You should have finished with Silent Hill: Homecoming by now. In fact you should have finished with it last Halloween, but for some undisclosed reason, Konami delayed its PAL launch until now.
Initial reaction to the delay was that it was made in the wake of relatively poor reviews (for the series at least) in the US. This then gave us hope that the new and non-Japanese team behind the code would be given more time to make it better. But it was more likely that translating the game into various European languages was behind the hold up. Either way, we're sorry to say that little has changed in Silent Hill.
Being an 'invert' the first thing I did was hit the options screen to enable as much inverting as possible. Switching the aim was no problem but where is the option for inverting the camera? To my horror it wasn't there. A HUGE error (instant game over for some people) and I've not even started the game yet? Not the start I was looking for.
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Gameplay footage
1:22Pipe mania
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Gameplay footage
1:22Pipe mania
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After a very Hostel-like opening few scenes you come around in what looks like an operating theatre with some very strange stuff going on outside your door. Hammer the A button (360 version played) and you break free of your restraints, ready to leg it. But not so fast. This is a Silent Hill game and there are plenty of locked doors to try and open that'll slow you down in the process. A few hours in and you can rephrase that 'grind you down'.
Considering this is the Hill's current gen debut, I was looking forward to a visual gorefest comparable to Sony's Siren remake or Resi 5. Even though initial screens looked a little 'PS2' I lived in hope. But there's nothing special about Silent Hill from a visual standpoint. Sure, the characters' facial animations look a little better and there are some sick-looking enemies but for the most part Homecoming looks as old as the original Silent Hill concept is starting to.
After the opening nightmare dream sequence, oh wait, is that a spoiler I've just given away? Well yes, but the game actually gives this away by calling your first save file 'Nightmare'. Thanks game. Schoolboy error number two...
So the main crux of the game is like every other Silent Hill game. And thanks to all that fog and rust, the whole game looks as familiar as ever. Open the map and tick off your progress as you meticulously try every door and gate you can find. The radio buzzes with white noise when baddies are lurking around the corner; your Christmas cracker-sized flashlight barely helps you out in dark areas and you'll spend the first couple of hours swinging a steel pipe around because you want to conserve your handgun ammo. Every now and again you'll come across a brain teasing puzzle, but they'll never hold you up for too long. And thanks to all that fog and rust, the whole game looks as familiar as ever.
You're a bloke (Alex Shepherd) who ends up looking for his kid brother (Josh) and father in a creepy town with enough weird shit going on around him to produce your own Most Haunted series. As story is what Silent Hill is all about, we'll leave it there but you can expect the usual volley of twists and surprises along the way.
Residents that Shepherd bumps into act like nothing's wrong even though dead dogs, giants bugs, things with blades for limbs and other videogame nasties freely roam the town trying to sick your balls at every opportunity. Why don't these characters run up to you screaming their faces off, begging for you to save them? Why doesn't Shepherd run up to them asking for Scooter Man's number?
The franchise is famed for its ham-fisted combat mechanics and this has been addressed for Homecoming. Holding Left trigger locks onto your foe and you can flick the stick to cycle between targets. But waving a steel pipe around is still a clunky experience. I lost count of how many times I died and had to return to the last save point (they can be far apart at times). It makes you feel like the last five years of gaming haven't happened, or just passed Double Helix by.
Pin down the Left bumper and you can cycle through your inventory, while the right one lets you choose weapons. From a user interface standpoint, Homecoming is easier to get along with than previous efforts (apart from looking at the floor or ceilings too much thanks to those un-inverted controls).
If you're a die hard Silent Hill fan then you'll feel right at home in, er, Homecoming. Even if you're new to the series you might as well start here (it does look the best anyway) and work your way backwards if you like what you see. But for this fan, it's time to see Silent Hill demolished and turned into a shopping mall (with zombies) or luxury flats.
The lack of the ability to invert the camera controls killed my interest in this, even before the rest of the lukewarm review. It's a major pet hate, I mean, how hard can it be to sort that out? Do they hate us?
Silent Hill fans in the US like this game very much. In fact, people complained more about SH4 than they did with Homecoming.
I'm still looking forward to it's release tomorrow no matter what the critics say. I trusted the acclaim critics gave RE4 and I found the game boring and slow.
How long are they going to regurgitate the same old stuff. The series died with the 3rd installment which is sad because I loved 1, 2 and 3. The 4th was scary enough but so bloody boring.
The whole premise of the town is that it was desolate, now these new people keep popping up with their stories, funny that.
Poor review. It was written wholly in a pessimistic and negative style, being neither impartial enough to list the goods as well as that bads, nor balanced enough to explain exactly what it is he didn't like.
I know this game has got bad review scores- but we as gamers would like to know WHY the game sucks, so that we can as gamers make an INFORMED CHOICE on wether to bother with it.
Comments like 'Newcomers should start with this one because it LOOKS GOOD.' are regressive and neanderthal with regards this kind of game. Shame.
Newcomers should play Silent Hill 2, which is widely considered to be the finest (Survival) Pure Horror game ever released if they want an idea of why they should play a Silent Hill game.
My review I made on youtube (from the US import), gives the game 9/10.
