Post by Ayame_Ex Goddess on Oct 29, 2008 14:39:34 GMT -5
Sometimes a game franchise is really good. They ought to be, that's why a great game BECOMES a franchise in the first place, so we can keep being entertained and they can keep pocketing our cash.
At least, that's the theory.
In reality franchises start great and then usually peter down into something completely different (and usually awful) than it originally was in the first place. Such is the case with Silent Hill, a series which I discovered sometime just after the third iteration and enjoyed up until that point.
It wasn't until Silent Hill 4: The Room that the series began to take a rather unfortunate turn. You see, Silent Hill 4 wasn't really even a game in the series, but it was done by the same team and they realized no one would buy it so they threw in some vague references to Silent Hill 2 and called it Silent Hill 4 and we were off on a bullet train to disappointment land.
Then came Silent Hill Origins, when Team Silent dropped the project into the hands of American-based developers Double Helix which created their first foray into Silent Hill on the PSP. This should have been an indication of things to come, seeing as Origins was botched. Perhaps it was the fact that they didn't completely destroy it that left me with a small shred of hope. Alas, like all my other dreams, Silent Hill returning to it's former glory now lies dashed upon the rocks like so many future copies of 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand.
So where does Silent Hill Homecoming go so wrong? Well, if you're new to the series, what differentiated Silent Hill from it's competition was the drama. Like many games in the genre, ammo and heath are scarce which means often times you are walking around with no better defense than a board with a nail in one end. Fortunately the developers would use a clever mix of shadows and this delightful broken radio to make you THINK you were in danger when you were not.
With Homecoming Double Helix went with the Resident Evil 4 approach which is to scare you by overwhelming you. Now, in a game like RE4 this formula works because we'd all been getting bored slicing up the same 5 slow-moving zombies over and over and the series started out as kind of a bad joke in the first place. Also, since the battle engine was barely working to begin with, the only place the series could go was in a positive direction. Here, we are treated to defending ourselves with a board-with-nail against 10 enemies which are made of knives, can block, and hit you for basically half your HP.
This would be fine, if the implemented dodge system were a little more forgiving. Have you ever played one of those online FLASH games where you have to hit one SINGLE pixel in the frame to progress? That's basically what this is. So what you end up with is the choice to attack as much as possible and hope you kill the enemy without taking a hit or you can time your block over and over again until you...I dunno, give up and turn off the system I guess.
Then again, it's all about the story right? Silent Hill was truly established (arguably) with Silent Hill 2 which -once you grasp the entire scope of it- is truly amazing. Well, I suppose that if you're trying to please a fanbase like SH has, you need to...blatantly rip off the most popular game in the series. Cause if you've played Silent Hill 2, then you've already played Homecoming.
Worse perhaps is that the dev team seems to have taken the Roger Avery approach and instead of staying faithful to the source material, they go off into la-la land (you could also sub in there, George Lucas, but that was too easy) and just do whatever the hell they feel like. What makes this most offensive to me is that it's basically a successor to the MOVIE and not the games. Don't get me wrong -I like the movie. It's one of the best video-game to movie translations yet done
[glow=red,2,300][shadow=red,left,300][/shadow][/glow]
it's NOT the game. The story was different, the characters were different, and it lost A LOT of subtext. So we end up with a mishmash of ideas and none of them seem to fit.
Now don't think I hated everything about this game. The character of Alex Shepherd is an interesting one at the outset, and the beginning of the game -waking up in the Otherworld Hospital is a great way to drop us into the action. It also provides us with a mild tutorial which people getting used to the controls will appreciate. Other characters, the old-flame Elle and Deputy Wheeler make for some interesting moments, and for a few brief moments, they tag along with you which can kinda fall either way depending on your mood.
Graphically, this game is astounding. Homecoming looks every bit as good as the current gen games should. Of course, I hardly consider this much of a point anymore (except on Wii games) because even companies with tiny budgets can make games look great. Homecoming really shines in it's environmental effects, though. You often find yourself walking on grates above molten rock, and sparks and hot ash rise up out of the floor, fading as they cool. The game is full of neat little details like that, which make nearly every area fun to look around.
What saddens me is that survival horror is one of the genres that I feel is truly enhanced by graphics. After all, it's hard to be immersed in a game when the room around your six-sided polygon 'character' is brightly lit and sporting texture mapping that would make Anne Frank cringe. But for some reason, Homecoming's improved visuals lessen the experience for me.
If I had to guess, I would venture that they made the game too bright. There's a slider at the outset to adjust the picture, but if you turn it down, the darkness blends together and you miss things you need to progress (seriously, entire DOORS vanish) but the light areas don't dim that much. If you make it bright, the bright areas...well, get too d**n bright and the dark areas turn grey. This effectively renders the flashlight (another cornerstone of the series) utterly useless except as a way to attract monsters to your location. Supposedly, they are attracted to light, but if that's the case, they should be more focused on the room ambiance or the molten lava than me.
All in all, if you're a fan of the series, I would say to rent this one. It's not awful, and there are certainly worse ways to spend a few hours. Some of the areas are very creepy and you'll get a kick out of seeing Pyramid Head (now redubbed "Boogeyman") and his new sword.
