why not get both?
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Silent Hill Downpour |OT| Rain, Rain, Go Away
- Thread starter brandonh83
- Start date
why not get both?
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
The HD collection is a trainwreck.
Snapshot King
Member
Thats how I convinced him. Basically, get Downpour so Silent Hill may possibly continue, and don't reward that awful hd collection.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Alright, so I just finished the game...
I'm going to take a bit of time to take things in, but what I will say is that the final boss was awesome, probably the best final boss in the series. The ending I got at least is going to divide some people, but I actually liked it. I think some things towards the end of the game, like some of the plot twists, some aren't going to like, but I can ensure you it's nothing like sudden Saw-esque torture scenes like in Homecoming or anything. I'm going to find the other endings if at all possible now. Have some full impressions soon. Total playtime was something like 14 hours, but I did spend a bit of time doing some side quest and exploring (though there is still a whole lot I still have to explore and a lot more side quest to do).
I'm going to take a bit of time to take things in, but what I will say is that the final boss was awesome, probably the best final boss in the series. The ending I got at least is going to divide some people, but I actually liked it. I think some things towards the end of the game, like some of the plot twists, some aren't going to like, but I can ensure you it's nothing like sudden Saw-esque torture scenes like in Homecoming or anything. I'm going to find the other endings if at all possible now. Have some full impressions soon. Total playtime was something like 14 hours, but I did spend a bit of time doing some side quest and exploring (though there is still a whole lot I still have to explore and a lot more side quest to do).
Excellent news. I can't wait until Tuesday to explore every corner of the game.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Wow 14 hours and you didn't do all the side stuff. Call me impressed. Awesome impressions can't wait to hear your final thoughts.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
This is a ending spoiler, but I should mention there are no exact details and more-so on how the ending is laid out. I'm not planning to say what the final boss is or the ending or anything, but this does ruin one twist though, so don't read if you rather wouldn't want to know...
I really like the 'fake-out ending' they did. Basically you think you have your answers and there's this giant thing you fight that seems like the final boss and it looks like things are going to end in a bit of a disappointing cliche and happy ending, but then woosh the game isn't over yet and the real revelations begin in a final chapter.
brandonh83
Banned
so
many
spoilers
can't... no.
many
spoilers
can't... no.
MoonsaultSlayer
Member
My question is how could they have marketed this better? Since you've seen just about all the game has to offer, were there any non-spoilery areas that could have been shown off to entice more folks? Encounters?
I'm just flabbergasted at what little was shown and how unflattering it was.
kunonabi
Member
So was there a giant twist in the vein of SH2,Homecoming, and SM?
I have to say I was pretty down on the sidequest idea but the one you mentioned actually sounded pretty interesting. Optional puzzles? Also awesome. Would you say the game is worth playing for the puzzles and side quests even if one doesn't like the rest of the game?
indigo-cyclops
Member
Pre-ordered. Puzzles you say? Exploration of the town, you say?
Fucking count me in, really looking forward to another take on SH. Especially during my break...
God damn can't wait!
Fucking count me in, really looking forward to another take on SH. Especially during my break...
God damn can't wait!
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Hnnngghhhh so tempted to pre-order. Optional side missions and puzzles sound so gud, but I'm still worried about the combat (how much there is of it, how it is compared to the old games, if it's terribad like in Homecoming etc.) :| Hold me, GAF.
BTW, why isn't there a community thread for the SH series?
BTW, why isn't there a community thread for the SH series?
brandonh83
Banned
you guys on the fence need to man up and buy the damn game, you're not going to know whether or not you like it until you play it. reviews and impressions aren't going to matter much to an individual because the series is almost completely polarizing.
kunonabi
Member
You can't blame people for being tentative considering SH's recent track record and the likelihood of a price drop. I'd never pay full price for something I'm on the fence about. Money doesn't grow on trees.I'm not buying it regardless since I'm positive I won't like it enough to justify a 60$ purchase and I don't feel like rewarding Konami for their shitty treatment of the series anyway. At best the game might be a decent rental for me.
