The Review Thread

Ten years after the original game and Harry's still searching for his daughter.

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Sirea
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Post by Sirea »

yeah, but that's just like, your opinion, man.

edit; Just going to point out that I didn't say anything about costumes. Costumes are only a small portion of it. Costumes, weapons (though not applicable in this case), extra scenes, bonus levels, extra items, different difficulties-- there's SO MANY THINGS that fall under the category of "unlockables."

How awesome would it have been if there was an unlockable bonus level where you COULD actually fight the rawshocks? Dish out some revenge and blow off some steam. THAT would be some serious replay value right there.
"Remember how people look in "The Ring" after Samara gets 'em? SH2 does something similar, only you get fat, sweaty and belligerent." - pianotheme @ livejournal
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Post by TheCheatIsNotDead »

Sirea wrote:yeah, but that's just like, your opinion, man.

edit; Just going to point out that I didn't say anything about costumes. Costumes are only a small portion of it. Costumes, weapons (though not applicable in this case), extra scenes, bonus levels, extra items, different difficulties-- there's SO MANY THINGS that fall under the category of "unlockables."

How awesome would it have been if there was an unlockable bonus level where you COULD actually fight the rawshocks? Dish out some revenge and blow off some steam. THAT would be some serious replay value right there.
I generally didn't agree with your review at all, but I suppose that's because different people expect different things from a Silent Hill game.

But really? Fight rawshocks to blow off steam? You play SH to blow off steam? That seems backwards. Fighting rawshocks sounds really lame actually.

I personally found the controls very responsive and natural and had no problem whatsoever doing exactly what I wanted to do... I really don't see how so many people had trouble with the controls (trouble being defined as 'unresponsive'). I found the controls to be the best I've played in a horror game period.

I wish there had been unlockable stuff as well- however I feel the same way about all the SH games. Adding a new weapon or costume doesn't cut it for me, I want developer's commentaries (Oh Valve, you spoil me), behind the scenes, or multiple endings. And I mean REAL multiple endings. ALL of the Silent Hill games are guilty of having 'multiple endings' which are nothing more then you getting one of four 30 second videos at the end of your game. I want endings that fundamentally change the interpretation of what has happened (or something like Eternal Darkness, where multiple playthroughs reveal different aspects of the story.)

Different puzzle levels would have been nice too, but I can understand why they weren't able to in this game. Maybe next time.
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Post by Sirea »

It was just an idea for an optional bonus level, man. Calm down.

Also, my review had nothing to do with what I expected from a "Silent Hill game." It had to do with what I expected from a video game. Of any kind. Period.
"Remember how people look in "The Ring" after Samara gets 'em? SH2 does something similar, only you get fat, sweaty and belligerent." - pianotheme @ livejournal
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Post by soam108 »

Graphics:
The graphics in SH:SM are really pushing the Wii's capabilities. The flashlight is brilliantly executed, and I love the way you can walk right up to a banner or poster and read it with your own eyes. You would have thought that were more common than it is... I'm sick of people saying stuff like, "sure it doesn't look as good as PS3 or XBOX 360" when referring to Wii games. We all know it, and it just doesn’t need to be brought up every time.

Audio:
I liked the audio in this game more than most people, based on the posts I have seen here. Shattered Memories doesn't have a lot of the same gruesome sound effects as previous games, but I still was creeped out, also I really liked the music in the game. I felt pretty uncomfortable playing the game most of the time even though I knew I didn't have to battle any creatures, the music and SFX had a lot to do with this.

Story:
The Story in SM was better than most other games out there, and close to the quality of the best SH games. The various elements like the ghostly photos and voicemails, along with the many phone numbers you can call, all help to supplement the story. For the most part, the mementos also added to the story, but a handful of them seemed generic, without any real tie to the plot. The moments where the game shifts to the therapist’s office seemed perfectly timed, and well written.

Controls:
For me, the controls worked great almost all the time. It seems like this is subjective because many people seem to complain about the flashlight turning and shaking off the enemies, but I thought it was executed well. The rotating of the Wiimote when looking at mementos was obnoxious; it would have worked better with just the analog stick. Also, some times when grabbing doors and latches, especially inside the car, it felt a little clumsy.

