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

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The Adversary
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by The Adversary »

Silent Hill: Homecoming is easily the least playable Silent Hill game. If tedium were an art, SH:H would be Leonardo.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Doctor Eggnog »

Dark Falz wrote:
TNAJeffHardy13 wrote:Silent Hill: Shatterted Memories
Haha, best typo ever. :)

I'd have to say Homecoming is my third, maybe second favorite? I have my reasons.
Tell us! Most of us don't have any friggin' idea what makes Homecoming good.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by leftshoe18 »

The Adversary wrote:Silent Hill: Homecoming is easily the least playable Silent Hill game. If tedium were an art, SH:H would be Leonardo.
What makes Homecoming unplayable? From a gameplay standpoint, I thought it was a lot more playable than the other games in the series.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Catch22 »

Doctor Eggnog wrote:Tell us! Most of us don't have any friggin' idea what makes Homecoming good.
As mentioned, what Homecoming has going for it is its controls. While in a broader context they're far from perfect, when it comes to SH games it stands out as (arguably) the most playable. Although SM may have taken that title away, depending on how annoying you find the waggling.

As for me, Homecoming is my third favourite, just behind 2 and SM. I enjoyed the story and the atmosphere, and just really got into SH5 for whatever reason.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Shacknasty »

It's a bit lacking in some aspects, but the combat system was a great addition. Having to use some actual strategy for a change in dealing with enemies made it more enjoyable. It really lent itself well to the boss fights which are by far the best in the series.

Up until this point Silent Hill bosses have been pretty meh. Just filler monsters just for the sake of having bosses. But in Homecoming the storyline pertaining to them helps and Scarlet was easily the best boss fight out of any of the games. The cutscene before the boss fight and the music just set the mood perfectly.

But that's the curse of Silent Hill: you have those who like the combat while others despise it and only play the series for the story. So since you have so many Silent Hill fans liking and disliking different aspects about the series it becomes pretty difficult to make a Silent Hill game loyal to the franchise, but trying to expand with some new ideas while still appealing enough to the fans. So with all that in mind people have to realize it's going to be impossible to please all the fans with each installment.

Personally, I was fine with the combat and damn certain didn't see a point in removing it in SM as it was a lazy way to pump up tension (which failed miserably) without putting any effort into either the fighting or the monster design.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Doctor Eggnog »

^ I completely disagree with what you said about bosses and the ones in earlier games being filler. Silent Hill bosses work by being scary, emotional, or memorable, not by being fun. The Giant Lizard from SH1 is the scariest boss in the series for me, and Duo Pyramid Head the most memorable and emotional. Because of those last two factors, I actually find Duo PH to be the most enjoyable boss fight ever, despite its simplicity and tedium. I thought the Missionary from SH3 had a perfect difficulty, depending on how you did it could be really easy or really hard, and I found that great. And Walter from SH4 served as a good conclusion. None of these bosses were "filler". The only filler bosses from the first four were I'd say Hanging Figures (despite the symbolism they didn't feel like they fit in somehow) and MAYBE Split Worm (bad timing, u can get to it in like fifteen minutes so it's way too easy) and Leonard (because him as a character in general somehow felt like filler to me).

...I don't really remember the bosses in SHH very well, except for Scarlet, and that's only because it looked great in a Youtube video, in game it was just meh.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Shacknasty »

You can make a boss fight emotional and fun. Just because it's Silent Hill doesn't mean they're intended to be strictly emotional. Even so there's only a handful of boss fights that are actually emotional (Cybil's, the final PH battle, Mary/Maria) You'll find a bunch of people who say that about MGS3 & 4's boss fights. The bosses came across as uninspired and boring for the most part. There's only a handful of boss fights that stick out for me. Walter's boss fight in that you have to do a bit more than simply whack on him til he dies. Having a time limit on saving Eileen (if you care to that is) adds a bit more suspense to it. I just wish Walter had more to his arsenal than the same attacks he had for the majority of the game. But as far as being fun, symbolic, and climactic it did a good job.

But Homecoming upped the ante with the combat system being the cornerstone behind it all. You have to time your dodges more than previous games and you can't gun them down quite as easily as in previous games. They also fit into the storyline very well.

I didn't find anything really scary about SH1's bosses. A lizard, slug, and moth were far from scary and were just dull. Cybil was probably the best in that you had an option of whether to fight here and she actually dealt great damage to you. SH2 could have used one or two more. The Abstract Daddy and Hanging Figures were boring.

