Topic: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

[EasyCure]

i can't believe you actually got the game. Did you pre-order it?

I damn near PALE RAGED thru 3 cities today trying to track down a copy of this game. By track down I mean calling stores ahead of time, being told (to my surprised) that they have the game, and then being told they DON'T have the game when i arrive, or not having the slightest clue what i'm talking about.... really?

[Stratos]

Amazon is your friend.

[KDR_11k]

I read in a preview that the door you're supposed to take is highlighted in blue?

[broodwars]

I read in a preview that the door you're supposed to take is highlighted in blue?

They're all highlighted in blue.  That's the first thing I looked for, but every door you can take has that blue highlight.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I get to pick this up today.  Probably can't play it till Furlough Friday.

[broodwars]

If you're looking for a more visual review, Gametrailers just put up a good one: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-silent-hill/59790

8.5/10, if that matters to you.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I forgot my pre-order came with a soundtrack.  Nice.

WHEN YOU'RE GONE


WHEN YOU'RE GONE

[broodwars]

I forgot my pre-order came with a soundtrack.  Nice.

WHEN YOU'RE GONE


WHEN YOU'RE GONE

I'm a big fan of "When You're Gone" and "Hell Frozen Rain", myself.  I wasn't fond of "Acceptance" at first since that little piano + music box ditty is a bit over-used in the game, but it grew on me over time.  "Always on my Mind" has an awesome beginning for a Silent Hill song, but then gets progressively worse as the song goes along (the exact opposite of "Acceptance", now that I think about it).

I just finished playing through the entire game a second time, making different decisions in a few places (though not radically different decisions).  While I ended up with new puzzles (yay!); a few new locations; a few new lines of dialogue; and a few characters in new places, it was pretty much the same experience (though ,interestingly, listing "Religion" as a favorite class this time resulted in God-oriented text being in interesting places for a more traditional "Silent Hill" experience).  Hell, I even got the same ending, which disappointed me a bit.  I guess I'll have to be more bold in going just completely 180 degrees from my first playthrough answers.  I did notice the music more this time, though it's still the most passive and forgettable Silent Hill soundtrack I've heard since Silent Hill 4's.

This may sound strange, but playing this game I'm kind of reminded of the developers of Heavy Rain, who said that they intended their game to be played through once because the journey is so personal and tailored just to you.  Playing through the second time, for some reason I didn't want to make different choices in most cases.  I don't know if it's because the questions are of such a personal nature, but it's odd because I usually have no problem doing things completely opposite to my personality in other games (especially other Silent Hill games).

Incidentally, the endings are starting to show up on Youtube, and from the looks of it this game's UFO Ending is one of the funniest in the series (it even has Jaaaaaaaaames Sunderland in a cute series in-joke).

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Wow, this a nice product.  Another modest dream-come-true of a 3rd person Wii adventure game that controls well and is very easy to look around in.  Examining everything brings joy inside and keeps my Wiimote erect.

Only messed with the game for a couple hours, at a very slow examine-happy pace.  I also started with a 2nd profile and answered the psych questions differently, getting a VERY different cop lady than the first time.  LOL milf cougars

I'm really impressed with the graphics technology up to this point.  When the flashlight is active, the game typically runs at 30fps in the streets with moderate activity.  When the flashlight's OFF, the game (minus the spotlight and shadow effects) runs at 60fps.  Good job, Climax.

I'm disappointed there's no official Dolby Pro Logic II support, but there seems to be some unintentional pseudo-surround effects anyway.  (What gives, Climax?  Konami too cheap?)

And lastly, the game lets you skip cutscenes the first time through.  The menu is definitely interesting in presentation.

[KDR_11k]

I'm disappointed there's no official Dolby Pro Logic II support, but there seems to be some unintentional pseudo-surround effects anyway.  (What gives, Climax?  Konami too cheap?)

Maybe a bit too much for the hardware?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I'm disappointed there's no official Dolby Pro Logic II support, but there seems to be some unintentional pseudo-surround effects anyway.  (What gives, Climax?  Konami too cheap?)

Maybe a bit too much for the hardware?

