First Silent Hill V review.

[quote name='007']See... this is my issue... I don't understand how this doesn't live up to the 'franchise'.

Silent Hill was an amazing game.

Silent Hill 2 was just as amazing, with a story that is still the series highpoint.

Silent Hill 3 was mediocre at best. Long, drawn-out sections (subway) coupled with a story that wasn't particularly compelling due to creating characters that are utterly cliche (we need a new antagonist? Sister!).

Silent Hill 4 was an interesting concept that suffered from two distinct issues: first, it wasn't a Silent Hill game. Second, it had extremely broken combat and other issues (enemies that I can't kill but cause me damage ALL THE TIME? Score!) that made the game nearly unplayably hard by the end.[/quote]

Not a bad synopsis.

SH3 was a little better then you say. At the very least there were some fantastic parts - most notably the haunted house (and you can't forget the mirror). I also thought that creepy cult leader dude was a pretty cool addition to the story.

I agree on SH4 - some of it was good in a mind-fuck way, but as you say - oh goody, enemies that can "pulse" to hurt me from the other side of the room - who the fuck thought that was a cool gameplay mechanic??!?
 
Yeah, I admit that I'm a little tougher on SH3 than I need to be, but that's just years of bitterness about what they did to Harry. ;)

Really... when I found out it was a 'sequel' to the first game, I was excited, but then it turned out to be nearly everything I WOULDN'T have wanted it to be. Regardless, yeah, there were definitely some GREAT (like the haunted house you mentioned) parts, but it's just disappointing as a whole. Also, wasted potential with the awesome dead rabbit costume things... wish they'd have done more with them. It's why I say it's mediocre... I just can't muster anything other above 'meh' for it.

... sidenote, forgot to mention it when I was talking about combat in the first game: the dogs. Not only could they hurt you and posed a threat, we all remember the giddy, cathartic feeling we got the first time we whacked one with the pipe... still one my favorite gaming moments ever. Of course, I may just be a bit weird. ;)
 
[quote name='007']Yeah, I admit that I'm a little tougher on SH3 than I need to be, but that's just years of bitterness about what they did to Harry. ;)

Really... when I found out it was a 'sequel' to the first game, I was excited, but then it turned out to be nearly everything I WOULDN'T have wanted it to be. Regardless, yeah, there were definitely some GREAT (like the haunted house you mentioned) parts, but it's just disappointing as a whole. Also, wasted potential with the awesome dead rabbit costume things... wish they'd have done more with them. It's why I say it's mediocre... I just can't muster anything other above 'meh' for it. [/quote]

That's fair - I also found that alot of the game dragged in places. I never got that "treading on air" feeling that the first two games gave me, nor did the story come together neatly in the end. Alot of the plot elements seemed to just be there for a scary moment - the end was very anticlimatic.

[quote name='007']... sidenote, forgot to mention it when I was talking about combat in the first game: the dogs. Not only could they hurt you and posed a threat, we all remember the giddy, cathartic feeling we got the first time we whacked one with the pipe... still one my favorite gaming moments ever. Of course, I may just be a bit weird. ;)[/quote]

I thought the babies were funny, when I found out they were harmless
 
I liked SH3 the best...

Anyway, been playing SHH and I like it so far. The combat is a lot difference since you really need to learn how to use the dodge button so you don't take a lot of damage.
 
so I've been thinking about the series as a whole and why lots of ppl wanna hate on the concept of all the games n shyt, what they expect, and what they want, blah blah blah. The following contains SPOILERS about the whole series and thus should be avoided if u feel the need... I will also be making speculations about the plot of Homecoming which you may also be weary about... for the most part tho it's a nonsensical rant so you dont gotta read it or anything. it's jus sum stuff on my mind...

anyway I wanna break down the whole series game by game.

in SH1 you play as a random dood who finds a baby girl one day which thus leads him on his adventure a few years later. In this game we are presented with the overall atmosphere of the game and introduced to the cult that the SH lore revolves around.

