Why 0rigins is not okay. Large review.

[Wialenove]

Hi there. I've already posted this review at another SH forum. But interested in more opinions.

So... We are back to Silent Hill.

We didn't visit our favourite foggy town for several years. We were waiting for the new SH game from 2004 when contradictory Silent Hill 4: The Room was released. Since the only major SH thing we saw, was the movie. It was good and visually almost perfect. But why did it messed the whole story? What's that now? We have two independent Silent Hill universes. And that's not okay.

But, back to the games. Since 2004 we were waiting for the next proper installment of the series. And then we unexpectedly get Silent Hill prequel announce. The most disturbing thing about it that the game was intended to be made not by Team Silent but by another developers called Climax. Okay. Forgetting all that spin-off stuff: Arcades, Mobiles and so on. It's normal for all that commercial crap to be made by the other developers. But Zero was intended to be the 0rigins of the great story. How's it possible for this to be made by the guys who made Sudeki? Yeah, of course, I understand. It's business. But it doesn't make me happier as a fan who is into Silent Hill since the second installment. First 0rigins was developed by american team of Climax. By some weird reason they screwed the game (we all remember those crappy first screens with laser-aimed gun, RE-style monster and so on). Konami wasn't happy with this way of things, so they gave the game to the english crew of Climax for them "to make sure the game will give a player the proper Silent Hill experience".

And then the game changed in a better way: Silent Hill visuals, Akira music, classic gameplay, all that stuff. So if you are a SH fan - go and buy PSP, cause it's exclusive for this handheld.

I think the actual scenario was this way: Konami and Sony wanted for PSP to have it own Silent Hill (of course, they need to sell the console). So they gave Silent Hill title to a Climax + some freedom + Akira curation who will of course make the OST. They wanted to mix Silent Hill 1 (cause 0rigins is a prequel of it) with all that psychological things from Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately they screwed both concepts.

After a few month, Silent Hill 0 was ported to the PS2. My impressions are based on that version. There are minor changes from the original - better character models + bunch of PS2 exclusive bugs.

So here we go. Travis is a trucker. He drives his truck passing near his hometown Silent Hill. He chats with another trucker, catches some weird flashbacks from his dark past (oh, I'm so scared!). Then someone appears behind his car, he stops, sees a little girl, follows her. Another great song by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn plays on the background. He runs to the house saves the girl from the fire. And then hears a siren and fells unconcious. So it doesn't look that bad at the beginning. Did the girl survive? Why Travis' mental health is not good?

What do we have next? Only 5 (or even 4) large locations: Alchemilla, Sanitarium, Theatre, Motel, Nowhere + running around the town through the rose buildings.

The story isn's huge as any of the previous ones. Meeting Alessa some kind like that: "*Killed another boss* Huh? Is that you? What are you doing here? What do you want from me? *Alessa looks at him as a little bitch (yeah, they made a poor girl from SH1 to act like a little heartless bitch!)* *Siren* *Travis is off*." Repeat 5 times.

Classic Silent Hill gameplay was changed a bit:
We all know - now we can alternate the Silent Hill by our own will. One of the Silent Hill points was the unexpected alteration of the world. Now we are the masters. The game tries to explain it, cause Travis mother saw the otherworlds in the mirrors. But we all know, this way was intented to make a game last longer. Through all the game we have keys in the one sides of world, doors at the other sides, puzzles at the other worlds. So run Travis, run. But don't forget - you are getting tired too fast. So it's hard to get away from the creatures and you have to fight them. That is annoying cause almost every door has some creatures to jump on you.

Killing monsters: the inventory is unlimited. And weapons are getting broken very fast. Okay, we all remember Silent Hill 2 where James had chainsaw, Great Knife, steel-pipe and other stuff. But Travis goes further: he can hold 3 typewriters, 2 batons, 4 glass bottles, 1 crate and a catana. We also have ability to throw some of the items to the monsters which looks fun but not the worst idea at all. We can also fight the monsters with our hands. Just go and beat them up. There are lots of monters but they are also weak. So where the hell is horrow when you beat even some bosses with your hairy trucker hands? We have also some action episodes where you have to press the right button in time.

