Silent Hill Downpour [split topic]

[Phil_A]

The forthcoming eighth(!) entry in the Silent Hill series, Silent Hill: Downpour.

http://she.townofsilenthill.com/eight-minutes-of-silent-hill-downpour-and-my-thoughts/

I'm not sure what new things can realistically be done with the franchise at this point, but I like the distinctly east european vibe they've gone for this time - not surprising as this game's been developed in the Czech Republic.

On the other hand, Akira Yamaoka wasn't involved at all on the music side, and the theme song is apparently by Korn. Korn!

[mcbpete]

Hmm, that really doesn't look that impressive at all really, even the developers seemed a little bored. The textures really don't look any better than Homecoming which is, what 4/5 years old now ? Particularly those fire and water effects that really look pretty damn poor. More importantly there really doesn't appear to be that dark an atmosphere at all, games have moved on quite a bit from just making stuff look slightly grotty in order to make it spooky.

For me the franchise has really taken a downward turn post The Room (though some would say it was probably all downhill post the second one). There was some interesting features in Shattered Memories and I quite like the different direction that one took but even that didn't hook me as much as the earlier titles did in terms of an isolated atmosphere).

The last PS3 one (Homecoming) I just could not master the combat system at all - I mean I felt that I got pretty good at the series having beat all the previous ones on the hardest action difficulty, but I was constantly dying on this one - bosses in particular I was constantly have to replay and sometimes even have to search GameFAQs in order to work out even where to start. I only got about a third of the way through before I admitted defeat and I haven't played it again since.

I'd say 3 was my favourite and most replayed. Most people viewed it pretty much as Silent Hill 1 lite, but for some reason the game really gelled with me and had the biggest creepy moment that has stuck with me for years (the bath & large mirror scene).

[Little Hoover]

Homecoming has the crappiest fighting mechanic where you have to use the dodge button, but even if you time it right, you have to be standing in the exact right position otherwise whatever your fighting might still get you. Just weak, cack-handed design all rounded. And the most useless dialogue options ever used in a game.

The Room was a really flawed game but it was at least trying something and is still the last worked on by most of the original team. SH3 was good but it's real problem was just explaining all the plot points that were ambiguous in SH1, all the stuff that you were left to investigate and figure out for yourself were just explained, it didn't have the exploring elements of the first two games and it got a bit more about action which isn't suited to the games level design at all. So it just didn't really bring enough new to the table, great set-pieces like the mirror or haunted house aside.

Shattered Memories was pretty good, but I think the fact there was nothing that could kill you outside the icy world let it down. And after a while the novelty of the ice world started to wear off and it started to feel like a silly running game, it just needed some other element to it to really work.

I imagine this new game will be better than Homecoming but still seems like it might be missing the point a bit.

[eluc55]

This thread motivated me to start Shattered Memories again, after months of thinking about it. and I'm impressed how many references there are that only make sense after you've played it through once before. Once you know whose perspective the story is being told from, and why certain people, places and objects are being manifested, countless things earlier on, take on a new significance.

I absolutely love Shattered Memories; its one of the few games I've played where I felt really emotionally involved by the end and couldn't stop thinking about it all for weeks after finishing it; so much changes after the brilliant ending, that it demands a second play through, really. Unlike so many twists, its not a cheat, it actually adds new depth and resonance to what we've seen. Plus, I love how ambiguous it is; what's real, what's not, is there or is there not a supernatural side to the town and certain characters... it massively benefits from dumping all that rubbish about cults and demons from the main series, and re- imagining it more like a psychological journey; more like Silent Hill 2, I suppose.

That said, I certainly agree with Hoover's criticism of the ice world... but I still think the pros significantly outweigh that problem, and to their credit, the last few ice sections kind of play with the concept a bit anyway; making them much more surreal and dream-like (for example

Spoiler alert

the chase at Dahlia's flat is just the same room over and over followed by an endless drop

[close]

) or in the case of the final section,

Spoiler alert

impossible to escape

[close]

.

Though it undoubtedly has faults, it also shakes off some much bigger, largely story based problems the main series was plagued by. It's one of my favourite games from the last few years, if I'm honest. 

[Famous Mortimer]

Are you playing the PS2 or Wii version, eluc55? Not that I have either console, but I could probably borrow one off one of my friends (I loved the first game, all those years ago. Got me back into gaming after many years away).

[eluc55]

Wii version. Although a quick scan of the net suggests that the only differences are mildly cosmetic (in favour of wii, allegedly)

[mcbpete]

I've got the Wii version, it uses the controller pretty nicely. I especially like how the phone calls only come out of the Wii-Remote speaker and so you have to hold the remote up to your ear - a pretty simple idea but certainly adds to the immersive atmosphere.

I probably downplayed my feelings for the game on the above post. It really is a great game and definitely fans of the first game they should give this one a go.