Nothing wrong with these guys trying to get a little clearer picture before making the plunge.
I imagine because it wouldn't really go anywhere. Just discussions about SH1-3(4) vs western titles, people arguing over SM, and Tom Hulett's defense force doing their thing.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Took Dusk Golem 14 hours to get through the game, and I don't think he/she did all the side quests.
indigo-cyclops
Member
I agree, after hearing a few things like lots of puzzles, exploration, I had no other choice. Had to give it a chance.
Really can't freaking wait.
Typographenia
Member
We need to go old-school and revive the "SH2 is terrible because it's changing too much from SH1" stuff.
brandonh83
Banned
Didn't say there was, I was kind of half-joking anyway.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
The Antitype
Banned
As a marketer myself, I would love to meet the marketing team who came to a consensus that 'Let's Get Wet' was a great message for a supposedly psychological horror experience.
I mean, even 'You'll Wet Yourself' is better than that.
I mean, even 'You'll Wet Yourself' is better than that.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
I'm terribly proud of you brandonh, this game looks absolutely atrocious but you've still managed to stay positive about it. Ridiculous korn theme aside, I'm actually impressed with the music overall.
The game has a great deal to prove.
The game has a great deal to prove.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
First of all, I did a quick video recording test if anyone is curious to see. It's one of the first cutscenes in the game, involving when Murphy gets on the bus and it crashes. You can see that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHWIIpn8bZ8
Alright, so before I start I should mention this is based off of one playthrough. I reached the end of the game and got an ending, but I wouldn't say I've completed the game yet, at least I have the urge to play more. I still have 10 (out of 14) sidequests to complete, there's other endings, a lot of the town I still haven't explored, and I always think it's fun to go through a Silent Hill game a second time to really understand what some scenes meant you didn't the first time around.
I'm going to start with the negative. The combat is clunky and more frustrating than it should be. If you're ever facing more than one enemy at a time, they all can gang up on you and get in a long of cheap hits. You can only hold one melee item and one firearm at a time, and it's not uncommon if you decide to take the offense against a group for your weapon to break at the worst possible time. This might be a plus for some people, but the combat is about as clunky as the old Silent Hill games. Now combat obviously isn't the most important part in Silent Hill, but for a modern age game this does stand out as a bit weird and almost like a refusal to evolve. Now I don't want Call of Silent Hill (though that name probably fits more than it should), but I believe it's possible to have a combat system in a horror game that helps make the game terrifying but not terribly controlled. You also can only carry one melee weapon and one firearm at any given time, but I thought the game made good use of this.
That kind of leads right into the enemies. There is a rather small number of monsters in the game. Some of them are pretty creative, but there's only about five kinds of monsters in the game, and then alterations of those five kinds. An example of alterations, there's this one monster who initially is stuck to walls and is kind of more like a hazard than an enemy. It reminded me of those wall enemies from Silent Hill 4. However, later in the game those monsters get wheels and can start chasing you... Which is more terrifying than it probably sounds, I'll admit. Still, the small number is a bit disappointing, and what others might be even more disappointed by is the style of these monsters. Every single enemy looks like some form of mutilated or deformed human. They all have luckily varied AI and combat styles, but I think it would of been nice to face some enemies that weren't Anthropomorphic.
The graphics are just alright. They look better than people might think due to some of the trailers and screens, but it isn't anything amazing either but passable. The game in large areas occasionally experiences some slowdown, but it's nothing too series. I actually liked the game's soundtrack a lot, but it is different and I know how much some people hate change. Voice Acting was a mixed bag, but a lot of the acting sounded pretty dead-beat.
