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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - |OT| of Not Your Father's Silent Hill
- Thread starter hellclerk
- Start date
brandonh83
Banned
EmCeeGramr said:
Eh it is to me because I'm usually not this confusing about stuff, I try to explain myself but my opinions are always just a bit more deep than just "good" and "bad," I can think something is very disappointing but at the same time acknowledge what it does correctly, and by all means I think this game does a lot of great things. It just doesn't do great things in the areas that I personally wanted it to succeed the most at, but it does very well in other areas that makes up for it, at least in small bits.
scitek: I say play them in order, but SH1 and SH3 are the only two with any sort of continuity. SH2 is its own entity, as is SH4 and Homecoming. Origins is a prequel to SH1 but isn't exclusively about the events in SH1.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
EatChildren said:
This is pretty much how I feel about the series overall. In terms of gameplay, it's all quite antiquated and annoying to me to be honest. From the clunky inventory system, to the busted combat, to the tank controls... Silent Hill was never ever about gameplay to me. It's not about scares either, because as unnerving as the game gets, I have never found myself scared by it. I don't play the game to have fun or to be scared, I play it to be immersed in a bizarre and intriguing world that is so unlike every other game out there.
I've also come to terms with the fact that, Silent Hill, as we knew it, will never again appear in the form that we knew it. I think that Silent Hill in the truest sense ended with SH2. While 3 was excellent from a technical standpoint, it never quite reached the sublime zenith of 2's distressing sense of alienation and despair. The team has since become fragmented, and its creator left, so I don't think it's fair to compare subsequent entries to former ones, and the sooner the fans grasp and accept that, the more objectively they can view these games. I've talked to fans who will not even give this game the time of day just because it wasn't made by Team Silent. It's sad that some people just don't seem to care about playing good games anymore, they just care about being "hardcore".
brandonh83
Banned
I've accepted long ago that I'm not getting any more games like the first three or so, but that doesn't mean that the games had to stop being great and terrifying in their own ways. I would have no problems if Shattered Memories was able to find itself and find new, inventive was to be creepy and horrifying, but in my first playthrough it just didn't happen.
I just wish people would stop labeling us as fans who just want games like the first three again. I do, in the sense that I want Silent Hill to be brilliant and have amazing art direction and fantastic sound design and this and that but at the same time I feel that these are things that can be done regardless if "Team Silent" does it or not. I just want horror games as good as the first three; they can still feel like Silent Hill and be as great while employing tons of change and tons of new ideas. This game got the tons of change and tons of new ideas right, but I just think it failed hard at being creative and abstract.
I just wish people would stop labeling us as fans who just want games like the first three again. I do, in the sense that I want Silent Hill to be brilliant and have amazing art direction and fantastic sound design and this and that but at the same time I feel that these are things that can be done regardless if "Team Silent" does it or not. I just want horror games as good as the first three; they can still feel like Silent Hill and be as great while employing tons of change and tons of new ideas. This game got the tons of change and tons of new ideas right, but I just think it failed hard at being creative and abstract.
Am I wrong with the impression that a lot of Silent Hill's "abstract" design qualities wee due to it being Japanese? A lot of the caps I've seen from it over the years have those weird Ju-on, Ringu-esque, just plain whacked-out creature designs. Western developers have significantly different ideas of what's "scary," and I think that might be part of the problem, if you think there's a problem.
brandonh83
Banned
scitek said:
the creatures in the games aren't what I find great about them, when I say that I like the older games because I thought they were scary, the creatures would be at the very bottom of the list of reasons why.
you're right that Japanese storytellers and visionaries are much different than Western visionaries, and clearly I think they're much better at it because they offer a whole lot more varied content in that department which brilliantly relates to basically everything going on in the story.
MidnightScott
Banned
Well I'm getting my brother to buy it for me for Christmas. So I'll have Fatal Frame 4, Darkside Chronicles, and Silent Hill to play at Christmas time ^.^
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
I hope someones working on the GameFAQs guide to brandonh83... I think he's more of a puzzle at this point than Shattered Memories is.
Can't wait to read this threads wikipedia page so I can understand what's going on :lol
Can't wait to read this threads wikipedia page so I can understand what's going on :lol
brandonh83
Banned
John Harker said:
Nice. Asshole. :lol
My posts were confusing, but I cleared them up.
