Silent Hill: Homecoming
I just want to get my thoughts out about this game before I read about it on the internets and have my opinion diluted (because it happens with the pushy fanbase), so here are my spoilerless thoughts on the new Silent Hill.
Overall? I think it was great.
The combat system's overhaul was excellent and really made the game, well... fun. Silent Hill isn't usually fun. (It's enjoyable to follow the plot and get scared, but it's not *fun* per se if you ask me.) It also made it Really Tremendously Hard at times. Frustrating, but also something I welcomed, because it didn't have the helpless feeling that other difficult battles in the series would have. I'm thinking Silent Hill 4 - if you get stuck in a tight spot there, the battle system is so clunky that it's really hard to get out of it. You can swing all you like, sure, but chances are the enemy will get at least one hit on you; and if you're almost dead with no healthies, then you're screwed. That's why the addition of the 'dodge' feature is nice for Homecoming - you can kill enemies without taking a hit if you're good enough, so any tight squeeze can be wiggled out of. Also, I just like rolling around on the ground. GO ALEX GO
As for the plot, well... I worried about it a lot. In the middle of the game, it seems to get extremely shaky and the game looks like it's headed Resident Evil 4. (Yeah, I was kinda pissed at it for a day and didn't want to play for a bit. ) It swings back in the right general direction as you get near the end.
Some of the traditional Silent Hill elements were forgotten, mainly the isolation (for example, traveling with more than one person - although not in-game - and fighting human enemies), but by the time I beat the game, I found that a lot of this could easily be explained away through foreshadowning and symbolism, as it should be. The plot's not incredible like Silent Hill 2 or The Room, but I thought it was pretty darn good. ( beats SH3's and Origins', anyways. )
I absolutely loved the monsters. The bosses, in addition to being gorgeously rendered, were hideously terrifying and animated in the most disgusting ways - which is, of course, excellent. These new boss critters are easily ranking up with my favorite monster designs - Scarlet, Aspyhxia and the final boss especially. Even the monsters with reused designs weren't too annoying to me. Smogs were actually very different, particularly in modes of attack - these guys are waaaay more dangerous than the Lying Figures of SH2. The Nurses seem to have become a mascot for the series, so I've decided to ignore their reusing, although it's annoying. ( I actually really dig their stiff walking and striking animations in this game, moreso than the movements of the original 2 incarnations. )
Pyramid Head's presence is actually not that annoying, surprisingly. He's very minor and plays no real role other than that of God's judgement, which is fitting in this series. He's more of a cameo than a rehashed monster, so I wasn't bothered by his presence in - what - two cutscenes? ( This also made me think more about the big PH's real identity - after all, even James' Pyramid Head was based on the executioners of the cult in Silent Hill. Is it so hard to say that these executioners may have been dressed after a real executioner force, be it a god or an angel, in the religious readings? )
Importantly, though - is it scary? I'm going to go ahead and say "Not really." However, I'm so incredibly jaded from constant horror gaming that the last game that has truly scared me was the original Fatal Frame way back in last year. The first stage, "Nightmare," was rather creepy, and there were a few parts that I was none too happy to be playing around in - the town hall stuffed with Smogs and wandering in the graveyard while the growls of Ferals echoed in the distance made me uneasy. Overall, though, I could play this game at night in the dark by myself with no sweat. Scarier than Clock Tower 3 and most of the Resident Evil series, sure, but it's nowhere near the level of fear inspired by games like Silent Hill 3, 4, and the REmake.
Of course, the music is fantastic. You can always trust Yamaoka to create great songs for this series, and this is no letdown.
Despite all this, I can tell hardcore fans are gonna get their panties in a twist over this game. It's fun, but it's also very, VERY different from what we're used to. I think it's a fine game and worthy of the Silent Hill title, but a lot of the elitists are going to throw hissy fits because It's Not James and Things Are Different. In any case, I had a good time, and I think that most fans of the series will.
