Double Helix's biggest mistake with Sh:H

Poor Alex ... his momma don't seem to like him much. We wonder why in here ...

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Ryoshockwave
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Post by Ryoshockwave »

Mantorok wrote:I thought the storyline was both predictable on one side and a bit of a twist on the other. I thought it was pretty obvious what happened between him and Josh. However what I thought was a pretty good twist was the separation of the town's founders, the sacrifices, and the truth of Alex's career as a soldier.
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
I agree, the "truth" about Alex as a soldier was the better plot twist in this game. The slow uncovering of the mysteries and truth about the town also made the story decent. I still feel a bit ripped off by the fact that Alex killed Josh and didn't remember it. Come on, it's been done before. If they had found a way to maybe switch that revelation with the other, I think the ending could have been a little more satisfying. After Alex's dad tells him he's basically a psycho, I was expecting a little more out of the actual ending.
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Post by AdamMosh »

I think Homecoming is not that bad, about the otherworld transition it was interesting but I hope other silent hill games don't use it, someone said the monsters are not that scary, I like them a lot ( specially schisms, isn't a TOOL song? whatever),if you see them closely there's a lot of disturbing details: the shape of their limbs, the way they move, the color of their skin,etc, THE BOSSES maybe are the best of the series and finally the graphics when you are on first person view you can see how much effort was put on the game to make Homecoming beautiful and unique. I personally think the double helix audio team must get fired along with the programming team they diminish the quality of the game.
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Post by Kaisura »

Double Helix's biggest mistake with Homecoming?

To answer the question literally: Lack of understanding.

Double Helix didn't invest enough time and effort into gaining a genuine understanding of the series, and as a result, made numerous unnecessary mistakes.

Frankly speaking actually putting the otherworld transition process into the game was an -inspired- idea, not a bad one. Do you know how HARD a sequence like that is to pull off? Let alone multiple times. The movies did it with a GIGANTIC budget and a large special effects team. Double Helix did it with a drop in a bucket budget, two special effects artists, and I assure you, half the technology to work with (Shadermodel2.0 compliant graphics =/= holywood CG.)

Much as Aura already said, lack of proper symbolism in the monsters was probably the worst part. But at least that was only in the MONSTERS. The bosses in Homecoming are fucking masterpieces.
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Mis Krist.
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Post by Mis Krist. »

Silent Hill 4 had some lackluster "symbolism" to their monsters, and most of Origins' monsters were giant blobs of flesh--like shoulders without bone structure. Honestly, you guys who are harping about a lack of symbolism can't see the forest for a tree here. I think the monsters, all of them, are pretty freakin' distinct and understandable. What is it that gives you trouble? How can you look at Siam and say that the monsters lack "proper" symbolism? That smacks of elitist drivel.
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Post by Kaisura »

Perhaps I should have clarified. SOME of the monsters lack symbolism. I don't subscribe to the belief that ALL of them lack it. Siam is a pretty excellent example.

It's entirely possible I'm missing the symbolism in some of them. In fact, I'd almost be disapointed if I wasn't. THen there'd be nothing to learn.

Perhaps all I'm saying is that the symbolism is a bit...predictable? Cliche maybe? I'm not precisely sure what it is. I maintain that the bosses are masterpieces, and I agree, some of the monsters in Homecoming were pretty distinct. Siam and Schism were pretty excellent, actually.

And elitism is the bane of my existence xD I play WoW, I deal with enough elitist jackasses as it is. :p
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Herr Shaun
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Post by Herr Shaun »

Predictable? Before you cast that stone, take a look at most of the original Silent Hill monsters. A dog representing Alessa's fear of dogs, for example. :P
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Post by Kaisura »

Oh I dunno. Their doghouses inspired Harry to some pretty serious contemplation.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Silent Hill 4 had some lackluster "symbolism" to their monsters, and most of Origins' monsters were giant blobs of flesh--like shoulders without bone structure. Honestly, you guys who are harping about a lack of symbolism can't see the forest for a tree here. I think the monsters, all of them, are pretty freakin' distinct and understandable. What is it that gives you trouble? How can you look at Siam and say that the monsters lack "proper" symbolism? That smacks of elitist drivel.
In my defense, my opinion was being taken out of context up above. It's not that I think the monsters lack symbolism; they certainly have it; but for one thing, it effectively all boils down to the same handful of symbols, and htey apply solely to Alex, even though this is a communal Otherworld everyone seems to be participating in. I would've loved to see that reflected in the monsters.

Frankly, I love Homecoming, I just don't love it as a Silent Hill game. It's a great psychological horror, but it doesn't FEEL like Silent Hill. It seems to me like something that would've been way more wonderful if it was the start of a new spin-off series, like Siren was.
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Post by Kenji »

Shepherd's Glen: Where Family Comes First :)

This game definitely had some great potential, though it ended up cutting off a lot of it by being too focused on SH orthodoxy. If Konami (the ultimate deciders) was more willing to cut loose here and focus on what I feel are the story and gameplay's strengths, we'd have a middle-aged patriarch's story that features bitchingly hard monsters and actual stealth gameplay (instead of nurse-only stealth gameplay).
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Post by deadwulf7 »

I actually never FINISHED homecoming, but i rented it AGAIN last weekend. Well lol needless to say I stopped playing it yet again. When i got to Silent Hill, i once again lost interest.

Instead I hooked up my Wii and finally finished my RE4:Wii which was still unopened. Once i started RE4, i never put it down. Awesome game.

Homecoming just didnt do it for me, didnt feel like SH. And im glad others actually agree somewhat.
Even with all the nice PS3 graphix and good combat, it just DIDNT catch my attention. There was no incentive to keep playing, the weapons were boring, storyline bland, and combat was good but felt more like an annoyance. I dunno. my 2 cents
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Post by SPRINGS02 »

Krist. wrote:Silent Hill 4 had some lackluster "symbolism" to their monsters, and most of Origins' monsters were giant blobs of flesh--like shoulders without bone structure. Honestly, you guys who are harping about a lack of symbolism can't see the forest for a tree here. I think the monsters, all of them, are pretty freakin' distinct and understandable. What is it that gives you trouble? How can you look at Siam and say that the monsters lack "proper" symbolism? That smacks of elitist drivel.
Actually I thought every monster in SH4 symbolized Walters fears
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SPRINGS02
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Post by SPRINGS02 »

For me their biggest mistake was the fact that it WAS NOT SCARY! The atmosphere just didn't cut it and that plays a huge role in sh games for me. I mean during the whole game there was nothing that got to me, i even laughed at a couple of parts. They had some cool looking monsters and some of the bosses were kind of weird but it just wasn't enough. And the environment failed to have some of the abstract weirdness that the other silent hills had.
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Däniken
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Post by Däniken »

AuraTwilight wrote:...the transformation sequences and general aesthetic of the Otherworld were one of this game's highlights.
My sentiments exactly.
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