ImNotLikeThem
Member
Can someone help me here? I'm not sure how far in I'm in, but I think my game glitched. spoiler: "nightmare" section related to the bridge:
Did I completely miss something, or did my game glitch? 
I'm in the SUV with Dahlia and the bridge broke and I'm underwater, everything has just frozen, and I've messed with every possible thing I can, and nothing is happening.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Brandon...
Some thoughts I have on the game. Heavy story spoilers and ideas.
I don't know if this makes all that much sense and others might have more theories but thats the short end of what I'm thinking when it comes to the story of SM.
Some thoughts I have on the game. Heavy story spoilers and ideas.
The girl michelle and her bf I beleive are to symbolize the rocky relationship Harry head with his wife. His wife who happened to have the same name as Dahlia.
Now this might sound crazy but I get the feeling that what were experiencing with Harry is almost like a pergatory. Cherly is the one in the office, yet Harry is the one going from the time he dies... to discovering he is in fact dead. I also get the slight idea that perhaps Harry was almost like a ghost, who was having physical contact with the real world. I think this because 1. Cybill mentions that she beleive your Harry, and she just knows your Harry but the fact that you died so long ago is too much for her to take and thus causes her to question her cop job. Also they other part after you find the new address for your daughter, you call and a pressumable older Dahlia answers and asks who this is. The minute he mentions Harry. She says... "Harry?" and then gets immedialy upset and can't beleive someone would say that, since Harry has been dead for years. Though also the fact you see Dahlia younger, sorta symbolizes the begining moments of your relationship with your wife, and depending upon what path your heading down, the parts in the nightmare mode when you have to solve a puzzle, like in the cabin or in the hospital, you always hear a phone conversation between Harry and his wife concerning the kid. So this also lets you sorta get some ideas of how they treated each other.
Now this might sound crazy but I get the feeling that what were experiencing with Harry is almost like a pergatory. Cherly is the one in the office, yet Harry is the one going from the time he dies... to discovering he is in fact dead. I also get the slight idea that perhaps Harry was almost like a ghost, who was having physical contact with the real world. I think this because 1. Cybill mentions that she beleive your Harry, and she just knows your Harry but the fact that you died so long ago is too much for her to take and thus causes her to question her cop job. Also they other part after you find the new address for your daughter, you call and a pressumable older Dahlia answers and asks who this is. The minute he mentions Harry. She says... "Harry?" and then gets immedialy upset and can't beleive someone would say that, since Harry has been dead for years. Though also the fact you see Dahlia younger, sorta symbolizes the begining moments of your relationship with your wife, and depending upon what path your heading down, the parts in the nightmare mode when you have to solve a puzzle, like in the cabin or in the hospital, you always hear a phone conversation between Harry and his wife concerning the kid. So this also lets you sorta get some ideas of how they treated each other.
I don't know if this makes all that much sense and others might have more theories but thats the short end of what I'm thinking when it comes to the story of SM.
brandonh83
Banned
Most of that makes sense I suppose. That's sort of what I got out of it, too. Also,
who do you think the shadow ghost child is that you frequently run into?
SlasherJPC
Banned
brandonh83 said:
That I don't know. Maybe the fear or resentment the daughter had. Wanted to run away constantly? Also I really don't understand where Lisa fits into this whole thing. Thats the only thing that has me stumped but I'm pretty sure its got to mean something. Yet I don't feel like this was all just in Cherlys head. I feel like it almost a duel story going on. One about a farther that wants to see his daughter and get out of pergatory. Which started the moment he crashed, and 18 years have lapsed. The other being the daughter growing up with terrible harships due to the death of her father.
Lisa stumps me though... Grrrr
Lisa stumps me though... Grrrr
brandonh83
Banned
I think you're right about the
Can't wait until more people get ahold of the game.
dual storyline going on, and I have no idea about Lisa either.
SlasherJPC
Banned
brandonh83 said:
Yeah definetly! Want to hear other peoples thoughts on this. I was sorta lost after beating it the first time, thinking... WTF. Though during second playthrough, I started noticing little things, and it started to gel in my head. Just completed my third playthrough at 2.5 hours. One more ending to see.
and then gotta see if this UFO ending is really in this one.brandonh83
Banned
2.5 hours, wow :lol
What did you think happened when
What did you think happened when
Lisa died? I mean, how? What happened?
