversion), but I must say... I'm very impressed.
Impressed... and disappointed.
SPOILER FREE (mostly)!
Vatra seems to be doing all they can with what they were given... but with each impressive atmospheric moment and the overall tone of the game I can't help but wish it had a higher budget/better graphics engine. UE3 can be fucking ugly as hell unless the dev is an absolute master at it.
I mean, it's like an extremely low budget film that uses the same props in every scene. It really takes me out of the immersion when I see the same COFFEE box literally everywhere, the same hanging leather jacket, the same pictures on the walls, etc. Hell, even a WEEKLY SPECIALS chalkboard from an early diner was found in the fucking Silent Hill Cinema concessions stand. The same. exact. one. :/
Textures are downright ugly and character animation in general is piss poor. Like Homecoming, sometimes this looks like a late generation PS2 game (as far as character models).
That said...
I'm loving the game.
Like Shattered Memories, it has a ton of little nuances here and there that just make it unique. I also love the heavy exploration encouragement. There just seems to be a lot to find throughout town... and the thrill of finding a random house/building I can go in takes me back to early exploration of the SH2 town ("THERE WAS A HOLE HERE", for example).
I agree with Game Informer about the 'side quests'. Most of the time they just seem vague as hell at first... and finding random keys and locked doors throughout town is a little frustrating with no context. I don't mind, though. A more 'free-roaming' Silent Hill with actual stuff to do outside of the main story is something I've wanted for a long time.
The first time I vaguely saw the
pass by me in the foggy distance was a really bizarre moment. Coming in contact with it later was... not what I expected.
I also have to eat this massive plate of crow here.
Daniel Licht nailed it. Really fantastic work here... and although I'd still take Yamaoka back in a second, Licht really stepped up. If we can't get Yamaoka back in the future (assuming there are any future SH games), I hope Licht gets to take up the mantle again.
Speaking of music, the random radios you find are great. I get excited every time I find one, anxious to hear what song they've dug up to play. Some really good use of licensed tracks here. I mean, who else was completely unnerved when, during the first 'otherworld', they heard the scratchy BORN FREE echoing and the distant sound of water splashing?
I had a jaw dropping moment in the Devil's Pit when I turned a radio on and heard the haunting guitar melody of (a cover of) 'Willow's Song' from the original 1973 version of The WickerMan.
Speaking of- has anyone been able to compile a list of all the licensed tracks used with the radios in this game?
The combat is decent enough...basic 'smack the shit out of the enemy' ala SH1-Origins. I appreciate the more simplified approach rather than Homecoming's FIGHT NIGHT bobbing-and-weaving bullshit.
Enemy designs are uninspiring, but the banshees are kind of creepy. The shirtless guys are just dumb. I can't even figure out where that design came from. The chimera Grim (Resistance) looking dudes are just unoriginal... and are cheap as shit if they get you in a hitting loop. The only other enemies I've run into
are decent enough, I guess. Out of all the 'outsourced' SHs, I still think Origins did the best job trying to emulate the Ito 'favor' with the creature designs.
The two 'otherworlds' I've experience, however... MAN. Fucking awesome stuff. Very creative. I just love how they've been designed; really surreal and disorienting.
Secondary characters are...meh (DJ dude is just laughable at this point. Every time I see him I think of the GAF photoshops with the baby chocobo in his fro), but Murphy's individual journey is strong enough not to get weighed down by a lame supporting cast.
Overall, I'm really impressed with how Vatra has carried this production, despite Konami apparently handicapping their ass.
Unless the game falls on its face completely from here on out, I think I'll walk away from this one extremely satisfied.
It just pisses me off. Climax and Vatra have both done commendable jobs with their entries in this franchise... and Konami just seems clueless. Horrible marketing and shoestring budgets. Silent Hill has become the red-headed stepchild that can still go out to the town square, tap dance, make modest coin, and maintain a pocket fanbase... yet it's not making RE numbers, so BACK TO THE BASEMENT, WITH YA! TAKE YOUR COLD PORRADGE WITH YOU! YOU EAT IN THE DARK TONIGHT!
Impressed... and disappointed.
SPOILER FREE (mostly)!
Vatra seems to be doing all they can with what they were given... but with each impressive atmospheric moment and the overall tone of the game I can't help but wish it had a higher budget/better graphics engine. UE3 can be fucking ugly as hell unless the dev is an absolute master at it.
