Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Henry's locked in his apartment and can't get out. Bless.

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DistantJ
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by DistantJ »

I agree, Walter ruined the second half of the game.
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Xev
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Xev »

See I thought the ghosts were by far more annoying than Walter. He was supposed to relentlessly attack you if you got too close and I rather enjoyed the battles - or rather my running like hell. At least he went away.
Run ins with W added another compliment to an area where I had already killed everything - such as the water prison towards the end.

I will agree with the action of the fighting, it was to me the most awkward. Timing never mattered so much in any SH game Ive ever played.

Now the lightness of the whole game didnt bother me so much only because everything else was designed so well. It was a complete reversal from SH3 where *almost* everything was so dark. SH4 still gave me that feeling of entrapment and oppression.

DistantJ - I can see some similarities between BOB and Walter. Each was kind of a ruler in another world. Walter never possessed anyone though, and was far too cute to be as scary as BOB! XD Srsly though, that makes me wonder. Did Walter ever appear in "real life" like BOB after he committed suicide in the cell? I know he appears in the apartments but they are under his control - or at least the apartments Henry is currently in.
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SPRINGS02
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by SPRINGS02 »

I really don't get how people complain about the controls and combat in sh4, it's pretty much the exact same as sh2 and 3 from what i remember. The only difference is you can charge up your attacks now. Also i liked how walter would relentlessly chase you, it added an element of tension because he couldn't be killed(for long) and unlike most enemies he could actually follow you to different areas makes me think of nemesis from resident evil.

Also the ghost weren't THAT bad, and they looked pretty creepy.
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Kenji
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Kenji »

SPRINGS02 wrote:I really don't get how people complain about the controls and combat in sh4, it's pretty much the exact same as sh2 and 3 from what i remember.
It's only similar if you switched SH2 and 3 to 2D controls. Some of us liked the tank control scheme.

Also, SH4 was far and away more sluggish between the button presses and the effect on the screen. Not as bad as Origins, but much worse than it had any business being.

Also, the camera sucked. Combine that with 2D controls and Henry kinda goes wherever the hell he likes.
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Harrys_Girl
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Harrys_Girl »

Not to mention the constant camera snaps sent Henry running off in a completely different direction. It really began to piss me off when trying to avoid large groups of enemies that I didn't want to fight. Seeing where you are going is kind of crucial to running away properly.
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KiramidHead
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by KiramidHead »

Yeah, I'd prefer the controls didn't change with the camera angle. Having to constantly change which way I was pushing the stick because of that was also a problem with origins.

On a related note, how many of you have seen this SH4 critique?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9fUfHgXNts
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DistantJ
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by DistantJ »

That's not so much about the controls as it is about the camera itself - it should make it clear it's about to change, and pan rather than cut.

With the controls I had no real problem with 3rd person, but for first person I had to change the controls becuase for some strange reason it does things very old FPS style - turning and moving on the left stick, looking up and down on the right stick - and yet strangely the right stick still turns you, no strafe, so I had to enter into the options and mess around to get today's standard first person controls into it and stuff.

Interestingly I agree with most of the complaints in that critique video (thanks for posting it, KiramidHead) ...except for the 'Nutrition Drink' complaint, trivial much? But I like the game a lot more than he does - for me it's one of those 'put up with the crap because the good stuff is so good that it's worth it' deals, Sonic style.

Anybody been watching the Game Den Silent Hill 4 special? (Sadly it's moved to the site of that 'That Guy With The Glasses' wanker) Only 1 part so far...
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clips
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by clips »

Yeah...i had no problems with the controls either...i only had some minor issues with the ghosts and trying to kill those creatures that come out of the walls on the escalators...that was annoying. The controls weren't bad to the point that it made the game unplayable tho.
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Harrys_Girl »

I never really had an issue w/ the ghost because they are soooooo fucking slow. I ran past them most the entire game unless having to face one of the recent victims, but I am w/ you on the Wall Monsters. I HATE those douche bags. Especially when going up(? down?) the escalator w/ Eileen right behind you. Either you equip a weapon for her and she shoves you into them before the power gauge is full or you have to deal w/ her hanging too damn far back and getting hit but the enemies you JUST put down. D : FAIL.

I also had a real problem w/ the Mega-Wall Monster fight the first couple times through. It wasn't until I realized that there was a MUCH easier trick to getting through that battle. :wink: Still feel bad for the folks out there that never realized how it was supposed to be fought.
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DistantJ
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by DistantJ »

God... Don't remind me of those wall monsters. Not only were they infuriating but they looked and sounded stupid too! XD
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KiramidHead
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by KiramidHead »

They didn't sound nearly as stupid as those burping nurse monsters, but enough's been said about them, so I'll digress.
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SPRINGS02
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by SPRINGS02 »

^Yeah that's one thing i hated, the nurses had so much potential and they looked pretty damn creepy. . .until they started burping.
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Harrys_Girl
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Harrys_Girl »

Exactly. They had the size that not many monsters had before that point in the series, and they had crude weapons that they hacked and swung pretty viciously. Then Henry attacks them and... they... burp? WTF?! Who and where in the production line did someone sit down and say, "Hey, so we've got these over-grown, Frankenstein-like monsters. They are women pieced together, giant and mean. What sound bites do we have to use for them. Growls? Hissing? Creepy talking? BURPING! YES! REVOLUTIONARY!"

