LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Murphy's been a bad boy ...

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LastScion
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LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by LastScion »

Are we safe? Is the thread still spinning? -- [straightens out desk and fixes hair] Okay, we're good! Thanks very much for the consideration Ryantology - I'll do my best to keep this thread's redundancy to an absolute bare-minimum!

UPDATE: GAME COMPLETE! LIVE REVIEW COMPLETE!
I will be reformatting this whole entry soon with spoilerrific and spoiler free in-depth reviews that don't include a full story summary (and maybe some that do.)


Long time no see, SHHF! I know that not every Downpour review deserves its own thread - but the discussion I'm hoping to start here includes a complete analysis and symbolism nit-pick of everything I see (down to posters and street signs) during my journey through the game. Not only should it serve future reviews, lists, and analyses, but I hope to talk with the community as we go along. Feel free to chime in with anything I've missed, or other interpretations for what I've listed.

Needless to say, the series is close to my heart - and while the franchise has spent more years sliding down-hill than living up to my hopes for it, I'm going to approach Downpour with an open and observant mind. Let's get started and I'll update and chat with you as I beat this beast! My personal thoughts will be in blue, feel free to skip them if the review aspect of this isn't your bag.

WARNING: IT DOESN'T GET MORE SPOILERRIFIC THAN THIS.

COMPLETE STORY, WITH THOUGHTS, ANALYSIS, AND REVIEW
Skip this if you'd just like to see the details, information, and analyses.


First Impressions: Graphics are nothing to get giddy over, especially at 1080p, but they're not half bad either. They'll do just fine. I have to hand it to Daniel Licht - the soundtrack meshes well with Yamaoka-san's style (Thank you.) but feels a lot more melodic. The tracks seem to shift seamlessly both when looping the track and when shifting tone in response to progression. I'm a little weary about playing a prisoner - walking into Silent Hill with pre-existing badass stats make this feel a lot more like Max Payne or The Suffering, but I've always been open to the idea of a convict getting sucked into SH, (especially in FanFic), so let's see what they do with it!

A prisoner, Murphy Pendleton, accompanies a corrupt guard through the jail's corridors (Block A (or 4?)) to a shower room, where the tools (wooden rod, butcher knife) have been left to covertly murder another inmate. (Well, I guess the plot won't be trying to figure out who the main character conveniently forgot is dead, for once. +1 - but I do feel a little odd blatantly murdering a human being in the opening scene. That's not very 'Silent Hill,' even for a convicted felon.) The victim is Murphy's old neighbor - a very out of shape sequestered prisoner (unofficially/secretly held) who is assaulted with both weapons (I preferred the stick first, for longer reach on the initial dome-bashing.) plus fists until dead. Murphy awakens; it was all a dream. (Should I have SH1 or SH:H flashbacks? Ugh.) Murph's actually being transferred to Wayside Maximum Security Pennitentary. After being loaded onto a bus, (during which Murphy should have said, "Bitch, I was getting on the bus before you stopped my getting on the bus to tell me to get on the bus!") we see flashbacks of a male child playing with ball, followed by Murphy pushing past police to get to an body before being arrested. (My guess: Murphy had a son who was molested and killed by their neighbor, who was never caught and left Murphy to be arrested for the crime, the dream sequence was therefore Murphy fantasizing about this neighbor being caught for something else and the sympathetic guards at Ryall allowing him to put him down.) On the way, the distracted driver panics when the road before him appears to be a cliff-fall and crashes the bus, rolling it down an embankment.

When Murphy awakens, the bus is empty. Even Koons is missing, who appears to have been thrown through the windshield. Our path forward is linear. (But the excuses for it are WEAK. He survived prison but can't handle stepping over logs or standing in cold water? -1) and we eventually catch up with Cunningham, whom we are given an option to assist or deny assistance to before she falls to her death regardless of our decision. (How very Final Destination of you. I take it our Moral Choice System just revved its engines? I went with "Help Her.") . We come to an abandoned gas station, complete with our Silent Hill fixin's - Map, Flashlight, Melee Wrench. (This wrench can be item-duped by picking it up, running away, and coming back. I threw several dozen wrenches trying to figure out the new throwing mechanics - awesome combat addition. +1) Passing through the gas station and arriving at an abandoned aerial tram for Devil's Pit, Murphy takes some old tokens from the counter (Looks like Murphy's prison book was a copy of The Heather Mason Silent Hill Survival Guide. Don't forget key items like walnuts and tongs!) and gets power flowing to the tram again. However, there's more to explore outside because someone made off with the damn ticket machine.

Next to an abandoned home is a small diner, The Devil's Pitstop - outside, Murphy meets Howard, a local mailman who, despite knowing that all of the roads out of town have been washed out, doesn't seem to worried about being trapped and disappears into thin air to keep his deliveries on time. Breaking into the Devil's Pitstop (With another self-replicating wrench; God, I hope medkits and ammo do this, too.), Murphy finds a map and a walkie before stealing a handful of change from the cash register. (Come on, man. And way to automatically test possible health drinks as a bottle knives. If you waste one, I swear to Kwakhitlemabarac- kwaki-- CARL.)