SH3's split worm boss fight was just repeat of the Lizard fight in SH1 (no not the same enemy but same strategy to defeat). The next three weren't anything special either. The final boss fight was probably the best in that you had to do more dodging than usual. Abstract Daddy and Missionary were a bit lame in that later on in the game they just became standard enemies which made them less meaningful.

Whereas in Homecoming the bosses were more imposing and entertaining. They may not have the emotional impact, but at least they were something more than just a moth or lizard, had decent history in the story without showering it with too much backstory pertaining to them, and were legitimately challenging and fun.
Last edited by Shacknasty on 10 Feb 2011, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Dark Falz »

Doctor Eggnog wrote:
Dark Falz wrote:
TNAJeffHardy13 wrote:Silent Hill: Shatterted Memories
Haha, best typo ever. :)

I'd have to say Homecoming is my third, maybe second favorite? I have my reasons.
Tell us! Most of us don't have any friggin' idea what makes Homecoming good.
Honestly, I only looked in the good of things while playing it. (I'm pretty sure someone will respond "There is no good!", haha.)

And pretty much what Catch22 said, I just... Really got into it when I started it.

Shacknasty made some pretty good points about the bossfights, as well.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by The Adversary »

>What makes Homecoming unplayable?<
For me, for someone who's barely a gamer, Silent Hill: Homecoming simply isn't fun. And even as someone who rarely games, I'm good at acclimatizing to different game styles. Yet, no matter how much I played, or hard I tried, I could never get into SH:H, and that made it not fun. I hated having to legitimately battle monsters, and when I wasn't, when I was supposed to be thinking about how to solve puzzles, I didn't have to because the puzzles were so amazingly uninspired, an award should be handed to DoubleHelix for sucking so hard.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Harrys_Girl »

I actually don't hate Homecoming like many other do. Not that I didn't hate 85% of it... I did. But I think the EDIT: Hell Decent level may be one of my favorite levels in a SH game. I liked the fiery highlights paired w/ the dark nothingness beyond the catwalks. The dream-like aspect of that level was beautiful. Everything beyond an arm's length of Alex was fuzzy, much like dreams are always seen. In dreams, anything you are not directly looking at is fuzzy or hard to discern from the blackness of unconsciousness. Not even just the visuals, but the audio too! The strange mechanically, rhythmic slow pulsing lulls one into a sense of serenity even though one should be on edge. Even in a nightmare, everything is confusing. You know that you should be on edge but you are still because you're asleep.

It was a beautiful level and my favorite of that game. The one truest redeeming element. The rest of the game was bad lighting, giant plot holes and horrible dialogue, but that level was so masterfully done, it almost felt like a different game.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Nyarlathotep »

Do you mean Alchemilla or the Hell Descent?


Anyway, I loved Homecoming overall. I liked it from the start, but each playthrough made me appreciate it more and more. After my 10th run I honestly place it above any other sequel in the series. The game has good-enough gameplay and perfect pacing. I love every otherworld sequence, especially the Hell Descent and the Shepherd home. The voice acting was outstanding and it had a good, Lovecraftian story.

I even thought the visuals were pretty great. Most of the side characters definitely needed work... But the environments, Alex, and the enemies were all excellent.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by axel-cd »

The Adversary wrote:Silent Hill: Homecoming is easily the least playable Silent Hill game. If tedium were an art, SH:H would be Leonardo.
In my opinion, the least playable SH game is The Room, in fact, it´s the only SH i´ve played just one time. Homecoming may not be my favorite SH game, but i definitely enjoyed it :)
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by clips »

Hmmm...for me Homecoming isn't a bad game, i've stated countless times how much i've hated the combat and the whole overall experience just felt watered-down. I didn't like how all of the combat with the monsters was pattern based, then furthermore you could just widely swing away with the knife and kill enemies that way, but that wasn't fun either.

To top it off Shepherds Glenn and SH felt exactly the same, it was moreso that SH felt like Shepherds Glenn...it was just a total disconnect for me. But the game wasn't all bad...i like Alex as a character and i loved the voice acting..the helldescent levels and the otherworld house levels were great....the storyline and conclusion you could really see coming a mile away also, but ultimately my main gripe with this game was really just the combat.

