Silent Hill Homecoming Inevitable Disappointment Thread

[Emu]

Silent Hill 5 comes to PS3, 360 and PC on September 30th.

I have so many conflicting emotions. On the one hand I'm extremely excited, but on the other hand I'm trying desperately not to get too hyped up in the event that it ends up sucking. Still, I very much enjoyed 0rigins in spite of the critics so maybe I'll like this too. I hope.

[Dimnos]

From what little i have seen it looks bad ass. Did I hear correct in that this one will be a little more combat oriented? Something about the main character being a military man? That could be cool. Combat is SH has always been a bit shoddy.

[Guitar Woman]

The only problem I ever had with SH combat was in 2 and 3, for reasons specified in that other thread.

As for SH5, I saw a video of the main guy fighting with a dog and it looked absolutely awful :<

It's painfully obvious that the devs have been eying Resident Evil 4 with envy. Then again, I still really know jack shit about Silent Hill after playing three games set in the town, so I'm hoping that even if the gameplay sucks SH5 might actually be conformist enough to divulge me some story details.

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

As long as the story is good. I mainly just skip playing SH games and read the story.

[Guitar Woman]

Hey, more videos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbLEb...eature=related

I hope you enjoy the shoehorning of Pyramid Head into things he has nothing to do with, because this game's got it!

It's also taken both the "door hidden inside the painting" and "melty bathroom" scenes from the movie so far, and I'll let you interpret that as you will.

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

[quote=Guitar Woman;578647]Hey, more videos!



I hope you enjoy the shoehorning of Pyramid Head into things he has nothing to do with, because this game's got it!

quote]


I know his original appearence was more story related(from SH2?). Maybe they just made him/her/it a denizen of SH now.


In the beginning of the clip, I liked the enemy who spews black fog(and probably other things)

[Guitar Woman]

What it really reminded me of was a lava'd version of the scat fetish monsters from Silent Hill 2.

But then this is just me being pessimistic.

My main problem with Silent Hill is how incredibly inconsistant it is; one minute you're choosing between lying to a woman about forgiveness in a confessional and reinforcing her worship of evil or saying nothing and letting her guilt tear her to hell for the rest of her life, and the next minute you're lightheartedly joking about how "blondes have more fun." Some moments have fucking retardedly awesome attention to detail which take your conception of atmosphere in a game and rape it up the bum, and then other times I feel like I'd be having a more meaningful experience playing Metal Gear Solid.

Playing Silent Hill is sort of like watching a Stanley Kubrick film and being amazed at how amazing it is, but someone went and periodically spliced footage from Star Wars Episode 3 in, too, so you have to deal with that.

The movie wasn't like this because it was less of an attempt at interesting storytelling and more like a slightly intelligent Resident Evil. I did like the movie a lot, but I don't think a Silent Hill game should take any cues from it.

[Creepy-critters]

Contains minor spoilers from Silent Hill 2


Well, from the video GW posted, it looks like the game is trying to cater to the fans of the movie.

Prime Example: Pyramid Head

Pyramid Head was originally a manifestation of Jame's guilt about killing his wife. Both the Red and original Pyramid speared each other at the end of SH2. The only reason he was in the movie was to appease the fanboys. His appearance in SH: Homecoming is.....questionable at least.

But keep in mind that this game isn't headed by Team Silent. It's being helmed by an entirely new developer who just looks like they want to put their own visual flair and touch on the series. I liked seeing the dripping floor, it creates a better visual image for crossing over rather than the screen fading in and out between, or changing rooms and finding yourself suddenly in the Otherworld

Personally though, I really don't like the way the combat's going. I know he's a military man, but when the view-point snapped to an OTS, I had flashbacks to RE4. Which wasn't a bad game by any means, but the combat heavy reticle bullshit doesn't really fit with SH in my perspective. I have fond memories of playing James with nothing but a lead pipe and a jacket mounted flashlight.

[Nick]

At least the game looks pretty.

[Guitar Woman]

Oh, also, why is Team Silent not developing these anymore?

I'm not up to date on all of that stuff.

