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First Impressions: This is DEFINITELY no longer Silent Hill...


Zyzxx

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTC7vbufpcY]Silent Hill: Downpour - Opening Intro - YouTube[/ame]

 

Just started this game, and I'm already regretting the purchase, even if it was on sale and discounted...

 

Nothing it this opening seems like Silent Hill. At all. It's clearly not Team Silent (Vatra Games could have at least tried to keep it in the same ballpark), CLEARLY not Akira Yamaoka (Daniel Licht "supposedly" studied music from the previous games composed by Yamaoka to compose music that was similar but with his "own signature sound", which seems like a load of crap listening to the OST), and...Korn? Seriously? I love the band, but Silent Hill is NOT where I want to hear their music. Where's Mary Elizabeth McGlynn?

 

And these graphics look awful. I'm not one to even complain about graphics really (I absolutely love the game Nier and its graphics are nothing to brag about), but this just seems unacceptable by all means.

 

Damn...what the HELL has happened to all these great series? Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, Resident Evil...perhaps they were better left on the shelf and their respective development companies should have moved onto new IPs!

 

 

Well, that's my two cents based on first impression of this game, I'm still going to give it a try, and if anything we'll see if it surprises me, or gets returned by tomorrow.

 

In short: when I heard Murphy Pendleton first say, "Just point the way out of town, and I'll keep right on going." (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m57xd65swZ1qjvxfho1_500.jpg ), I immediately thought to myself, "Just point the way away from this game, and I'll keep right on going."

Edited by Zyzxx
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McGlynn worked on the game as a singer. You just haven't heard the track yet if you just started, it just isn't suitable for an opening video.

 

Also you can hear Licht channelling Yamaoka if you listen properly too. As just one example if you listen the track in the opening when Murphy is being taken down the hall in the prison to the bus. You can hear the beats of the theme from the original game mixed in to the track. It's not the same, I'm happy to agree, but he did try.

 

Additionally some of Akira's tracks from earlier SH games are in the game hidden on radios and on a jukebox in the game.

 

Korn, well I agree... stupid move, but its only in the attact trailer and not in the game so that's slighly better. They could have at least been consistant by having Licht or McGlynn do a song for it instead, at least it would be consistant.

 

The more you play through the more the game is truer to the original titles and gives decent references to them than one of the games in the franchise has been in years without just having to rehash enemies and point at itself while it does it. *cough*Homecoming*cough*.

 

Once you get through the clock tower in the middle of the town, if you haven't started to feel like it's coming together then that won't change but I think once you've gotten to that you'll understand why the fans are generally quite positive about it.

Edited by Estumas
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I do wish I hadn't paid $60 for the game but I did enjoy it to an extent. Definitely better than Homecoming but still had many flaws. I liked how it had some cool little side quests and got rid of the stupid combat from Homecoming. However, the story wasn't very interesting and the enemies weren't scary looking. Music was fine but not terrifying like in past games.

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  • 1 month later...

I rented it. And I'm glad I did. This one is better than Homecoming, but that's not saying much. I had high hopes for this game and it has some cool ideas but the combat is too weak (even for Silent Hill standards), the graphics (especially the monsters) are bland and the game has too many glitches. I played SH 2 HD and enjoyed it more than Downpour.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I picked this one up because I felt the urge of playing a horror game. I can't really compare this game with the others as this will be my first Silent Hill that's why my perspectvie will probably be very different from all of yours as this is my entry to the serie... I'm not a survival horror kinda gamer but since there is no Dead Space 3 yet, I decided to pick this one up. And the reason why I didn't pick the HD Collection was due to the difficulty of the platinum for Silent Hill 2, that ten star trophy looked damn stressful...

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I picked this one up because I felt the urge of playing a horror game. I can't really compare this game with the others as this will be my first Silent Hill that's why my perspectvie will probably be very different from all of yours as this is my entry to the serie... I'm not a survival horror kinda gamer but since there is no Dead Space 3 yet, I decided to pick this one up. And the reason why I didn't pick the HD Collection was due to the difficulty of the platinum for Silent Hill 2, that ten star trophy looked damn stressful...

 

Silent Hill Downpour was adequate.

 

id rather have Silent Hill remake with trophies.

 

this game freezes too much causing platinum delays,

 

it was overpriced and had too short of a story

 

I couldn't keep my rare weapons since I lost after certain checkpoints

 

there was no weapon inventory. only one gun on ur holster or back any weapon in hand

 

there isn't many karma points

 

not enough side missions

 

no suspense

 

no freaky music

 

no scary, frightening monsters that make u pussy out. except for that last boss but he was just an imagination

 

the story was mostly in ur head than in the game.

