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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - |OT| of Not Your Father's Silent Hill

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
EatChildren said:
Yep. There are a couple of areas in the game which go by the 'first door' rule.
It's kind of disappointing though, considering that they had these promises of "No door locked" when in reality there were only enough doors to get through, and even then you can't do the second door. Hopefully they'll be able to open it up in another game.
 

Miburou

Member
Huh, that's not actually a good thing for me. If I tried a door in my previous playthrough and it was locked, I won't try it again on my second one, and definitely won't try it before the door I learned is the correct door to open. The only new doors I tried on my 2nd playthrough were the ones I didn't attempt on my first one.
 

big_z

Member
finished the game tonight, probably the best silent hill over all. not scary but the gameplay and story were great.


anyway the game asked me to save after the credits so i did and now that file starts at the very beginning again. does restarting with that save file do anything different as opposed to just creating a second file?

edit: forgot to ask, are there different versions of dahilia in the game or is she always the same?
 

beje

Banned
Kinda off-topic but...

Lady GaGa for next Silent Hill? Looks like it already...

elaagm.jpg


2502tl5.jpg


Hope it's not "that" old :lol
 

Miburou

Member
Yeah, there are different versions of Dhalia in the game (punk rocker, emo, and others). And it does not seem like saving after finishing the game has any effect. It's too bad that there are no unlockables in the game (I was hoping for an option to turn off the grain filters).

And Kiriku, you should try to force yourself to like the game like brandonh83. j/k

Seriously though, the game's mechanics are far from flawless. Like you mentioned the puzzles are simplistic, and having locked doors with keys an arm's length away is just a nuisance. Since they have so many different puzzles and variations of puzzles in the game, it would've been nice to have a puzzle difficulty option like SH3.

And while some of the locations are relevant to the characters, you're not given enough background information about them. And as I mentioned before, I wish the Nightmare world and the chases would've been better integrated into the game.

I think a lot of people would agree that the game does have its shortcomings, but in the end it is a satisfying experience that dares to do something new and that is far better than another Origins (or worse Homecoming). It's the kind of game that you appreciate more some time after you have finished it.
 
big_z said:
finished the game tonight, probably the best silent hill over all. not scary but the gameplay and story were great.

That's like saying the best comedy you've seen isn't funny :lol

Not making fun, it's your opinion and the game is pretty solid on some levels but that's pretty much the most important component of the series IMO.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
doomed1 said:
I'm pretty sure that it's the door you open first, just like the planetary and the art room.

I've never been through either the dress shop or the art room!
 

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
brandonh83 said:
That's like saying the best comedy you've seen isn't funny :lol

Not making fun, it's your opinion and the game is pretty solid on some levels but that's pretty much the most important component of the series IMO.
not really. It's like enjoying RE4 better than other REs, but I would never explicitly call RE4 scary, but it's definitely better than previous REs.

John Harker said:
I've never been through either the dress shop or the art room!
I've been through them both!
 
doomed1 said:
not really. It's like enjoying RE4 better than other REs, but I would never explicitly call RE4 scary, but it's definitely better than previous REs.

I just have to keep myself in the mind that I tend to find atmosphere and the overall experience above even gameplay. Some people aren't like this. See, I personally don't think RE4 is anywhere near as good as the first two. Gameplay wise? Absolutely. But it did nothing for me. The feeling wasn't there, therefore it was a more lackluster experience despite the fact that it was more "fun" to play. Sometimes games, when I'm playing them, get me into this mentality, some sort of state of mind where I'm "in the pocket" with the overall vibes of the game, and to me that's better than superior gameplay sometimes. Same thing with games like this. The controls in a Silent Hill or Resident Evil game is what I call a sideline item, in that, it's part of the package but doesn't dictate the quality of the package. So the fact that Shattered Memories' atmosphere and horror qualities don't come close to cracking the earlier installments in my opinion means that it totally stumbles by comparison. I have warmed up to the game a lot and I think it's a very good game, but for me it's still missing that level of atmospheric submission and that's a key component. It's not something I could ever simply ignore.
 

Culex

Banned
Finished the game. A big WTF at the ending, too.

After you find out it's Cheryl that's in actually talking to the therapist, and you end up frozen. I felt utterly confused!
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
wow! I saw the Giant Bomb quick-look and knew I had to buy this.