[Emu]

I think Konami was looking to emulate Resident Evil 4 in seeking the more Western emphasis of "I want my combat not to suck" and "Oh Jesus I bet you love quicktime events"

[OxBlood]

I always had the problem with Silent Hill that it got boring after a while because you were running around those...well not very memorable enviroments, figuring out what the hell the game wants you to do, find or turn now. More emphasis on combat is not a bad thing I think. Or at least improving the combat system.

*reads above* Hm, and now I finally know what Pyramid Head is...can´t really call that a spoiler since it´s my problem that I didn´t finish a 7-year old game.

Reminds me of another thing. The enemies. I somehow fail to find most of them scary. Some of them are disturbing, as said Pyramid Head, but most of them just seem to be random bits of warped flesh that has an epic seizure (Seizures ARE scary, I´ll give them that anytime).

Also I kinda like how they used the movie-world-warp this time, it´s a nice effect, even though it was a little more interesting to not instantly know that the world has shifted (Am I over there now? Was that the siren?).

Looking forward to it. Still don´t have a release date for Europe though I think...not that there wasn´t a ton of other games to play right now.

[Guitar Woman]

I thought the same thing about the environments for a while, but you have to get it into your head that the developers usually sacrifice gameplay elements to create the right sense of atmosphere. The 5 minute tromp through the forest at the beginning of Silent Hill 2, for instance, is supposed to be telling you that you're out on your own in the middle of fucking nowhere. I really think they overdid the "all alone" atmosphere in 2, though, since you never feel surrounded by nasty evil things that want to hurt you, and it's not scary in the slightest. Buuuuuuuuuuuut since it's mostly from James' subconciousness anyway I guess that's actually pretty accurate.

Also, if you bother to look, Silent Hill is chock full of real-world references and various other easter eggs.

Like, say, the corpse the first monster is chewing on in the clothes boutique in Silent Hill 3.

Spoilers!

It's Angela.

"Bill Skins Fifth" is also a common newspaper headline in the first game.

[Nick]

Silent Hill 2 really killed the greatness of the second game for me. It is a good game in own right, I suppose, but it just didn't feel as awesome as the first.

[Creepy-critters]

Originally Posted by Guitar Woman

Oh, also, why is Team Silent not developing these anymore?

I'm not up to date on all of that stuff.

They seem to be split up on other projects right now, so think of it as a hiatus. If SH:5 bombs, then we'll most likely see Team Silents return to the series

Originally Posted by OxBlood

Reminds me of another thing. The enemies. I somehow fail to find most of them scary. Some of them are disturbing, as said Pyramid Head, but most of them just seem to be random bits of warped flesh that has an epic seizure (Seizures ARE scary, I´ll give them that anytime).

A lot of the enemies are supposed to be warped versions of their real life counterparts or stereotypes. Doesn't always translate too well into the game though

[OxBlood]

Originally Posted by Creepy-critters

A lot of the enemies are supposed to be warped versions of their real life counterparts or stereotypes. Doesn't always translate too well into the game though

I think my problem is, that I am more of a Zombie-Person. All that these Silent-Hill Monsters can do to you is kill you. The don´t endanger your humanity or your soul, if you know what I mean. They pose about the same ammount of thread as any normal human does. Most of them even less, because they don´t have any means of ranged attack. The TOWN on the other hand DOES endanger your sanity and that´s something I respect.

I´m a bit complicated when it comes to such things, I know

[Fat Ugly Drunk]

I don't play Silent Hill games because I don't like the controls or combat at all, but I love the story and the music and blah blah blah so I look forwards to watching my mate rampage through it like all the others

[Nick]

Well, I went out and bought because I'm a consumer whore. The story seems like the standard Silent Hill fair, the only real difference I notice is that combat does not make me want to throw my tv our the window. Seriously, I no longer dread coming face to face enemies, because I can totally kick their ass now.

[King Hadas]

I just finished this game yesterday. I wasn't expecting this you know, people bitched that an American company handling it would fuck it up and I didn't take that seriously but those filthy Gaijins have really fucked it up. They've taken the series in a direction that I don't like and I'm not talking about the new controls. All the surrealism and inherent strangeness you usually find in Silent Hill has been replaced with straight up gore. What I'm talking about doesn't really become an issue until later in the game but you'll know what I'm talking about when it starts happening.

Spoilers!

