The Review Thread

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

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soam108
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Post by soam108 »

AuraTwilight wrote:
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.
Oh I see, then it's not surprising at all. I do admit that no other game series that I have played has come close to the emotional impact of SH. So if there ever were a game to make me cry it would be a SH game.
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Post by moochman21 »

Im on my 3rd run through and I think the game is a near perfect 10 out of 10. It had its glitches but what game doesnt? and its the first silent hill for the wii. So of course things are gonna be different or simple or glitchy. Its a first. Its starting with a clean slate. The people here who give it Sh*t because its not what they remember from the orignal are pretty dumb in my opinion. Its not a remake or a port of the original. Its a new story with the same basic idea with a new twist. Its not supposed to be a carbon copy. It is its own game with the same characters. I did though miss the eerie siren when things changed. But I personally loved the fact that combat was removed. I mean its always been clunky. And it makes things more intense when having to run for your life. And I love that you can save anywhere anytime rather then having to be late for work or school just so you can find a save point. This game is as the box states. Its the best wii game of 09
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Post by chaomaster37 »

i like the game but it feels like it was made to fast i can beat it in a few hours but its not bad i'd like to see more now that they dont need to rush for x-mas but a new game not a remake
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Post by AuraTwilight »

It IS a new game. A remake it is not.
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Post by kideatsu »

Here's my review based on my personal favorite components in a SH title.

This is one of the best SH titles to date in my opinion. I was very satisfied with:

-Gameplay. It offered new ideas and flavors to the similar idea of running away from horrific creatures in a dark, hellish town. I also liked the elimination of weapons, because it made the gameplay that much more symbolic and interesting to boot. The first person therapy sessions are genius, and they enhanced the gameplay with realistic and personal feels. I felt like I was in the game, which is always a good thing. This was the first ever game I played on the Wii, so I was very impressed with the mechanics and being able to directly control the flashlight (a first in SH!!!!).

Another note on the gameplay - the phone was a great idea. I liked how it put away the whole act of reading files all over the town and forced a more immediate response. It could use a little work (like being able to talk more to other characters/actually text them in-game) Other than that, it was amazing to have that phone for it's various purposes, and a great hint to the movie in a way (did anyone else note that?)


-Story. It was alluring, mysterious and one of the most satisfying stories next to SH2's. It eliminated the over-done cult and I liked the fresh air. Everything in the story is there for a reason, and there are no fillers I've come to notice in my two play throughs. I like how I got the feeling that I was coming closer and closer to the truth with each therapy session, cutscene and phone call or message. It had a great variation from the usual SH formula, though it still incorporated that idea someone in distress searching a terrifying town for their lost loved one.

I was intrigued all the way to the very end. However, I did have a problem with how short the endings were. In a way, I felt like I had gone all the way across this town to arrive to a very rushed conclusion. I felt cut-off. In my memory, I think the original SH title had longer endings.

Aesthetics/Graphics. This one had a lot to offer. With every other SH title almost following the same or similar rusty/fleshy/hellish formula, it was a nice open window to see that thrown out and replaced with the ice/snow theme. It was still a metaphor for components of the story, and it looked wonderful. The way things were suspended in the ice really looked cool, and all that blue and white in the chilly atmosphere really sent chills down my spine.

The images in the texts were also very well done. A personal favorite area from the game I liked was Lisa's apartment (before it turns to the icy world). If I could, I'd have one just like it.

Music/Sound. Awesome! Which is what I expected from Akira. He never fails to deliver the most horrifying cries of demons and the most pretty of guitar strums. It was also nice to hear new vocal songs, and even one from a character in the game.

Shattered Memories has some of the best voice acting SH has offered us so far, and I really give them kudos for that. It's about time the voice acting stepped up to the bar that's been placed by many other cinematic games on the shelves today.

I want that cellphone ringtone!

Originality/Freshness/Replay Value. This is one of the most original stories I've seen from the SH world, even if it is a re-imagining of the original game. I thought it was a lot more original than Origins or Homecoming, and I really love the psych profile idea that offers new twists and flavors to each play through, depending on the way you play.

A great replay game, and I must say I haven't even seen a game that offers this kind of variation to each play through. Sure, the Resident Evil and RE2 games offered us the same basic story through the eyes of two different characters, but I think that Shattered Memories shoots that personal hue in there that drew me in as a player.

It would, however, had been nice to notice drastic changes in the story based on how you play rather than the changes and variations mainly being aesthetic in value.