A small incident with a flammable kitchen sends Murphy headfirst into the Otherworld (Movie styled rusty-red-industrial underworld, not game style blotchy-bloody-waterlogged underworld, the irony of this should not be lost on you. However, it does bring its own new themes, which I respect. The wall furniture and oil blotches that look like neural networks are a nice touch.) The otherworld then eats itself alive with a vortex, with Howard the Mail Man calling out from the Abyss for Murphy to beat feet, leading him down a makeshift waterslide to a much different level of the Otherworld (Think "Alice's Wonderland" if it had a bastard child with a prison and a creepy old mansion. Basically American McGee (+1), complete with Slider-gate trying to eat you again and a glitch that teleports you into a doorframe even though you ran directly at it, inevitably wasting precisely 47% of your health (on hard) no matter how you try to avoid it. -1)

Escaping the two dimensional black hole, Murphy arrives back in the diner where he started; now sure that he's losing his mind. Breaking into the house next door, he finds his Chicano co-inmate in the basement beating the bejesus out of a screeching female figure - who thanks Murphy for saving her by attempting to kill him, teleporting herself all over the house and chasing him down as he tries to escape. (We wrecked a lot of the house in this Tom & Jerry remake, but I don't feel bad about it because the owner is a damn perv. In one scene, she appears to be summoned by examining a dead dog - whose stomach contents went curiously unchecked by Murphy, who obviously skipped that chapter of Heather's book.) Murphy escapes by solving a puzzle in the form of a safe, presumably while this monster stands there and hurls insults (Because I totally didn't kill her, being that it's hard mode and I'm trophy hunting.), to gain a firearm before running back to the basement to jerry-rig an elevator into the motel courtyard - one room within it contains a fresh change of clothes whose pockets hold an old key and a police badge. (I should note, somewhere while I was exploring this area, I thought to myself, This actually feels a lot like Silent Hill. +5. Then the environment hung glitchily while some things loaded. -1. Then a mob jumped me from behind and chased me to a locked gate, the lock to which my wimpy stick couldn't break and I had to go get a shovel, all the while running from psychobitch. SILENT HILL! SIIILENT HIILLLL!!! +3) Turns out the ticket machine is inside of one of these motel rooms, and the power can only be turned in the area Murphy gets jumped in, but he gets the ticket and gets out of there, escaping the backyard, Murphy heads back for the Aerial Tram, because this diner if F###IN' HAUNTED. At least we got some fresh clothes and a gun out of it.

Murphy rides the tram to the next location, breaking into J.P. Sater, Train Conductor's office (Link this back to the newspaper at the gas station - "John P. Sater Murderer? In the back room I sat and listened to the radio until it ran out of things to say - after 2 songs and a Pete's Bowl-a-Rama plug, it descends into static with a man talking too low to hear.) Outside, Murphy meets JP, who does give off that murder vibe upon reflection -- but after we travel through the deadly Devil's Pit, we learn it was only negligent homicide (stress on the only?) - Sater jumps to his death
(REGARDLESS of Moral Choice #2, leading me to believe this system is just in place to "Choose Your Own Ending" based on a few buttons and minimal dialogue change. This would be FINE if it let me choose when I saved and what file I saved it to - which it doesn't. Back into the Pit Murphy descends, restoring power to the restored mining train that will hopefully get him out of this mess. During the train ride, the caverns sway back and forth between the real world and otherworld as we're treated to some Silent Hill history - the town was originally a mining colony thriving off of iron and coal, but the discovery of strange symbols carved into the limestone sparked rumors of witchcraft and strange creatures that persist to this day. After the train ride, Officer Shouldbedead shows back up (How did she even pass her quarterly psych exam?! Based on her hot/cold reactions to me, I'm guessing that when it came time to repay Sewell, he had us kill a cop she was fond of...), but lets us go after having a breakdown after seeing the badge I found in these clothes
(which she found after patting me down, somehow missing the gun I found back at the Pitstop. Way to go, Serpico.). DJ Ricks is now sending shout outs to Murphy on the radios he passes, and the songs are themed change and forgiveness

As Murphy arrives in Silent Hill Proper, he takes a break from writing this review to do all the "Go here, touch that" side-quests so they won't come up again.

Sidequesting is on hold - I'm locked in the Centennial Tower with DJ Ricks. Let's hope he still sends me shout-outs after I meet him, 'cause I think I missed a few. Locked in the archives with several monsters, Murphy struggles to find blood covered books in the stacks with his new UV light - the topics within them seem to hint at self-made prisoners who create their binds to escape society (I've been getting the feeling that's what he was up to.). The powers that be seem to want to keep Murphy from DJ Ricks' booth at any cost, going as far as to give him an Otherworld-Induced flashback of his agreeing with a corrupt guard to murder the sequestered inmate, but he eventually makes it there - Ricks has mixed emotions. He's glad someone's finally heard his call, because he's been trapped in the tower pretending everything is normal - but he's terrified of the town because "there's rules." (I don't know how I feel about this yet, but I'm surprised to hear that the dream sequence actually happened. I thought we were going to make it a whole Silent Hill without forgetting someone is dead. Damnit, James. Look what you've started.). Unfortunately, before an agreement can be reached, the powers that be request a song of Ricks, dedicated to himself, and he now knows that "they" are coming for them. Moments before "they" arrive, Cunningham reappears (aggressive psychotic again) and both are kidnapped - leaving Murphy alone. (...what? I'm just... gonna keep playing....). Murphy's reaction to this situation is to set the building on fire, transition to the Otherworld, and get his run on from the vortex again. (Reasonable man, that Pendleton... but the balancing on the clock scene was worth it. I like this whole "clockwork electronics" look the Otherworld is taking in this half of the game. Still very American McGee... and I definitely just saw the Masons run by during that water slide 2.0 bit.). Murphy awakens outside on a park bench with the assistance of the mailman - who now has a letter for him. It seems that some people in Silent Hill just have to play their role no matter what.