Puzzles:
I would have preferred more depth to the puzzles. Most previous SH games gave you multiple difficulty settings for puzzles and SM should have done the same. Also, there were only one or two puzzles that could not be completed by just looking around that very room for the answer. No items that you collect are ever used to complete puzzles, besides keys which you find a few feet away from the lock every time. I like past games where you combine items to solve puzzles, none of that in SM either.

Overall: 8.5
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Post by The Man in Black »

Sirea wrote:
Also, my review had nothing to do with what I expected from a "Silent Hill game." It had to do with what I expected from a video game. Of any kind. Period.
That isn't fair though, to any game. Bio-Shock isn't Balder's Gate and Dragon Age isn't Doom.

That said, I agreed with alot of your assessment of the Nightmare world. Why the hell didn't they make it useful to hide or make environmental interactions there more useful Loved the game but that is a MAJOR thing they need to fix in the next installment.
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Post by Sirea »

The Man in Black wrote:
Sirea wrote:
Also, my review had nothing to do with what I expected from a "Silent Hill game." It had to do with what I expected from a video game. Of any kind. Period.
That isn't fair though, to any game. Bio-Shock isn't Balder's Gate and Dragon Age isn't Doom.

That said, I agreed with alot of your assessment of the Nightmare world. Why the hell didn't they make it useful to hide or make environmental interactions there more useful Loved the game but that is a MAJOR thing they need to fix in the next installment.
Well, I really kind of mean it in a more general sense. Like, to me, a game should be fun to play, which SM wasn't. And if it's not fun to play, it should have a really gripping story to keep me interested (Drakengard comes to mind here), which SM really didn't. Even if it was called anything other than Silent Hill, I still wouldn't have liked it. It was just a bad game, in my opinion.
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Post by Falconv1.0 »

The way they made you run from monsters, which I predicted from the start would just become freakin' annoying, along with the lack of tension when you weren't in the Otherworld reeeaaaallly killed the game for me. Also, Harry making lame comments on stuff like a 'gentleman's' calendar, that took me out of the game real quick.
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Post by _Drake_ »

Quite Frankly, I disagree with your opinion to the 9th degree, Sirea. But, I won't ostracize you for it, it's your opinion and yours alone.

My Review
=========

Intro: Well, first of all, I just want to say, This is my opinion and mine alone, if you don't agree with it, well, I quite frankly don't give a damn. Let us begin, shall we?

Story: The Story was fantastic, a true masterpiece. It succeeds at making this a very emotional and psychologically frightening game. I for one, didn't see the whole "Harry is dead" Thing going on, but it only made it more grand to me.

Puzzles: I seriously don't see how others are complaining about "No puzzles!" in this game, Did you forget about the Computer hacking or the Art puzzles? I think, while the puzzles aren't as intricate as before in the series, they are still good.

Audio: Fantastic, another worthy addition from Akira. A fitting potential farewell to the series that gave him his wings. All of the audio is correctly used in the perfect spots, to provide a truly atmospheric experience as you explore.

Graphics: Truly grand, Likely the best I've seen from Silent Hill yet. The character models are unique and bare resemblance to the models of past. All of the voice work, match the body gestures and mouth movements, making it feel far more real.

General: I love this game. This....THIS is Silent Hill. This is what made SH 2 so great, but amplified to new levels, with improvements in story, Voice acting, and atmosphere. I truly do hope Climax works on the next game and make it a fantastic sequel to this Fantastic game. Maybe if we are lucky, it'll improve on this one and make a even better game.

So,
Story: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Audio: 8/10 (Akira could've done better)
Puzzles: 6/10 (Needs more variety and thought put into them)

In General, 9.5/10. The best Silent Hill Game yet.