Overall, I give Shattered Memories an 8/10 on my Silent Hill scale. It was alluring, fresh and definitely what RE4 was to the RE series. I hope to see more SH like this in the future, because I believe it breathes fresh air into the deflating lungs of the town we've grown to know and love (and hate at times).





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Post by simeonalo »

What I liked best is how they confused the player, I was puzzled at some times too ("The real Harry Mason died 18 years ago!"). I also liked how they incorporated the whole "it was a dream/delusion thing" without making it seem stupid, like how most movies do today.
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Post by mandrel87 »

I was very excited for this game before it's release. I had just finished SH4 which I was thoroughly prepared to hate due to all the negative comments, but ended up loving it, gameplay modifications and all. So I was really looking forward to an even more experimental take on the series, as SH4 didn't really change all that much.

I just finished playing through this on the PSP (which understandably cuts the experience of the Wiimote flashlight function and so on) so I realized the game would be a little less immersive. However upon finishing it, only being physically inside this game could have improved the level of immersion for me.

I expected the psychoanalyzing to work really intuitively so that you wouldn't notice it. For example, the game could note situations that you avoided, whether that be scary sounds in an area or certain types of confrontations with certain monsters and then throw more of those at you to heighten the fear/discomfort. Instead we mostly get tests from a psychologist that may as well be labeled 'appearance preferences.' I started seeing a pattern of sex, alcohol, and 'other' choices early on. This was incredibly patronizing. I ended up getting the modern art Raw Shocks (which while being the most interesting design I've seen, failed to be scary in the slightest), but assume I had answered sexually and received the sexed up Raw Shocks. If I were a hornier individual, why would seeing monsters with boobs scare me? This entire element seemed like a huge waste of potential and really spoke about Climax's sense of priority when it comes to their consumers (profits > effort/solid ideas). Team Silent really went all out giving us intelligent, deep stuff to play through and this entire game really boasted that it would be, but it didn't actually deliver at all. Which is why I'm assuming they had to put that 'psychology warning' at the beginning. It seems they were afraid that we wouldn't notice that element of the gameplay if they didn't shove it in our faces. Basically (for me), the warning was almost a complete lie. True, I didn't feel like I played this game, because there was so little actual 'game' to play. But on the same note, the game didn't play me either. I was prepared to be mind raped by this game and instead the game disinterestedly shrugged it's shoulders and crawled into the bathroom to masturbate.

So that feature having fallen on it's face leaves two more key elements. They eliminated combat out of the Silent Hill equation, a bold move I was really anticipating because I hated getting stuck in bloodbaths in earlier games. However, as I know many have said before, it ended up just being annoying. I never felt threatened in this game, not once. Instead I ran around getting annoyed and attempting to navigate incredibly repetitive environments while shrilly whining children monsters clung onto me. There was no real sense of danger here and instead of my usual mental reflex of OHSHITWHATTHEFUCKISTHATOHDAMNITIMSOSCREWED that I get with other games, I found myself wondering where these things' parents were and why they weren't enforcing more control over their bratty offspring. You could argue this is the point of the monsters, as they're manifestations of Cheryl's inability to let go of Harry, but it worked in entirely the wrong way. I found them similar to Pyramid Head and his repeated murders of Maria in order to show James that she's not real and that he killed Mary, but what is up with these Raw Shocks? They are the manifested Electra complex that Cheryl holds, but then why do they try to kill her imaginary father (the one she's trying to hold on to and protect from reality)?
As a side note, the environments in this game are abysmal. The ice effects are pretty and all, but in both the normal and 'other' worlds, there is nothing to look at most of the time. Team Silent loaded environments with stuff to look at and most importantly, ATMOSPHERE. This is entirely devoid of the non-ice sequences (which have no monsters, ever, completely destroying any tension there could have been). The infrequent 'screamer' moments with ghosts/randomly falling objects did not provide any atmosphere either. I just felt a little insulted that they were intended to provoke any kind of reaction other than boredom from me.

So all this game had left to go on is puzzles. Wait, what puzzles? I hit a locked door and only had to look within a 15 foot radius of the door to find and get the key. WHY. Climax, do you really think we're this stupid? This is not a game for children, if you hadn't noticed. You could say they were going for realism by not having really abstract puzzles, but I don't really find Harry getting random messages from (mostly) strangers on his phone helping him with puzzles realistic (except in the drawbridge puzzle).