People complain about lack of AAA games with decent budgets and overall production quality on Wii, and then this game is released, and people ignore it! Crazy.

I can't wait to play it.
 

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
Rez said:
wow! I saw the Giant Bomb quick-look and knew I had to buy this.

People complain about lack of AAA games with decent budgets and overall production quality on Wii, and then this game is released, and people ignore it! Crazy.

I can't wait to play it.
It's just really a shame that this isn't getting the marketing campaign it deserves. Part of the whole complaints is that even when a game has the quality and effort to do well, it lacks the effort to get it on peoples minds. Wii owners don't just buy games out of the blue, they need to know about them beforehand, i.e., TV commercials. I could probably manage to put together a 15-30 second trailer without much trouble, I guess it's just getting the advertising spots...
 

Ridley327

Member
SH2 is the best-selling title in the series with over a million copies sold, thanks largely to its status as being a "drought-quencher" in the first year of the PS2. Ever since then, it's been diminishing returns; SH3, for example, sold a mere 300k in the US.
 

Vinnk

Member
brandonh83 said:
I just have to keep myself in the mind that I tend to find atmosphere and the overall experience above even gameplay. Some people aren't like this. See, I personally don't think RE4 is anywhere near as good as the first two. Gameplay wise? Absolutely. But it did nothing for me. The feeling wasn't there, therefore it was a more lackluster experience despite the fact that it was more "fun" to play. Sometimes games, when I'm playing them, get me into this mentality, some sort of state of mind where I'm "in the pocket" with the overall vibes of the game, and to me that's better than superior gameplay sometimes. Same thing with games like this. The controls in a Silent Hill or Resident Evil game is what I call a sideline item, in that, it's part of the package but doesn't dictate the quality of the package. So the fact that Shattered Memories' atmosphere and horror qualities don't come close to cracking the earlier installments in my opinion means that it totally stumbles by comparison. I have warmed up to the game a lot and I think it's a very good game, but for me it's still missing that level of atmospheric submission and that's a key component. It's not something I could ever simply ignore.

This is a great post. It really helps me understand your mindset and the 2 sides of this game debate. So when you don't like SH:SM it is because it does not meet the criteria of being scary and atmospheric. And the guys who love that game don't care as much about those issues but have found something else they enjoy. Seems that in general that is the dividing line.

I don't think you should try to force yourself to like a game. If it is not your thing, it's not your thing. Since scares were what you were looking for and this game didn't have them, 20 more plays are not going to change that. There is no dishonor in not liking a game.
 

bengraven

Member
Slow down here. I have been interested in this since a bit but held off on news and it's getting 9.5s, 9s, and 8s?!

Rental confirmed this weekend.
 

kinggroin

Banned
Fëanor said:
So this game runs at 60fps correct? It seems pretty smooth.

60-30fps

Flashlight off, almost always 60fps. On, 30.

There are some parts of the nightmare chase sequences where the framerate drops down to the mid teens (yikes) and sort of interferes with your turning (since you use the wiimote to do so).

Mostly however, the game runs great.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I'm on my third playthough, and finally managed to get
the bar scene, rather than the diner scene
. My monsters are different this time around too. In order of playthrough;

1:
The heads of monsters turned into big geometrical cog like shapes, with chunks of cubed skin sticking out. Their faces were holes, and their bodes were chopped up into little slices (think kinda like Rayman's floating limbs, only heaps of little segments along the arms and legs).

2:
Huge tits, huge lips, wide hips, and later on what seemed like grotesque vaginas for faces. Awesome.

3:
For this third run they have, so far, become more corpse like. Their feet look to have disappeared so now they run on stumps, and their hands may be gone too. They've got a big hole/dint in their head with the skin grown over, similar to people who've gone through brain surgery and have a 'dint' in their head. They also appear more corpse like, with ribs showing and strands of flesh sprouting out attaching to another part of their body.

What else have people got?
 
EatChildren said:
I'm on my third playthough, and finally managed to get
the bar scene, rather than the diner scene
. My monsters are different this time around too. In order of playthrough;

1:
The heads of monsters turned into big geometrical cog like shapes, with chunks of cubed skin sticking out. Their faces were holes, and their bodes were chopped up into little slices (think kinda like Rayman's floating limbs, only heaps of little segments along the arms and legs).

2:
Huge tits, huge lips, wide hips, and later on what seemed like grotesque vaginas for faces. Awesome.

