Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

[SiXo]

I just don't get why so many of you hate it so much! SH2 is by far my best SG game, but Homecoming is so close I can't even tell you.
It has so many epci moments that non the other game were able to pull off.
This is the only SH game, if you ask me, who did made me really care for protagonist (Alex), and the story was beyong good.
So YES! I could say that SHH is my favourite SH game.

[SPRINGS02]

SH2 is by far my best SG game

So YES! I could say that SHH is my favourite SH game.

. . .that doesn't really make sense.

Anyway for me it's my least favorite silent hill for a lot of reasons. For one it just wasn't scary, the scares seemed kind of cliche and hollywood style. Which i don't like anyway, but i really don't want that style in a silent hill game. The hell decent tried hard but failed, and i found the doll that says "Behind you" to be a little predictable. The atmosphere and environment for the most part were lacking and i was very unimpressed by the alternate worlds. It seemed like at some parts of the game they were trying too hard to make it scary and failed by simply making it more violent. I have no problem with violence, but it's how it's used that can make a game scary. If you replay some of the older silent hill games you will notice they're not AS violent as you think. A lot of the older silent hill games caused you to feel tension and unease by playing with your head. And some of the creepiest moments happened when you weren't in any real danger Like when the mannequin get's decapitated in SH3, it wasn't really that violent, but disturbing nonetheless.

Also most of the characters in homecoming seemed pretty bland to me(i've yet to see a protagonist in SH that i like as much as heather because of how realistic she seemed). They weren't horrible, i just didn't really feel attached to any of em' because of how bland they were. The voice acting was not bad though, i will give the game credit for that.

And there were things that just kind of killed what little atmosphere the game had. I mean take for instance the part after the police station where elle and alex are all like "oh no the monsters are chasing us let's hurry up and get in the sewer" seen towards the end of this vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHsK1c3h ... re=related That whole part left me wondering "what the hell am i playing?" i mean it's not like i haven't seen that same sequence in a million other horror movies(especially zombie movies). Problem is that it's NOT silent hill's style to do things like that. I also couldn't help but roll my eyes at the part where you're in the prison with wheeler and after a monster jumps in he says "you cuff him i'll read him his rights", seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoYMZVQ9 ... re=related, great now the game wants to take cues from some shitty b horror film or something. Seriously what the hell is that? The only way it could of got any cheesier was if they had you fight some cult member or some shit, oh wait. . .

This game didn't seem to understand how subtle effects, or little sounds can make an atmosphere extremely creepy, the horror in this game was about as subtle as a drill in the fucking eye It seemed like double helix though gore=scariness.

Oh yeah as for the story, as some others have said, it's predictable. My friend bought homecoming and really wanted to play it(i told him it wasn't that good but he said it looked great) after literally maybe like 2 hours into the game he says "alex isn't really a soldier is he?" I just tell him not to worry about it, then he says "alex killed his brother didn't he" i started laughing, he always likes to try to predict the plot, but a plot twist that's supposed to be so big shouldn't be that predictable.

The monster design was cool, but note cool =/= scary. I did like how you see the damage you do to the monsters though. But making the monsters that relentless was a bad idea. It's not like i suck at video games(i've played my fair share of action games) but it's annoying to have to fight so much in a silent hill game. The game should be making me tense and uneasy with a disturbing and abstract atmosphere, not making me fight all of these monsters like im kratos in god of war.

Homecoming had a few things i liked, like making decisions on what to say to people, and good voice acting. But was still pretty bad. As a silent hill game it was garbage, but even as a game in general it's just a average(maybe a little below average). I mean silent hill has never been about action, it's more about a great story and a disturbing and creepy journey. SHH failed at doing this. Now you could try to say it had good action horror game, but here's the thing, the combat(while the controls were smooth) wasn't really that great. It's not like im gonna get enjoyment out of fighting enemies the way i would in dead space(which is a game that for me isn't really scary but still manages to be a great game because of how fun it is and great gameplay mechanics) so for me it failed at that too. So to me failing at being a pure horror game(especially a silent hill horror game) and also failing at being an action horror game= a pretty sub par game and a pretty bad silent hill game.