SIDEQUESTS COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE ON FILES - BACK TO WORK

Murphy arrives at St. Maria's (Our Lady of Saint Slutty has her own monestary?), summoned by a nun there as "the only family" of a recently deceased. Inside the monastery, the nun vanishes and the inside of the building looks ravaged by earthquakes. The UV light reveals that this place is just as blood covered and haunted as any other in Silent Hill, and Murphy narrowly avoids being dragged into the abyss by a female figure that crawls out of the fissure. The only other human around is a young boy playing with cars behind a locked door, who accuses Murphy of being the Bogeyman (Inception levels of Homecoming flashback within Homecoming flashback - let's hope it goes a different route. If this descends into "I forgot my _____ is dead / and that I kill them." thing like I was so happy we were avoiding this time around, I'm gonna scream.. In the courtyard, we find another MNDOC [sic] prisoner hanging from a tree. There's also a short scene where Murphy imagines the Bogeyman appearing behind him. (In a shower of all places... HMMM - connection to intro?) Working his way through the orphanage area of the monastery, Murphy is impeded every bit of the way by monsters, and the psych evaluations that seemed to be about Murphy himself now seem to be about a dead child. (Perhaps Murphy institutionalized his son and copes with his shame by isolating himself in a prison? It would fit with the rain motif - the longer he's outside (free), the harder it rains, the more powerful the enemies (his demons) become until he hides inside for a time.) Murphy peruses the monastery until he comes across a rhyme the boy spoke of that keeps the bogeyman away - figuring this would prove his innocence, he returns to the boy just in time to watch the true bogeyman slaughter him, the rhyme useless as he screams it. Dragged into the Otherworld again, he escapes by ringing a series of bells that fill the room with inky fluid. (The monster design in this game is getting under my skin. It's by far the weakest link of the game - previous Silent Hill monsters were so great because they relied on vaguely human forms - not mutated human forms, not deformed human forms, not injured human forms, and definitely not badass trench coated gas masked human forms. (That last one is Resident Evil's domain, anyway.)) Waking up in the morgue with the Nun, she reveals Bogey's body, wearing DJ Ricks' boat keys around his neck. They argue over the subjects of murder and loss as she quotes Psalm 107, and Bogey awakens - Murphy is transported mentally back to the lake he first saw his son dragged from (the one from the beginning of the game?) and defeats the bogeyman, whose appearance changes between Napier and his own visage. He takes the FREEDOM key, interactions with his son and the nun appear to be imaginary.

As he speeds away on DJ Ricks boat, Cunningham points a gun to his head and demands he turn back - that the town knows who they are and won't settle until they finish what they've started. Murphy refuses to go back, she fires, he wakes up in Overlook Penitentiary. (Plot's getting a little shaky at 72% story completion - don't let me down after 3/4ths of a great game - especially since a good chunk of greatness was borrowed from previous installments. Yes, they're glued together with some great decisions, but the ending will pretty much decide my stance on this game's value to the canon.)

Whoever designed the Overlook Penitentiary level did not take into account the Good Behavior trophy - and trying to maneuver through 4 enemies and door frames you easily catch on while collecting 3 files and axing a doorway open is pissing me right off.

Making his way through the prison, to the Shower Room, Murphy finds several more Mysteries revealing his complacency in the riots, the internal investigation of Sewell, and the continued friendship of Coleridge that Murphy took for granted. In the shower room, he finds a bloodstain [1], a shank [2], the mourning badge [3], and a bloodstained glove [4]. The truth is now revealed...

Murphy was up for Parole - so why was he being transferred to a Maximum Security Prison, instead? After Sewell arranged it so that Murphy could get away with murdering his son's killer - Sewell called in a favor just before his release: do it again, new target, there will be a riot as cover. Murphy agreed, only to find his target to be Frank Colridge - the only guard to ever really care for him... and Colridge ended up dead as a result. Murphy was then assigned to be transferred instead. We then face the final boss - a disfigured form in a wheelchair that we remove from life support. (A great metaphorical landscape to show how Colridge really died: Years in a wheelchair as his body failed him, eventual coma, PVS, death.) Reappearing in Overlook's shower room - Cunningham appears and reveals her part in all of this - she arranged Murphy's transfer to begin with - and Colridge was her father. Where Murphy's bogeyman was Napier, Cunningham's was Murphy. The ending can play out a number of ways - if you spectacularly fail the final confrontation, it turns out that this whole game was in Cunningham's head, who is a prisoner with Murphy as a guard. The other endings (aside from the surprise one that I haven't achieved but am sure includes UFOs) decide whether Murphy killed Colridge or if Sewell did it, and how Cunningham reacts to the revelations of Silent Hill's trials.

First Final Impressions: Good freaking game. Great news everyone! Murphy didn't forget who was dead or who killed them! The whole game was figuring out WHY and HOW he ended up here - not what he forgot. I'll write up more after I revamp and reformat this entire page (after solving some crucial plot mysteries) but for now, Thank You, Vatra. However...

I'm left with only one question:

What the fuck happened to DJ Ricks? He's still sending out garbled shout outs on the radio while I'm in prison... or maybe the town's just repeating old ones through a time warp, I don't know, but really - we don't get closure on him? Is this because he's black?