The comes SH2... a tale of the same town, but does not have anything to do with the cult. The game takes the established townsplace and fleshes out what the town is about with the story of a person and his interactions with other people who happen to be in the same place at the same time. Many people consider this game the pinnacle of the series in terms of the plot and I want to expand on that later.

SH3 returns back to the cult lore and further expands upon it. Many people consider this game the pinnacle of the game's atmosphere. The graphics are amazing but the thing about this game is that the overall vibe is that of loneliness... You truly feel alone and at your wits' end while tackling this experience.

SH4 has nothing to do with anything... it's a story about sum random killer and you just happen to be one of his random victims... nothing spectacular. Its disconnection from anything Silent Hill is prolly what lead most ppl to the hate side.

Origins is where it gets interesting as it ties all the established plot themes of SH together... a dood with a crazy past that gets put in his face thruout the events of the game, as well as an established investigation thru the town's cult. People can easily look at this game tho and see where the plot is headed hence why there should be a general lack of overall impression.

Thus this is why I wanna explore the 2nd game and its effect on the whole series. You're a dood who receives a letter and goes to investigate its origins. Thruout your adventure you meet a bunch of random ppl. Then as the story unfolds you get to bear witness to their character developments and their issues, but the whole time you're like damn I wonder where this game is headed??

and then finally you're hit with the punchline! The big revelation comes and you're like oh shyt whaaaat? Can you really say that you saw it coming? Becoz I didnt... James has dirt in his past and once you let that sink in you begin to realize why he's going thru what he's been going thru thruout the game... and the other ppl being there begin to make sense as well. You begin to put all the pieces together and it's like damn this is crazy.

That's why it's hard to expect much from the plot now... becoz now we know that if a person goes to Silent Hill and sees all these monsters inspired by traumatic memories then it must mean the end game will reveal that character as sum killer. James was a killer, Travis was a killer. Alex... is prolly a killer. The main character of SH6, I donno maybe a raper? We've already gotten hit by the punchline that it cant be done twice.

so really, I'm jus curious as to what new directions can the series really be taken into in terms of plot? I'm sure the costars in SH2 werent killers but can their stories be made into a game? And even if that could be done, we'd still already know that their experiences is a manifestation of their past so we'd be less interested in where the game itself is headed and moreso in what the game will reveal about the main character. Either that or we could investigate the cult more, but I am just wondering whether the effects and influences of the actual town itself can be expanded on any more than it already has
 
I'm having fun so far.

I give SH:H four out of five JEKKIHEADZ.

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to be honest I'm actually geared towards the OXM review.

the controls are ass! The camera is my most threatening enemy... I want inverted controls which they dont give me so I'm constantly struggling.

other than that I couldnt figure out where to go so the game does feel dragging at the beginning... but I think that's jus my fault coz had I actually been going in the right directions I woulda felt like I was progressing.

It took me forever to figure out how to find gas for the generator... and then I got to the
cemetery
and then walked out. explored the whole town, walked back to the place and realized I overlooked a door I was suppose to enter -_-

and then I finally found a new save point!! (I ended up saving in Town Hall while I was needlessly exploring)
 
[quote name='JEKKI']to be honest I'm actually geared towards the OXM review.

the controls are ass! The camera is my most threatening enemy... I want inverted controls which they dont give me so I'm constantly struggling.

other than that I couldnt figure out where to go so the game does feel dragging at the beginning... but I think that's jus my fault coz had I actually been going in the right directions I woulda felt like I was progressing.

It took me forever to figure out how to find gas for the generator... and then I got to the
cemetery
and then walked out. explored the whole town, walked back to the place and realized I overlooked a door I was suppose to enter -_-

and then I finally found a new save point!! (I ended up saving in Town Hall while I was needlessly exploring)[/QUOTE]
Yeah I think you just suck at SHH Jekki. I didn't have any problem finding where to go. If anything it felt more linear than the others.

Also I thought I remembered seeing an option for inverted controls. I could be wrong though.
 