Now to an important part, the game's story. The game opens up to Murphy going into the shower rooms. It's obvious from the get-go that something is wrong as a prison guard encourages Murphy to 'not change his mind' and tells him 'he left a present for him on the bench', and to 'turn on the showers since it gets so foggy the cameras can't see anything down there'. Murphy finds a knife pipe, and after a bit a fatter blonde dude in a towel wakes walks in, who is apparently a sequestrate prisoner and some big political figure. Murphy asks the man if he recognizes him, and shortly after the man doesn't, reveals that they used to be neighbors. The man gets a panicked look on his face and runs for it as Murphy commences to beat the shit out of him. Before the killing blow, the man asks why, in which Murphy replies, 'You know exactly why,' and kills him. Murphy seems to be plagued by nightmares of this scene as he jolts awake from re-experiencing it, now transferring prisons. Of course the bus gets in an accident and before you know it, Murphy is making his way into the town of Silent Hill.
This opening scenes feel very different from Silent Hill, but I don't think this is a bad thing. It helps settle Murphy in more as a character, which is important. Even though Murphy has done some things and isn't the best person around (sort of a naturally suspicious person and sometimes a bit of a lone wolf and an ass), he's surprisingly likable. The story is surprisingly engaging and well-written. It's got a bit more of a cinematic flair to it than the other games, but it's very interesting and I found myself pretty engaged the whole way through. There are a few things towards the end of the game that might split some people, but I think it's evident that the studio know how to tell a good story.
One thing about the story I was surprised to see is this game's connection to other entries in the series. This game actually has a lot more of it than I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing. In the first thirty minutes or so in the game,
Little touches like this, along with a lot of other things, are sure to be nice throwbacks to long-term fans and how the game handles them is quite interesting and had this game surprisingly gill me with nostalgia from time to time. That's one thing this game does very well, secrets and easter eggs. There's a lot of them hidden around to discover.
Which leads me to what I believe is the single greatest thing about this game: Exploration. This game has a lot of it, especially once you get past the first couple of hours, and it's fantastically done. There is a lot to explore, a lot to discover, some fun side quests (even if a lot of them are fetch quest they often are quite rewarding), and generally a great feel to the atmosphere. This game also has oodles of that, atmosphere. But the atmosphere is vividly different to past Silent Hill games. The environments are detailed and interesting, and the surrealism of everything reminds me heavily of the earlier games where things in Silent Hill worked in some strange form of dream logic.
The game has some good scares, but I personally didn't find it all that scary. I should mention with this though I've never found Silent Hill terribly scary outside of a few moments, but immensely interesting and engaging.
The game hosts some fantastic puzzles. There is a puzzle difficulty selection along with a combat selection at the beginning of the game, and though I did both on normal I did enjoy the puzzles and there was a good number of them as well. Some of them are quite creative and fun, and for those that feel like they've been missing from games they'll be happy to hear they are quite prevalent in this game.
That's one thing I can say about this game. This is the first horror game in a long time I can say feels like an old-school horror game in the modern age of gaming. It has a lot of old-school horror gaming conventions, clunky combat, exploration and back-tracking, puzzles, hell, it sometimes even has old-school horror camera angles, which all make it feel like the first real old-school horror game that's come out this console generation. If you're looking for a modern old-school horror game with some new conventions with the old, this is a game you should definitely check out.
I actually want to play more, though there's a lot more I have to say about the game so likely will post the other half of my impressions later. Also see if I can capture some gameplay from interesting moments of the game that don't have that many spoilers. If you have any non-spoiler questions, I'll try my best to answer them.
Alright, so before I start I should mention this is based off of one playthrough. I reached the end of the game and got an ending, but I wouldn't say I've completed the game yet, at least I have the urge to play more. I still have 10 (out of 14) sidequests to complete, there's other endings, a lot of the town I still haven't explored, and I always think it's fun to go through a Silent Hill game a second time to really understand what some scenes meant you didn't the first time around.