Important Details:
Murphy's Prison ID: RS 273A (AKA: Cupcake)
Murphy's prison Cell: 302 (Block B)
Prison Location and Name Ryall State Correctional Facility. Jumpsuits all say MNDOC, which would usually mean Minnesota Department of Corrections. However, an officer's ID tag clearly says MAINE
(DING DING, CORRECT! +1) so we have our first typo! (Every now and then, the numbers on jumpsuits switch to DDQ17 - What does this mean!?.)
Current Date CURRENT YEAR IS 2006 - evidenced by August calendars that begin on Tuesday the 1st, solidified by Psych. Evaluation Memo that lists patient as born in 1976, current age 20. (poster outside gas station lists CARL as missing since Wednesday July 12th, making that 2005) EXACT DATE UNKNOWN. Probably Post August 17th due to BOLO notice in Overlook. Mail from Abbot Maine to Storage Space owner sent on "X5"th of August. The calendar on DJ Ricks' desk says that it is currently the 10th of a month that has 31 days and began on a Saturday - THIS IS MOST LIKELY AN OLD DATE, JULY 10th, 2006, as July is the ONLY MONTH that fits these criteria. Perhaps this is the date that the storms first ravaged Silent Hill.
Mailman ID: 8492
FILE: EARLY RESIDENTS -
(I'll be skipping full file transcripts for now, someone else is very likely to do this.) However, the deity in Silent Hill worshipped by Native Americans is named Kewkwaxawe - a real-world deity worshipped by First Nations tribes of Canada - even the Ravens connection is accurate. Will research more later.
Safe Code26381 - Significance in number?
DJ Ricks' Radio Station - WLMN FM
Silent Hill's Zip Code - 04107 (Cape Elizabeth, ME)
Ashfield - Boston PD Memo says "crossed state line into Ashfield" - but that ignores NH and VT.... Hmmm.