I mean, it's like an extremely low budget film that uses the same props in every scene. It really takes me out of the immersion when I see the same COFFEE box literally everywhere, the same hanging leather jacket, the same pictures on the walls, etc. Hell, even a WEEKLY SPECIALS chalkboard from an early diner was found in the fucking Silent Hill Cinema concessions stand. The same. exact. one. :/
Textures are downright ugly and character animation in general is piss poor. Like Homecoming, sometimes this looks like a late generation PS2 game (as far as character models).
That said...
I'm loving the game.
Like Shattered Memories, it has a ton of little nuances here and there that just make it unique. I also love the heavy exploration encouragement. There just seems to be a lot to find throughout town... and the thrill of finding a random house/building I can go in takes me back to early exploration of the SH2 town ("THERE WAS A HOLE HERE", for example).
I agree with Game Informer about the 'side quests'. Most of the time they just seem vague as hell at first... and finding random keys and locked doors throughout town is a little frustrating with no context. I don't mind, though. A more 'free-roaming' Silent Hill with actual stuff to do outside of the main story is something I've wanted for a long time.
The first time I vaguely saw the
police car with the weird siren
I also have to eat this massive plate of crow here.
Daniel Licht nailed it. Really fantastic work here... and although I'd still take Yamaoka back in a second, Licht really stepped up. If we can't get Yamaoka back in the future (assuming there are any future SH games), I hope Licht gets to take up the mantle again.
Speaking of music, the random radios you find are great. I get excited every time I find one, anxious to hear what song they've dug up to play. Some really good use of licensed tracks here. I mean, who else was completely unnerved when, during the first 'otherworld', they heard the scratchy BORN FREE echoing and the distant sound of water splashing?
I had a jaw dropping moment in the Devil's Pit when I turned a radio on and heard the haunting guitar melody of (a cover of) 'Willow's Song' from the original 1973 version of The WickerMan.
Speaking of- has anyone been able to compile a list of all the licensed tracks used with the radios in this game?
The combat is decent enough...basic 'smack the shit out of the enemy' ala SH1-Origins. I appreciate the more simplified approach rather than Homecoming's FIGHT NIGHT bobbing-and-weaving bullshit.
Enemy designs are uninspiring, but the banshees are kind of creepy. The shirtless guys are just dumb. I can't even figure out where that design came from. The chimera Grim (Resistance) looking dudes are just unoriginal... and are cheap as shit if they get you in a hitting loop. The only other enemies I've run into
sex doll ghosts
The two 'otherworlds' I've experience, however... MAN. Fucking awesome stuff. Very creative. I just love how they've been designed; really surreal and disorienting.
Secondary characters are...meh (DJ dude is just laughable at this point. Every time I see him I think of the GAF photoshops with the baby chocobo in his fro
), but Murphy's individual journey is strong enough not to get weighed down by a lame supporting cast.Overall, I'm really impressed with how Vatra has carried this production, despite Konami apparently handicapping their ass.
Unless the game falls on its face completely from here on out, I think I'll walk away from this one extremely satisfied.
It just pisses me off. Climax and Vatra have both done commendable jobs with their entries in this franchise... and Konami just seems clueless. Horrible marketing and shoestring budgets. Silent Hill has become the red-headed stepchild that can still go out to the town square, tap dance, make modest coin, and maintain a pocket fanbase... yet it's not making RE numbers, so BACK TO THE BASEMENT, WITH YA! TAKE YOUR COLD PORRADGE WITH YOU! YOU EAT IN THE DARK TONIGHT!
CloakedPuppet
Member
I'm waiting on my eBay'ed purchases of PS2 SH2 and SH3 instead of bothering with the lousy HD collection. I'm really itching for some Silent Hill though - may have to pick this one up to tide me over.
It really pains me to say this, but the only person who can save SH from low budget hell is Kojima, and I don't know if I feel comfortable with that.
Futurevoid
Member
RE numbers aren't even good enough considering the recent reports of Capcom wanting that series to compete with the Call of Duty's of the world. Action/Horror game or bust and we'll see the market continue to trend towards that type of action driven experience. That's the reality. The market for these types of traditional survival horror games just don't exist anymore. It's a "B" market as a friend of mine put it to me so you're going to get B budgets. Folks will point towards Amnesia as a success but that's a very niche release that lived and prospered on word of mouth, a bargain price and likely a lesser budget.TheJollyCorner said:
The fact that a game like Downpour was even released is remarkable to me considering how strongly it holds onto "last gen" survival horror sensibilities. Of course that's why I ended up liking it so much.