There's a scene taken straight out of Hostel later on. It's actually pretty funny. When the lady starts jamming an electric drill in your leg it's so out of place you can't help but laugh.

The guys making this weren't restrained at all by censors and the only area that benefits from this is the monster designs. They all look fantastic and a few of the later bosses are incredible. Definitely the best in the series so far, the way the look and the way they move. The nurses at first are so voluptuous that it's comical but the way they get around is disgusting. I think most impressive though is the games boldness in giving the schism monster a big black penis.

One last complaint is all the people you run into. More than anything I think this is detrimental to the Silent Hill experience. Rather than have the story progress through esoteric memos some npc will pop up and explain everything. In previous installments a lot of the juicy details are surmised through notes and such which sets a certain mood, in this one information is mostly learned through cinema scenes which is terrible.

I didn't judge this game the way I normally judge games. There's a lot to like here; aesthetics are pretty great, the fighting system isn't bad and of course those monsters are really exceptional to look at. Ultimately though I had to decide if they had screwed up the things that make Silent Hill so grand and I'm pretty damn sure they did. Way to go Amerikajin faggots, why don't you go make some First Person Shooters since you love them so much, am I right fellas.

[Nick]

You're just nitpicking.

[Guitar Woman]

No, Silent Hill has always been about subtlety and weird, surreal horror. Bringing in Saw-style shit can only lead to failure.

I can only imagine how badly they fucked it up by taking out notes and memos as an expository device. Imagine if in Metroid Prime, instead of scanning everything and getting a vague idea of how whatever ruinated society you're exploring operated, some fag just came and explained everything important when you showed up in the area? Completely fucks up the sense of discovery and mystery.

Now, I know some people don't like scanning, but they're faggots.

[Zomboid]

Fuck off. Half the time you post about silent hill, you're bitching about it. Didn't you play it for the first time this year? Who are you to say what it's "always been like?"

[Guitar Woman]

Because that's what the first four games are like?

Also, I only ever complain about 2, because it's the only game in the series with serious problems. I like it, just not nearly as much as the other three.

[Nick]

They didn't get rid of memos and the like. They just don't have as many because this time around you're not witnessing the aftermath of Silent Hill. You start out in your home town, Shepard's Glen, which is a neighboring town of Silent Hill. You return home to find the place nearly deserted and set out to find out what is wrong, and where exactly your dad and brother went off to. This means you have to find most of your information from the disgruntled towns people still left behind, making memos less important to the overall game. You nerds.

[King Hadas]

Originally Posted by nick

You're just nitpicking

I really ain't, in fact I was being rather kind. Playing through it a second time I find myself less apologetic for it. There's something about the game that was irritating the hell out of me the first time through but I couldn't figure out what it was but I think I got it now. This game stinks of American marketing.

Why are there so many visual cues to the movie? Admittedly the visuals where the only good aspects of the film but I'm not talking about lifting a few special effects.

Why is Silent Hill designed to look exactly like the version from the film?

Why is Pyramid Head in this game? You know I actually defended his appearance when he first popped up in the previews but I had assumed they were going to do something with him not tote him out for a fucking cameo.

Spoilers!

Why is the movies religious order reproduced for the game? Definitely the worst aspect of the film was the literal appearance of an order and later you actually fight them as regular enemies. and what about the segment taken straight out of hostel. There's no way you can tell me that isn't a nod to that movie or more specifically what's popular in the horror genre today.

I don't know if I'm being paranoid but it seems like this game was targeted at a specific demographic, and I don't seem to be in it. Money's gotta be made though, nothing wrong with that but this still bugs the shit out of me.

Let me complain about one more thing dudes, the story. When you get the plot in it's entirety it's actually pretty damn juicy but it unfolds like generic horror film. Later twists that should at least be poignant come of as ridiculous and cliched. Then one of the most interesting concepts in the game is shown first through pantomime and then Alex mentions it as an after thought while examining something.

It sucks that after so long without a full on SH title they fucked up but to anyone worried this is the end of the series I wouldn't be to concerned. You know Resident Evil 4 killed the RE series, it was just to damn good to go back. This game isn't, later installments will probably ignore it entirely. I know I will.

I really need to find more synonyms for the word "video game."