~Drake
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Post by LuLu »

Story: The story was interesting and engaging. Every character seemed to have depth, so that was nice. There were some characters whom I wished had a bit more depth, but it didn't take much away from the story. The ending could've been more of a twist, but I must say it's better than Silent Hill 3's ending at least, so it's not so bad. :P 8/10

Gameplay: Loved the general gameplay. This game definitely took advantage of the Wii controls, which seemed to put me right into the game with Harry very easily. I specifically remember doing the swimming motions with Harry on his way to lighthouse... I was actually exercising my arms doing that! :P The only part I didn't like was the "combat", or lack there of. Being defenseless against a bunch of monsters that are constantly on your ass can get quite annoying. 8/10

Graphics: Stunning graphics, probably the best I've seen in the series yet (even better than Silent Hill: Homecoming, in my opinion). Couldn't have asked for more from Wii graphics. 10/10

Controls: I usually had no trouble with the controls, but there were times when they were absolutely AWFUL during "combat". I'd throw an enemy off of me and then I'd have to move my controller around frantically trying to get the system to read the damn thing so I could run again. This often lead to my demise in such situations. Other than that the controls were fairly responsive. 6/10

Music and Sound: The music was very simple... probably the most simple of the entire series. It still held a certain ambience to it, but it definitely could've been better. The sound in general was fine and succeeded at scaring me quite a few times throughout the game. :mrgreen: 7/10

Puzzles: The game definitely had the easiest puzzles of any Silent Hill game. Hell, I could figure them out on my first playthrough while drunk, and I did. :P While they were all fun, none of them required me prancing off to the computer to look for answers, so... overall enjoyable, but could've been more of a challenge. 7/10

Overall: This was a very good game for what it is: a re-imagining. I would place the game in my Top 3 Favorites when it comes to Silent Hill Games (Silent Hill 2 & 1 still taking the lead!).

The story is engaging, the graphics are top-notch, and the gameplay is fun (can't stress enough how much I love how the game took advantage of the Wii controls!). While I found the game to be too short for my liking, the fact that the game changes so much depending on who you are helps the game's replay-value immensely. I will definitely enjoy being immersed in this game for the next month or so just through replaying it over and over! :mrgreen:

OVERALL SCORE: 8.5/10
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Post by Msgrim »

i played it for the 8th time and it was very different from how i played it before. i played it like i didn't care for cheryl. i never called her name, i tricked the doctor with his questions, cybil was very aggressive toward me, the old couple in the house didn't want to know nothing of me when i painted the whole family portrait black, dahlia and i had a argument about taking things seriously in the boat. i played this without picking up momentos, not looking at posters, not calling anyone or listening and reading messages. the story was more real. the end session when cheryl see's harry, cheryl trully see's him and he say's he's not a ghost. they share a hug and a cry. ofcourse what struck me funny is, that i got the alchoholic ending which didn't make sense.
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Post by EpicPhaleg »

As a game, it is okay I guess.
As a Silent Hill game, I can't help but feel betrayed and patronised.
I started playing this franchise in 1999, and I can only question if there is a correllation between the IQ and age range of those who like the original as opposed to the "reimagining".

I appreciate people from tween to 20 may prefer the new game or those who are more exposed to teen horror of this decade might, but I feel this lacks the finesse and character that older games captured. References to Twin Peaks, various horror literature, euphenasia, replications of actual towns have all been ditched and sidelined by the 2 American teams that have had the unfortunate and ambiguous task of taking on the franchise.

Back to my opinion of this particular American made Silent Hill - ah yes. It's a nice game, but not a nice Silent Hill game. Hate me if you wish, but I urge you to have the same maturity towards me as you have towards your SHSM fans.
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Post by deadwulf7 »

Like most of us, i had been waiting a long time for this game. At first glance I loved the idea, and even commended Climax for their Bold ambitions of a re-imagining.

However... Within a few minutes of playing, I could already tell this game was very very VERY rushed to sell before Christmas.