[quote name='JEKKI']The camera is my most threatening enemy... I want inverted controls which they dont give me so I'm constantly struggling.

and then I finally found a new save point!! (I ended up saving in Town Hall while I was needlessly exploring)[/QUOTE]

I finally adapted to the camera during the HOUR I spent searching for the first save point (after the Nightmare), and it totally fucked my Halo game. I will not be able to alternate between those two...

Other than that, I love it.
 
Yeah, I've got to go with you guys on this one... if I didn't have to fight the camera, I wouldn't have many complaints thus far.

I just... I don't get it. I'd assume that it'd be SOP to include the option to invert the camera controls (I assume the 'Invert Aim' is only for guns, then?) on any game released, uh, ever. I admit it, it's totally screwing me up and it annoys me just because I'm not enjoying this as much as I should be at the moment, and that I *will* adapt to it, at the detriment of EVERY OTHER GAME that *does* let me use the 'correct' controls. Heh. ;)
 
Hmm... think I'll pass on this one. Sounds like there's just too many issues. Damn shame - I was really looking forward to this.
 
[quote name='Chacrana']Hmm... think I'll pass on this one. Sounds like there's just too many issues. Damn shame - I was really looking forward to this.[/QUOTE]


DO NOT PASS ON THIS GAME!

the controls are whatever, it's a love it or hate it affair... if you're good at them you'll pretty much kick ass at everything with dash-in/dash-outs, rolls, all that. Plus the camera, the only reason I hate it is becoz I'm a 2D gamer and I believe every next-gen game needs fixed cameras and pre-rendered backgrounds... camera controls IMO is the worst thing to happen to gaming since ever...

but what the game does correct... speechless.

the atmosphere, character interactions (a VERY different approach than past games), drama, and the way you feel your character is motivated to continue pushing forward... it's really evident that the people who made thisgame really loved SIlent Hill becoz outside of the "next-gen" controls, they nailed pretty much everything else.

that's why I was never a hater from the start! they made it clear that the game was in the hands of FANS of the game, and got damn they did it great justice so far... I seriously cant wait to get further in it

I'm already getting used to the controls so it's no problem, but when I said earlier that the game becomes a matter of figuring out the character moreso than wanting to see where the game itself is headed... no... I really wanna see where the game is headed!!
 
[quote name='Chacrana']Hmm... think I'll pass on this one. Sounds like there's just too many issues. Damn shame - I was really looking forward to this.[/QUOTE]
Issues? People in this thread have mentioned one issue, not being able to invert the camera. Which btw, doesn't bother me at all. I'm surprised so many people have a problem with it.
 
The camera is only an issue for me because it's something I don't even think about anymore. I want to look down, I press up... but that doesn't work in this game. While I feel it's an option that should have been included, it's just *really* annoying because I've been trained to do it the opposite way.

Other than that... PLEASE don't let this thread fool you, this game is worth playing.
 
I've never really cared for inverted camera controls. I could never get used to the idea that up is down thing.
 
[quote name='007']
Other than that... PLEASE don't let this thread fool you, this game is worth playing.[/quote]

Yeah, I don't get it. I am really enjoying this game. If you like the franchise, I would not pass on this game. It's right up there with the second one (which was my favorite) in my book so far.
 
[quote name='Chibi_Kaji']I've never really cared for inverted camera controls. I could never get used to the idea that up is down thing.[/quote]

Same here. The only exception is with flying, like Warhawk.
 
I go both ways ... *giggle*

I honestly can't find anything to complain about other than being in the exact right spot to open a door or interact with something. Seems to be pretty unforgiving there, but other than that this game kicks ass.
 
the intuition behind inverted camera is that you're moving the camera itself,

when you press up, you move the camera up, thus you should be looking down

when you move it left, the camera moves left, this your viewpoint should be facing the character's left lookin toward his right

that's why without inverted controls it's something like the camera is pushing towards me when I'm trying to push it away... it defies a natural logic imo
 
so the good news is I didnt play this game yesterday, but picking it back up today and I can control the game perfectly!!

the bad news is... I got straight up raped by sum nurses!!