The only parts I liked in this were the 'nowhere' area, specifically the first giant fall you take and the analysis during the credits which was surprisingly pretty accurate.

Very tl;dr, but I think what Climax did was try to compensate for the cardboard-esque Origins. Origins felt like an outsider attempt to be like "Hey! Silent Hill is good because of antagonists with dark pasts and fighting loads of monsters in rusty environments!" When this understandably failed for the most part to make an interesting game, we get Shattered Memories which seems to take the stance of "Silent Hill is good because it's psychologically abnormal with EDGY PLOT TWISTS." Climax however fails to flesh any of this element which made past Silent Hill games good, instead opting out to do the least amount of work possible and still sell lots of copies on a couple of alluring, but disappointingly one dimensional, gimmicks.

Anyways, people seem to have really liked this so I assume people will not read this incredibly longwinded essay or completely disagree, but I am amazed that so many people liked this. Silent Hill has always thrived on the surreal, and most importantly on imagination. Shattered Memories throws both of these out the window and wonders to itself, "You know what would make Silent Hill better? If it was more like ordinary life." After which I would like to flying ninja kick through the window and punch it in the balls, but unfortunately I don't see that opportunity ever realistically presenting itself to me.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

I expected the psychoanalyzing to work really intuitively so that you wouldn't notice it. For example, the game could note situations that you avoided, whether that be scary sounds in an area or certain types of confrontations with certain monsters and then throw more of those at you to heighten the fear/discomfort. Instead we mostly get tests from a psychologist that may as well be labeled 'appearance preferences.' I started seeing a pattern of sex, alcohol, and 'other' choices early on. This was incredibly patronizing. I ended up getting the modern art Raw Shocks (which while being the most interesting design I've seen, failed to be scary in the slightest), but assume I had answered sexually and received the sexed up Raw Shocks. If I were a hornier individual, why would seeing monsters with boobs scare me? This entire element seemed like a huge waste of potential and really spoke about Climax's sense of priority when it comes to their consumers (profits > effort/solid ideas). Team Silent really went all out giving us intelligent, deep stuff to play through and this entire game really boasted that it would be, but it didn't actually deliver at all. Which is why I'm assuming they had to put that 'psychology warning' at the beginning. It seems they were afraid that we wouldn't notice that element of the gameplay if they didn't shove it in our faces. Basically (for me), the warning was almost a complete lie. True, I didn't feel like I played this game, because there was so little actual 'game' to play. But on the same note, the game didn't play me either. I was prepared to be mind raped by this game and instead the game disinterestedly shrugged it's shoulders and crawled into the bathroom to masturbate.
....So, what, you didn't see the psychoanalysist sessions in Dr. K's house coming, and you're bitching that it's not subtle enough for you? Way to prove the point that Silent Hill fans are impossible to please.
I found them similar to Pyramid Head and his repeated murders of Maria in order to show James that she's not real and that he killed Mary, but what is up with these Raw Shocks? They are the manifested Electra complex that Cheryl holds, but then why do they try to kill her imaginary father (the one she's trying to hold on to and protect from reality)?
Look closer, they're not killing him. He's passing out and they bend down to stroke and caress him. They're only holding him back, which is why he keeps waking up at the beginning of the sequence.
As a side note, the environments in this game are abysmal. The ice effects are pretty and all, but in both the normal and 'other' worlds, there is nothing to look at most of the time.
This is you just not being observant. People in other threads have pointed out how there's things like crashed airplanes, fetuses frozen in ice walls, etcetera.
So all this game had left to go on is puzzles. Wait, what puzzles? I hit a locked door and only had to look within a 15 foot radius of the door to find and get the key. WHY. Climax, do you really think we're this stupid?
I'll give you this one, but seeing as how all the work went into the Psych Profile, the controls and chase sequences and whatnot, I can't blame them for kind've screwing over the puzzles. I'd rather have a creepy, atmospheric game with a great plot with crappy puzzles than a great puzzle game with shitty plot and atmosphere.
Very tl;dr, but I think what Climax did was try to compensate for the cardboard-esque Origins. Origins felt like an outsider attempt to be like "Hey! Silent Hill is good because of antagonists with dark pasts and fighting loads of monsters in rusty environments!" When this understandably failed for the most part to make an interesting game, we get Shattered Memories which seems to take the stance of "Silent Hill is good because it's psychologically abnormal with EDGY PLOT TWISTS." Climax however fails to flesh any of this element which made past Silent Hill games good, instead opting out to do the least amount of work possible and still sell lots of copies on a couple of alluring, but disappointingly one dimensional, gimmicks.
In fairness, I'm going to point out that the branch of the Origins team that released Origins as we know it got handed an unfinished product by their counterparts, and were told to almost completely redo it with a very brief timeframe.

