The game should arrive tomorrow or the day after. Before I start, though, there's one question that you guys can help me with. I know the rough length of the game, and I fear if I don't make a conscious effort I might well end up running straight through it in one sitting, maybe two. No, not this time; I want to savour my first run. So GAF, help me out. Is the game divided into chapters? If there's nothing quite so overt as that, are there any simple ways to break the game up into similarly-sized chunks -- would stopping after every nightmare, for instance, make for a series of relatively even play sessions?
The game should arrive tomorrow or the day after. Before I start, though, there's one question that you guys can help me with. I know the rough length of the game, and I fear if I don't make a conscious effort I might well end up running straight through it in one sitting, maybe two. No, not this time; I want to savour my first run. So GAF, help me out. Is the game divided into chapters? If there's nothing quite so overt as that, are there any simple ways to break the game up into similarly-sized chunks -- would stopping after every nightmare, for instance, make for a series of relatively even play sessions?
Play the game nightmare scene to nightmare scene. It's not a perfect meter, but it'll definitely help. Also, thoroughly explore every area, there are plenty of extra story tidbits that reward the thorough.
The main differences lie in graphics. Lower poly models, some effects totally removed (the icy bridge transformation is gone in the PS2 version), and other such things.
On another note, I have plans to take a friend who doesn't play games through this game. Hope he'll like it.
Oh i was just curious to see if they added some specific mechanic to work with the ps2 controller or something that was worth playing, as otherwise this game should exists only on wii - flashlight, wiimote moves, wiimote speaker, etc
Just played the first 2 hours of this game last night on Wii with literally no idea what to expect (didn't even check the back of the box.) My impressions can be summed up as: whoa! Very happily surprised here. This is incredibly eerie, responsive, and highly polished.
This just feels like a quality production, which is surprising for a third-party adult Wii game. It even has subtleties that most games just gloss over. Consider me really damn impressed!
Just played the first 2 hours of this game last night on Wii with literally no idea what to expect (didn't even check the back of the box.) My impressions can be summed up as: whoa! Very happily surprised here. This is incredibly eerie, responsive, and highly polished.
This just feels like a quality production, which is surprising for a third-party adult Wii game. It even has subtleties that most games just gloss over. Consider me really damn impressed!
I finished it last night and I've got to say I was blown away by how good the game was. I really think the less you know about it, the better. I just read Eurogamer's review and if I'd read that before playing through the whole game I think I'd have known far too much about what I was getting myself into. As it happens, I agree entirely with that review, the game's fantastic.
I was shocked by how good the presentation was, graphics, voice acting, cutscene direction it was all very, very well done. Alright, it isn't a challenging game, it's hardly a game at all, in many ways. But I really enjoyed it from start to finish and I think I'll play through it again soon. Even though I realised I was safe outside of the ice zones, that never really stopped me from being tense during the normal exploration of environments.
I got further in the game and man it just keeps the same quality level throughout. Also, one of the sequences I just went through will probably leave some sort of personal mark on me for a long time.
This has been scary and disturbing on a much more substantial level - it's actually the character, the story, and ultimately emotional connections that are making this possible. That takes considerable work to nail properly and they are doing everything right so far.
It's truly amazing at how much I've warmed up to the existence of this game. It's still not exactly my ideal Silent Hill game, but since it was released last December, it's really made me appreciate it considering that I still think about it often, and since there are literally no games on the horizon, aside from the next Silent Hill, quite like it. It really reminds me that even "watered-down" Silent Hill is great and I think that's why I'm such a big fan of the series-- there isn't a single installment that I truly dislike. There are plenty of aspects in each of the games post Silent Hill 3 that I do not care for, but even less than stellar Silent Hill is, well, pretty stellar.
As much as I ripped on the game before, I've always had good things to say about it, and those good things are starting to overshadow the complaints I had with it by and large. It doesn't quite frighten or disturb me as much as the older games did, but it still has a very unique and creepy atmosphere about it and Yamaoka did some really standout stuff for it. It will never be the perfect or even ideal Silent Hill title for me, but I'll be damned if I don't appreciate it for what it is, and the fact that no one else seems to be making any worthwhile attempts at the genre. I'll take what I can get.
So I just got this game from gamefly yesterday, and beat it today. And overall the game was superb. I REALLY loved the story, music was well done, and enjoyed the pacing of it.