If you're an avid collector...buy it...used.
A 3.................
...
outof5
At least, that's the theory.
In reality franchises start great and then usually peter down into something completely different (and usually awful) than it originally was in the first place. Such is the case with Silent Hill, a series which I discovered sometime just after the third iteration and enjoyed up until that point.
It wasn't until Silent Hill 4: The Room that the series began to take a rather unfortunate turn. You see, Silent Hill 4 wasn't really even a game in the series, but it was done by the same team and they realized no one would buy it so they threw in some vague references to Silent Hill 2 and called it Silent Hill 4 and we were off on a bullet train to disappointment land.
Then came Silent Hill Origins, when Team Silent dropped the project into the hands of American-based developers Double Helix which created their first foray into Silent Hill on the PSP. This should have been an indication of things to come, seeing as Origins was botched. Perhaps it was the fact that they didn't completely destroy it that left me with a small shred of hope. Alas, like all my other dreams, Silent Hill returning to it's former glory now lies dashed upon the rocks like so many future copies of 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand.
So where does Silent Hill Homecoming go so wrong? Well, if you're new to the series, what differentiated Silent Hill from it's competition was the drama. Like many games in the genre, ammo and heath are scarce which means often times you are walking around with no better defense than a board with a nail in one end. Fortunately the developers would use a clever mix of shadows and this delightful broken radio to make you THINK you were in danger when you were not.
With Homecoming Double Helix went with the Resident Evil 4 approach which is to scare you by overwhelming you. Now, in a game like RE4 this formula works because we'd all been getting bored slicing up the same 5 slow-moving zombies over and over and the series started out as kind of a bad joke in the first place. Also, since the battle engine was barely working to begin with, the only place the series could go was in a positive direction. Here, we are treated to defending ourselves with a board-with-nail against 10 enemies which are made of knives, can block, and hit you for basically half your HP.
This would be fine, if the implemented dodge system were a little more forgiving. Have you ever played one of those online FLASH games where you have to hit one SINGLE pixel in the frame to progress? That's basically what this is. So what you end up with is the choice to attack as much as possible and hope you kill the enemy without taking a hit or you can time your block over and over again until you...I dunno, give up and turn off the system I guess.
Then again, it's all about the story right? Silent Hill was truly established (arguably) with Silent Hill 2 which -once you grasp the entire scope of it- is truly amazing. Well, I suppose that if you're trying to please a fanbase like SH has, you need to...blatantly rip off the most popular game in the series. Cause if you've played Silent Hill 2, then you've already played Homecoming.
Worse perhaps is that the dev team seems to have taken the Roger Avery approach and instead of staying faithful to the source material, they go off into la-la land (you could also sub in there, George Lucas, but that was too easy) and just do whatever the hell they feel like. What makes this most offensive to me is that it's basically a successor to the MOVIE and not the games. Don't get me wrong -I like the movie. It's one of the best video-game to movie translations yet done
[glow=red,2,300][shadow=red,left,300][/shadow][/glow]
it's NOT the game. The story was different, the characters were different, and it lost A LOT of subtext. So we end up with a mishmash of ideas and none of them seem to fit.
Now don't think I hated everything about this game. The character of Alex Shepherd is an interesting one at the outset, and the beginning of the game -waking up in the Otherworld Hospital is a great way to drop us into the action. It also provides us with a mild tutorial which people getting used to the controls will appreciate. Other characters, the old-flame Elle and Deputy Wheeler make for some interesting moments, and for a few brief moments, they tag along with you which can kinda fall either way depending on your mood.
Graphically, this game is astounding. Homecoming looks every bit as good as the current gen games should. Of course, I hardly consider this much of a point anymore (except on Wii games) because even companies with tiny budgets can make games look great. Homecoming really shines in it's environmental effects, though. You often find yourself walking on grates above molten rock, and sparks and hot ash rise up out of the floor, fading as they cool. The game is full of neat little details like that, which make nearly every area fun to look around.
What saddens me is that survival horror is one of the genres that I feel is truly enhanced by graphics. After all, it's hard to be immersed in a game when the room around your six-sided polygon 'character' is brightly lit and sporting texture mapping that would make Anne Frank cringe. But for some reason, Homecoming's improved visuals lessen the experience for me.
If I had to guess, I would venture that they made the game too bright. There's a slider at the outset to adjust the picture, but if you turn it down, the darkness blends together and you miss things you need to progress (seriously, entire DOORS vanish) but the light areas don't dim that much. If you make it bright, the bright areas...well, get too d**n bright and the dark areas turn grey. This effectively renders the flashlight (another cornerstone of the series) utterly useless except as a way to attract monsters to your location. Supposedly, they are attracted to light, but if that's the case, they should be more focused on the room ambiance or the molten lava than me.
All in all, if you're a fan of the series, I would say to rent this one. It's not awful, and there are certainly worse ways to spend a few hours. Some of the areas are very creepy and you'll get a kick out of seeing Pyramid Head (now redubbed "Boogeyman") and his new sword.
If you're an avid collector...buy it...used.
A 3.................
...
outof5