3:
For this third run they have, so far, become more corpse like. Their feet look to have disappeared so now they run on stumps, and their hands may be gone too. They've got a big hole/dint in their head with the skin grown over, similar to people who've gone through brain surgery and have a 'dint' in their head. They also appear more corpse like, with ribs showing and strands of flesh sprouting out attaching to another part of their body.

What else have people got?
I got
enemies that look like gollum without eyes, but have a giant eye on their back that opens up when they're looking for me. They're also far more aggressive and will use doors to swing out and hit me than I've seen in videos.
 

Truelize

Steroid Distributor
big_z said:
finished the game tonight, probably the best silent hill over all. not scary but the gameplay and story were great.

How can it be the best Silent Hill game overall when it's not scary? I mean the entire series is defined by how scary it is.

Question: You people that are praising this game, have you played through the other Silent Hill games? And do you play games only on the Wii?
I'm just curious where people's point of view is coming from.
 

kinggroin

Banned
Truelize said:
How can it be the best Silent Hill game overall when it's not scary? I mean the entire series is defined by how scary it is.

Question: You people that are praising this game, have you played through the other Silent Hill games? And do you play games only on the Wii?
I'm just curious where people's point of view is coming from.

Is it?

For the record, I played 1, 3, and 4 to completion. So far, for me, shattered memories ranks just behind 1 and 3. Definitely a great game, and a worthy entry into the series.

Obviously no; I don't play games only on the Wii :p

Kind of a silly question to ask, no?
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Truelize said:
How can it be the best Silent Hill game overall when it's not scary? I mean the entire series is defined by how scary it is.

Then it must be a pretty shitty series since 99% of my play time with all the Silent Hill's has not scared me.

Fear is subjective. What I love about Silent Hill is the art, lore, and atmosphere. It's not very scary for me. Tense? Sure, at times, but overall not that scary. When I play Silent Hill I mostly play to experience the world of Silent Hill and whatever story they've wrapped up in it.

So for me Shattered Memories did a lot of what I want to see in the franchise. It got a lot wrong too, but I think it nailed the whole 'idea' of what I want the Silent Hill world to be, and has a fantastic plot wrapped up in it.

This is coming from someone who generally hates the whole cult aspect of Silent Hill though. I can see exactly why some Silent Hill fans will walk away from Shattered Memories very disappointed, but it does what I like right.

I like my fantasy horror games to be more mystical, hence why I hate the whole cult aspect of Silent Hill as to me it ruins the mystery of the world itself. In that regard Shattered Memories is good. It doesnt try to explain Silent Hill beyond the actual plot itself, concerning all characters.

EDIT: And yes I have played through most of the Silent Hills (have not played Origins, and hated Homecoming too much to finish), and yes I play games outside of the Wii (primarily a PC gamer, and have access to a PS3/Xbox36).
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
one thing I'd like to find out for sure before playing this: do the chase sequences get frustrating, and how much of the game consists of them?

The exploration/adventure aspects of the game looks absolutely fantastic, but if they're going to be constantly punctuated by icy-chases, I could see that being potentially frustrating.

Thoughts?
 

Kevtones

Member
doomed1 said:
When was the last time that magazine had ANY credibility? Seriously, like none.


True. It just frustrates me that they're the ones associated with the central gaming retailer in the world. They also get a shitload of good exclusives.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Rez said:
one thing I'd like to find out for sure before playing this: do the chase sequences get frustrating, and how much of the game consists of them?

There's maybe 4, possibly 5, chase scenes in the game.

Too much luck is involved and that is what makes them frustrating, mostly for first time players. It's hard to work out where you need to go, and using the map is fucking useless as it doesn't show the warped paths of the Otherworld.

So you'll either luck it out and end up running exactly where you need to, or end up going in frustrating circles as a chain of enemies are hot on your heals, all of which are slightly faster than you and will eventually catch up.

When you know where to go, as I did on the second/third playthrough, they aren't half as frustrating as you can just sprint to the end. But first time players obviously wont have that luxury.

There mostly worthless. I personally didn't find them scary or tense, and more-so tedious, and in instances where I found myself going in circles immensely frustrating.

The game is worth playing though, as you might find them more enjoyable, and the overall game is still good.
 