SlasherJPC
Banned
brandonh83 said:
Yeah I really don't know. I do know that if you give her the wrong color pills, when you get back to her she is just already dead and doesn't die in front of you. All I can think is maybe she is another Lost soul in the town. She does mention the last time she had a guy in her place was in the summer. Yet still... something doesnt sit right with her and the scene. Also I found in interesting how after the Dr ask you about sex, and then he explains that sex is a hole for death. Harry has sex in the game and right after that, its revealed to him that he is dead. Well do you have any theories about Lisa?
brandonh83
Banned
I have no theories at all yet. I've started another playthrough, hopefully I'll be able to understand it a bit better soon.
ace harding: private eye
Member
If you've already played through the others, you should definitely give it a shot. Despite its large flaws, it had enough cool stuff to keep me playing.scitek said:
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
brandonh83 said:
You know what? I think I understand why you're disappointed with the game. It's difficult to distill all of the things that made Silent Hill so great into words, I mean, there's the heavily forlorn atmosphere that frequently becomes ominous and foreboding, the dissonant and haunting soundtrack, the brilliant sound design, the game's intentional obfuscation of details surrounding the town and the plot... but I think the one thing that stands out the most is the environment, that is, the town itself and its many incarnations. It truly is the most important "character" in the game.
When you addressed the game's refusal to allow the player to delve into the alternate world, and the rather bland art direction therein, I should have taken note of that. That is indeed a valid critique against the game. I think the major critique leveled against these remakes and re-imaginings is the developers staunch refusal to reevaluate just what made the details in the games so resonant to begin with. So they take the rather slovenly approach of trying to recreate these details and coming up short; sort of like an uncanny valley effect: it comes close, but there's something off, so you take notice.
Finally, I think the series is in real need of a reboot, and I'm sure it's been suggested before, but I think the move to first person perspective could give it a shot in the arm. I mean, with the advanced lighting, animation, increased geometry, and hi res assets of the HD systems, you can theoretically create a level of immersion that's far beyond what's come before. And a consummate western developer who isn't afraid to dismantle the franchise and understand what makes it tick would have the know how to achieve this. I'm thinking of something like what 2K Boston achieved with Bioshock. That level of immersion, and attention to detail and atmosphere would blow my mind if transplanted to Silent Hill.
brandonh83 - Even if nobody else agrees with me, I'm glad that at least somebody ended up understanding where I was coming from. *laughs*
I had said before that I wanted to hear your opinions after you beat the game, specifically because of the "twist". When it happened, my reaction was basically two things: "holy crap!" followed by "...wait, hold on. Doesn't that suddenly throw the entire point of the game up in the air?"
I played through the game twice, and I'm still not sure what to think. It seems way too much like a twist thrown in to seem "cool" without concern for what it would mean to the overall storyline. I mean, as a player, when I understand what has been happening the entire time, it suddenly makes it hard for me to connect myself with the game's events and what I've gone through.
I'd also like to say that I completely understand the problem you're having with people bitching at you for seeing to be having two different opinions on the game, because that's exactly what my position was. Shattered Memories is... it's so confusing! It's a Silent Hill game, but it's not. It's a very interesting and engrossing experiment in survival horror, and it's a completely dull and under-developed game. You're amazed by how interesting AND boring it is, both at the same time!
Also, seriously... Lisa. WTF. I mean... just don't even put her into the game if
.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Series needs a kick in the ass, yes. But please lord no first-person. My argument is a simple one: it doesn't need crazy new gameplay elements or completely reconstructed game engines, it needs a storyline that gets back to the meaning of Silent Hill. It needs a character to step in, for the game to ask what that character wants more than anything in the whole world, and then we need Silent Hill to challenge that character to see how far they're willing to go to have it.
That's where I think even Team Silent started getting it wrong: they were looking to the gameplay as getting "old", and thought it needed new gimmicks. The first two games were never about gameplay - they were about the story. That's what needs fixing the most.
I had said before that I wanted to hear your opinions after you beat the game, specifically because of the "twist". When it happened, my reaction was basically two things: "holy crap!" followed by "...wait, hold on. Doesn't that suddenly throw the entire point of the game up in the air?"
I played through the game twice, and I'm still not sure what to think. It seems way too much like a twist thrown in to seem "cool" without concern for what it would mean to the overall storyline. I mean, as a player, when I understand what has been happening the entire time, it suddenly makes it hard for me to connect myself with the game's events and what I've gone through.