Evidence of a QA rush ***: Glitches with flashlight and opening the door
***: Sound Glitches with opening a door in nightmares
***: Lock ups and graphics errors with Harrys Arm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evidence of a Writing/Creation rush ***: Very short play time for completion
***: Even shoter endings (60 seconds???? Cmon man)
***: Absence of Unlockables and Difficulty settings
***: PLaying manual was only 2 pages. Also failed to tell me pressing 2 on the remote will bring up my list of Mementos ive collected. This really frustrated me because I didnt figure it out till way after completion. I would have loved to see what i collected mid game.
***: Plenty of Art variations of the Raw Shocks, but not variation in the sound they make, also the same annoying girl scream which made me want to turn down my volume... (Not good for a SH game, unacceptable)
***: Inability to turn off the volume on the Wii Remote. Let me explain.....On other Wii games, turning the Remote volume down will force all audio that is meant for the Wii remote, to instead go to the Television or Main Speakers; SH:SM did not give me this option, as i live in an apartment which lots of Wireless interfering with the Remote Audio, it disrupted my enjoyment greatly....maybe the most.

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

Evidence of a Production Rush *** Delayed release date, flip flopping on release dates
*** Dec 8th release date for the Wii was an obvious attempt to make slight profit of the Christmas Rush. More people in America own the Wii more then any other console combined, also.....yes indeed.....Christmas is the majority holiday for the States.

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

Dont get me wrong, i really enjoyed this game (Mostly because it WAS NOT homecoming). Brilliant Storyline, awesome ambience, and great voice acting. However i think there was way too many minor problems and bugs that were overlooked. The game itself could have been improved many ways before final production.... I still dont see any reason why Harry couldnt fight back, and I tried to enjoy it......But lack of combat really spoiled the fun in this game.

In conclusion, I kept up with most of the news for SH:SM, and i really gave Climax my vote of confidence....but i see why this game has gotten such negative reviews. And i for one...agree with most of them.

If the developers behind the Silent Hill Franchise main concern is about maximizing profits, then this may be the end for the game.

Dec 8th for Wii, and 2010 for Ps2/Psp was a stupid move IMO. Releasing the game before PS2 allowing it to get negative reviews is only going to hurt sales.

Next time Tom Hulett, i advise that your team actually complete creation of the game, and live up to the BAR that you set. But hey.... im not the fat bald financial advisor screaming for you to release before Christmas... Im just the average Joe who buys your games, but not anymore.
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Post by soam108 »

deadwulf:

The option you're looking for to switch the audio to the tv is there in the option menu, "TV phone Audio". Granted it did take me quite a while to figure that out.

Overall your review is pretty negative, including a comment that implies that you won't buy anymore SH games, though you do say in there that you "really enjoyed the game"?

I agree that there should have been difficulty settings but overall I think this is the exact game they intended to put out and it's not at all rushed. It also didn't have any real visual or audio glitches besides the slight delay when opening doors like you said.

lastly, you said the reviews were negative but it did end up with a metacritic rating of 76 which is "generally favorable reviews" as they say.


EpicPhaleg:

I don't know if it's because of my age that I liked the game (i'm 24) but I certainly didn't think SM was better than the earlier games overall. Although SM has the best graphics so far of SH games, along with the best voice acting ever in the series.
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Post by EpicPhaleg »

I'll agree with the voice acting and graphics. Very well presented, and arguably the best offered in the series for the characters they must fit in the new imagining. But a part of me prefers the drearie, lathargic voice acting of the original Silent Hill in the 90's (intended or not intended). That acting wouldn't suit the new game, but likewise better voice acting would just be out of place in the original.
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Post by stitchedlamb »

Just got it for Christmas today, so I thought I'd stop by here since I felt a bit safer in the spoiler forum. Anyway, I've not finished the game yet, so I can't say this is my final review, but for the few hours I've played, I've certainly been able to form a few opinions.

First of all, my worst fears with the Raw Shocks were confirmed. Not only is the constant fleeing an exercise in annoyance, not fear, the Wii controls/remote exacerbates the problem by being frustratingly unresponsive a good chunk of the time. Time after time I would be forced to sit back and watch myself die because it's near impossible to get more then two Raw Shocks off of you at a time because the remote doesn't register your movements unless they're "just so". Not only that, but Harry himself was often stubborn when it came to moving. I would desperately be trying to have him turn around fast enough to escape only to have the game insist on keeping him facing another direction. I found myself breathing a sigh of relief when the nightmare world lifted, not because I was afraid, but because I was about to quit in frustration. The lack of variation in both appearance and behavior for the monsters is a huge disappointment as well.