I Push Fat Kids said:
I got a new issue of GI and all I have to say is FUCK that mag.
6.25? I've only played a bit under an hour of the game so far, and just based on that it seems like it should have gotten a much better score. It's one of the few games recently where I've had to quit playing because of other obligations rather than just getting bored and quitting. I'll be playing this some more.
 

Kevtones

Member
bmf said:
6.25? I've only played a bit under an hour of the game so far, and just based on that it seems like it should have gotten a much better score. It's one of the few games recently where I've had to quit playing because of other obligations rather than just getting bored and quitting. I'll be playing this some more.


The reviewer says the graphics are horrible, the controls poor and calls the wii speaker phone calls incredibly irritating. I said it before but most of the time GI Wii reviews come off as shitty trolls.
 

Miburou

Member
Few expected the game to be any good, so that's probably why the views here are mostly favorable.

As for being "scary", call it tension, dread, fear of dying and repeating what you did before, but in the previous SH games you could only save at certain locations, and the game was so unpredictable than that you never knew when danger would strike, when the whole world would turn into the nightmare one, etc. and this unpredictability is what kept you on the edge of you seat (some of the most memorable moments for me where when it seemed like something horrible might just happen to never does). SM's major failing here is that it's predictable; you know when you might be attacked and when you're 100% safe. The normal world in SM is just that, perfectly normal. Nothing fascinating or mysterious about it.
 
I Push Fat Kids said:
The reviewer says the graphics are horrible, the controls poor and calls the wii speaker phone calls incredibly irritating. I said it before but most of the time GI Wii reviews come off as shitty trolls.
Yeah. Sounds about like a troll. It feels like a well budgeted PS2 game, and that makes me happy. Sounds to me like the guy would have liked it much more if it were on the PS360.
 

Miburou

Member
I'm pretty sure there are 7 of those chase sequences (they're closer towards the end, so it might feel like less).

Actually, you leave a blue trailer when running around in them, so you can check your map and it will be clear whether you're going in circles or making progress. You'll also see what exit leads where. The enemies can also be used as clues; if there's a bunch of them just behind a door, then that's a place you've already been to. And during the later sequences, there are clues to the correct path.

The enemies can latch on to you even if you think you've dodged them, and they're hard to shake off. And if 3 or more of them gang up on you, then it's game over (well, not literally, since the game has infinite continues). I didn't find it too frustrating, just a bit annoying, and only tense when you're close to exiting the nightmare world and then get attacked by a monster.
 

J-Rock

Banned
So over on the IGN Wii Lobby someone posted a little bit of info that completely lines up with how I understood the story to be after I finished the game.

Okay, been digging around my old psychology books and it looks like I was pretty much on the money.

Harry, and thus the player, is a memory in Cheryl's mind.

The monsters are a visual depiction of "censors", a concept first put out by Frued. Constructs of the mind used to identify, seperate, and then freeze out and censor (Literally in this game) painful, harmful, or unwanted memories.

The therapist sessions were forcing cheryl to send the censors after the fictitious memory of her father(the player).

But harry eludes them, constantly, goes through Cheryl's memories. Depending on the ending, she manages to put away this false memory in various ways, which results in harry freezing and falling to pieces, or well, you guessed it, shattering.

Makes complete sense to me.
I found it very interesting to play as a warped memory(Harry) that Cheryl(with help from the psychologist) is trying to remove from her mind.

I really enjoy this game. Working on seeing the other endings now.
 
brandonh83 said:
That's like saying the best comedy you've seen isn't funny :lol

Not making fun, it's your opinion and the game is pretty solid on some levels but that's pretty much the most important component of the series IMO.

Sounds like a Wes Anderson movie.
 

scitek

Member
J-Rock said:
So over on the IGN Wii Lobby someone posted a little bit of info that completely lines up with how I understood the story to be after I finished the game.



Makes complete sense to me.
I found it very interesting to play as a warped memory(Harry) that Cheryl(with help from the psychologist) is trying to remove from her mind.

I really enjoy this game. Working on seeing the other endings now.

Awesome assessment. I think the name is a pun, BTW, not only what you said there, but it also shatters any memories one might have of the first game. Silent Hill purists may prefer to call it Sharted Memories.
 
Man, what a trip. Just finished it, and holy cow at the ending...

So, let me get this straight. From my playthrough, it seems as if you are a memory(harry) in cheryl's head. And are those nightmare section her bad dreams/thoughs? Or maybe they are actually good thoughs, shutting harry out?