Also, the ending.... =O One of the best endings I ever saw in any format. Such an epic plot twist...i never saw it coming.
Ah, always good to see this bumped from time to time... I should really get to playing it again. I remembered to bring it with me when I came back from school... Maybe try for the UFO end...
I got further in the game and man it just keeps the same quality level throughout. Also, one of the sequences I just went through will probably leave some sort of personal mark on me for a long time.
This has been scary and disturbing on a much more substantial level - it's actually the character, the story, and ultimately emotional connections that are making this possible. That takes considerable work to nail properly and they are doing everything right so far.
I just got the PSP version and started playing yesterday. Tonight, I left off after the hospital and
going to Lisa's apartment
. Impressions so far? Well, the nightmare sequences are horrible. I hate them, so very much. They're not scary, just endlessly frustrating until you reach the end. I usually end up going in circles while screaming gelatinous beings chase and attempt to tackle me. I know you can look at the map, but it's a little hard to do so when opening up the map doesn't pause the game. It makes me miss the "clunky" combat from the other games which never bothered me too much.
What about everything else? The game looks pretty good, but the flashlight effects are pretty bad. The shadowing seems a bit off since it's all jaggies around, and I'm pretty sure I saw the shadow of a chair above the chair. I've also encountered some frame-rate problems when going through doors every once in a while. The music is the worst I've heard in the series. I remember a lot of people saying negative things about it before, and now I know why. It sounds as though Yamaoka wasn't even trying anymore, but I can't blame him for it. I'm sure he was getting pretty tired of the series after doing it for almost a decade. I hope he does some great things at Grasshopper.
The story is rather interesting so far, and I do like getting all the messages on the phone. However, the atmosphere just seems off. There's nothing threatening about the town, or the nightmare sections. I'm afraid ice caves don't instill fear in my like they should. Although Silent Hill games never really scared me, there was always something threatening about the otherworld in the previous games. The town in SM is rather boring. It looks nice, but there's not much to it and it's not scary. One of the things I love about the Silent Hill series is the wonderful sound and art direction. I was playing SH3 recently and marveling at some of the truly twisted sections (especially the ladder Heather climbs in the hospital). Without that art direction, the Silent Hill games probably wouldn't have been as good as they are. I'm finding it difficult to really enjoy this game when I'm just running through to get to the next cutscene or complete a task. It's just boring some times.
Overall, this feels rather lackluster. I'm hoping the story and ending will be as good as people claim, and I am pretty interested to see this play out. I will admit that Climax did something good by trying something new, and it's certainly refreshing to see something like this. I still have a bit left, so I can't give any final impressions yet, but I'll be sure to do so once I finish.
I just got the PSP version and started playing yesterday. Tonight, I left off after the hospital and
going to Lisa's apartment
. Impressions so far? Well, the nightmare sequences are horrible. I hate them, so very much. They're not scary, just endlessly frustrating until you reach the end. I usually end up going in circles while screaming gelatinous beings chase and attempt to tackle me. I know you can look at the map, but it's a little hard to do so when opening up the map doesn't pause the game. It makes me miss the "clunky" combat from the other games which never bothered me too much.
What about everything else? The game looks pretty good, but the flashlight effects are pretty bad. The shadowing seems a bit off since it's all jaggies around, and I'm pretty sure I saw the shadow of a chair above the chair. I've also encountered some frame-rate problems when going through doors every once in a while. The music is the worst I've heard in the series. I remember a lot of people saying negative things about it before, and now I know why. It sounds as though Yamaoka wasn't even trying anymore, but I can't blame him for it. I'm sure he was getting pretty tired of the series after doing it for almost a decade. I hope he does some great things at Grasshopper.
The story is rather interesting so far, and I do like getting all the messages on the phone. However, the atmosphere just seems off. There's nothing threatening about the town, or the nightmare sections. I'm afraid ice caves don't instill fear in my like they should. Although Silent Hill games never really scared me, there was always something threatening about the otherworld in the previous games. The town in SM is rather boring. It looks nice, but there's not much to it and it's not scary. One of the things I love about the Silent Hill series is the wonderful sound and art direction. I was playing SH3 recently and marveling at some of the truly twisted sections (especially the ladder Heather climbs in the hospital). Without that art direction, the Silent Hill games probably wouldn't have been as good as they are. I'm finding it difficult to really enjoy this game when I'm just running through to get to the next cutscene or complete a task. It's just boring some times.