As for Shattered Memories, I got to disagree with you on almost every point; This game, for me, hit every single mark that made Silent Hill special, beautiful, and unique (except the puzzles). If you haven't played the game for a second playthrough, I recommend doing so, because you might not realize just how much the pysch profile actually influences things. You seem to act like it only controls things like the monsters and the ending.
Anyways, people seem to have really liked this so I assume people will not read this incredibly longwinded essay or completely disagree, but I am amazed that so many people liked this. Silent Hill has always thrived on the surreal, and most importantly on imagination. Shattered Memories throws both of these out the window and wonders to itself, "You know what would make Silent Hill better? If it was more like ordinary life." After which I would like to flying ninja kick through the window and punch it in the balls, but unfortunately I don't see that opportunity ever realistically presenting itself to me.
Oh, now come on. Say what you want about the game, but don't say it lacks imagination. That's just completely and totally wrong; even if we assume it's bad, it's atleast original and different.

A part of me imagines you're just butthurt that there's no combat.
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Post by Sirea »

It really kind of bugs me how much people are getting chewed out in this thread for not liking the game. But there's something in specific I really need to comment on:
AuraTwilight wrote:Oh, now come on. Say what you want about the game, but don't say it lacks imagination. That's just completely and totally wrong; even if we assume it's bad, it's atleast original and different.
It does kind of lack imagination, as far as the basic plotline is concerned. I felt like Climax just read a basic sociology article and wrote a game based on it. Hell, I learned in freaking high school that girls who both have divorced parents and lose their fathers at a young are more likely to be sexually active early on, to get arrested, to have bad grades, to get into abusive relationships, to have an or multiple abortions, to get divorced themselves later in life, etc. etc. It's not... that creative or original.

In fact, that was the main reason I hated it. I was actually personally offended by the presumption that because Cheryl lost her daddy, she had to be a crazy fuckup delinquent. BOO FUCKING HOO CHERYL, way to be a statistic and not be able to rise above.
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Post by uninsomnia »

mandrel87: I can't really explain how much I agree with you, minus the fact I thought Origins was pretty damn good. But I was seriously expecting a lot more out of the psychological idea they were going on and on about. I was expecting them to actually mess with me, like the warning instigated.. not just quiz me here and there and then work off that. I thought the way I played the game would have some element.. like if I hesitated or avoided certain areas the game would catch on to what scared me, which seems to be what you expected.
And the environments were lacking so hard in atmosphere and detail.. it was really disappointing. One amazing thing about Silent Hill games is the attention to detail - the small unsettling and strange things in the background. I felt that Shattered Memories really lacked much of that.
AuraTwilight wrote:....So, what, you didn't see the psychoanalysist sessions in Dr. K's house coming, and you're bitching that it's not subtle enough for you? Way to prove the point that Silent Hill fans are impossible to please.
So… when people heard there was going to be psycho-analysis in the game, we were all supposed to think "Oh, I'm going to be sitting in a room, with a psychologist, and he's going to ask me questions, make me color pictures, plan out my perfect school day, and all that jazz!"? Seriously, who really would expect that? That's just such a stupid and easy way to TRY and figure someone out, and what scares them.. but it just doesn't work for a video game. The answers that can be drawn from the questions and situations in Dr. K's office are not enough material to get a grasp of the fear in that individual's mind. The game would've had a better fit for each personality were it to go off the way you really played the game - it would be clear cut, and less of a personal psychologists interpretation.
Silent Hill fans aren't impossible to please - you're defending this game so obviously it pleased you. Some (er.. it seems very few) of us just expected something much greater than what Shattered Memories delivered.