 

without the mysteries u can't interpret the storyline

 

u feel restrained on losing items u tried too hard to get.

 

in the end. in my opinion I'll give it a 4/10 overall.

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  • 2 months later...

On my first attempt at playing through this game I gave up fairly early due to the combat and just the frame rate drops etc.

 

But I have recently finished the game after pushing myself to persevere and although it has strayed very far off the path of a Silent Hill game I did actually find a little enjoyment in the game after pushing the combat, monster design and the way the 'other world' was handled to the back of my mind. Although I feel they really should have gone deeper into the story.. Still so many unanswered questions.. :think:

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On my first attempt at playing through this game I gave up fairly early due to the combat and just the frame rate drops etc.

 

But I have recently finished the game after pushing myself to persevere and although it has strayed very far off the path of a Silent Hill game I did actually find a little enjoyment in the game after pushing the combat, monster design and the way the 'other world' was handled to the back of my mind. Although I feel they really should have gone deeper into the story.. Still so many unanswered questions.. :think:

 

the 3 playthroughs is too much, rite?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just started this game, and I'm already regretting the purchase, even if it was on sale and discounted...

 

And yet you have played the game, finished it and got the platinum in no time. I really don't understand that.

 

In my opinion it is totally Silent Hill. It has everything necessary for Silent Hill. There are some disadvantages but to be honest, there were more disadvantages or negative points in Silent Hill 3 for me, meaning I only liked Heather and the story itself so I am glad.

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My brother and I have gone through all the Silent Hills together, and I think this one is pretty good. We were debating the differences, and we came up with this:

 

There's a very distinct difference in the American-made vs Japanese-made Silent Hills, in that the Japanese ones are more subtle and psychological. The scares are mostly atmospheric - I remember being unable to even walk down a street in SH2 without flinching at everything at one point. Meanwhile, the American games are more in-your-face with jump scares (Dead Space is like this, but it's gotten far too predictable - 2 was junk). The heroes also actively question their situation, which is something you didn't see in SH1-4.

 

All in all, I think SH Downpour is actually a pretty good game. It doesn't beat out 1 or 2, but it's pretty far up there on the list for me. Although, I'd have enjoyed it a lot more if it didn't have the constant skipping and the 3 playthrough requirement (though this one is rather moot, I'm sure the HD collection also requires that. I just haven't bought it because I beat them both on PS2 already).

 

By the way, on the survival horror topic, Fatal Frame 4 (Tsukihami no Kamen, on Wii) truly kept the scares coming. Too bad it will never see a domestic release (I imported it). That's one of the last games keeping the genre alive, I think.

Edited by Akari
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  • 2 weeks later...
My biggest issue with this game is it didn't have the Silent Hill feel to it, The monsters looked to humanoid like and they didn't look to creative.

 

I came to see peoples feelings about this game, and this is my BIGGEST issue. SH 1-4, hell even orgins still allowed creatures that resembled human forms only very slightly, but for the most part were designed with different limb lengths/widths and different sounds/movements. In this game ALL of the enemies are either humanoid or a bat that is like a tall humanoid figure. They're not even designed in terms of the charters psychological problems like in previous games, nor do they have strategy in evading them.

 

And yet you have played the game, finished it and got the platinum in no time. I really don't understand that.

 

In my opinion it is totally Silent Hill. It has everything necessary for Silent Hill. There are some disadvantages but to be honest, there were more disadvantages or negative points in Silent Hill 3 for me, meaning I only liked Heather and the story itself so I am glad.

 

This Silent Hill is not as bad as people make it out to be, but you are crazy if you think it's better than Silent Hill 3. In my opinion that's the best one.

In this game an enemy, no matter what, saw you if you were in close proximity, there is no strategy for them at all. Where as in Silent Hill 3 some enemeies focused on sound/heavy movement (cancers), some on sight (closers), scent (nurses by perfume). The spooks AND creature designs were more psychologically based on the character [heather] while being subtle as someone says in the post one above. In this game other than maybe the prison minion the other characters were not based on much about Murphy, even though the game tried to focus everything on his guilt! I mean the weeping bat was a location monster that didn't even stay in any particular location.

The previous games paid homage to each other, and while this game does (mostly to origins and homecoming american silent hill i guess?) this one alters the city locations or makes silent hill just that much bigger. 1 and 3 kept similar places in the same area, while maintaining their importance (hospital, police department, carnival).