Overall, this feels rather lackluster. I'm hoping the story and ending will be as good as people claim, and I am pretty interested to see this play out. I will admit that Climax did something good by trying something new, and it's certainly refreshing to see something like this. I still have a bit left, so I can't give any final impressions yet, but I'll be sure to do so once I finish.
Wow, I just picked this up on Thursday and finished it tonight. Absolutely fantastic experience, I was greatly enjoying the game already (my mom was hooked too and watched me playing through the last 70% or so of the game), but the ending just clinched it and completely elevated the game in my opinion. At first I was confused and felt like it was possibly just a cheap twist, but the more I think about it the more sense it makes and reading some of the comments/theories from this thread the consequences and ramifications of the plot twist are perfectly logical. The best kind of twist. Definitely not something you want to have spoiled in advance though.
Honestly, I'm extremely shocked at the depth and powerful resonance of feeling this game has produced in me, and SlipperySlope, your post earlier (#2243) is really touching and hits on the success of this game I think.
Even Eternal Darkness, one of my favourite games in a similar vein, which had a good story for a game, can't hold a candle to this...as has been said already, it could only have been done in a game, which by itself elevates it far beyond today's typical linear movie-experience game.
So glad I bought this, the devs did an absolutely fantastic job. Between getting this and SMG2, it's been an extremely good gaming weekend.
Any word of an impending price drop on the Wii version? I paid full price ($40 CDN) for the PS2 version early this year so I'm waiting on the Wii version.
Oh, and on a side note, this is my first Silent Hill game, but I recently bought a PS1 and despite already having a good backlog of games to get through, would GAF recommend SH1? As I understand it Shattered Memories is completely different? Being as how I'm loving Resident Evil 2 so far on my first playthrough I think I have a fairly high tolerance for aged game design.
Oh, and on a side note, this is my first Silent Hill game, but I recently bought a PS1 and despite already having a good backlog of games to get through, would GAF recommend SH1? As I understand it Shattered Memories is completely different? Being as how I'm loving Resident Evil 2 so far on my first playthrough I think I have a fairly high tolerance for aged game design.
As said, the game does a lot of unique things that keep it playable 11 years later. The combat and exploration will drain though(locked doors and fog everywhere!) But there is enough general thrills, suspense, and creepiness to absorb despite it's aged look. Puzzles can be real brain stumpers too.
you see Harry saying goodbye to his presumably ex-wife as Cheryl records it. I'm assuming Harry dies in the accident shortly after departing
. It's hard to say how I feel right now. The twist wasn't too shocking, and it was expected a bit. The way in which the ending was done was very good. Overall, I applaud Climax for trying something new. This "reimagining" was well-done in terms of story (it was nice to see something besides The Order for once), but I feel that the art direction and music suffered quite a bit. The design of the town and nightmare worlds are boring. There's not much to them, and that makes exploring rather tedious for most of the game. Furthermore, there was nothing scary about the game, nothing. The only thing "scary" about the nightmare sequences is the fear of dying and having to go back again and aimlessly wander through to find the exit. Aside from the lackluster scenery, the only thing keeping me from replaying right away is the nightmare sequence.
So, overall, how is Shattered Memories? It's good, but not great. It was really interesting to see all those characters again in mostly different roles. I enjoyed the story, and I think it's one of the better ones in the series. The voice acting was very good, and definitely one of if not the best voice-over work in the series. I just feel that there were too many problems that made it difficult to really love. As I said earlier, I applaud Climax for doing something different and they did well with it. Despite it's problems, I hope they continue to try different things with the series, but at the same time remember some of the things that made the original games so great.
Is Silent Hill dead to me? Yes, but that won't stop me from checking out the material from the new developers. I'm just not setting my expectations too high.
I'm not a big follower of previous Silent Hill games, bu the fantasy elements were for me a bit ridiculous. What I like the most about Shattered Memories is that is more psychological thriller than supernatural horror. I can see how previous fans would not be crazy about that idea though.