[SHF]

^
Person meant that Silent Hill 2 is their top favorite, and that Homecoming is the next favorite under 2.
I write like this too. If I'm wrong though, correct me

[shfreak235]

I would say it is about my third fav. Of course sh2 is #1, then sh3, and then SHH. i don't see why some people are putting sh4 before shh on their fav list. Don't get me wrong, though i don't agree with your opinion, i respect it. but in terms of the two compared, SHH just seems to come out on top for me. Side memo (lol), if someone redid SH1 exactly the same just way imroved graphics, that one would be on top for ever.

[stopped_clock]

Homecoming is my least favourite, but I still enjoy playing it. In fact, I've completed it about 5 times and it's a grower I think. My first play through I was miserable the whole way through, largely because it didn't conform to my preconceived notion of what an SH game should be like. However, on each consecutive run I appreciated it more and more, the devs put a lot more effort in than people give them credit for, it's just a shame that they sucked at making puzzles.

[SHF]

^
It's all about technique with Homecoming. You have to learn when to dodge/roll, and when to attack.
It's actually quite genius. Alot of people were turned off by the combat system, saying it was clunky. Not at all, it just adds to the challenge of the game.

[KageReneko]

Homecoming isn't a bad game, it is just annoying...

Hell Descent is an amazing lvel but they had to ruin it with the unskippable cutscene before Scarlet who probably weill kill you several times in your first playthrough (And the damn bug just made it worse)

The escort mission was tedious because Elle doesn't do a shit for defending herself (Eyleen had a broken arm and she was able to kick asses with her purse), besides that the level is nice and easy until you have to face the 3 spiders creatures and the 2 siams!!

The police station is annoying in every sense but the Shepperd house is probably one of the best and most creative levels in all the Silent Hill games; the cell and the hotel are meh and their alternate versions are so short that you can't enjoy them...

My problem with SHH is that the good things are ruined by the bad things, you enjoy something but suddenly there is something that ruin it... I also doesn't help that I just have played the PC version that must be the worst ported game ever...

[Doctor Eggnog]

^
Person meant that Silent Hill 2 is their top favorite, and that Homecoming is the next favorite under 2.
I write like this too. If I'm wrong though, correct me

Not necessarity. People can think one thing is best but know that the facts indicate otherwise.

For example, I know that Spider-Man 3 is a considerably worse film than the first to but I like it the best.
Noein: To Your Other Self does not have the best animation ever (too inconsistent), but I think of it as the best.
Digimon is a crappy show, but it's my favorite show ever.

It's the difference between opinion and fact, and I think he was recognizing that.

[SPRINGS02]

^But that doesn't make sense because he says sh2 is HIS best silent hill game(implying that it's his top silent hill game) but then he says homecoming is his favorite. That doesn't make sense how can you consider something to be the best in the series and not your favorite. It would be different if he said that he understands that sh2 is considered the best but homecoming is his favorite.

[SHF]

^ I've already explained to you why.
He is saying SH2 is his TOP BEST, but Homecoming is the best. ( means under silent hill 2 comes homecoming)

[angelofROOM302]

Where's the other Krista (angelofROOM302) when we need her? I know she's a big fan of Homecoming.

I am right here Ms Krista!

Hmm, Homecoming wasn't my all time favorite Silent Hill game, but it's in the top 5!
My list is like this;
Silent Hill 4
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill Origins
Silent Hill Homecoming
Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill 1

That one Shattered Memories..... yeah..

I LOVED Homecoming! Like lots of you all said here, it would have been a better game if the story was more legit and had just a tad bit more originality. Alex was a sexy beast though, so he gets most of my props for that. Controls, graphics, characters, levels, enemies and environment were amazing though! I liked that playing more tactically in HC helped me become a better player. It was one of the only "scary" games I've ever played. It had it's moments. I could relate a bit to Alex as well. NOW if I were to rate the game on playability, it would be first on my list!

Playability;
Homecoming, 4, Origins, 3, 2 and lastly 1.
...hmm I may be forgetting something. Oh well!