I'm going to start with the negative. The combat is clunky and more frustrating than it should be. If you're ever facing more than one enemy at a time, they all can gang up on you and get in a long of cheap hits. You can only hold one melee item and one firearm at a time, and it's not uncommon if you decide to take the offense against a group for your weapon to break at the worst possible time. This might be a plus for some people, but the combat is about as clunky as the old Silent Hill games. Now combat obviously isn't the most important part in Silent Hill, but for a modern age game this does stand out as a bit weird and almost like a refusal to evolve. Now I don't want Call of Silent Hill (though that name probably fits more than it should), but I believe it's possible to have a combat system in a horror game that helps make the game terrifying but not terribly controlled. You also can only carry one melee weapon and one firearm at any given time, but I thought the game made good use of this.
That kind of leads right into the enemies. There is a rather small number of monsters in the game. Some of them are pretty creative, but there's only about five kinds of monsters in the game, and then alterations of those five kinds. An example of alterations, there's this one monster who initially is stuck to walls and is kind of more like a hazard than an enemy. It reminded me of those wall enemies from Silent Hill 4. However, later in the game those monsters get wheels and can start chasing you... Which is more terrifying than it probably sounds, I'll admit. Still, the small number is a bit disappointing, and what others might be even more disappointed by is the style of these monsters. Every single enemy looks like some form of mutilated or deformed human. They all have luckily varied AI and combat styles, but I think it would of been nice to face some enemies that weren't Anthropomorphic.
The graphics are just alright. They look better than people might think due to some of the trailers and screens, but it isn't anything amazing either but passable. The game in large areas occasionally experiences some slowdown, but it's nothing too series. I actually liked the game's soundtrack a lot, but it is different and I know how much some people hate change. Voice Acting was a mixed bag, but a lot of the acting sounded pretty dead-beat.
Now to an important part, the game's story. The game opens up to Murphy going into the shower rooms. It's obvious from the get-go that something is wrong as a prison guard encourages Murphy to 'not change his mind' and tells him 'he left a present for him on the bench', and to 'turn on the showers since it gets so foggy the cameras can't see anything down there'. Murphy finds a knife pipe, and after a bit a fatter blonde dude in a towel wakes walks in, who is apparently a sequestrate prisoner and some big political figure. Murphy asks the man if he recognizes him, and shortly after the man doesn't, reveals that they used to be neighbors. The man gets a panicked look on his face and runs for it as Murphy commences to beat the shit out of him. Before the killing blow, the man asks why, in which Murphy replies, 'You know exactly why,' and kills him. Murphy seems to be plagued by nightmares of this scene as he jolts awake from re-experiencing it, now transferring prisons. Of course the bus gets in an accident and before you know it, Murphy is making his way into the town of Silent Hill.
This opening scenes feel very different from Silent Hill, but I don't think this is a bad thing. It helps settle Murphy in more as a character, which is important. Even though Murphy has done some things and isn't the best person around (sort of a naturally suspicious person and sometimes a bit of a lone wolf and an ass), he's surprisingly likable. The story is surprisingly engaging and well-written. It's got a bit more of a cinematic flair to it than the other games, but it's very interesting and I found myself pretty engaged the whole way through. There are a few things towards the end of the game that might split some people, but I think it's evident that the studio know how to tell a good story.
One thing about the story I was surprised to see is this game's connection to other entries in the series. This game actually has a lot more of it than I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing. In the first thirty minutes or so in the game,
you turn on a jukebox which commences to play the Silent Hill 1 theme.
Which leads me to what I believe is the single greatest thing about this game: Exploration. This game has a lot of it, especially once you get past the first couple of hours, and it's fantastically done. There is a lot to explore, a lot to discover, some fun side quests (even if a lot of them are fetch quest they often are quite rewarding), and generally a great feel to the atmosphere. This game also has oodles of that, atmosphere. But the atmosphere is vividly different to past Silent Hill games. The environments are detailed and interesting, and the surrealism of everything reminds me heavily of the earlier games where things in Silent Hill worked in some strange form of dream logic.