I'd also like to say that I completely understand the problem you're having with people bitching at you for seeing to be having two different opinions on the game, because that's exactly what my position was. Shattered Memories is... it's so confusing! It's a Silent Hill game, but it's not. It's a very interesting and engrossing experiment in survival horror, and it's a completely dull and under-developed game. You're amazed by how interesting AND boring it is, both at the same time!
Also, seriously... Lisa. WTF. I mean... just don't even put her into the game if
you're going to give her like all of five minutes of storyline
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Series needs a kick in the ass, yes. But please lord no first-person. My argument is a simple one: it doesn't need crazy new gameplay elements or completely reconstructed game engines, it needs a storyline that gets back to the meaning of Silent Hill. It needs a character to step in, for the game to ask what that character wants more than anything in the whole world, and then we need Silent Hill to challenge that character to see how far they're willing to go to have it.
That's where I think even Team Silent started getting it wrong: they were looking to the gameplay as getting "old", and thought it needed new gimmicks. The first two games were never about gameplay - they were about the story. That's what needs fixing the most.
brandonh83
Banned
You pretty much nailed it, Dynamite, when it comes to why I was "disappointed." The thing I like most about the series is the creativity. A friend and I were just talking about Silent Hill 3, how you're in the hospital and this mystery character named Stanley Coleman is leaving Heather love letters as if they've known each other for years. You find various letters and a really creepy doll scattered about the hospital as you explore it, and it makes it feel like he's just around the corner following your every footstep, but you never see or hear him. And then toward the end of the hospital, the "Leonard" character tells you that "Stanley has a new home" referring to the morgue with all the bodies, and when you go in there you hear whispering. It's so brilliantly creative, has nothing to do with Japanese art direction, and is creepy as all hell. Its just executed so well and the sort of thing I miss about the older games. It's this sort of thing that turned me into such a fan, it's what I consider to be skillful horror. Not monsters or actually seeing ghosts or whatever, but the mere implication.
Shattered Memories lacks these distinct nuances, and it's what I've been trying to say all along when I criticize the game for not being "scary." Stuff like this would, in my opinion, make it scarier-- not the creatures, but the underlying, detailed, natural horror that feels alive and part of the environment and part of the pure cruel, immensely twisted evil in the town. Of course people just take the easy route and just call me a fan who doesn't want any change, but uh, you're all gravely mistaken. Why can't things like I detailed above be in Shattered Memories, instead of the same static ghost images that you see all throughout the game as the main source of "scares?" That's not scary or well executed, it's just sort of there and redundant, and lazy.
It's good to know that I have a soul-mate in all this fuckupery :lol
Shattered Memories lacks these distinct nuances, and it's what I've been trying to say all along when I criticize the game for not being "scary." Stuff like this would, in my opinion, make it scarier-- not the creatures, but the underlying, detailed, natural horror that feels alive and part of the environment and part of the pure cruel, immensely twisted evil in the town. Of course people just take the easy route and just call me a fan who doesn't want any change, but uh, you're all gravely mistaken. Why can't things like I detailed above be in Shattered Memories, instead of the same static ghost images that you see all throughout the game as the main source of "scares?" That's not scary or well executed, it's just sort of there and redundant, and lazy.
It's good to know that I have a soul-mate in all this fuckupery :lol
Roland Stiles
Member
brandon - So you're disappointed in it as a horror game (sort of?) but, how do you feel about it as an Adventure game? I got a real point-and-click vibe from it, in that those games (Myst, etc) were always a bit "creepy" to me. Similar feelings with Shattered Memories.
Made me want to play more Adventure games for Wii anyway.
Made me want to play more Adventure games for Wii anyway.
brandonh83
Banned
slasher, I think I have it. This is crazy theorizing but it's the best I can come up with at this point.
Major twists guys, do not highlight under any circumstance until you beat the game.
Major twists guys, do not highlight under any circumstance until you beat the game.