Tiny Details:
------------PRISON:-------------------------------------------------------------------
Grafiti on Electricity Box - BaH d // 3aH d
First Aid Sign - Actually exists; by Zee Medical. See it here.
Wall in Prison - [WAIT FOR THE OFFICER TO GIVE YOU A PROCEED SIGNAL.]
Other Prisoner IDs - All say MNDOC (Should say ME)
Other Prisoner Names: - Missed for the moment.
Officer Names - Missed the black guy with moustache and the guy who calls me Cupcake. Random guard at bus-loading scene was Aguilar (missed first initial), the bad-ass girl is A. Cunningham, and the bus driver is M. Koons.
------------ROUTE 73:-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bus Route - 73. There is a Route 73 in Maine, stretching 10mi from St. George to Rockland. The symbol on the sign, however, shows it to be an Interstate highway. I-73 is a small highway in North Carolina, but this is probably an erroneous usage of the Interstate symbol in-game. Either way, Silent Hill is 1 mile from this route - so we have possible canon SH locations down to an ELEVEN MILE RADIUS.
The Crashed Boat by the Lake Side Anyone else feel like they've seen that before? Is this a reference? Thoughts?
------------GAS STATION:-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gas Station Name - ?H?????ORD Oil
Sign Above Garage - "Devils" w/ biplanes
Radio at Gas Station - Plays 7 notes from Silent Hill 2's "Theme of Laura (Reprise)" <3
Gas Station Poster - Have you seen this dog? [Angry Dog Drawing] Lost on Tuesday, 12th July - Reponds to the name CARL. any information leading to the finding of my dog will be rewarded with $500. call day or night. 673-555-4210 [handwritten on bottom: "Dead or alive"] (NOTE: This area code is not in use in North America according to Wikipedia.) Possible reference to Alexandra Day books?
24 Free Daily (Red) Newspaper - BACK FROM ABYSS (Is that a picture of Harry Mason!?!?!) Grafiti: AVS - RAJ ssu(?) / P.O.
Free Daily (Green) Newspaper - DO NOT DISTURB
Newspaper Clippings in Window - John P. Sater - MURDERER?
Sign below Electrical Box - DANGER DE MORT, HAUTE TENSION (French: Danger of Death, High Voltage) - below that, there are two long words that look Germanic. I can't quite make them out. Best guess: H??SSPAN??KS ?OD?SSEVAAR.
Gas Station Clearance - 10,43 ft. (Wh- is-- is tha-... what?)
Green Tea box, Coffee, Red Wine boxes all have CZECH REPUBLIC IMPORT A EXPORT on them.
Wheelchair on Roof of Gas Station - SH3 Reference?
------------AERIAL TRAM BUILDING:-------------------------------------------------------------------
Poster on Tram Building - DEVIL'S PIT AERIAL TRAM - FREE TICKET FOR KIDS WHO BEAT OUR ESCAPE GAME! A NATURAL WONDER FILLED WITH SUBTERRANEAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS. DISABLED ACCESS FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS.
Newspaper on Floor of Tram Building - Freak Storm Hits Silent Hill
------------ROUTE 73:-------------------------------------------------------------------
Telephone Pole Sign Danger of Death - Keep Off
Devil's Pit Entrance Sign Devil's Pot Aerial Tram - No other place in America has a view like this. Bring cameras! The ride to the time takes 15 min. Take a round trip or stay longer in the observation room!
Free Ticket Sign - Free ticket for kids who beat our escape game. "Be free, get free ticket! Tokens available at kiosk. Win and ride!"
Devil's Pit Tram Number - 975 BX
Various pit signs - The Souvenir Shop, Entrance, Closed, Working Rules
Rusting Truck Model - 1952 Ford (F3 I believe) with a Flathead V8
Wooden Box Mission Fruit - Naturally Good
------------DEVIL'S PITSTOP-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jukebox NostalgiaTake the stolen change from the cash register and put it in the jukebox, it will play the Silent Hill 1 theme
Specials - Summer Fare - Fresh Salads ~ Select Meats ~ COLD Drinks ~pc Tea & Coffee + cool comfort
"Hours" - Devil's Pitstop, Open 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Fri. and Sat. until 1:30 a.m. Monday - Meat, Tuesday - Meat, Wednesday - Meat, Thursday - Meat, Friday - Boiled Meat, Saturday - Rain, Sunday - Fog
Advertisement Fresh food is good. CAMARETIN Because it contains so many things that are good for you. Fresh quality for you.
Menu - EXTENSIVE options, nothing unusual.
Register Total - $131.40
Milk Crate - R243 co. Fresh Milk, Homogenized Pasteurized
Gas gauge - PD 14
Oven Company - Blodgett
------------OTHERWORLD-------------------------------------------------------------------
Song on Record Player - Born Free by Andy Williams (1967)
Twisted Painting - Young boy standing on top of water in a flooding house, parents caged on both sides.
------------Diner House-------------------------------------------------------------------
Basement Poster - Artificial Respiration
Random Bottles - Mineral Oil, Pewat,
Safemaker - HACOM-GI COMPANY - Damatomao
------------Devil's Pit Tram Location 2----------------------------------------
Signs in Arrival Room DANGER High Voltage Keep Out, Restricted Access - Authorized Personnel Only, J.P. Sater Train Conductor, CPR Instructions,
Viewfinder - Putting some of your pocket change into this, look up at your aerial tram - which is now stuck in midair with a bloody handprint on the window.
Devil's Pit Stats - Devil's Pit Historical Park - Founded 1945, Elevation above sea level - Here: 3350, Terrace below - 3300, Pit floor - 1607
Bulletin Board Thank you! -- Do you suffer from portion distortion? See what 1 serving LOOKS like -- We the people -- Fun in the Sun --
Rules - NO smoking climbing pet eating drinking BEYOND THIS POINT
Birth of a Landmark - Some of the Earth's oldest rocks lie at the bottom of Devil's Pit. Thousands of feet thick, the rocks are made out of sediments. About 200 million years after they were formed, colossal geologic forces lifted them up into a range of mountains that may have been up to five miles high. Eventually, the mountains eroded into a plain by millions of years of rain, wind, and frost. About one billion years go, that plain rose into a second mountain range. Then, these new mountains were worn away again. Later, the entire region sank beneath an inland sea where fossils of primitive shellfish on the seabed eventually hardened to form shale. Afterwards, the region was elevated again into a high plateau and the earlier seabed now became the surface with the ancient rocks at the bottom. (This took several pointless deaths to acquire.)
Bat's Lament Falls - The waterfall before you, the tallest in Devil's Pit, is called Bat's Lament Falls. It was named by natives of the area after a rare species of bat indigenous to the area, known as the Weeping Bat. Weeping Bats spend the entirety of their lives in Diyu's Tusk Cave located toward the bottom of the Pit. The Weeping Bats were named by the natives, who observed that the bats secrete a special fluid from their eyes that deters unwanted parasites from infesting their ocular cavities. The natives believed the bats were weeping, saddened by being imprisoned in such a deep, dark chamber. The Weeping Bats have been known to be unpredictably aggressive and very protective of their offspring, often attacking larger creatures that also reside in Devil's Pit. However, no attack against a human has ever been reported.