J-Rock said:
So over on the IGN Wii Lobby someone posted a little bit of info that completely lines up with how I understood the story to be after I finished the game.


Makes complete sense to me.
I found it very interesting to play as a warped memory(Harry) that Cheryl(with help from the psychologist) is trying to remove from her mind.
Hmmmm...
 

big_z

Member
How can it be the best Silent Hill game overall when it's not scary? I mean the entire series is defined by how scary it is.

gameplay, story, pacing, etc is all done better than the previous entries. the game still retains the silent hill atmosphere it just doesnt use the same horror tactic. instead the developer went for tension and there's nothing wrong with that.

i think if half of the chase sequences were dropped and slower moving stealth puzzle bits were put in(think penumbra on the pc type stuff) then the scare factor would sky rocket.

this is an excellent and much needed reboot of the series. the game is good and i hope it sells well so we get a another.



edit: going to ask again, are there different versions of dahilia in the game or is she always the same?
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
abstract alien said:
Man, what a trip. Just finished it, and holy cow at the ending...

So, let me get this straight. From my playthrough, it seems as if you are a memory(harry) in cheryl's head. And are those nightmare section her bad dreams/thoughs? Or maybe they are actually good thoughs, shutting harry out?

Harry has been dead since Cheryl was 7. She never knew her father, at least who he truly is. Thus the Harry we play, and are profiled on, is the Harry Cheryl has created in her mind. Ever since his death she's been blaming herself, and everyone else, for it, and due to her love for her father constructed her ideal version of him.

In reality, as said, she never knew her father, at least not on an adult level. That's where the twist comes in; all those choices we make, all that 'Harry' interacts with and experiences in the game, is really just how Cheryl wants to see him. Who he really is is shown only in the videotape segments at the very start and the very end.

The whole game experience is debatable, but whether or not it 'really happens' what can be agreed on is that the events are heavily influenced and controlled by Cheryl and her time at the shrink. The events that Harry goes through are Cheryl going through her past, and the nightmare world is Cheryl holding onto whatever she can. The otherworld is Cheryl not wanting to let go.

edit: going to ask again, are there different versions of dahilia in the game or is she always the same?

What you do mean by 'different'? I'm on my third playthrough and Dahliah's personality has largely been exactly the same, as has her dialogue minus a couple of lines here and there, but she has visually been different all three times. She's also sent me different pictures of herself each time.
 

kinggroin

Banned
big_z said:
gameplay, story, pacing, etc is all done better than the previous entries. the game still retains the silent hill atmosphere it just doesnt use the same horror tactic. instead the developer went for tension and there's nothing wrong with that.

i think if half of the chase sequences were dropped and slower moving stealth puzzle bits were put in(think penumbra on the pc type stuff) then the scare factor would sky rocket.

this is an excellent and much needed reboot of the series. the game is good and i hope it sells well so we get a another.



edit: going to ask again, are there different versions of dahilia in the game or is she always the same?

I thought I read that she has a few variations of her character. Maybe I'm thinking of Cybil...


Anyway, I just finished the nightmare chase sequence at the
mall
. I must say, I'm actually starting to enjoy these little segments :lol Reminds me of the Mirror's Edge time trials....just with pyschological demons on your ass.


Also, the part where I was stuck in the
flooding car
and used my flashlight
just as a demon slammed against the passenger side window
, scared the absolute shit outta me :lol
 

big_z

Member
K' Dash said:
WTF? I tought
Harry died in SH3, Cheryl was 17 at that time iirc.


this game has nothing to do with the old games. it's reboot of the series.

What you do mean by 'different'? I'm on my third playthrough and Dahliah's personality has largely been exactly the same, as has her dialogue minus a couple of lines here and there, but she has visually been different all three times. She's also sent me different pictures of herself each time.

good to know, i've only seen the crack whore version of her.
 

K' Dash

Member
big_z said:
this game has nothing to do with the old games. it's reboot of the series

Oh, ok, I'll have to play the PSP version I sold my Wii a while ago :( hope it is as good as the Wii's.
 

Effect

Member
beje said:
Kinda off-topic but...

Lady GaGa for next Silent Hill? Looks like it already...

elaagm.jpg


2502tl5.jpg


Hope it's not "that" old :lol

LOL. She has a great voice but she scares me at times.

Anyway do we know how Silent Hill has done sales wise so far?

General length of the game?
 
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