The game has some good scares, but I personally didn't find it all that scary. I should mention with this though I've never found Silent Hill terribly scary outside of a few moments, but immensely interesting and engaging.
The game hosts some fantastic puzzles. There is a puzzle difficulty selection along with a combat selection at the beginning of the game, and though I did both on normal I did enjoy the puzzles and there was a good number of them as well. Some of them are quite creative and fun, and for those that feel like they've been missing from games they'll be happy to hear they are quite prevalent in this game.
That's one thing I can say about this game. This is the first horror game in a long time I can say feels like an old-school horror game in the modern age of gaming. It has a lot of old-school horror gaming conventions, clunky combat, exploration and back-tracking, puzzles, hell, it sometimes even has old-school horror camera angles, which all make it feel like the first real old-school horror game that's come out this console generation. If you're looking for a modern old-school horror game with some new conventions with the old, this is a game you should definitely check out.
I actually want to play more, though there's a lot more I have to say about the game so likely will post the other half of my impressions later. Also see if I can capture some gameplay from interesting moments of the game that don't have that many spoilers. If you have any non-spoiler questions, I'll try my best to answer them.
MoonsaultSlayer
Member
Thank you. The lack of anything involving horror has me worried though. Anything psychological? Anything that makes you second guess wanting to walk down that dark hallway. Does the game ever get dark?
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Oh, there isn't a lack of horror. I think there's a different meaning between being scared personally and there being horror, because there's a lot of horror and I found it all very enjoyable. There's also a lot of surreal stuff, which I also enjoyed. The atmosphere is quite good and the game has some good scares. I should mention horror games are my favorite genre and I'm a bit desensitized to some scares these days, but I consider myself lucky because I still can get scared.
The Antitype
Banned
Uh, how about renting it or playing a demo?
The idea that putting down $60 is the only way to come to the decision that the game is worth $60 seems... flawed.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
I can't see this game selling too well in big part since the marketing for this game is pretty bad. That and everyone is on edge because it's a modern Silent Hill game. I've been looking forward to it but I was uncertain, I apparently got it early without realizing it and since it seems only a few others have it right now I decided just to post some impressions since I know a lot of people are on the gate about this. However, I'm actually very pleasantly surprised so I want to express that.
I'm hoping this game sells well enough through word of mouth. A few others that I've talked with who also got the game on various other websites seem to be enjoying it as much as I am, which I'm happy to hear. I can't see this doing the best with critics though as the game does have some flaws that I can see bringing the experience down for some. That said, I think those that like old-horror games will really like this game since it's designed like a modern old horror game, and lots of the game's flaws are the same flaws horror games of yesteryear often had. I expect this to get 7-8's around, maybe a few 6's and 9's. Silent Hill games have always been polarizing, though.
ThatObviousUser
ὠαἴÏÏιÏÏÎ¿Ï Ïαá¿Ï εἶ
Howso? I've been out of the loop.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
This might be a bit difficult because all of the boss fights contain spoilers. I can say the game has about 4-5 bosses and their a bit more cinematic than the series is used to. Also most of the boss fights occur towards the end of the game, there's only one other boss fight that happens earlier in the game. The first is more of a survival thing than a straight-out boss fight though.
Two of the boss fights happen really closely together, and then there's a boss you're lead to believe might be the final boss, and then the actual final boss.
Trent Strong
Banned
Side quests in a Silent Hill game sounds strange. You don't do side quests in a nightmare world.