Exploring the town, for the most part, is boring. There's never a sense of danger because you know nothing will harm you outside of the nightmare world, and the environments are just plain dull. Snow, snow, and more snow. Even the nightmare world is just snow. The few gimmicks the cell phone adds to exploration can be interesting at times, but it's not enough to make a game fun.

I think the game's saving grace is the time you spend with Dr. K, but that might just be because I enjoy talking about myself so much :P. Unfortunately I've yet to see many examples of how the game has been influenced by my answers, something I was really looking forward to. Perhaps that sort of thing isn't obvious until a second playthrough, though.

Obviously I have to reserve judgment on the story since I don't know how it's going to pan out, but it does have me curious. If Climax can prove they know how to tell a good story, I won't feel totally cheated out of my money, but at this point I wish I had just rented, not purchased. The stubborn SH fan in me insisted I own all the games, a mistake on my end.

If the end half of the game somehow changes drastically enough to change my mind, I'll happily be back to amend this post, but until now, I can't honestly recommend it to anyone beyond a rental. It seems like this game is so polarizing, it's better safe then sorry.
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Post by soam108 »

stitchedlamb:

The end of the game was really satisfying to me, it might just change your opinion of the game overall. But if you felt that the controls were as bad as you mentioned, the story might not be enough to save it for you. I'll be interested to hear your final opinion.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Just played and beat the game. I was afraid the Nightmare parts would be frustrating, but aside from the first two Nightmare runs, when I didn't know how to turn yet, I had no controls. Throwing the monsters off is easy enough to be comfortable, but difficult enough to keep you scared and challenged.

I was also still scared during the snow parts, because I was thinking "Shit, those shadows are scary and loud as fuck, and the Nightmare can show up at ANY TIME OH GOD IT DOESN'T EVEN WAIT FOR CUTSCENES HOLY FUCK."

I thought this game was gonna be the best Silent Hill of all time, and I was not disappointed. The twist broke my heart, and my boyfriend and I just stopped and stared, missing the credits. I dropped the controller and cried. Climax is king.
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Post by soam108 »

AuraTwilight wrote:Just played and beat the game. I was afraid the Nightmare parts would be frustrating, but aside from the first two Nightmare runs, when I didn't know how to turn yet, I had no controls. Throwing the monsters off is easy enough to be comfortable, but difficult enough to keep you scared and challenged.

I was also still scared during the snow parts, because I was thinking "Shit, those shadows are scary and loud as fuck, and the Nightmare can show up at ANY TIME OH GOD IT DOESN'T EVEN WAIT FOR CUTSCENES HOLY FUCK."

I thought this game was gonna be the best Silent Hill of all time, and I was not disappointed. The twist broke my heart, and my boyfriend and I just stopped and stared, missing the credits. I dropped the controller and cried. Climax is king.
Wow, cried? It was really well done I thought, but it wasn't quite that emotionally impacting. I really did like the game but it's weird how polarizing it seems to be. Why do so many people seem to think that the controls are "clunky" but others have no problem at all? It seems to be people love it or hate it but nothing in between.
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Post by Skele »

^it's probably for the same reason(s) some folks love HC's combat controls (i being one of them), and others hate them. ever since SH4, the games have been a love it or hate it experience.

i went ahead and ruined the ending for myself, as im not that interested in playing the game. i'll probably just check youtube for a playthrough and watch that, or just wait for the game to hit the bucket bin to purchase.

thanks to all for sharing their opinions
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Wow, cried? It was really well done I thought, but it wasn't quite that emotionally impacting.
I admit it's probably my own life experiences coming forth. I grew up in an emotionally abusive household. It's thesame reason I connected to SH2 so strongly: Like Mary, I struggled with a terminal illness, fearing I would leave behind my lover.
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