Elevator Machinery - When the Gillespie Coal & Iron company established the Devil's Pit Mine in 1816, electric power was not invented yet. As the mining operation expanded and dug deeper into the earth, hauling ore, equipment, and men to the surface via man and animal power became impractical. A new system was needed. The miners began to use the power of the underground river and Devil's Falls to power simple machinery like waterwheels for hoisting ore to the surface on pulley systems. As the operation grew more complex and ambitous, so too did the machinery. By the mid 19th century, Devil's Pit utilized one of the most sophisticated and earliest applications of hydroelectric power. The elevator was one of the first of its kind, using an ingenious system of gears and waterwheels to take men and equipment to the upper caverns.
Water Chute This collection of waterwheels, cogs, gears, and troughs was used to transfer the natural power of the underground river to various mechanical systems. This was the engineer's control hub, which allowed him to redirect the water's flow via a series of wooden troughs, which in turn powered various mechanical devices such as the main elevator, a flood control pump, and even an early electrical generator. This device was restored to its original working conditions by the Silent Hill Preservation Society.
Warning DANGER Do not climb on Mullock Heap
Train Tour of the Mines In the early years of Devil's Pit, mine carts were used as a transportation tool for moving materials in and out of the Pit during the mining process. The mine carts rode on steel tracks and were initially pushed and pulled by either animals or humans, later replaced by engines. Due to the precipitous angles, inclines, and declines of the Devil's Pit tunnels, it was unavoidable that the tracks would have sharp, hazardous, and often even deadly turns. Humans working in the mines were warned to avoid riding aboard the cars whenever possible, as the death rate for such a journey was estimated at 40%. Quite simply, this meant 4 out of every 10 miners who hitched a ride aboard a mine cart met an unfortunate end!
Devil's Falls - The breathtaking waterfall before you is the Devil's Falls. As the second highest continually flowing single-drop waterfall in North America, it plunges 1,419 feet to the subterranean river below. During the spring runoff, the Devil's Falls flow at a rate of 300 cubic feet per second. That's 2,400 gallons every second! The Devil's Falls feed an underground river system that flows through over 20 miles of limestone cavern until they empty into nearby Toluca Lake. The Gillespie Coal & Iron Company put the power of Devil's Falls and the underground river to good use, using the flowing water to power various mining systems.
Entry to Cave of Tears - The dark cavern before you was originally called Diyu's Tusk Cavern. The cave contains the largest stalagmite in all of North Eastern America and was first discovered by Chinese immigrant miners in 1863. The Chinese miners believed the giant stalagmite to be a large tusk protruding from Diyu, which literally translates to "earth prison" in English and is considered the realm of the dead in Chinese mythology - hence the name Diyu's Tusk. The cave is also the lifelong home to the Weeping Bat, a rare species of bat indigenous to the area. As a result, the cavern is also often referred to by locals as the Cave of Tears.
The Devil's Train - Jokingly called the Devil's Train by the miners that once worked in Devil's Pit, this mine train has since been converted into a ride for visitors. Equipped with a fascinating audio commentary, the Devil's Train provides the passengers with an in-depth educational tour of Devil's Pit, including an interactive re-enactment of much of the Pit's rich history. Please be advised that the tour includes the use of strobe lighting, so passangers sensitive to such effects should take extra care. Also, please keep your hands inside the cart at all times, as the Devil's Train passes through areas of the Pit with very low ceiling and narrow passageways. Finally, we ask that you please refrain from using any flash photography that might disturb the native fauna. Thank you for listening. Enjoy your ride on... The Devil's Train
Strange Sign ALBERT Year 1830, Meters 256,00
(Oh, we're in meters now? With comma-decimals to boot?)
Post-Devil's Pit Music "Off The Road" by Anna Ternheim
Cart - Last Wagon Mine Hanz (?)
SPD Box - History books 56 102 805
Lansdale Ave. Radio - "Words of Love" by Anna Ternheim
Bank Radio - Sarah requests James Vincent McMorrow's "If I had a Boat"
HENRY TOWNSHEND'S APARTMENT - I'd heard this dismissed as a rumor, but it's true - South of the Bank, on Lansdale Ave., a ladder can be lowered with the harpoon thing and one of the two windows may be entered. all that is inside is a pistol and a medkit.
Missing Child Poster Ariadne Johnson (b. Jan 6, 1996 - Missing since April 11th XXXX // autistic, follows ribbons, hates blue.)
Gum Machine - Today you have a funny taste in your mouth? Jester's Gum - Made for a happier life.
Tea Ad - Someone will give you the pleasure of brand tea "When you want good tea" Finest Quality Free Sample
Logan Park Say "NO" to strangers. STRANGER DANGER. Protect - Save your kids.
Logan Park Radio - "Why Me, Lord" by Kris Kristofferson
Centennial Building Radio "Silver Stallion" by The Highwaymen
Centennial Archives Radio UNKNOWN - "Hold me tonight and just tell me you love me, I wanted a lover, I needed a friend."
Baphomet Image - In the centennial building, named "Demon Samael"
Blood on the Wall - Sequestered does not equal safe.
Room 105 Radio - "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" by Louis Armstrong for Sally's brother getting his tonsils out in Brookhaven
Book "SECRET HISTORY OF THE COLONIES" Manages to explain The Order as a small part of the story without making it sound ridiculous. Good job, Vatra.
Centennial Vault - "Born Free" by Frank Sinatra
DJ Ricks in Person Plays a song from SH3 from behind the glass, then the SH1 themes.
Signs in WLMN APES LOSE FAIH - A Unique Concert Opportunity; Radio is Music Music is Radio
Cheryl and Harry can be seen running across ramps during the second water slide scene.
Shipping Company - Ambrose
Movie Theatre Signs - Devil's Ride will close at 6pm today. Special event tonight. Special tickets required. // Frank Catty Sharon Swarwrad Los Fotros and "Black Dance" ??? Frank ??? Merek VATRA MOVIES // Good Poison // Martino - Eberto - Paolo Mutek (ME!) From the Award Winning Writer HD/HDS(?) CZECH REPUBLIC Screamers Smashdown VATRA MOVIES // Together Forever // Dearest Mother //
Bowling League Plaque - Silent Hill Senior Bowling League First Place Award Presented to Patrick Wearden on Saturday May 7th 1995 in our 23rd Annual Bowl 'o Rama Championship Tournament
Bench Carving - [carving diamond fish] NXS, Forever Alison and Patrick, [cats] 16814
-----------MONASTERY---------------------------
Wood Case - OLD BOOKS // ??6H W3D6
Toys A Child's doll holds a usable butcher knife.
Blood on the wall[/b] - I keep dreaming about birds.
St. Maria's stationery "Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi." -- Lamb of God, Who Took Away the Sins of the World
--------------------
Gun found in severed (inmate?) hand
Otherworld Monastery Radio "Willow's Song" by The Doves
Overlook Prisoners - OP12-922 Abraham Layne // OB11-696 Bradley Leeman // OP41-734 Brian Purcell // OA14-151 Jerry Redford (Wasn't he the Hand of Death guy?) // OP11-752 Murphy Pendleton // OP23-643 Marty Kayson
Overlook Radio 1 - If I had a Boat + ???
Overlook Radio 2 - Why Me by Lee Ryan