If you got a heavy weapon on you, and they attack you... you're dead!! they dont stop!!!

fight them with the knife... seriously. btw it's also hella cool that they jus stand there lookin pretty if you dont bother them.

Other than that I beat the first boss... it's crazy coz if you dont play towards its pattern to exploit their weakness they do not die!! I kept on dodging, attack, dodge, attack, etc and dood never died... I died.

but following his other pattern... down in 3 hits o_O

now I'm in the next dungeon!! game's awesome!!
 
Ok, now that I've put some real time into it (about 6 hours, give or take) here are some thoughts:

NOTE: may contain slight spoilers

- oddly, the knife *is* the best weapon in the game. Nearly every enemy except the spiders is MUCH easier to fight with the quick knife as opposed to a heavy weapon. Jekki is right, btw... don't even think about going up against a nurse with a heavy weapon, you'll be straight-up raped. And yes, that's ONE nurse... which is rare, since you normally fight 2 or more (or 6! in a tiny room! huzzah!)

- Need. more. health. items! The combat in the game isn't bad, but it's nearly impossible to not get hurt a lot. As a result, you need health items, which the game is stingy with. Also, I'm assuming that the 'serum' has some effect on the ending you get or something, since it seems a little odd and out of place. This one becomes REALLY apparent when they drop right back into things after a boss fight with NO health items before combat. The police station was TERRIBLE. Waves of new enemies and very little health? Gee, thanks. Assholes.

- the oddest part, to me, is how little time you spend in 'hell' world. I was sort of amped to find out that the switch happened in real time... which has happened ONCE in the 6 hours I've played. There also aren't really 'dungeons', so to speak... like the old SH games, where you'd get to a big area, explore, explore it 'hell-style', boss fight. There's been... well, almost none of that. A little, but the areas aren't big, nor does that 50/50 hell split happen.

- Jekki, again, is right... boss fights are no longer about pumping bullets into a big thing. You really do have to follow a pattern or you won't get ANYWHERE.

- Earlier in this thread, I bemoaned that starting with SH2, you could outrun things on the street. Now, I miss that. With the lack of health items, it's a real chore to move around the very small amount of streets. Sidenote: lack of exploration is a boo.

As of writing this, I just got to what I think might the 'game-changer' moment, so I'll keep this updated as I have any new thoughts.

- *SPOILER* ... wow, when I heard one review say this should just be called Silent Hill: The Movie: The Game, I didn't quite get it. Now, I'm beginning to see what that meant. Humans in mining outfits just showed up. I enjoyed the movie, but the more time I spend removed from it, the more issues I have with it... which means I don't want a ton of stuff from that brought over and made canon to the game series, which seems to be the case here. In essence, the more I play, the more I begin to suspect that it's better to not look at this as fitting into the 'game Silent Hill' series, but the 'movie Silent Hill' series. Also, seriously, eventually they're going to run out of new sections of Silent Hill, right? A few more games and we'll have gone from small eastern US tourist town to sprawling metropolis. Heh.
 
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One of the reasons I love the Silent Hill series is that the scares are much more psychological than slasher-horror. The series hasn't relied much on blood & gore or gritty language to keep the player in a constant state of tension.

Anyone care to comment on how Homecoming falls into play? I'm curious how violent it gets in comparison to previous titles. Also, what kind of language is present and how often?
 
After reading through this thread I went ahead and ordered the PS3 version. Seems that lately I have been loving games that have been getting lackluster reviews anyway.
 
[quote name='thelonepig']One of the reasons I love the Silent Hill series is that the scares are much more psychological than slasher-horror. The series hasn't relied much on blood & gore or gritty language to keep the player in a constant state of tension.

