Features

Emu · #1

SH0 is on sale at GameStop for 30 bucks on the PS2. I guess they ported it some time last month? I hadn't heard anything about this til I saw it in the store, but I nabbed that right away :O So if you don't have a PSP, here's your chance.

Guitar Woman · #2

Isn't Origins supposed to suck, though

Pub Lover · #3

That probably makes it the perfect Silent Hill to get you into the series.

Emu · #4

I've only played a little bit of it, but it doesn't seem that bad. I can't vouch for the PSP version as I haven't played it, but here's a quick list of what I've got so far:

Pros:
- Good music, as can be expected from this series.
- Graphics are somewhere between Silent Hill 1 and 2, but flow very smoothly. They also have a little of that gritty low-resolution charm that made SH1 scary.
- Goes into detail regarding the origin of SH1 (of course.)

Cons:
- Dialogue is slightly marred by cheesy lines. No surprise there.
- No extra content as opposed to the PSP version (that I'm aware of)
- The game's use of the cult's magic seems much less subtle than in the first game, at least so far.

Girl Drink Drunk · #5

I bought this about a week ago, and I have to say this is the dissappointing Silent Hill game I`ve played. The `2D`controls are actually more uncomfortable then the tradional RE style, causing confusion when the camera angle changes (which can only be adjusted slightly). Exploration of the town is painful and taxing thanks the large number of monsters just lying around (those straightjackets are a pain in the ass to deal with, on the streets). Don`t get me wrong, the game still does a great job of keeping me scared and building up anxiety (that Sanitarium especially, which reminds of those urban exploration pictures of condenmed mental institutions), but it`s hard to fully get into to the game or to want to complete it all the way through when Travis just barely reacts to whats going on in the town.

Fathom Zero · #6

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitar Woman

Isn't Origins supposed to suck, though

YAHTZEE CROSHAW SAID IT DIDN'T THOUGH, SO YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO HIM.

Guitar Woman · #7

Quote:

it`s hard to fully get into to the game or to want to complete it all the way through when Travis just barely reacts to whats going on in the town.

It seems like characters not giving a shit is a big recurring problem in Silent Hill

I mean, come on, guys, you could show a little interest

Girl Drink Drunk · #8

Speaking of Yahtzee, I think he pretty much it summed up everything that was wrong with the game. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/arti...t-Hill-Origins

Also, with occasional bad dialog aside, the protagonists in SH1 & SH3 actually do seem to care about what's going on, for what it's worth.

Girl Drink Drunk · #9

Also, I just wanna say that the 5 seconds it takes to boot up the map or the inventory, while you are still in-game, is really stupid.

Emu · #10

It does seem to not make use of the PS2's power. It's like playing a PSP game on a big screen.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Emu · #11

Just finished the

Spoilers!
hospital

which was indeed creepy, but was disappointingly easy. I guess this is forgivable since it's the first dungeon. :<

Girl Drink Drunk · #12

The other buildings take a bit longer to clear, so it doesn't feel quite as much like a dumbed down version of Silent Hill (

Spoilers!
which the first part with the hospital

felt like).

Emu · #13

I'm in the

Spoilers!
sanitarium

right now and I just got the map and holy shit this place is huge. And apparently I get to explore it twice!

Girl Drink Drunk · #14

I finished the game up yesterday, and the pacing of the plot and the conclusion was, once again, pretty bad.

Spoilers!
I found that some aspects of Travis's past were interesting, but they took up too much of game and plot, and kind of pushed asside the story behind the town and previously established characters. I might have not looked hard enough at some details, but a look of things went left unexplained or elaborated on, and it just ended up presenting more questions (and not in a good way). All we really learned is that Travis's mother went insane and his father killed himself after years of grief, Lisa was hooked on White Claudia (which fans already knew) and was banging Dr Kaufman for it, and that Dr Kaufman was directly involved with the ritual to give birth to "God". What isn't explained is how Lisa died and how the memory of her ended up in the alternate hospital, and a coherent explaination of how Allessa's soul was split into two bodies (Travis just ends up driving away in his truck, not really bothering to figure out what happened to her). Also, it doesn't really explain what the deal was with the Butcher, who was basically a Pyramid Head knockoff (my best guess, though, is that it is some creation of Travis's mind, that is out to punish Travis, like PH

Fathom Zero · #15

Spoilers!
spoilers are stupid. Just say what you are going to say, I'm not going to buy the game anyway.

Pub Lover · #16

Not everyone is you, Jake. So uhh, shut up?

Fathom Zero · #17

Butt out, Kiwi.

Girl Drink Drunk · #18

Spoilers!
I think I'll have to agree with Pub, and not make Emu cry, jerk.

Emu · #19

I beat it last night.

When it comes right down to it, it's like Yahtzee said: It's a fan game. Which is fine with me, because I'm a fan. The atmosphere and general feel of the game were Silent Hilly enough to get me a decent fix til SH5. It's got some stupid mechanical issues, but they don't bother me that much. All in all I think 30 dollars is a little much to be asking for it, but I don't regret buying it at all :o