MoonsaultSlayer
Member
But that lady's scrapbook is scattered throughout the town. You don't expect her to fetch for the pieces do you? Come on, dude.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Some of the side quest involving investigating an abandoned building or something of the sort, for example. There are quests for other people, but... I guess it didn't phase me much. You have to remember there was a side quest in the first Silent Hill game where you went to get an item for Kaufmann. It's not like you're questing on your way to slay X number of monsters. It's more... Investigating, and fetch quests to put it simply, but they usually have some nice pay-offs about them such as opening up new optional areas or expanding the story more, or giving you an item. I personally felt they worked great with the game, especially with the emphasized focus on exploration. And then these quests can become interesting due to some randomized elements, such as the fact that rain storms in the game happen randomly and when they happen things get pretty crazy.
Hobbestetrician
Member
For those that have played some/all the game, how difficult do you see it being to do the "Don't Kill Any Monsters" playthrough that there is an achievement for?
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
I forgot to mention this in my impressions, but it should be possible. The chase mechanics work nice, you can do things like look behind you, or temporarily hold up your weapon to block (though it only blocks if they hit where your weapon is). Now if it was don't hit any monster that would be quite the undertaking, but since it's just don't kill you can do things like incapacitate monsters so they can't chase you down so much. The enemies can't get past places where you use animations though. Like they can't climb ladders or jump something, for example. So use that to your advantage. However, it still will probably take some effort and caution since there's enclosed spaces where enemies are and you'll have to likely be very quick on your feet and evasive to get through without dying too much.
brandonh83
Banned
Have fun waiting on a demo. And sheesh, like I said I was partially joking, and I say partially because I'm somewhat serious-- in my personal experience with the entire series, I can safely say that I only really know for sure when I'm actually playing the game.
I didn't like Shattered Memories so much, but the things I did like about it were not evident in the reviews, impressions, or media. With these games it comes down to each person. I know people who think SH2 is overrated and I think that's utter blasphemy. Someone was just in this thread trash-talking SH3, which is also blasphemy to me.
Long story short, I fully believe that there's only one way to know for sure what you're going to personally think of a SH game, and that's by playing through it. Obviously if you don't trust it, then rent it or something.
Hobbestetrician
Member
^ Good to know, thanks for the impressions.
kunonabi
Member
Game sort of sounds like new Alone in the Dark with worse combat but a potentially better story and a more atmospheric presentation. I can't say I hate the sound of that considering I loved AiTD(X360 version) despite some of its issues.
Do the horror elements occur naturally during play or is it like homecoming where it goes to a letterboxed cutscene before anything happens?
I could really see this becoming a rental.
Do the horror elements occur naturally during play or is it like homecoming where it goes to a letterboxed cutscene before anything happens?
I could really see this becoming a rental.
craigrushforth
Member
Do we know anything about how the PS3 version compares to the 360 version? I'd prefer to play it on PS3 with my wireless headset but if its a really shoddy version then I'll probably pick it up on 360.
Also when is the review embargo up? I'm starting to get tired of games with no demos having review embargos till the day of release.
Also when is the review embargo up? I'm starting to get tired of games with no demos having review embargos till the day of release.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
They happen seamlessly with gameplay. The first monster does get a cutscene reveal, but that's about it from memory. With that said, the first monster doesn't actually appear for a while (not including the red light) and there's several scares before then.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Look in the HD collection thread for a more detailed explanation and for pics and videos, but basically; SH2 looks too dark and 'clean', while SH3 looks too bright. No original VAs for SH3, only for SH2. Some of the music in SH2 has been replaced with new recordings, for some reason, but only if you play with the new VA. If you play with the original VAs, you get the original music.
ThatObviousUser
ὠαἴÏÏιÏÏÎ¿Ï Ïαá¿Ï εἶ
Weird but not unexpected. None of that really sounds dealbreaking IMO...
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
As it is, you're honestly better off replaying the PS2 versions, be it via emulation or a PS2.
Same here, especially if its not all that noticeable while playing.
Roland Stiles
Member
HD Collection - The new music is actually the 5.1 surround. If you play the game without 5.1 you get the original music, regardless of voice settings.
DG - great reading your impressions.
DG - great reading your impressions.