Lets now talk about + and - of 0rigins:

Negative:

- You can't choose the difficuly. Okay, no difficulties for the puzzles. But was it really difficult to make action part harder or easier?
- Number of locations. The game is really short. The way they get out form that situation is making us run from one world to another. This sucks especially in Sanitarium cause this location is really boring.
- Unlimited inventory. You can have number of weapons to fill Travis' truck! This looks ridiculous. I want to fear and not to laugh for all the game.
- Weapons that break to easily. Okay, wooden stick breaks in a few strikes. But what about katana?
- Travis who runs so bad.
- Alteration worlds by our own will.
- Travis storyline. We already had one guy who forgot, that he killed. Although he wasn't maniac with hard childhood. His story is secondary, predictable and is just not interesting.
- Butcher. It really sucks cause it just is another PH-wanna-be. And meetings with him: only a few times is not enough to make him a hero of our nightmares. Not mentioning scenes with him are so awful and awkward. As the final fight with running around the table.
- Alessa storyline and her new characher. From a poor girl, that just wants to be loved by her mother and ready to forgive her everything, they just changed her into a little senseless bitch. And they didn't open her actual story. Travis saves her - she appears several times doing nothing - Travis fights demon - the end.
- Turning Lisa into a whore. She's not my favourite SH character, but I have to mention that.
- No way to ged bad ending at the first time. Watch happy end and be happy.
- Akira' music. It's good but not as in the other parts. And Climax didn't put it in the right order.
- Weird finishing system. Why you have to run around the monster to get into the position you can finish it. It just steps back and you have to fight it again.
- Fighting with bare hands. Does that really give you sence of fear?
- Short, boring and unpithy cutscenes.
- And lack of them.
- Bad voice acting. Ecpecially for Grady's mother. She sounds so cliche.
- Final fight with the monster ported from Mars. Hello Doom III.
- Some people (who are into SH1 much) say that it actually screws SH1 storyline.

Of course we have some positive moments:

- It's atmosphere actually feels like Silent Hill.
- Alchemilla is good.
- Theatre and that decor puzzle in it.
- Puzzles are okay. Interesting and not too hard or easy.
- CGI movies. The look good. But lack of them.
- Nowhere.

So that's Zero is about. Giving Origins/Zero games to the other developers is normal in that business. But we are talking about Silent Hill phenomenon. Okay. I know. Silent Hill is now business at first. Origins is a commercial game that actually doesn't give us much about Alessa or Travis. It's just useless. It doesn't fill SH series with much of new information. And it has no soul. May be Climax are not bad developers at all, but they don't have much creativity for Silent Hill game. So they are just copy-pasting elements of the previous games and adding some new most of which are not good. Silent Hill: 0rigins is a hamburger - if you want to run around the town, to see some old faces, to fight some monsters - to "eat" Silent Hill - it's okay. But it has nothing to to with your soul in that way previous installments did. It's hard for me to believe there are people who were thrilled and excited by forced and secondary Travis story. Eyes are seeing words Silent Hill on the box, but mind doesn't want to add this kind of Silent Hill to the great original quadralogy. And if Homecoming will also act like this and Team Silent doesn't want to work on it, they better let Silent Hill to die with honour. It would be fair.

Agree or disagree? And why?

[Darth Tacos]

I would have to say that I pretty much agree with you. In my opinion, the game is good to play and everything but I'd never consider it an actual part of the series.

I could add more so I suppose I will when I am not busy.

However, about punching monsters being a 'lack of fear factor', I would have to disagree. I mean it doesn't help and maybe it does take away some of the fear but it is something that had to have been done sometime because humans have the ability to defend themselves and if it came to last resort then punching would have to do.

The game doesn't bother me. I feel like it was just a little "I feel like making a Silent Hill-esque game" that I might play when I want to play that kind of game. What bothers me is the movie...