Also as the post one above states they tried to hard to focus on the character's guilt which only is familiar to Silent Hill if it was the characters fault (without indirect guilt!). This game seemed to created the story along the way, while in previous games it seems more like they came up with an ending first (that in little way made the main character seem innocent OR made the character innocent but the antagonists obviously crazy) then created the story line from this...then added great spooks along the way. Also the multiple endings didn't change the story line just what happens in the end, while this game created a two pretty linear story lines in which the endings show who is at fault changing the story. The latter doesn't make you cringe or hate anyone when it comes to the forgiveness ending, it just makes you feel sympathetic to Murphy. Yeah I'm biased here i guess because I just prefer a non-happy (NOT necessarily choas/bad/sad JUST not happy) ending when it comes to survival horror. At this point I'll start ranting, but I mean Downpour not as disappointing as 3 is just blasphemous!

Though yeah your entitled to your uhm opinion whatever :D

Edited by Hoju
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This Silent Hill is not as bad as people make it out to be, but you are crazy if you think it's better than Silent Hill 3.

 

No, I am not crazy but thank you for proving that you don't know the difference between the words "objective" and "subjective". Completely paradox, first you call me crazy because I think something and then you mention "your opinion is". Maybe you are disturbed then because you like a disgusting looking Silent Hill were abstract figures of people holding babies down some chute are shown plus a completely unsavorus otherworld in general? Plus, I know Japanese and bet I have read more accurate and original info about Silent Hill than you. I mean, you say the story did not even change. You don't know that that is wrong. Ending A and B are completely different, just not shown because of a script error. Do me a favor, leave me alone with my opinion and spare me your "you're crazy" crap. If you like something it is fine but don't call me crazy. And yes, it is called "opinion". Yours as well. Your opinion is not a fact. So leave me alone and don't insult me just because you think your opinion is right, while it isn't, since taste is subjective. You may not take that post of yours too serious, even though I doubt that because of that essay of yours but write something like that about me being crazy just because I don't have the same taste you have and say some things should never be displayed and I'm getting really mad. Do that again and I'll report you.

Edited by Cetra
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The thing is: SH is not a conservative franchise. The sequels aren't afraid to branch out and take different approaches or try out new stuff. That's why there's no general consensus on which games are the best. That's also why I love them. Each game has strengths and weaknesses, and NONE of them are shared. Which means the games really break down into what aspects you value most.

 

I am inclined to say Downpour is my favorite, just on the basis that it gives you a shitload of freedom to run about town to discover goodies and complete sidequests. The idea of freely roaming the town was what made me pay attention to an upcoming game in '98 called Silent Hill. The obvious problem with Downpour was a handful of glitches, uninspired monsters, and the fact it has the least memorable scares.

 

Prior to that, I actually found Homecoming to be my favorite, because simply put it's a well-balanced game. Admitedly it doesn't have the best scares, the best plot, the best monsters, or the most freedom, but it doesn't slack on any category either, which is more than can be said about the others. It does have the best gameplay and combat, which amazingly, some people value the most.

 

#2 is a favorite for many because of its story. Some hate it because of the gameplay; simply put, the game is piss-easy even on Hard, which is more tedious since the last 2 bosses will take 10 minutes apiece to pump enough lead into to kill. I'm willing to forgive lackluster gameplay in the game entertains otherwise but I can honestly say Homecoming is more fun to actually play.

 

The first game could take 4th place on the amount of exploration available (which is probably second to Downpour's.) I can't really say much bad about it- it's primitive, but you can't fault a game for being first and having sequels that improve on the formula.

 

The third game slides towards my lesser favorites due to the almost complete removal of exploration (2 narrow streets without even any items to be found.) On the flipside, I believe many agree that it's the scariest and that may very well be true, so I can see where horror buffs would pick this as their favorite. On another note, it's also the most conservative sequel, being just a beefed-up #2 (though that could be seen as just a beefed-up #1, at least it was a HUGE upgrade) so I'm inclined to say the game just doesn't give me much reason to prefer it.

 

The Room gets my props for trying new shit. Sadly I have to say it ranks among my less-favorites (though not sucky) Silent Hills due to a lack of proper puzzles, the limiting inventory, and also not once setting foot on the streets of Silent Hill (not to say there's no exploration but there's a difference between open and closed areas- and I'm not talking about SH in particular; I wouldn't care if you're in Ashfield or Sheppard's Glen as long as the freedom was there.) In short, the game actually annoys me and that's why I put it below 1 and 3.

 

Origins comes last for pissing me off as well. The streets are swarming with enemies that respawn, the combat is a bit glitchy, the game is a tad too hard (supplies are tight until you get near the end, then suddenly you've got a surplus of health and ammo), and you have to switch from guns to melee weapons to finish off a downed monster without wasting valuable ammo. But I gotta give Climax props for giving us the freedom to explore when Team Silent's games were getting progressively more linear (although it had a good amount, #2 had less than the first; the 3rd had very little; the 4th didn't really have any.)