Concerning Lisa, I just realized-- okay, she crashed her vehicle at the hospital. You find her and she's bleeding from a head injury. You go back to her apartment, she takes medication and goes to sleep. And then she wakes up from a NIGHTMARE, saying that there was "blood everywhere." This ring a bell? Silent Hill, the original. Lisa transforms into a creature in the game, and when she does, she is covered in blood. When you find her at her apartment before Cybil gets there, blood runs out from her eyes, nose, and scalp. This leads me to believe that what we were seeing was Lisa's actual physical body reacting to what was happening in the dark world in Silent Hill during the original game. Since Cheryl is Alessa and Alessa created all this, and since Cheryl is telling Dr. K her fabricated story about Harry, perhaps Shattered Memories is showing us what happened on the surface level, which is why they explain that no one is in the town because of a snowstorm and it would explain why Lisa wakes up from her nightmare, which is probably what was going on during the events of the original game, bleeding, and then dying. I realize that Harry is actually dead and that Cheryl is making up the events of the story in her head, but I think there could be some truth to it because she is, after all, Alessa, one in the same. Therefore, some things about Shattered Memories is factual, while Cheryl fabricates other things, but I'm totally under the belief that Lisa dies because her dying in the original game, in Alessa's nightmare, was happening at that exact same point in time. Lisa being in a wreck parallels Harry's wreck, that's what could have happened to her to get her into Alessa's nightmare along with Harry.
brandonh83
Banned
doomed1 said:
Well if I can uncover any more possible amazing storytelling theories I may be warming up to the game a lot quicker. I really think I'm right about that one.
when slasher reads it, he's probably going to shit bricks.
Sohter.Nura
Member
I'll be going down to get this tomorrow... So... after all this, what's the consensus?
B+?
B?
C+?
C?
A?
B+?
B?
C+?
C?
A?
So brandon, the game watching you thing... how did that all pan out? Was it a cool thing they included? Did you play thinking "I should probably do this?" Or did you go about it naturally? Thinking back, did some choice you made early one affect the game world in a way you weren't expecting?
brandonh83
Banned
Honestly that's something that I haven't touched on because I don't feel that I'm at any point to say so for sure. Near the beginning you get the option to
but later Dr. K throws more cryptic exercises at you that I'm sure leads to their own outcomes... basically you're playing the game, and then you're back in the office and whatever exercise he makes you do, the "theme" of the exercise shows up in the next bit of gameplay. I think it's impossible to say for sure just after one playthrough, but I believe there are both cosmetic as well as deeper changes that occur. To say any more would mean spoilers and I've read about things on other message boards that are pretty cool. I know that there are
endings as well as a
ending, and that the endings you get are based on the choices you make, but I know some parts of the game change depending on what you answer. To what extent, I'm not ready to say at this point.
color a picture of a husband and wife standing next to a house, and the colors that you choose are actually reflected in the game
4
****UFO
SlasherJPC
Banned
brandonh83 said:
Brick shate...CONFIRMED! So in essense then, this means
it DOES tie in to the original games in a way!!!
Brandon. Even if people didn't think it was that deep, your mention just gave me another simple answer.
Perhaps what happens to Lisa is what happened to Harry. He survived the crash. Went home with a headache, took some meds, and never woke back up. That would still give meaning to her death and there is a moment the game shows Harry with a bloody head on the theater screen (depending on what path you got).
brandonh83
Banned
slasher_thrasher21 said:
So then you agree? I believe it to be a very, very sound theory, hell, after sleeping on it I think it's definite, I mean the game almost spells it out for you. But yes, at this moment in time I believe this is what is going on:
Shattered Memories is what the actual, physical Harry Mason experiences. At least, for the most part, to an extent. The point of view is being realized by Cheryl, but as I've stated, in the original game it is Cheryl/Alessa that is sort of the one playing chess, so to speak. She's controlling the various dimensions of Silent Hill, and guiding Harry to his destination. In Shattered Memories, what is essentially the same person is recounting the events to the best of her ability of what happened when Harry crashes his car in Silent Hill. So even though you're playing a mental projection of Harry Mason after the wreck, I believe that since Cheryl is mentally connected to Silent Hill, what we played could have been what actually happened. Physical Harry Mason is experiencing the events of Shattered Memories while the part of Harry that slipped into the spiritual plane was represented by the original title.
But wait! Hold up, wasn't Harry alive in Silent Hill 3, and then murdered later into the game? Well, I think Shattered Memories is suggesting otherwise; though it doesn't have to necessarily be canon, I think if you want to follow what Memories is proposing, here is a possible explanation: basically, we start the game out playing as Heather, or Cheryl rather. We don't see Harry one time until we see him dead. She talks to him on the phone, but we still do not see him. When you play these games, you have to keep in mind that what you're seeing isn't necessarily real or factual. Cheryl could have simply been pretending that Harry was still alive, much as she does in Shattered Memories, and she concocts the events in Silent Hill 3 because between the events of Shattered Memories and SH3, she went from grief, to pure revenge and hatred over his death, which is what causes the events in SH3 to occur. It's true that Douglas comes to the apartment and sees the body, but again, Douglas is a pawn here just like all the other characters, who are simply enablers in each storyline.