I'm not a big follower of previous Silent Hill games, bu the fantasy elements were for me a bit ridiculous. What I like the most about Shattered Memories is that is more psychological thriller than supernatural horror. I can see how previous fans would not be crazy about that idea though.
Finished the game. Loved it, loved it, loved it. I'm not a big fan of the series. Never even finished any of the titles but played them enough to know what's going on. This was the first time I felt compelled to keep going by the sheer power of the characterization and storytelling in general.
The story in general is about the most tasteful and touching of any I've encountered in a game. Some sequences and imagery are going to be burned into my consciousness for a while. Especially after seeing the ending. Wow, what an ending.
Everything - the acting, the attention to detail, the character models and animation, and even the music came together in the end to make one of the most powerful displays of character I've ever seen in a title. Hats off, Climax!
It is SHOCKINGLY good. Seriously, I'm incredibly impressed. I was playing Heavy Rain recently and although it's a game that's meant to be solely about character and drama, it didn't nail the acting the same way.
Even more shocking is that I actually prefered the character models and animation in Shattered Memories to HR. They are more nuanced and perhaps even slightly more exaggerated, yet can feel quite warm and more human.
Wow, I just picked this up on Thursday and finished it tonight. Absolutely fantastic experience, I was greatly enjoying the game already (my mom was hooked too and watched me playing through the last 70% or so of the game), but the ending just clinched it and completely elevated the game in my opinion. At first I was confused and felt like it was possibly just a cheap twist, but the more I think about it the more sense it makes and reading some of the comments/theories from this thread the consequences and ramifications of the plot twist are perfectly logical. The best kind of twist. Definitely not something you want to have spoiled in advance though.
Honestly, I'm extremely shocked at the depth and powerful resonance of feeling this game has produced in me, and SlipperySlope, your post earlier (#2243) is really touching and hits on the success of this game I think.
Even Eternal Darkness, one of my favourite games in a similar vein, which had a good story for a game, can't hold a candle to this...as has been said already, it could only have been done in a game, which by itself elevates it far beyond today's typical linear movie-experience game.
So glad I bought this, the devs did an absolutely fantastic job. Between getting this and SMG2, it's been an extremely good gaming weekend.
All the messages you get on your 2nd play through will have more meaning now. Since now you know they're all connected to Cheryl in one form or fashion, whereas on playthrough #1 you thought they were all random stuff from people in the city. They're all experiences Cheryl directly lived through, or happened to somebody she knew.
The variations in the messages also can be quite different, depending on your choices with the psych. I've posted a link some time ago in this thread to nearly all of the messages in the game, including pictures and sound bits. I'll have to look up that link again sometime and post it again.
One major change is the girl that gets drugged in the woods. In some instances it looks like she survived and is most likely Cheryl. In other instances she is clearly dead, and probably somebody Cheryl knew, or maybe Cheryl was at the party and saw it happen. So your choices with the psych seem to determine whether or not it is Cheryl that gets drugged. I could be really off on this, this game has a lot of interpretations and who's to say what's right or wrong.
I didn't think anybody read that post You're the first to comment on it.
Here's the post again for anybody who doesn't want to go searching.
SlipperySlope said:
This reply will be shorter. Got work tomorrow.
Why doesn't the game let you know that Harry is dead at the beginning? I personally think it's because you're playing as Harry through Cheryl. He's just a figment of her imagination. Thus, if she thinks he is alive, then he thinks he is alive. The game is extremely introspective. As is usually the case for somebody who is depressed or delusional.
The goal of imagination Harry is to save his daughter. And in the end, he accomplishes just that. He saved his daughter. Not in the way he or we were thinking. That's what makes this game unique. How many other times do you save somebody through this method? The story and ending took some balls, and I think it payed off.
When I completed the game, I recalled periods in my own life where I lost somebody I loved. I actually had periods of delusions myself where I'd think they were still alive. I'd have dreams where they were still alive and everything was OK.
Then when you come to that sudden realization that they are gone forever, it's completely heart breaking. You feel so hopeless. So lost. And the feeling is just so sudden. So profound. I never cry. But when that hit, I cried like a little baby.
It's that memory of my own realization, and seeing exactly when Cheryl realizes it in the ending and her reaction, that it seems so real. So powerful. I feel connected to her. I can actually connect her realization to mine, which makes her character more real to me than any other character in any other medium ever.