 

And I ignored Shattered Memories since it's a non-cannon spin-off remake of the original game, which suits me fine because I actually hated it. So you can put that dead last instead. You ask me why and I say because it wasn't scary at all and the chase parts pissed me the fuck off. Book Of Memories is the same deal but I haven't played it and probably won't ever.

 

I didn't mean to write an essay here but hopefully now you understand why nobody agrees on all this shit.

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I absolutely agree with you about the great aspects you think Silent Hill Downpour has. What I love about it, is that it is very Alan Wake-like. It even begins like that. I also agree with pretty much all of the rest, at least your description, not the ranking. That is a bit different to mine.

Edited by Cetra
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But of course. We value different aspects more than others. #2 is often cited as the best for its story/symbolism/atmosphere, but not for its gameplay. On the contrary, I know a few people in real life who didn't enjoy playing (I actually got my copy from someone who didn't want it anymore.) #3 is often cited as having the best scares. Downpour is enjoyed for its open world. Story, gameplay, scares, exploration: all areas where the games individually excel and falter at. And well, we know which traits I value.

 

I also have a more general tier system of my rankings- the one I provided was probably what I'd say if I had a gun to my head. 2, Homecoming, and Downpour are definitely my favorites while The Room and Origins are my least favorites. There's certainly room for them to jockey for position within those tiers (hell, I might even be willing to put The Room ahead of 3.) I try not to think hard about these things- I'm just a sucker for a good franchise.

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...You may not take that post of yours too serious, even though I doubt that because of that essay of yours but write something like that about me being crazy just because I don't have the same taste you have and say some things should never be displayed and I'm getting really mad. Do that again and I'll report you.

 

"Crazy" is usually stated as a hyperbole, not literally. I apologize if you took me that seriously. I had a lot to right to answer your points, but I'm afraid it will be taken as a war action...I'm also afraid the following will.

You can report me, but I don't feel I did much wrong. I stated my opinion, just as you were able to.

If anything in this post you are attacking me with malicious intent. See:

You attacked my intelligence, not knowing how much I can play off of objective vs surjective and it's use in persuasion.

You implied you were better than me by stating you have increased knowledge because you know japanese, clueless to whether I do or not.

If you think I was serious with "crazy" does that mean you actually think I'm "disturbed"?

I was hoping to have a civilized debate over the differences, nay excited for discussing with the opposition, but YOU have just made a THREAT to ME by wanting to report me for it.

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  • 1 month later...

I recently bought it for cheap, but had I paid full retail price I would have been really disappointed. It had it's moments that made me feel like it was a SH game, but I felt like it was lacking over-all. I was especially disappointed with the monster selection. The creatures in past games were nasty and somewhat scary, but they were just dumb this go-around.

Could have been a lot better, but could have been worse too.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm about 38% through according to the statistics and I'm not feeling so great about this...in fact, I'm really wondering why anyone would place this above Homecoming, even by a little, except unless maybe the story pans out but that would be the only thing it has going for it.

 

This game chugs bricks even when I'm not trying to run. From the look of it, there doesn't even seem to be a reason for the lag. I'm really missing the creepy, ambient soundtracks of the other games...in fact, I haven't heard much music at all except from the radios. The "otherworld" is awful - bad transition, too open at points, looking more like some odd Saw-esque playground than a nightmarish warped reality. What is with the ball of doom anyway?

 

Am I the only one who is getting eye-strain from this game? I'm not using a 3D TV and the settings seem to be off so it doesn't make any sense.

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Well, I did say I wasn't much of a rater, but looking back now I'd probably go give the crown back to Homecoming over Downpour. I still say that opening up the entire town for exploration was the best thing to happen to this series and I fully expect any more sequels to follow suit.

 

Funnily enough, Silent Hill 2, which is the game this one takes after most, suffered in the enemy department too. Yeah, they were more inspired, but the variety and dispersement was just as bad if not worse. I'd estimate AT LEAST 70% of the enemies fought were the Straightjackets (everywhere except the hospital, and barely any in the hotel); maybe 20% were Mannequins (appeared in the apartments, hospital [barely any though], hotel, and streets [after debut]); 9% Nurses (only in the hospital and streets afterwards), with the remaining 1% comprised of the roaches (there's a single one every so often), hanging guys (only 3 areas), and Angela Daddies (there's exactly 4 in the hotel.)

 

It's just so weird how each game both finds something new to do right and something new to get wrong.

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