So it depends on what we're looking for. It's not my favorite game, but it's my most playable game! Because it's for the 360 and I loved the controls. And ACHIEVEMENTS!!

[Number 7]

As far as art design (monsters, environments, etc.), music, and story are concerned, I like Silent Hill 4 more than Homecoming. However, I had a lot more fun playing through Homecoming than I ever had playing The Room.

[Doctor Eggnog]

angelofROOM302's list was very interesting to me.

For me:
Best to least: 2, 1, 3, Origins, 4, Homecoming
Playability: 3, Homecoming, 1, Origins, 4, 2 (you can see how little this matters to me in silent hill)

I don't see how 1 can be the least playable, must be the graphics and controls, but I'm so used to both from my twenty or so playthroughs that it doesn't really matter to me. 3 had the best combat and gameplay options and replayability so the top spot for replayability, and I just remember the schisms being fun to kill, and with 1 I can just maneuver harry super well cause I've played it so much, and Origins had the fun mirror mechanic, and 4 had the shovel's charge attack. 2... yeah was all story and graphics and sound and ... everything except gameplay was mega top notch.

Other lists real quick:
Graphics: 2, 1, 3, Origins, Homecoming, 4
Sound: 2, 1, Homecoming, Origins, 3, 4
Plot: 1, 2, 3, 4, Origins, Homecoming (huh...)
Characters: 2, 3, 1, 4, Origins and Homecoming (they both sucked hard here)
Puzzles: 2, 1, Origins, 4, 3, Homecoming
Have not played Shattered Memories, am overall slightly interested.

[SPRINGS02]

^Hmm interesting, but i don't see how you can list 2 above 3 in terms of graphics, the art style in 3 was so amazing, it was really vivid. And 3 also had some of the best sounds in the series, very strange and creepy effects. I've never heard anything that sounds like a slurper. Unless you're just talking about the soundtracks.

[stopped_clock]

Yeah, 3 definitely looks the best out of all the games, by miles, it probably plays the best as well (homecoming has great controls for the most part but it's let down by the poorly executed ots aiming system for ranged weapons.)

If I had to list the games in order of best to worst:

1
2
SM
4
3 = Origins
Homecoming

[SHF]

My list is as follows:
2
4
3
1
Shattered memories
Homecoming
origins

[SilentWren]

Oh, that's easy:

best-SH2
2nd-SH3
3rd-SH1
4th-SH4
5th-Origins
6th-Shattered Memories
least-Homecoming

Imma change that to:
2
3
4
Origins
1
SM
Homecoming
Not that anyone cares, I was just reading and reconsidering.

[Doctor Eggnog]

^Hmm interesting, but i don't see how you can list 2 above 3 in terms of graphics, the art style in 3 was so amazing, it was really vivid. And 3 also had some of the best sounds in the series, very strange and creepy effects. I've never heard anything that sounds like a slurper. Unless you're just talking about the soundtracks.

I simply prefer 2's art style. Maybe vivid isn't my thing. :p And I was thinking of soundtracks more than sound effects at least, they matter more to me. Though 3 may have done the best on enemy sound effects.

[Tillerman]

After giving it some thought, I think this is my list:

1
2
3
4
Homecoming
Origins
SM

Hmmm. Why is my list so chronological...

[angelofROOM302]

I agree with you all that SH3 had the best graphics/environment in the game!

Silent Hill original is listed last on my list for playability and favorite, because simply I don't like to play it and I liked the game the least. It's got the amazing concept and everything, I just didn't care for the story too much. Gameplay wasn't that bad. I played the original way after... I've played 2, 4, 3 before I got to play 1, so I could see how the game had been a bit less meaningful for me. As for playability, I can only play it on my PS2 which I haven't touched since SM came out (curses!). So yeah, it's just not a game I have much fun playing. I'm so dumb I need a walkthrough every single time too. SH original.. not a good time. It wasn't the worst Silent Hill game, but my 2nd least favorite. Maybe one day when I find a PS3 useful, I'll buy one and download SH on it then I'll be able to play it more!