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Kenji
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Kenji »

Well, the buck stops at Akira Yamaoka, as both Producer and Sound Director. Blame him. :P

On a more serious note, I definitely agree on the Patients. Without the belching and, especially, the stairway belching that cracks me up every damn time, they're actually pretty menacing. They're silent, they're powerful and persistent, and they glide toward you with incredible speed, like the children did in SH1.

If it weren't for the burping, they probably would've been the best monster in the game.
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SPRINGS02
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by SPRINGS02 »

^True. They would of been the second best monster in the game for me though, i consider the twin victims to be one of the creepiest monsters not only in silent hill 4 but in silent hill games in general.
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KiramidHead
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by KiramidHead »

Another poor sound design choice was removing that eerie shriek that the twin victims made in the trailer. Why that sound was removed I'll never understand.
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by SPRINGS02 »

Oh yeah i remember wondering the exact same thing about the trailer. The twin victims never made sounds like that in the game, also the creepy breathing sounds that the ghost makes in the trailer should of been included also. What the hell were they thinking? First they take out those creepy sounds, then they decided to make one of the most intimidating looking monsters burp. I love silent hill 4 but there were so many missed opportunities.
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by SilentWren »

I agree completely with the last three posts.

My favorite is in the prison, when you bop the camera angel and can still see them pointing at you before they attack. That's epic.
They did an excellent job on their faces.

*springs beat me to some of that, had to erase.
The above user visits this forum *very infrequently.* If you need any type of response or answer from her, she may or may not be able to provide it in a timely manner.

Thank you for understanding. <3

http://silenthillforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 28#p674128
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by Harrys_Girl »

Kenji wrote:...especially, the stairway belching that cracks me up every damn time...

I always look forward to and will specifically turn the volume up at that point in the game. I honestly cannot look at that and think that it isn't meant to be funny. The wheelchairs are also comedic. On paper (or in theory) they seem creepy. The idea of all these ghostly patients stuck forever in wheelchairs, pissed off and out for Henry, mowing him down--it sounds terrifying, but then you see it in action and you realize just how key the "mowing" bit is. They are ridiculous. Not frightening in the least sense of the word. I mean, I was kind of shocked a little when I first played and again in one of the rooms in which the wheelchair is parked next to a lamp and you can see a shadow figure moving around in the chair, but it just made me double take. No fear. They failed the same why the caged-head ghosts of 0rigins did.

Few of the monsters in SH:TR were scary. They always seemed to just miss the mark though. Patients were visually impending doom, but audibly laughable. The wheelchairs were scary in theory, but in practice were just funny to watch. The bats... IDK what is going on there. They are stupid. Maybe they did something for someone who was already afraid of bats, but I love bats. They are adorable.

The wall monsters (mostly the boss battle) and the dogs were the only real challenges to me. The monsters were outrageously powerful, literally throwing Henry across the room. Even on easy, 3 hits could kill him. While not to powerful, the dogs were persistent. If you tried to run past them, every dog in the room you were in, came right the fuck out of nowhere and were all on Henry. Forcing you to either painstakingly walk through the area or fight them which alerted the other dogs and they'd begin swarming you from every angle, so it was just as dangerous as running.

I don't really have an opinion on the 2 headed apes or the Double Victim. It was creepy that the Double Victim pointed at you, but most of the time there is too many damn camera snaps to even notice it. The apes were easy to deal w/ until the numbers were in their favor. A couple times I got really low on health just because the fight was 6 apes to Henry w/ Eileen relentlessly beating one fallen ape w/ her baton. Neither really scared or intimidated me.
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Re: Sh4 the best in the whole franchise ....Almost

Post by SPRINGS02 »

I remember reading somewhere that the twin victims don't attack henry unless he attacks them first. It's been such a long time since i played SH4 i can't remember if this is true or not.

SH4 had some really unique monsters and some of them did miss the mark. The wall monster wasn't really scary and the dogs have never been scary, the bat/moth things were a joke. The worm things were kinda gross. I actually found the ghost creepy but i think they should of been used more sporadically. But what about the hauntings? Do those count as monsters/enemies? I found the hauntings to be one of the most unique and creepy things about sh4, the babies in the wall haunting was pretty damn creepy. And the haunting where you hear walter saying "im always watching you" was pretty creepy also.
Last edited by SPRINGS02 on 12 Nov 2010, edited 1 time in total.
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