And, as a disclaimer, I'm not saying that this game sucks and that's the only truth. I'm merely stating my opinion, even though I know most people are fond of this game. Take it with a grain of salt - every video game, work of art, etc, deserves criticism. Without critiquing and criticism, we'd all have our heads up our asses and be content with nothing but shit.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

So… when people heard there was going to be psycho-analysis in the game, we were all supposed to think "Oh, I'm going to be sitting in a room, with a psychologist, and he's going to ask me questions, make me color pictures, plan out my perfect school day, and all that jazz!"? Seriously, who really would expect that?
The people who kept up on pre-release trailers and such, for one thing. It's not like Climax tried to exaggerate or lie about how the psychological analysis was going to be done, so they're not at fault if people set their expectations way too high.
Silent Hill fans aren't impossible to please - you're defending this game so obviously it pleased you.
I was speaking in general; the Silent Hill fandom as a greater whole is asininely butthurt.
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Post by Ryoshockwave »

Someday I may be bothered to post a review in here, but for now I will just say...

Sirea, I find myself agreeing with nearly everything you say. Just wanted you to know that.
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Post by Sirea »

Ryoshockwave wrote:Someday I may be bothered to post a review in here, but for now I will just say...

Sirea, I find myself agreeing with nearly everything you say. Just wanted you to know that.
A-aww, thank you so much. :oops: It really does mean a lot.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

It does kind of lack imagination, as far as the basic plotline is concerned. I felt like Climax just read a basic sociology article and wrote a game based on it. Hell, I learned in freaking high school that girls who both have divorced parents and lose their fathers at a young are more likely to be sexually active early on, to get arrested, to have bad grades, to get into abusive relationships, to have an or multiple abortions, to get divorced themselves later in life, etc. etc. It's not... that creative or original.

In fact, that was the main reason I hated it. I was actually personally offended by the presumption that because Cheryl lost her daddy, she had to be a crazy fuckup delinquent. BOO FUCKING HOO CHERYL, way to be a statistic and not be able to rise above.
It wasn't that it was "Cheryl loses daddy, therefore SHE MUST be crazy fucked up." Yea, in a way, she's a statistic, but that's to make her relatable to people who went through similar losses and experiences, even if not so drastic.

Also, James euthanizing his sick wife and feeling bad about it? Puh lease, that is so unoriginal and overdone.

It's execution that matters, not content; everything's been done.
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Post by DarkMatter »

I just wanted to say that the psychology thing has a lot more going for it than just "sex and booze". The choices you make and way you do things can change just about everything, like conversations and how cutscenes play out. It does more than some of you are giving it credit for. Besides, I've never seen a video game try to do something like this. Climax did something completely new here.

Not to mention, at the end of the day, Shattered Memories is a VIDEO GAME. Not a psychiatric tool.
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Post by Sirea »

AuraTwilight wrote:Yea, in a way, she's a statistic, but that's to make her relatable to people who went through similar losses and experiences, even if not so drastic.

Also, James euthanizing his sick wife and feeling bad about it? Puh lease, that is so unoriginal and overdone.

It's execution that matters, not content; everything's been done.
No. No, no, no, no, no. I went through everything Cheryl did. Daddy's girl? Check. Divorced parents? Check. Alcoholic father? Check. Father who tried to fuck his way out of his troubled life and depression? Check. Father who died when I was still very young? Check. Except my father's death wasn't an accident. He killed himself.

Fuck Climax, fuck Cheryl, fuck Shattered Memories. It's not relatable; it's insulting to people like me who are stronger than sociological stereotypes & statistics and went on living normal lives. I've never been in therapy, I have no mental or emotional problems that require me to seek help or attention, I have no criminal record, I have no children, hell I didn't even start drinking until I was 18. So don't even go there with that relatable bullshit. Because that's what it is. It's bullshit, and Shattered Memories was the first time in a very long time that I was actually offended by something. It reeked of stereotypes and sexism and left me feeling really kind of disgusted and rubbed the wrong way.

As far as the second part of your comment is concerned: I don't know how many times I can say I hate Silent Hill 2 before people on these boards stop using the game for comparison to things that are good when they're talking to me. B| I even put it in my signature. Your point there is moot.
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Post by Mis Krist. »

The execution does indeed matter, and Shattered Memories' execution left a bad taste in my mouth too, Sirea. I didn't go through nearly half the things you have (*brohugs gif goes here :<*) so I'm not entirely sure what triggered my less-than-enthusiastic response on a personal level. For some reason I keep going back to this idea of misconception, misunderstanding and misrepresentation of females--not in intentionally malicious ways but in ways that are still a disservice and do damage. The fact that Aura went so far as to call Cheryl's victimization RELATABLE is really quite disturbing for me.