[Rob Matter]

The most disturbing thing about it that the game was intended to be made not by Team Silent but by another developers called Climax.

After SH0, I’d happily have white boys make my next Silent Hill game any day of week, which I understand is the case with SH5 as well. Team Silent lost their infallibility with SH4.

Number of locations. The game is really short. The way they get out form that situation is making us run from one world to another. This sucks especially in Sanitarium cause this location is really boring.

SH0 took me nearly ten hours to finish on my first round, which was just as long, if not longer, than the other games. Granted, I was VERY thorough (found over 400 items) and took my time to explore every nook and cranny. However, I believe some of the locations—the Sanitarium and the Motel in particular—were much longer and extensive than any other stage in any other SH game. Quality over quantity. Even so, length of the game is a rather trivial point for a review; not all of us have the time for a 40-hour fugue.

As for the Sanitarium, I thought it was one of the scariest SH locations yet. It had the scariest monsters, the Remnants, and the whole building was one huge Session 9 reference. It creeped me out.

Unlimited inventory. You can have number of weapons to fill Travis' truck! This looks ridiculous. I want to fear and not to laugh for all the game.

Unlimited inventory, with the player able to stash away ridiculous large sizes and quantities of objects, has been the case in three of the four other games. Is this really a negative?

Alessa storyline and her new characher. From a poor girl, that just wants to be loved by her mother and ready to forgive her everything, they just changed her into a little senseless bitch. And they didn't open her actual story. Travis saves her - she appears several times doing nothing - Travis fights demon - the end.

The scene on the stairwell from SH1 that depicted a “poor girl that just wants to be loved by her mother and ready to forgive her everything,” reflects Alessa’s disposition before her mother went and, uhm, burned her to a crisp. Also, children are smart enough to play the sympathetic card when pleading with their parents. I’ve said it before, and I don’t believe Alessa’s disposition in Origins was at all contrary to her character.

What’s more to know about the Alessa story, anyway? Between SH1 and SH3, they pretty much beat it to death. Origins filled in a few blanks with that while focusing mostly on Travis. I think it was well done.

Turning Lisa into a whore. She's not my favourite SH character, but I have to mention that.

Oh, c’mon. She was already a drug addict and a suggestively dressed and dispositioned nurse. I don’t think an affair with Kaufmann was a huge leap for her character.

Akira' music. It's good but not as in the other parts. And Climax didn't put it in the right order.

Interesting to critique SH for not being produced by Team Silent while simultaneously criticizing the work of Team Silent’s most prominent member who did actually work on SH0. What exactly makes the music out of order?

Fighting with bare hands. Does that really give you sence of fear?

You’re right, the shotgun makes me feel much more helpless. Or how about the submachine gun from SH3?

Overall, I disagree. I found Origins to be a thoroughly delightful complement to SH1, with a new combat system and some locations that exceded my expectations. As a Silent Hill fan since Day 1, 1999, I’m proud to say that Origins is my second favorite in the series, after SH1.

[TheRedOne]

I haven't played the game yet, I've heard mostly good reviews... well fine reviews but now I just don't know if I should buy it or not, I've been a fan since the PS1 release, is it worth the 30 bucks for the Ps2 copy? Also I hear they made Lisa a whore and according to you Allesa's a bitch now... That really pisses me off. Any thoughts??

[crucifix]

covering a few points...

You can't choose the difficuly. Okay, no difficulties for the puzzles. But was it really difficult to make action part harder or easier?

agree, but not a huge deal.

The way they get out form that situation is making us run from one world to another. This sucks especially in Sanitarium cause this location is really boring.

your opinion. i enjoyed it.

Unlimited inventory. You can have number of weapons to fill Travis' truck! This looks ridiculous. I want to fear and not to laugh for all the game.

and this didn't happen in all the other games, save SH4?

Travis who runs so bad.

i thought it added to the realism.

Alteration worlds by our own will.

didn't care for that much either.

