UGO: Silent Hill: Homecoming review!

[Scott]

UGO writes: "Developer Double Helix Games did a very smart thing when Konami handed them the Silent Hill license. Clearly fans of the series, they didn't try to muck about by introducing new gameplay elements which don't necessarily serve the story in their just-released Silent Hill: Homecoming, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PCs. Bioshock offered a revisionist take on survival horror, one which looks like it may be replicated in the upcoming Dead Space while Resident Evil is reportedly moving in a more "Gears-style" direction. Silent Hill, on the other hand, stays true to its roots and is all the stronger for it.

"In Homecoming Double Helix have crafted an experience which is a uniquely modern take on survival horror, incorporating now-standardized game elements such as 3D camera controls and smooth character interactions into the genre's basic tenets, bending them where necessary but never breaking them outright. In Homecoming, fear comes from keeping players in a constant state of high tension, achieved through combination of deft level and art design, unsettling audio cues and perfectly paced proceedings. In short, this latest Silent Hill, new developer and all, is at once a return to form and a bold step in a new direction."

A / A+

Link (http://gamesblog.ugo.com/index.php/gamesblog/more/silent_hill_homecoming_review_360_ps3_pc/)

Cant wait to get my hands on this!!!!

[jakncoke]

feeling meh on this title and a big name review such as IGN giving it a 67 doesn't make me feel any better.



A bit of a letdown. The gameplay has been reduced from a tense psychological experience fraught with spine tingling jumps and scares to a generic, predictable action title set in the location with good graphics and a great soundtrack.

[Sweet142]

I think it would be worth a try, I'm not that much of a Silent Hill fan but I sure did like Silent hill 1 and 4.

[EpsilonX]

From what i've read about this game, we'll compare the pro's and cons of SH:H to the pro's and cons of SH2, the game it's most comparable to.

SH2:
Pro's: amazing soundtrack
emotional connection
disturbing game that doesn't rely on jump scares.
some of the limitations helped make it scarier
cons: hard to control, but i liked the control style
combat sucked
camera was wonky.
once you really realise how the horror in the game works, it's not much fun

SH5:
pros: graphics
still has akira yamaoka soundtrack
comparable to SH2
combat improved
cons: many things about it feel slapped on
relies on jump scares more than psychological horror
action oriented gameplay and fully capable warrior of a main character help reduce the scares
predictable plot.
shows how it turns to nightmare world

One of the reasons that SH2 was so great was because you felt helpless in this town of hell, and had no idea how it worked or what was going on. all the monsters served a purpose and had some connection to the main character, who was just an average guy with no combat experience. The atmosphere was oppressive, and the puzzles were good. In the newest silent hill, it seems like they added a MGS4 style camera angle when you're shooting, which really makes the game less scarier. You also get many more ways to take care of enemies, so the presence of them feels more like they're in the way than they're actual threats. Plus, pyramid head is in it. And he was part of james's psyche.

I'm gonna end up getting it, finishing it, and then selling it on amazon.


edit: I forgot to say, this is NOT a shooter. Please move it.

[Nemesister]

EpsilonX >> Agree with you on many things 'bout the games ^_^
Well, I'd say it's worth the money... Silent Hill needed some fresh hands upon it after nr. 4, which was not even suppose to be a SH game at first (and man, you can feel that!)
I was actually expecting worse that what I got... Thumbs up for Homecoming from me ^_^ (Not a word on Origins *slams my hand to my forehead*)

And wtf is this doing in the category "shooters"`

[EpsilonX]

EpsilonX >> Agree with you on many things 'bout the games ^_^
Well, I'd say it's worth the money... Silent Hill needed some fresh hands upon it after nr. 4, which was not even suppose to be a SH game at first (and man, you can feel that!)
I was actually expecting worse that what I got... Thumbs up for Homecoming from me ^_^ (Not a word on Origins *slams my hand to my forehead*)

And wtf is this doing in the category "shooters"`

some people think that everything where you shoot a gun is a shooter....

Anyways, part of the reason I play games like silent hill and resident evil is for the scares. The gameplay is second IMO (unless the gameplay is horrendously bad like in clock tower 3. Killed any and all scares) I heard Homecoming had barely any scares.