Relatability is a very strange thing. It's not static, it's not definite/concrete, and it really does depend entirely upon the individual. I don't find Cheryl relatable, even though I have ~daddy issues~ and like to consider myself imaginative enough to put myself into many peoples shoes. Her trauma and her hardship tugged at none of my heartstrings, nor did it make me feel much of... anything. That's not to say I didn't care. I just felt a total lack of feeling for her because she was an empty shell. She wasn't even a character in the game in the sense of us being able to see her at any depth or significance. She was shown through images, heard through messages, information about her was shared through second-hand sources--but did that show us who Cheryl REALLY was? Did that make her human or a "round" character? It didn't for me, anyway. The fact that Cheryl was an elusive object made her an elusive character, and the whole twist of her being the SIGNIFICANT character (i.e., protag) fell flat with me.

Truthfully, the idea of Harry searching for Cheryl and the red herring of his memories of his family being not exactly what they seem did Cheryl the biggest disservice. I feel sorry for the idea of Cheryl since we, as the players, were never really given enough of a chance to transfer our emotions from Harry onto her. By the time we figure out she's the main character (er... to an extent), our main focus isn't, "Whoa, Cheryl's the protagonist!" but "Whoa, Harry's dead!" See the difference? The focus is on the fate of the man, instead of the girl.

I'm not saying that all women should be upset at this game or that they were intentionally going out of their way to show skewed views on the opposite sex. And though I believe that the INTENTION of the creators for any medium should be taken into account, I also believe that context, subtext, and analysis based on what is presented is just as important and in some cases may even trump the original intentions because once you make art and share it with the public, YOUR idea is no longer the only idea/truth. The reactions and perspectives of the public also matter and are just as solid as how you see things. It's all relative.

ETA: Basically, there is an idea of a Cheryl Mason; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real Cheryl: only an entity, something illusory [...] She simply is not there. (Thanks, Pat Bateman!)
I'm not dead yet, dammit.
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Post by mandrel87 »

....So, what, you didn't see the psychoanalysist sessions in Dr. K's house coming, and you're bitching that it's not subtle enough for you? Way to prove the point that Silent Hill fans are impossible to please.
I saw them coming because this element of the game was publicized so early on, but I was hoping the questions/tests would take a backseat to actual observation of what you did in the actual game. It seemed like they did this the other way round. Also I would like to add that I've been pretty easy to please thus far, I loved 1-4 and despite my dislike for it, I still found myself enjoying Origins even though it was so bland/by the book. I haven't had any way to play Homecoming yet, so no clue about that.
Look closer, they're not killing him. He's passing out and they bend down to stroke and caress him. They're only holding him back, which is why he keeps waking up at the beginning of the sequence.
I hadn't thought about it like that, that makes a lot more sense.
People in other threads have pointed out how there's things like crashed airplanes, fetuses frozen in ice walls, etcetera.
There is some stuff to look at, but not nearly as much as the first four. As plain as SH4 could be at times, they at least had areas like the spiral ramp thing that was jammed with with genuinely interesting stuff that really messed with you. This game definitely beats other similar games like Penumbra in terms of environments, but definitely not earlier Silent Hill games (except maybe Origins and Homecoming, but again I haven't played Homecoming).

I am butthurt about this game, but certainly not about the combat (I mentioned earlier that my least favorite part of this series is the combat).
Last edited by mandrel87 on 20 Jan 2010, edited 1 time in total.
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_Drake_
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Post by _Drake_ »

Sigh, I know I'll likely be ignored, but for the sake of the OP and such, could we please get back on topic? I'm not trying to flame anyone, for you all have an entitlement to express your opinions.

I may disagree with mandrel, krist, and Sirea, but those are their opinions and as such, they are entitled to them. So, how about we just all stop trying to argue and such, and just let people come in here, put up their little review, and leave it at that? I mean is it really necessary to issue a little quip here and there?

~Drake
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My Silent Hill Fanfic, Silent Hill: Spiritual Dissonance
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AuraTwilight
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Post by AuraTwilight »

No. No, no, no, no, no. I went through everything Cheryl did. Daddy's girl? Check. Divorced parents? Check. Alcoholic father? Check. Father who tried to fuck his way out of his troubled life and depression? Check. Father who died when I was still very young? Check. Except my father's death wasn't an accident. He killed himself.