His story is secondary, predictable and is just not interesting.

i didn't think so. at least he had one, as opposed to a certain protagonist of times past.

Butcher. It really sucks cause it just is another PH-wanna-be. And meetings with him: only a few times is not enough to make him a hero of our nightmares.

that wasn't the intention?

Alessa storyline and her new characher. From a poor girl, that just wants to be loved by her mother and ready to forgive her everything, they just changed her into a little senseless bitch. And they didn't open her actual story. Travis saves her - she appears several times doing nothing - Travis fights demon - the end.

alessa's story has been gone over again and again; 0rigins was focusing a bit more on travis.

Turning Lisa into a whore. She's not my favourite SH character, but I have to mention that.

i wouldn't call her a whore...

No way to ged bad ending at the first time. Watch happy end and be happy.

big deal.

Akira' music. It's good but not as in the other parts. And Climax didn't put it in the right order.

again, your opinion, which most people would disagree with.

Weird finishing system. Why you have to run around the monster to get into the position you can finish it. It just steps back and you have to fight it again.

... what?

Fighting with bare hands. Does that really give you sence of fear?

didn't like this aspect either, mostly because i somehow doubt that the average trucker is strong enough to punch a deadly, otherworldly monster to death.

Short, boring and unpithy cutscenes.

youuuuur opinion. again.

Final fight with the monster ported from Mars. Hello Doom III.

i have to agree with this, though.

Some people (who are into SH1 much) say that it actually screws SH1 storyline.

how so?

[kamui3]

SHO isn't the best game in the series, but it's not the worst one either. The levels were scary. The item fetching was a bit tedious at times. I thought the puzzles were done fairly well for the most part. The inventory was organized much better in this game than it was in previous titles. I felt that the large variety of disposable weapons was a nice change of pace. It seemed more believable. The story seemed to mesh well with the original game. There weren't any plot holes that I noticed. The only problem I had with SHO was the combat. I sometimes had trouble hitting the monsters, but that wasn't the games fault. Overall I'd say it's a good game.

[David01]

I agree Origins was not the worst game of the series. Actually none of the silent hill games before Origins was perfect, they all had their bad points. Because lets face it, this game was created by we humans, and humans are an inperfect creature.. so there will alway's be downsides to every game created.


Now don't get me wrong, but saying that sh2 is the best in the series is merely an opinion. sh2 is so well loved.. but we forget that it also has flaws.. combat being one, poor camera being another.. but that did not take away from the story for me or the wonderful plotline. Nore did it make sh2 a terrible game.. it just says that there were some errors created.. but that's going to happen.. so lets just stop bashing origins, I thought Origins was a decent game, had a decent story about Travis and Alessa.. it wasn't perfect.. but it was a psp game originally.. and for a handheld game it certainly was good. The only reason why the ps2 version was not quite as good, was because they took something meant for a handheld and made it for ps2.. but still it was a decent game, and it got it's point across..


I don't think the developers were going for perfection.. just something to wet our appetites til sh homecoming comes out.

[Chris Sunderland]

In terms of level design and Atmosphere, 0rigins was the first to get it right since 2. The Story was weak, but so was SH3's, but I forgave it. The Theater and Sanitarium were two of the better levels in the series in my opinion. I also enjoyed seeing the town again, so to me 0rigins is a good game in the series, it just tries too hard to PLEASE everybody with it's story. The Butcher/ Travis stuff was a nod to 2, and the Alessa stuff was a nod to SH1/3. That never came together, but it's easy to forgive because the game is enjoyable otherwise. Last boss was Doomish though, and a easy as fuck, but so were all the bosses.

[AuraTwilight]

Since the only major SH thing we saw, was the movie. It was good and visually almost perfect. But why did it messed the whole story? What's that now? We have two independent Silent Hill universes. And that's not okay.

Why the hell not? It didn't mess up the story, he gave his own version. would you rather he try and fit the story in the main SH universe and have people hate it anyway?