Anyone care to comment on how Homecoming falls into play? I'm curious how violent it gets in comparison to previous titles. Also, what kind of language is present and how often?[/QUOTE]


the game definitely has its share of violence and curse words... but not much reliance on them. The cussing is random and sparse, like calling monsters the F word and stuff, but the violence definitely adds to the overall vibe of the game becoz the only real graphic parts I've seen so far are the cutscenes that introduce the bosses, it definitely makes you feel like you're in a lot of danger

also I killed my 2nd boss!! with the knife lol... it really is too good!!!

it's the speed! speed + hitstun = winning combination!

[quote name='007']- Need. more. health. items! The combat in the game isn't bad, but it's nearly impossible to not get hurt a lot. As a result, you need health items, which the game is stingy with. Also, I'm assuming that the 'serum' has some effect on the ending you get or something, since it seems a little odd and out of place. This one becomes REALLY apparent when they drop right back into things after a boss fight with NO health items before combat. The police station was TERRIBLE. Waves of new enemies and very little health? Gee, thanks. Assholes.

- Earlier in this thread, I bemoaned that starting with SH2, you could outrun things on the street. Now, I miss that. With the lack of health items, it's a real chore to move around the very small amount of streets. Sidenote: lack of exploration is a boo. [/QUOTE]


you can still run from enemies in the streets. At least in Sheperd's Glen, I havent gotten to SH yet, but I run the hell away from Schisms, they take way to long to kill...

likewise in the police station u can run from everything also! Once you start to jet away, go in the men's restroom and grab a health potion, wait til the 2 monsters come in and get close to you (so they dont block the exit), run out and jump thru the broken glass one of the monsters came out of to grab another health drink! the run towards the room with the other 2 monsters, kill them, and run to the garage.

I searched gamefaqs forum to learn this!! 3 health drinks (there's another one in the garage) + minimal damage taken is always good!!
 
Silent Hill is a series my GF plays, I don't play it because I am to scared of the game... heh. But she's been playing it on my PS3 and it looks really cool, definitely an awesome looking game.

Sometimes I can be the bitch in the relationship.
 
[quote name='JEKKI']
you can still run from enemies in the streets. At least in Sheperd's Glen, I havent gotten to SH yet, but I run the hell away from Schisms, they take way to long to kill...

likewise in the police station u can run from everything also! Once you start to jet away, go in the men's restroom and grab a health potion, wait til the 2 monsters come in and get close to you (so they dont block the exit), run out and jump thru the broken glass one of the monsters came out of to grab another health drink! the run towards the room with the other 2 monsters, kill them, and run to the garage.

I searched gamefaqs forum to learn this!! 3 health drinks (there's another one in the garage) + minimal damage taken is always good!![/quote]

In Shepherd's Glen, I was hunted down by 3 ferals and 2 schisms at the same time. That was sort of the issue. Point is, you *can* get away, but it's tougher now, and almost impossible if you're limping.

The police station was annoying because I had very little health to begin with, and the schisms are tough to fight in confined areas. Admittedly, it's not awful, but it certainly wasn't something they should've dropped you into right after a boss fight, in my opinion.

Regardless, I'm still not happy that it seems to be taking the movie canon as opposed to the game canon, but I'm dealing with it. I still recommend the game to anyone interested... but I admit that it isn't mind-blowing thus far, like the first or second games.
 
OK i jus got to SH...

about your spoiler which you SHOULD put in tags btw... I'm not reacting negatively or anything, but it's just weird...

but the good news is thanks to it I'm real interested now in where the hell it's gonna go. Like it's jus so weird I wonder how it's gonna ultimately fit in...

also dont run away from Ferals... doods are too fast but theyre hella easy to kill.

with the knife.

I only run from Schisms, but actually Schisms I discovered are real easy to kill also.

with the knife.

wtf the knife is fuckin broken! the only enemy that kicked my ass in a knife fight was the Smog
 
Ah, sorry about the tags... forgot this was a forum that actually has them. Totally my fault, and fixed.

It's true, though... the knife is the best weapon in the game, except for against Smogs.

I do agree, though, that I have NO idea where this is all going, and I don't want to speculate too much, since I'm not sure exactly how far you are.
 
dood wtf u gotta fight those guys... and they got guns?!?!?!?!