TO THINK ON: Parole was offered for Murphy effective June 26th, however, on June 20th, Sewell called in his favor and staged the riot - the events of which would prevent Murphy from ever seeing parole at all - instead seeing him transferred to Wayside Max in late August due to Cunningham's request. With Napier's death in early to mid November 2005, it seems Murphy got away with murder for about 7 months.

Fun Stuff I found by Accident
Casting call for SH:D Voice Actors - A little background info.
Setting down your controller may cause Murphy to throw whatever you're holding in rage - either because you accidentally pressured the shoulder buttons or because he has abandonment issues. I haven't decided.

FOR LATER:
Pros: Nice atmosphere, great music, feels like Silent Hill (So Far), getting killed sends you back to the last save point with 100% health without needing to repeat cutscenes, "The Secret History of the Colonies" file practically closes the book on the Order without a cop-out like Homecomings - leaving the door open for truly epic sequels. Great use of PS3 controls - expands on Silent Hill style interface without making it TOO easy to interact / combat.

Cons: Glitches cost HP, loading stutters/staggers, doesn't let you save in multiple places for ease of multiple ending achievements, otherworld is sporadic/overfake/linear, interact button sometimes does NOTHING, gates may glitch shut on occasion, enemies can beat on you while you're interacting with other objects, game will load you into groups of enemies if it auto-saved while you were getting beaten down, can't check health without pausing game (nothing new here, really)

Undecided: Files replaced with "Mysteries" - not really a change now that I see it in practice. Side quests are a lot like making the meaningless quests of the last games optional - an improvement, sure, but when the game is sped-run it also starts to feel shallow. Must complete the game before making final assessment on this. I'd have liked to hear more original Licht (maybe I HAVE been and I just haven't been noticing because the atmosphere it creates is so immersive) but the licensed real-world music is a nice touch - modern indie stuff all the way back to Sinatra, which even gives KoRn a good excuse to be here with their title track that I liked FAR more than I expected to.
Last edited by LastScion on 17 Mar 2012, edited 65 times in total.
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alone in the town
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by alone in the town »

Edit: Changed my mind. I initially closed it but I think this could turn out to be interesting, and it sounds different enough from the usual first impressions people have been posting. The light is green. Happy trails, sir or madam.
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by teosoleil »

Ooh, definitely sounds interesting :) You'll be posting an afterwards summary, I hope, right?
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by LastScion »

teosoleil wrote:Ooh, definitely sounds interesting :) You'll be posting an afterwards summary, I hope, right?
I can definitely do that. What types of things would you like to see?
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by teosoleil »

I don't want to request anything, but I was hoping that you'd do a full review at the end of playing and finishing the game :)

Awesome first post, btw. Feels like a let's play written in an article and trivia/walkthrough style (I know that doesn't make sense, though, lol).
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by LastScion »

Starting to run out of things to take notes on - the game reuses posters, boxes, etc. like nobody's business - and yet they all strangely fit their scenery. Not bad resource management on Vatra's part, really.

What are you guys up to? Only a few more side quests and stopping to pick up some missed mysteries (Files) before I get this in-depth review back on track.

@teosoleil - I think I'm going to take all of my notes from the playthrough and turn it into something like you were suggesting - kind of like a "Final Impressions" where I just lay it all out simply. Sound good?
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by Shadowgate »

I don't know where to post anything here mods freak out with new posts lol So here is another good read. I enjoyed the game but most of what this guy says is true.

http://www.dreamdawn.com/sh/info.php?na ... l+Downpour
I put this in my sig since they buried my topic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhOryCXhu_Y
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

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I stopped reading that review after the second sentence.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by Shadowgate »

Your lose most of what he says is right sometimes a Little bit over board tho. It was fun but it has lots of flaws.
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

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The thing is, the guy's major argument is that Downpour sucks because it's different, and then harps on things that he praised in OTHER Silent Hill games.
Murphy spends some significant time in a cave with his lighter (rarely used thereafter) reading about its history (which has no subsequent bearing on anything),
He praised that historical worldbuilding in games like SH2, so before i'm even finished with his review I already know that he started off hating Downpour and is trying to find reasons to justify it. So why should I care about his opinion if he's going to be so blatantly dishonest?

He also criticizes the game for not matching his playstyle. "The game sucks because it dedicates a button to something I won't use. Nevermind that other players can and do find throwing shit at monsters fun, engaging, etc."
The first transition in the game happens much earlier than any other Silent Hill game to date, at least as best as I can recall: we're thrown into the otherworld in the first 30 minutes, long before the game has had a chance to really get its hooks in us and ratchet up the tension. Then the otherworld vanishes for several hours, only to return after a tension-free cutscene.
SH3 has you START OFF in the Otherworld. So he's once again completely full of it. And if I recall correctly the second Otherworld sequence happens after Anne and Ricks are taken by monsters. Tension-free my ass.

So, I literally just skimmed this review and compared it to his reviews of older Silent Hill games. He's yet another hypocrite who dislikes things he liked in older games because Silent Hill seems inherently superior somehow. He has SOME good points, but hwy should I care about it when I know he's not consistent with his opinions?
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by Shadowgate »

I guess... You read into it to much I just like some of his points about gameplay.

He is right there are things to throw everywhere but they never realy come in handy.
I never had time to throw stuff lol

"Murphy spends some significant time in a cave with his lighter (rarely used thereafter) reading about its history (which has no subsequent bearing on anything)"

He is just using this as an example it shows you how to play but then you never get to use it again.

The history of the town sounded cool but then really never ties in. I thought there was gonna be some kind of child scarifies by the Indians or something. It just introduces stuff then off to the next. That cave was sick I really thought I would find something more there.




I like the game but it could of been so much more.
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by Typographenia »

Shadowgate wrote:He is just using this as an example it shows you how to play but then you never get to use it again.
I actually used the lighter every time I went into a building. Not only did it allow me to see more of the upclose stuff easily, it also allowed me to move the camera more with how I wanted to.