And then the game changed in a better way: Silent Hill visuals, Akira music, classic gameplay, all that stuff. So if you are a SH fan - go and buy PSP, cause it's exclusive for this handheld.

Not anymore.

*Alessa looks at him as a little bitch (yeah, they made a poor girl from SH1 to act like a little heartless bitch!)*

They corrected it in the PS2 version. Besides, Alessa was never THAT nice. She didn't have any qualms killing a few innocents in order to commit suicide.

- Travis storyline. We already had one guy who forgot, that he killed. Although he wasn't maniac with hard childhood. His story is secondary, predictable and is just not interesting.

Who says Travis is a killer?

- Alessa storyline and her new characher. From a poor girl, that just wants to be loved by her mother and ready to forgive her everything, they just changed her into a little senseless bitch. And they didn't open her actual story. Travis saves her - she appears several times doing nothing - Travis fights demon - the end.

Well looks like you had no idea what was going on. Understand the story before saying it sucks.

- Turning Lisa into a whore. She's not my favourite SH character, but I have to mention that.

This isn't 0rigins' fault, she always was.

Origins is a commercial game that actually doesn't give us much about Alessa or Travis. It's just useless. It doesn't fill SH series with much of new information. And it has no soul.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

[paladin181]

Lisa was a whore in SH1, presumably. She had a drug addiction and was Kaufmann's puppet, which is exactly why she was able to get her revenge on him at the end (in the good and good+ endings). She wasn't any more a whore in SH:O than in SH1.

The game is pretty good, over all from what I've seen. I really can't wait to get my own copy and finish it. So far, I've only started it and gotten through a bit of the first parts. I'm really looking forward to putting this one to rest.

[Arthemesic]

Since the only major SH thing we saw, was the movie. It was good and visually almost perfect. But why did it messed the whole story? What's that now? We have two independent Silent Hill universes. And that's not okay.

I'd rather think of the movie as a "What If...?" alternative to the story of Silent Hill.
The movie was good but irrelevant to the games. It practically didn't happen.

[TheRedOne]

In terms of level design and Atmosphere, 0rigins was the first to get it right since 2. The Story was weak, but so was SH3's, but I forgave it. The Theater and Sanitarium were two of the better levels in the series in my opinion. I also enjoyed seeing the town again, so to me 0rigins is a good game in the series, it just tries too hard to PLEASE everybody with it's story. The Butcher/ Travis stuff was a nod to 2, and the Alessa stuff was a nod to SH1/3. That never came together, but it's easy to forgive because the game is enjoyable otherwise. Last boss was Doomish though, and a easy as fuck, but so were all the bosses.

yes, but no silent hill boss was actually hard, the only one I've ever really struggled with was the final boss fight on SH4, mainly because of it's more of a puzzle than a fight and the constant cuts to Eileen walking off the edge were distracting, not complaining but just saying I really had a hard time on that fight

[Jonipoon]

I'm sorry, I stopped reading as soon as you called SH4 "contradictory".

EDIT: Finally read topic. What can I say... It sounds like you really, deeply hate this game. You're free to hate it, but not to spit shit on it when you (as I presume) didn't fully understand the story. That's why I believe that you from the beginning (before you played the game) had already decided to hate it.

People nowadays care too much about the gameplay. Sure, 0rigins may lack in it's gameplay, but the atmosphere and story was definitely there within your soul. Would you like to play a game with awesome gameplay but no atmosphere and story at all? I guess not.

[WickedQu33n]

I like the fact it didn't focus to much on alessa.. We all know her story we saw in 1-3. I thinks its great how they show its the town that effects people as much as anything else. Travis' story just shows that there forces in the heart of silent hill, because his mother could alter the worlds so can he. So who's to say he couldn't have done the same thing alessa did if he had stayed...
The darkness has always been there.
/rant

[David01]

I agree totally, I believe that it's not just the town or Alessa. It's actually within the person's mind, or rather anyone who enters the town's mind. Travis could go through mirrors.. but actually it was all in his head.. same with James, all the things happening to him were all in his head. Same with harry, even though he was in Alessa's nightmare, some of the stuff was coming from his own preception and Alessa's preception as well. So both those things mixed in sh1.. In origins.. it was a combination between Travis's mind and nightmares, and Alessa's. Then as the game went on, it become more of Travis's preception of things, and his memories and nightmares manifested to create what we were seeing as Travis made his way through the town of Silent hill. His own personal demons, I mean isn't that what Silent hill has always been about?