No point whatsoever to bother naming the concoction he'd think up Silent Hill.Ridley327 said:
RE numbers aren't even good enough considering the recent reports of Capcom wanting that series to compete with the Call of Duty's of the world. Action/Horror game or bust and we'll see the market continue to trend towards that type of action driven experience. That's the reality. The market for these types of traditional survival horror games just don't exist anymore. It's a "B" market as a friend of mine put it to me so you're going to get B budgets. Folks will point towards Amnesia as a success but that's a very niche release that lived and prospered on word of mouth, a bargain price and likely a lesser budget.
The fact that a game like Downpour was even released is remarkable to me considering how strongly it holds onto "last gen" survival horror sensibilities. Of course that's why I ended up liking it so much.
Yup. Same for me
It's a sad reality that a game like Silent Hill will never get a proper AAA budget, they just don't think it has a large enough market to justify that sort of investment. The problem is there hasn't been a great Silent Hill in so long, that you can't even tell if there isn't a market for it if it was done to a level of quality of Silent Hill 2 again. I think a game like Downpour, with a REAL budget could be a success. Unfortunately, even though Downpour is a good Silent Hill game, because of it's budget there are some caveats that stop you from calling it a truly great game (performance, lack of variety of monster design). I doubt Konami would ever take a chance and give SH the treatment it deserves though, that company is so far gone. If I ever won a ton of money I'd buy the SH IP from Konami >.>.
The fact that a game like Downpour was even released is remarkable to me considering how strongly it holds onto "last gen" survival horror sensibilities. Of course that's why I ended up liking it so much.
I feel this way too.
In case anybody cares, I just put up my review for the game over on EGM (go read it here!).
Excellent review. I think you've captured my feelings on it perfectly. It's a flawed game that's for sure, but I still love it and can almost look past those flaws completely because it captures the feeling of Silent Hill better than anything since SH3.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Futurevoid
Member
Great review, shidoshi!
My only disagreement is in the Otherworld which I thought was visually well designed and original but outside of that, our opinion of the game is nearly identical. Being left with hope for the series when all is said and done is a nice statement I completely agree with. I only hope that Konami give Vatra another go with the franchise and some support in using the Unreal engine. Had the technical issues not been present, I think most folks who sat down to play the game could have easily seen past the enemy design and combat issues...
My only disagreement is in the Otherworld which I thought was visually well designed and original but outside of that, our opinion of the game is nearly identical. Being left with hope for the series when all is said and done is a nice statement I completely agree with. I only hope that Konami give Vatra another go with the franchise and some support in using the Unreal engine. Had the technical issues not been present, I think most folks who sat down to play the game could have easily seen past the enemy design and combat issues...
I really hope Vatra gets a second chance as well. With a bit more of a budget they could absolutely nail it. I think better monster design would improve the combat significantly, the way they design the enemies is the most annoying part about the combat. Getting hit 8 times in a row and not being able to move, going to swing at them and getting knocked down even though your swing should have connected. Otherwise it's a plain but functional combat system.
It would have helped a bit in my experience. Still, I wish the other developers would get another chance over Vatra seeing as how they got more stuff right the first time around. I wouldn't mind another Origins type game on Vita.
Futurevoid
Member
We're on two different wavelengths. Origins was complete garbage to me. Easily the worst in the series and right below Homecoming in the "me too" cheap knock off category with very little in the way of originality, creativity etc. The fact the whole premise of the story was a laughable retcon made it even worse.Grisby said:
Though I hope Book of Memories turns out decent as a fundamental game. At the very least we should get a good Licht soundtrack out of it.
Me too. Really good review Shidoshi! There's greatness and garbage in this package, but overall one of my favorite SH games (and survival horror in general) in a long time because of what it gets right.
I've kinda flipped a little since beating the Centennial Building. The game is fuxxing brokezn0rs and I can only play it in small chunks because I get headaches, but wow, just wandering around and finding the "turn back time" house was neat. There are some cool stories just hidden around.
Still doesn't make the game fun to play, but at least I kinda get it.
Still doesn't make the game fun to play, but at least I kinda get it.