I think these 6.something reviews are BS to be honest. My only concern with the entire game is the spaced out save points (I would have liked a save anywheere or checkpoint save system).
6.2 is a stupid score imo, the game deserves at LEAST an 8.
This is actually a damn good looking atmospheric game and to be fair i cant remember the last time i got stuck on a game and had to replay a tricky section more than once from a respawn point. It's back to basic challenging laws of gaming and you have a total feeling of deperation because you know any of these enemies can kill you unless you're fully awake and swing that pipe just at the right time in the right place. Having said this I only got through the sewers section largely in part to a bug that prohibited a giant enemy creature from going beyond a certain area so I just stood behind this line and t**tted it about 30 times.
Terrible review. Lost any respect for the author when he wrote about 'weird s**t going on' and creatures trying to 'sick your balls' (grow up, please).
The combat is much better than previous incarnations of the series. The reason the reviewer was so poor atfighting was because he stuck with the worst weapon - the pipe. The knife is the easiest to use (having imported the game last month and played it through a couple fo times).
As for spoiling the first chapter...yes, the save game may give the game away slightly - but most people won't look at the title the save game is given.
I'd give this an 8/10. It's the best in the series since 2 for my money.
The lack of the ability to invert the camera controls killed my interest in this, even before the rest of the lukewarm review. It's a major pet hate, I mean, how hard can it be to sort that out? Do they hate us?
Is Gavin Ogden the work experience kid or something? The visuals aren't poor, they fit perfectly with the image and the atmosphere of the game. The combat works fine - it isn't meant to be a stealth-em-up or some kind of Rainbow Six: Operation Silent Hill. Bought it yesterday and I played it all night. He's right about the spaced out save points - it's a bit of a pain - but everything else in this review is just lame. Easily an 8/10 game in my opinion. But what do I know?
I know there's an option for changing the control to inverted as part of my console options. I know this because Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (terrible game) had the same problem. Did the reviewer give this a try....?
and there's no 'easy game' in settings, combat sucks so i wanted to walk through game just for the story and atmosphere, but it's not possible, there's limited ammo and not enough health packs.
Being a really big SH fan I was looking forward to playing this game. But it has turned out to be exacly like the film. Like puttin Pyramid head in it for example, there is no relevence to it like there was for the 2nd game. Also the camera sucks!
Not only should Mr Ogden's review take a running jump from a high cliff but Mr Ogden should be close behind his reviews steps and jumping from same. His review left me wanting to write a series of counterpoints to his statements and here they are.
I've played all the Silent hill games and I agree that this isn't as intense as the others but is still good regardless of that fact.
The spaced out save points, the lack of ammunition and lack of health recovery items are done for one simple reason.
You're playing a survival horror game...
What would be the point in making a survival horror game if you can save whenever you want, heal whenever you want and shoot all the ammunition you could ever want? If you want to play games where you can do that then might I suggest the recent egocentric, egotripping, self indulgent crap titled "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand"?
The combat is much improved than the previous titles which were very stiff and led to many deaths and reloads from save files. This hasn't been the case for me in Homecoming which is a great relief, the combat is that much easier. Yet... where 'Mr' Ogden writes:
I lost count of how many times I died and had to return to the last save point (they can be far apart at times).
I'm sorry but you must be bad at games if you kept dying in this one. And yes, I'm playing it in hard, were you?
For me I don't feel this game regurgitates the same old each time. Sure the game follows a set theme but what series of game doesn't do this? Seeing the heroes/heroines tale unfolding as you play through the series can be very gripping and can leave you wondering what else has happened in Silent Hills past and what will happen to the next survivalist.
I will agree about the inverted controls though, for player preferences sake, even though i don't use inverted controls because I'm not THAT inverted
The spaced out save points, the lack of ammunition and lack of health recovery items are done for one simple reason.
You're playing a survival horror game...
I don't agree with that myself...Survival Horrors are scary because of the freaky atmosphere they're supposed to have. Project Zero and the previous Silent Hill games all had a good supply of health items and still had more horror than this game has.
I'm not saying I hate this game because I'm actually loving it but it's less enjoyable when they give you tougher enemies with much less health items available.
The reviewer said you must be a bad gamer if you keep dying but I reckon you would have to be the best gamer in the world to not die at all, especially in your first run of the game where you don't know what the hell is going on.
I ended the game having a large supply of health items and i didn't find all of the syrums that up your max health.
So long as you chose to continue when you die the save points are plentiful enough. As the game has a fairly good checkpoint system. You just have to look for save points because the game hides them alot of the time. They're put in siderooms and what not. Before every boss i faced there was a save point and some health and ammo. Thats pretty generaous for a survival horror game if you ask me.
I really enjoyed this game and am definately going to replay it untill i've seen all the endings.
Great game though. The twist is a little obvious but nevermind. kudos.
I've played and completed the SH games all the way upto SH4-The room. I enjoyed them.
Then this one hits, and the combat is suddenly awkward ( more than usual ) , the badguys hit like freight trains and Health packs and save points stupidly far apart.
SH- Homecoming is no longer part of my games collection and until the SH series is re-vamped ( like Resident Evil has been ) another one never will be.
**sigh** Silent Hill another franchise screwed up...just like Tomb Raider
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Story is always the best bit
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