The protagonist usually has their own personal demons that they must deal with.

[Liquid Snake]

It was a good game i like it about the same as SH:3.

[Jonipoon]

Liquid Snake, your avatar isn't working and I suggest that you change it instead of having that ENORMOUS Stop-sign.

[Liquid Snake]

Liquid Snake, your avatar isn't working and I suggest that you change it instead of having that ENORMOUS Stop-sign.

I'm sorry i was looking for a smaller avatar.

[abrasive]

I'm kinda surprised at how many people really liked this game.

I myself am actually really, really not fond of this game. Before I go on, I will say I liked Silent Hill 4, because even if it had some really awkward gameplay and was missing a lot of that great traditional Silent Hill experience, it still felt--as far as the storywriting style and all goes--like a Silent Hill game to me, or at least like it's in the same universe. The rest of this post will be dedicated to bitching about this game.

Silent Hill: Origins, to me, has what I like to call "Resident Evil Zero Syndrome". It's a surprise retcon nightmare of a prequel that promises (or at least implies, through it's title) that it will explain a lot of unexplained things from the first game. While it sheds a little light on the situation, it really kind of tangents off into it's own thing that doesn't really add much to the overall plot of the first, and in my opinion actually weakens the original. Finally, it manages to do all this while simultaneously rehashing the crap out of a ton of elements done in previous games.

Travis, even when taking the interesting theories you guys have come up with on this forum into account, struck me as very boring and bland. And I'm saying this as someone who actually really liked and appreciated Henry Townshend of Silent Hill 4. Alessa, Kaufmann, and Dahlia seemed pretty static to me as well. It was interesting seeing more of Lisa, I didn't mind her presence there, although I wish it had more of a resolution.

Speaking of which, something seemed unpleasantly over the top about the game's last act. With all the light-shows and action sequences, it started to feel more like a Resident Evil game than Silent Hill. I felt increasingly more disappointed with where it as all going after finishing the Motel level.

I didn't entirely hate the game though - I recall finding myself very intrigued with Travis' backstory as it was unfolding, although I was ultimately disappointed cuz it didn't feel like it lead anywhere to me. Also I will say the Theater level was very well done and original - all the others had been done before (c'mon, ANOTHER hospital/insane asylum? really? this town has three?).

It's not nearly as bad whenever I remember this was originally released on the PSP, but I bought it for the first time on the PS2 and as such was hoping for something as dense and powerful as Silent Hill 2 or 3. I was disappointed. While it was nice revisiting the town once more, it felt more like a brainteaser to me - a fun little half-a-Silent-Hill game. I find the idea that this is the first Silent Hill game to some people to be rather horrific, and not in a good way.

[DavidGarland]

Well, I did enjoy playing origins, but did not care for the story.

For me, it weakened the story of of the first silent hill. I do not think the game managed to convey the characters in a way similar to their original counterparts. It could just be me, but I think they got Lisa and Alessa completely wrong. I did not find anything in the original silent hill that gave way to this whoreish attitude of Lisa. Sure, she was 7 years younger but that could not have brought on such a shift in attitudes. The bright, caring, and helpful Lisa could not be seen in origins because of this slutty doppelganger. Alessa on the other hand was given very little speaking time in this game, which I felt was just lazy. I can not see why that lonely girl who cowered under desks and pleaded for her mothers love would have not opened up to Travis. I do not believe the fact she was burned would have cause this kind of girl to lock herself up and do nothing more than glare at Travis.

If I did have it my way, it would have never been released. But it is passable, for what it is.