Shadowgate wrote:The history of the town sounded cool but then really never ties in. I thought there was gonna be some kind of child scarifies by the Indians or something. It just introduces stuff then off to the next.
This is not exclusive to Downpour.
Shadowgate wrote:
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
If I did not kill the wheelchair guy why is he the last boss trying to kill me.
Why do I see him everywhere?
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
1. Guilt
2. It is more about making Murphy let go of what happened
3. You can actually kill him, depending on what ending you get
4. I am of the opinion that Downpour is actually Anne's story, not Murphy's, but I need to play through the game at least one more time for the other two key endings before I can feel confident in putting any credit into the thought, legitimately

------------------------
------------------------

As for the link you posted-

I don't understand the criticism of the items/weapons stuff he harps on for so long. Perhaps it was the pace I played the game at, but I never recall having any issue with, "oh man, I keep picking up all these weapons on accident!" I only picked stuff up when I needed it (and I pretty much just carried the hook to pull down ladders through the game), and I just looked at what was on the ground/in the environment before picking it up.
We're close to the trunk now. What would happen if weapons didn't break? Well, you'd find the most powerful weapon (the fire axe, I think), and just carry that around through the whole game, thus rendering the entire weapon system moot. This was never a problem in earlier Silent Hill games because they were basically linear; the developers could easily schedule the release of new weapons to the player (not to mention new enemies) because they controlled the order in which items could be found. This way, previous games in the series used weapon pick-ups as a way to control the level of difficulty (and tension) across the length of the game. Downpour, on the other hand, is based on an open world design, where the player has much more freedom of movement than in previous games, and consequently weapons cannot be easily scheduled.
So his problem is not in how they did things, but what they did it altogether. Gotcha.
Why even talk about "the system would be so busted if they did it this way" when they didn't do it that way? The game is designed around the system, so that isn't an issue.
One level down. The size of Silent Hill required the developer to reuse art heavily--it's just too big to be completely unique. The houses in Downpour's Silent Hill all look very similar, and some of them even share identical layouts with identical rooms. This isn't because the developers were lazy (no shipping game was made by lazy developers), but rather the result of a trade-off between the size of the town and the cost of creating high-end art. Consequently Silent Hill is really easy to get lost in; there are not enough identifiable landmarks to get a sense of whether or not you've visited this street before (not to mention the ever-present layer of fog that covers the landscape). While each room in Resident Evil's mansion has a different color scheme, a unique camera perspective, and an identifiable theme, the streets of Downpour's Silent Hill all look the same.
What games don't do this? Even the original SH games did this heavily.
You want to know why the RE games were able to do that over the SH ones? Pre-rendered backgrounds. Not only are they much, much simpler in geometry, but they don't have to have nearly as many elements saved (like textures or models) because they're not built the same as the environments in SH games.
I don't know I ever personally had trouble with being lost. I would just open my map and be good, if I wondered where I needed to go.


Their issue with sidequests' design is (almost) understandable, except for the fact that they appear to have missed (what I believe is) the fundamental idea behind their layout. The reviewer suggests you are supposed to go out of your way to explore the town looking for these quests/items, but, I believe that was not the intent of the team. The devs had a main course you were supposed to follow, and, as you follow that path, you might see things blocking your direct path, enemies that you want to avoid, an item in a yard, the black light picking up writing, or whatever. As you naturally progress through the main story, you will come across these items/locations that feed into the sidequests. The reviewer is advocating that they want you to drop what you're doing to see this sidequest through to the end, but I believe it is more of a "as you come across it, you can do it" kind of thing. That's why they don't put the same amount of urgency into their introduction or execution as the main story (see cutscenes, other world, and so forth). If we want to talk about games that blow a sense of urgency, let's talk Mass Effect 3.

I will agree with them on the basis of "these sidequests don't have a significant bearing on my time in the game." Well, aside from the homeless man.
It is definitely geared toward the trophy/achievement stuff more than anything substantial, and I found that to be the only let down of their implementation, as I played.

There are mechanics introduced (such as a yes/no question system with character morality implications) that are never revisited.
Oh, like SH3 and Homecoming. Yeah, it definitely doesn't do anything. You know, like lay the ground for the type of person you're playing as or what ending you get. Nope.
Honestly, the entire paragraph sounds hypocritical, since they just complained earlier about, "Why do they reuse so much stuff? They have all this unique stuff they barely use once or twice, but why does it exist?" Good thing the older games didn't do that. James walked across that lake, after all.
The road runs right off a cliff. Downpour's most damning failure, I think, is the pacing. Since its inception the Silent Hill series has operated on a consistent rhythm. There's a descent into the fog world, followed by some time in an indoor section that builds tension up to a breaking point. Just as the tempo reaches its crescendo the fog world is replaced by the otherworld and the level of tension is suddenly doubled. Rather than rising and falling, Silent Hill's otherworld transition cranks the tempo up to maximum and then holds it there. The player is put under sustained stress as he traverses the otherworld until finally he is released back into the fog world, more dangerous now than before but a welcome respite from the oppression of the otherworld. Recent Silent Hill games have tweaked the formula slightly, but they have all maintained a rhythm to the progression. Beats in the narrative are followed by beats in the gameplay. The pattern of gradual increase of stress, followed by a long, constant stress, followed by release and relief has been used in every Silent Hill game to date.
So, if everything was paced the same, it would be more enjoyable? What?
Also, if you want inconsistent pacing of story, please see Silent Hill 1.
it's never clear exactly when the next story point is coming.
Unless you just go to the next place the story tells you to go.
Occasionally the game will drop Murphy off in a non-chase otherworld area, but these are not very effective either; the oppressive feel of every other Silent Hill otherworld is completely missing from Downpour's.
I agree.
I think it was mainly due to being so well lit and having such high ceilings. It just wasn't doing it for me.
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Re: LIVE Review and Over-Analysis

Post by Shadowgate »

Not gonna lie every time I searched a area I picked up some stupid bottle or something..... I am not sure if it was a glitch but I switched to hard right away and the items did not glow anymore. So you had to hit the button on everything. That is why I picked up garbage all the time lol

One button for search and one to grab would have been great.
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