But wait! Hold up, wasn't Harry alive in Silent Hill 3, and then murdered later into the game? Well, I think Shattered Memories is suggesting otherwise; though it doesn't have to necessarily be canon, I think if you want to follow what Memories is proposing, here is a possible explanation: basically, we start the game out playing as Heather, or Cheryl rather. We don't see Harry one time until we see him dead. She talks to him on the phone, but we still do not see him. When you play these games, you have to keep in mind that what you're seeing isn't necessarily real or factual. Cheryl could have simply been pretending that Harry was still alive, much as she does in Shattered Memories, and she concocts the events in Silent Hill 3 because between the events of Shattered Memories and SH3, she went from grief, to pure revenge and hatred over his death, which is what causes the events in SH3 to occur. It's true that Douglas comes to the apartment and sees the body, but again, Douglas is a pawn here just like all the other characters, who are simply enablers in each storyline.
I think it's really cool that it seems like you can totally make this game fit in with the others, but that's the great thing about this series, you can really arrive at your own conclusions because nothing is purely factual, sometimes we see merely what the characters choose to see, and sometimes, what Silent Hill wants them to see.
slasher_thrasher said:
That's cool too and very possible. I'm sticking with mine though because it makes the game much more genius to me. :lol
brandonh83 said:
One tiny little thing that doesn't fully make sense there. In Silent Hill 3
you can read about how Harry shot a cultmember, and he and Heather fled from Portland. And it all involved a murdercase, Harry got on trial and so on. So, there are clearly records about him existing then.
brandonh83
Banned
KAOz said:
Records that you see while playing the game from Heather's point of view, haha, again it's just... the whole reality thing, everything we see is from her point of view and in Shattered Memories she's trying to convince herself that Harry is alive. I'm not discounting what you're saying, I mean, that's totally true. I just strongly believe that nothing you see can be taken as purely factual. Those records could just exist, to her, as small details that go a long way in capitalizing on the lie that she is telling herself.
brandonh83
Banned
KAOz said:
Dude, it's Silent Hill, it's impossible to really keep track of all the details, possibilities, this and that.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Brandon, another thing that just hit me as I was driving to work that possible explains the cold.
Ok so...
Ok so...
Alessa's nightmare world was burned, chared, much like the fire and hurt and pain she was involved with right. Well with Cherly, she lost her dad at a young age... and her life from then on was a bitter and cold one. Thus the ice. Also... notice that every time the ice comes, there is a puzzle involving... yep, Cherly, Harry, and her mom Dahlia. Everytime. This could add to show that she is remembering these moments and its bringing great sadness, thus the cold comes. Though I feel that she is literally making these cold manifestations occuring to Harry. I don't think anyone else experiences these moments but Harry. Also the enemies I know that they change slight looks depending on your answers but... what do they represent? Well... I think they represent Cherly longing to grab hold of her father and never let go. They jump on Harry and refuse to let go. Also I noticed one time when I died. The enemy started stroking my hair, like it cared for me or I was a loved one. So I think it fits that these enemies are the feelings of not wanting to let go of her father.
I also have a theory that Cybil is sorta like a real life guardian angel. She seems to save Harry a few times and even helps him figure out sorta whats going on. Though I have to think on that idea further.
I also have a theory that Cybil is sorta like a real life guardian angel. She seems to save Harry a few times and even helps him figure out sorta whats going on. Though I have to think on that idea further.
EmCeeGramr
Member
meanwhile, the peasants wait
brandonh83
Banned
slasher_thrasher21 said:
I largely agree, what you said crossed my mind, so I'm down with it, especially everything you said about the creatures. I noticed the same thing you did. I'm replaying it right now and I'm going to keep my eyes peeled.
And yeah, guys, don't read any of our shit if you haven't played it. :lol
SlasherJPC
Banned
Another alternate way of doing a specific part. I played the game three times already and it wasn't till my third time that
during the part where the car goes in the water. The first two times, I figured there was nothing you could do and then it shows you passed out on the side of the road. Well... the third time I messed more with the radio once it kicked on and that song plays that just repeats "You were always on my mind" and then the ice unfreezes and you can open the door and swim out. It blew me away knowing there was two was to get out of that. I thought you were supposed to just drown.:lol
SolarPowered
Member
I just caught up with the thread after some breakfast and morning tasks...