I don't think so.  Overlord: Dark Legend lacks DPLII as well, so Climax probably has no experience with it or never bothered to license it.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I looked thru Nintendo's 2009 holiday catalog.  Silent Hill is nowhere to be seen, while REDC, Dead Spinoff, and Call of Porty: Modern Port are on the same spread.

tsk tsk

[noname2200]

Surprisingly great game. I say "surprisingly" because 1) modern Silent Hill games tend to be very paint-by-numbers, while this one isn't, and 2) the game has severe flaws that would normally cripple my enjoyment of a title, but it doesn't here.

Love the use of symbolism so much.

[Stratos]

According to Amazon's UPS tracker my copy of the game has been stuck in California for a week...LOL

[Urkel]

This is the sort of game Denis Dyack should be making instead of polishing his sword.

[Stratos]

I would love to see Silicone Knights's take on the whole survey/game altering feature in a new Eternal Darkness.

And while I am not sure it would wholly work (or would fully want it to work this way), I could see ED also going the no combat route. Make it magik only perhaps?

My copy of this game finally arrived. I'm hoping to dive into it on my next day off.

[KDR_11k]

I really want SHSM (but it's still a bit off here), got Silent Hill 2 in preparation (apparently the SH games got a re-issue, a major store here has new copies of SH2 and SH3 for 16€ each).

[Urkel]

My biggest problem is that it skews a bit more towards interactive story than game. I know some people hate the chase scenes, but I wish there were more of them since they were the most "gamey" part of the game, and the whole "no combat" thing is genius.

[Kairon]

Critically acclaimed game? M rated title? More interactive story?

How in the WORLD did I miss out on this game?

[broodwars]

Critically acclaimed game? M rated title? More interactive story?

How in the WORLD did I miss out on this game?

You waited for Konami to advertise it.   

By the way, in case anyone cares Giant Bomb just recently awarded this game their Wii Game of the Year over runners-up Rabbits Go Home and Wii Sports Resort (no, NSMBW did not make the cut due to essentially being the same experience they've had for years with 2D Mario).

[BlackNMild2k1]

I have yet to open this game, but i'm sure I'll enjoy it when i do.

[noname2200]

My biggest problem is that it skews a bit more towards interactive story than game. I know some people hate the chase scenes, but I wish there were more of them since they were the most "gamey" part of the game, and the whole "no combat" thing is genius.

I agree almost entirely. The only part where we differ is in the lack of combat: I think it's a fantastic idea, but they needed to refine the execution more. And I have a hard time thinking of it as a game, even though I really liked the title overall.

[broodwars]

My biggest problem is that it skews a bit more towards interactive story than game.

Welcome to the entire Silent Hill franchise.  It's kind of a tradition for the gameplay to be terrible and the story to be good->awesome.

[Peachylala]

(no, NSMBW did not make the cut due to essentially being the same experience they've had for years with 2D Mario).

I want to facepalm at this comment, but I'm too used to this ****. What is wrong with me? =(

My biggest problem is that it skews a bit more towards interactive story than game.

Welcome to the entire Silent Hill franchise.  It's kind of a tradition for the gameplay to be terrible and the story to be good->awesome.

The combat in the games were terrible. The puzzles and exploration ranged from stupid to amazing. Your millage may vary between the different titles.
 
The nightmares scenes in this game are a bit of a hit or miss with me. The screaming monsters will ALWAYS catch up with you, no matter how fast you run. Tension fun is fun, but it gets annoying when you are low in stamia and have three of them hug-raping(?) you.
 
Love the symbolism and the use of the phone though.

[broodwars]

(no, NSMBW did not make the cut due to essentially being the same experience they've had for years with 2D Mario).

I want to facepalm at this comment, but I'm too used to this ****. What is wrong with me?

You kind of need to hear the whole 2009 "Award" Bombcast to get that quote in context because they clearly liked the game.  Hell, I was just listening to an even older Bombcast when someone revealed that the Koopa Kids were in it, and the level of gleeful nostalgic squealing was hilarious.  It was one of their Top 6-7 Wii games of the year after all.  They just felt that it doesn't do much besides multiplayer that other Mario 2D platformers haven't already done just as well, and that their Top 3 (Rabbids Go Home, Wii Sports Resort, and Silent Hill) just made better use of the Wii's unique features.