And there's my schpeal. I might post my thoughts on the inner workings of the plot later as well before I read other peoples' opinions.
Overall? I think it was great.
The combat system's overhaul was excellent and really made the game, well... fun. Silent Hill isn't usually fun. (It's enjoyable to follow the plot and get scared, but it's not *fun* per se if you ask me.) It also made it Really Tremendously Hard at times. Frustrating, but also something I welcomed, because it didn't have the helpless feeling that other difficult battles in the series would have. I'm thinking Silent Hill 4 - if you get stuck in a tight spot there, the battle system is so clunky that it's really hard to get out of it. You can swing all you like, sure, but chances are the enemy will get at least one hit on you; and if you're almost dead with no healthies, then you're screwed. That's why the addition of the 'dodge' feature is nice for Homecoming - you can kill enemies without taking a hit if you're good enough, so any tight squeeze can be wiggled out of. Also, I just like rolling around on the ground. GO ALEX GO
As for the plot, well... I worried about it a lot. In the middle of the game, it seems to get extremely shaky and the game looks like it's headed Resident Evil 4. (Yeah, I was kinda pissed at it for a day and didn't want to play for a bit. ) It swings back in the right general direction as you get near the end.
Some of the traditional Silent Hill elements were forgotten, mainly the isolation (for example, traveling with more than one person - although not in-game - and fighting human enemies), but by the time I beat the game, I found that a lot of this could easily be explained away through foreshadowning and symbolism, as it should be. The plot's not incredible like Silent Hill 2 or The Room, but I thought it was pretty darn good. ( beats SH3's and Origins', anyways. )
I absolutely loved the monsters. The bosses, in addition to being gorgeously rendered, were hideously terrifying and animated in the most disgusting ways - which is, of course, excellent. These new boss critters are easily ranking up with my favorite monster designs - Scarlet, Aspyhxia and the final boss especially. Even the monsters with reused designs weren't too annoying to me. Smogs were actually very different, particularly in modes of attack - these guys are waaaay more dangerous than the Lying Figures of SH2. The Nurses seem to have become a mascot for the series, so I've decided to ignore their reusing, although it's annoying. ( I actually really dig their stiff walking and striking animations in this game, moreso than the movements of the original 2 incarnations. )
Pyramid Head's presence is actually not that annoying, surprisingly. He's very minor and plays no real role other than that of God's judgement, which is fitting in this series. He's more of a cameo than a rehashed monster, so I wasn't bothered by his presence in - what - two cutscenes? ( This also made me think more about the big PH's real identity - after all, even James' Pyramid Head was based on the executioners of the cult in Silent Hill. Is it so hard to say that these executioners may have been dressed after a real executioner force, be it a god or an angel, in the religious readings? )
Importantly, though - is it scary? I'm going to go ahead and say "Not really." However, I'm so incredibly jaded from constant horror gaming that the last game that has truly scared me was the original Fatal Frame way back in last year. The first stage, "Nightmare," was rather creepy, and there were a few parts that I was none too happy to be playing around in - the town hall stuffed with Smogs and wandering in the graveyard while the growls of Ferals echoed in the distance made me uneasy. Overall, though, I could play this game at night in the dark by myself with no sweat. Scarier than Clock Tower 3 and most of the Resident Evil series, sure, but it's nowhere near the level of fear inspired by games like Silent Hill 3, 4, and the REmake.
Of course, the music is fantastic. You can always trust Yamaoka to create great songs for this series, and this is no letdown.
Despite all this, I can tell hardcore fans are gonna get their panties in a twist over this game. It's fun, but it's also very, VERY different from what we're used to. I think it's a fine game and worthy of the Silent Hill title, but a lot of the elitists are going to throw hissy fits because It's Not James and Things Are Different. In any case, I had a good time, and I think that most fans of the series will.
And there's my schpeal. I might post my thoughts on the inner workings of the plot later as well before I read other peoples' opinions.