To Brandon:
This is just about the response I was expecting. It's not quite silent hill, but a decent horror experience that has it's own merits. Your biggest pro's were many of the little "gimmicks" that the Wii version had, and the biggest cons were elements at the core of the game(chases, story, weak psych mechanic). I can see why your views on the game were a little muddled at first. It's a little confusing since you were trying to tie together the pros/cons of the game as a Wii title, a silent hill title, and a standalone horror title.
I can't say that I have many questions left since just about all of the facets of the game have been discussed thoroughly. I suppose I'll keep watch for some info on how the game will be received at large at this point.
There is one question I have for you though, Brandon. Do you feel that any of these mechanics like a lack of weapons, legible signs, or the flashlight mechanic add to the Silent Hill universe? Would you like to see them implemented in another silent hill title in the future?
Also, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE.
To Brandon:
This is just about the response I was expecting. It's not quite silent hill, but a decent horror experience that has it's own merits. Your biggest pro's were many of the little "gimmicks" that the Wii version had, and the biggest cons were elements at the core of the game(chases, story, weak psych mechanic). I can see why your views on the game were a little muddled at first. It's a little confusing since you were trying to tie together the pros/cons of the game as a Wii title, a silent hill title, and a standalone horror title.
I can't say that I have many questions left since just about all of the facets of the game have been discussed thoroughly. I suppose I'll keep watch for some info on how the game will be received at large at this point.
There is one question I have for you though, Brandon. Do you feel that any of these mechanics like a lack of weapons, legible signs, or the flashlight mechanic add to the Silent Hill universe? Would you like to see them implemented in another silent hill title in the future?
Also, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE.
brandonh83
Banned
JosM88 said:
After further analysis, I'm loving the story. Really. My biggest con at this point is that the game isn't scary, not by any stretch of the imagination. It's creepy in some places but nothing ever really happens so on multiple plays it will be even less so.
Climax almost got it right. The problem is the way the chases are set up. Lack of weapons is fine. The flashlight is fantastic, and very fun. But the way the chases are done, it's just very straightforward. You start at the starting point, which is when the icy shift occurs. You can then check your map and there's a waypoint that you must figure out how to get to. And, in the actual levels, there are a variety of paths and doors that you can choose, but there's only a couple of ways to actually reach your destination.
Had Climax allowed some more exploration, or even a stealth mechanic of sorts to allow you to try to sneak by enemies, that would have helped. At one point I was being ganged up on and tried to turn my flashlight off, but it didn't change anything. I loved the part in the movie where Rose used the flashlight to trick the group of nurses. As she was walking through them, I was like a moment away from having a heart attack. If Climax wanted to really impress me, I think they should have constructed things more like that and let you have options. It's too straightforward: you run, and pick the direction that you hope leads you to safety. Along the various paths they give you flares to use which temporarily allows you to go around enemies, and sometimes you can knock things over to halt their progression, and while those work, I think it would have been better if they implemented a lot more things for you to do. I don't need combat, but I think you should have been able to, say, maybe pick up a broom handle or something and turn around and at least whack at the enemies to slow them, or to be able to successfully hide in something-- you can hide, but they always find you so you're never hiding long.
To answer your question then, yes, I think the new approach was a good idea, I just don't think it was implemented as well or as effectively as it could have been and it seriously put a sour note on the exploration of the icy world. I was so excited to explore the icy worlds and find weird creepy stuff encased in the ice or just being in extremely dark, lonely, and cold icy environments with strange noises and just bizarre, trademark Silent Hill grotesqueries to freak me out, and it's a damn shame that all you can do is run through these very boring and poorly designed sequences.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
You're predicating enjoyment of the game for core Silent Hill fans based on how scary it is... but that really depends if you consider SH "scary" to begin with. I never really found the series "scary"... tense and foreboding, unnerving for sure... but not particularly "frightening."
That in mind, this game seems to have a lot of that in spades based on what little I played a few months ago. Combined with it being a very strong piece of software, I'd say it's totally worth checking out regardless of your SH affiliation... IMO (I havent purchased final game yet as I can't find it)
or not really?
That in mind, this game seems to have a lot of that in spades based on what little I played a few months ago. Combined with it being a very strong piece of software, I'd say it's totally worth checking out regardless of your SH affiliation... IMO (I havent purchased final game yet as I can't find it)
or not really?