Fuck Climax, fuck Cheryl, fuck Shattered Memories. It's not relatable; it's insulting to people like me who are stronger than sociological stereotypes & statistics and went on living normal lives. I've never been in therapy, I have no mental or emotional problems that require me to seek help or attention, I have no criminal record, I have no children, hell I didn't even start drinking until I was 18. So don't even go there with that relatable bullshit. Because that's what it is. It's bullshit, and Shattered Memories was the first time in a very long time that I was actually offended by something. It reeked of stereotypes and sexism and left me feeling really kind of disgusted and rubbed the wrong way.
Sorry, but the fact that your father killed himself, instead of being in a car accident that you hold yourself personally responsible for, is a huge difference right there.

Also, different people react differently to the same stimuli anyway. It's not like the game is suggesting everyone would react the way Cheryl did, only that she, herself, is fucked up. Otherwise your beloved Homecoming would suggest that everyone who loses a younger sibling has to delete their memories and pretend they're living a totally different life.
As far as the second part of your comment is concerned: I don't know how many times I can say I hate Silent Hill 2 before people on these boards stop using the game for comparison to things that are good when they're talking to me. B| I even put it in my signature. Your point there is moot.
I know, but I'm just using it as a general example, since this is a public conversation and people in general hold SH2 in high esteem.
The fact that Aura went so far as to call Cheryl's victimization RELATABLE is really quite disturbing for me.
I probably should've said that I meant her circumstances were relatable, not "LOL BRB FUCKIN MAH TEECHURS"

I do kinda find that relatable, personally, because a cousin of mine went through a life almost as crazy as Cheryl's due to some severely fucked up emotional problems.
She wasn't even a character in the game in the sense of us being able to see her at any depth or significance. She was shown through images, heard through messages, information about her was shared through second-hand sources--but did that show us who Cheryl REALLY was? Did that make her human or a "round" character? It didn't for me, anyway. The fact that Cheryl was an elusive object made her an elusive character, and the whole twist of her being the SIGNIFICANT character (i.e., protag) fell flat with me.
I kind've agree with this point, but my fridge logic made me compare her elusiveness to Harry's elusiveness, and made me realize that this might have been intentional, or atleast an awesome coincidence. Dissociation and not being able to really know a person is pretty significant in the game.
ETA: Basically, there is an idea of a Cheryl Mason; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real Cheryl: only an entity, something illusory [...] She simply is not there. (Thanks, Pat Bateman!)
I both disagree with, and love this statement. While I felt Cheryl's presence was strong enough to find her lovable, relatable, understandable, etcetera, I do love the awesome thematic dualism being presented here.

Dammit, Krist.
I saw them coming because this element of the game was publicized so early on, but I was hoping the questions/tests would take a backseat to actual observation of what you did in the actual game. It seemed like they did this the other way round. Also I would like to add that I've been pretty easy to please thus far, I loved 1-4 and despite my dislike for it, I still found myself enjoying Origins even though it was so bland/by the book. I haven't had any way to play Homecoming yet, so no clue about that.
Fair enough, though I still don't think you're giving the psych profile the credit it deserves. The observation provides for a massively significant chunk of the evaluation, and we still don't understand how the psych profile works, despite our immense fucking with the game. The fact that the Silent Hill community is having such a difficult time figuring out how to manipulate the psych profile system should be testament that it's not as simple and clear-cut as you believe.
There is some stuff to look at, but not nearly as much as the first four. As plain as SH4 could be at times, they at least had areas like the spiral ramp thing that was jammed with with genuinely interesting stuff that really messed with you. This game definitely beats other similar games like Penumbra in terms of environments, but definitely not earlier Silent Hill games (except maybe Origins and Homecoming, but again I haven't played Homecoming).
This is true, but when you consider how little disc space they probably had for this sort of thing, and considering that the game doesn't give you much time to stop and look around during the chase sequences, I can't fault them for this. The non-Nightmare world has plenty of stuff to look at and investigate, so it evens out, in my opinion.
Sigh, I know I'll likely be ignored, but for the sake of the OP and such, could we please get back on topic? I'm not trying to flame anyone, for you all have an entitlement to express your opinions.

I may disagree with mandrel, krist, and Sirea, but those are their opinions and as such, they are entitled to them. So, how about we just all stop trying to argue and such, and just let people come in here, put up their little review, and leave it at that? I mean is it really necessary to issue a little quip here and there?
What's wrong with explaining and comparing our opinions? This is a discussion forum, not a bulletin board. As much as I like and respect you, Drake, your shadow-modding is getting extremely annoying lately. How about you let the staff members push us back on topic if they think it's necessary?
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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