I like all of the original 4 games better than this one, but i do give this the overall edge over SM...SM may have had a better storyline, but homecoming had the overall better package in terms of otherworlds, characters and environments....and origins?...I still wish they didn't make that piece of garbage...that ranks last on my list.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Axel_98 »

The game wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing either. I absolutely hated the puzzles in this game which is easily my least favorite part of the whole thing. I did like the combat system though in how it would be easier to run than fight. And the story wasn't terribly bad. It's probably my 4th favorite in the series (Above SH:0 and SH3)
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Uyrikeustek »

Agent of God wrote:It is my least favorite, due to many SHmovie influences.
And the part with the drill.
Yeah I hated the parts following the movie. I especially hated the return of Pyramid Head. He was so badass in 2 and then in the movie and Homecoming, they messed his character up. I thought the story was interesting, though and the graphics were good. Also, I have to disagree with you about the drill part. That was actually pretty cool and I wasn't expecting it at all from this series.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Matthewop »

i think it is one of my favorite ones...
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Soulless-Shadow »

I liked Homecoming, but then I tend to enjoy any game I play. It has to be truly horrendous for me to not enjoy it. However, I wouldn't say Homecoming is my favourite. That would be SH1 (damn you, nostalgia) closely followed by 2, then 3. After that, they're all sort of lumped together in forth place.
Harry's Girl wrote:I actually don't hate Homecoming like many other do. Not that I didn't hate 85% of it... I did. But I think the EDIT: Hell Decent level may be one of my favorite levels in a SH game. I liked the fiery highlights paired w/ the dark nothingness beyond the catwalks. The dream-like aspect of that level was beautiful. Everything beyond an arm's length of Alex was fuzzy, much like dreams are always seen. In dreams, anything you are not directly looking at is fuzzy or hard to discern from the blackness of unconsciousness. Not even just the visuals, but the audio too! The strange mechanically, rhythmic slow pulsing lulls one into a sense of serenity even though one should be on edge. Even in a nightmare, everything is confusing. You know that you should be on edge but you are still because you're asleep.

It was a beautiful level and my favorite of that game. The one truest redeeming element. The rest of the game was bad lighting, giant plot holes and horrible dialogue, but that level was so masterfully done, it almost felt like a different game.
Hell Descent was by far the best level in Homecoming for all the reasons you mentioned. :D I love it when areas are messed up and dream-like, just like Hell Descent. I find them much more interesting, and I would love to see something like that implemented more often (though not necessarily with fire, blood, and rust).
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by axel-cd »

^ Agreed! and Scarlet Doll is SO creepy! my favorite boss in the game, and one of my favorites in SH series! :)
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by Pleasant Sinner »

I agree with clips, it's just watered down...and had ALOT of fanservice (nurses, lying figure, pyramid head [from the damn movie], etc...). I also agree that it was way better than Origins, because that game was so rushed and unfulfilling that it wasn't even funny. Not to mention I damn near fell asleep playing that game!

As for Homecoming, it was just...unsatisfying. Terrible monster designs (they could have redesigned the nurses, smogs, and r.p.t.) and unnecessary side characters (Elena and that one guy with the saw [forgot his name]) made it all the more unenjoyable. Its redeeming qualities had to be the boss fights, hell descent/shepard home levels, and the story (which, however, was pulled off in the most boring way). It's the second least good SH game as I see it. I have a feeling that Downpour is gonna pull off what Homecoming was trying to, only in a better and more "Silent Hill" sort of way.
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Re: Is 'Homecoming' anyone's favourite Silent Hill game?

Post by phantomess »

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

I have mixed feelings about it. Honestly, it's my least favorite Silent Hill game, but I do like it. I didn't so much the first time through, but when I played it again later, it grew on me. The story isn't half bad, especially the cult side of it (disregarding some of the rubbish taking place in the "lair," and the excessive number of cult members running around in suits)- but the main twist was just too predictable and SH2-esque. That had to be my least favorite thing about it. I could have done with less movie references, and without the smogs. I'd have to say the game went downhill quite a bit after Pyramid Head's appearance in the church.

BUT, otherwise, I do actually enjoy playing this game. I found that at least parts of it had good atmosphere, environments, and monsters, and I was interested in learning about this bit of the cult.
Last edited by phantomess on 11 Mar 2011, edited 2 times in total.
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