:nottalking:

and least the ones without guns are hella easy to kill.

with the knife.
 
[quote name='JEKKI']wtf the knife is fuckin broken! the only enemy that kicked my ass in a knife fight was the Smog[/quote]

Dodge to the side, get two quick slashes in, repeat.

[quote name='JEKKI']dood wtf u gotta fight those guys... and they got guns?!?!?!?!

:nottalking:

and least the ones without guns are hella easy to kill.

with the knife.[/quote]

Really? Awesome! Finally, something that might actually be a challenge to fight. So far the game's incredibly easy.
 
hmm,still debating on this game. I've never played a silent hill(or seen the movie)...i know shocker. I ended up ordering infinite undiscovery with my last choice of any game but I dont know, maybe I'll pick it up at the $20 point or less in the future.
 
Critics are completely wrong about this game. No, this is not technically "Silent Hill 5" and no, it doesn't actually take place in the town of Silent Hill for the most part. However, I own the game, I'm fanatical of the series and I'm here to tell you that this game is very closely tied to the story surrounding the town of Silent Hill. The story ties in wonderfully and the game is a disturbing and f'ed up masterpiece, just like everything in the other games of the series. The new graphics give the game even more appeal due to the extra-disturbing nature of the monsters and the physics, well..don't get me started. The physics make for some really good effects here and there, even if there's not all that much interaction with the environment or anything. Anyone who's putting this game down obviously has no idea what they're talking about because all of those critic reviews tend to be giving the game bad scores for absolutely stupid nitpicks. Stop letting critics completely decide what games you should like or dislike and try the damn game for yourself. You might be surprised at just how wrong they are in some cases.

In short: Try the game for yourself and you'll see that this game is great. Oh, and did I mention that the endings are actually pretty good, even if each of them IS predictable to a degree? But hey, since when has this series NOT been predictable? ;)
 
Throw another vote in from me for this game being completely freakin' awesome. The atmosphere is insane. If you have a surround sound setup, play this game in the dark at night. Holy crap. The music is fantastic at ever, and is quite possibly the best in the series.

If you're a fan of the Silent Hill series in any form, DO NOT miss this.
 
so I jus saved a 2nd file becoz I got to a point in the game where your decision affects the ending.

good shyt!

also major... MAJOR spoilers... regarding speculation of the bosses... do not read unless you fought 3 of them... or 2 if u wanna be spoiled even harder

any1 notice boss events are triggered by ppl remembering their kids??? I think that's the whole deal behind Joshua too

also one of those astronaut doods cussed me out... wtf?! thanks a lot asshole!
 
[quote name='JEKKI']
any1 notice boss events are triggered by ppl remembering their kids??? I think that's the whole deal behind Joshua too
[/quote]

Considering the kids they keep remembering are the ones who were sacrificed it's not surprising. If you look on the stone coffins before you fight the final boss you'll notice the kids names all seem to be on there.
 
bump! gametrailers review!

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41240.html

aaaanyway.... I havent played this game for a week!! finally picked it back up today and beat it...

beat it twice actually!! I had multiple saves so I got to see 2 endings.

anyway fantastic game! now I can read spoilers! and also... everyone should play it!!

one thing I gotta say tho... even the freakin final boss is a bitch to the knife!! I could beat him blindfolded lol

what's the purpose of unlockable weapons in this game anyway?? knife for life!!
 
Zero Punctuation review

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/284-Silent-Hill-Homecoming

btw I already sold the game... I got all 5 endings in a single playthru and really had no reason to keep it.

So now that it's all sunk in, I am satisfied with the game but not without gripes. I thought some of the dungeons were straight up horrible
(the cemetary, the random ass power plant, the bland final dungeon)
and the game didnt provide a single freakin epic moment outside of boss intros that reflected the character himself! Even SH Origins had sum crazy moments as you got near the end, this game underwhelmed like butt as you approached the finish.

all in all, very good and fun and atmospheric game, but it's definitely been better. Origins was a better game.
 
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