Silent Hill 4 (slight spoilers inside)

[Scabbed Angel]

Just started playing it yesterday (just came out in the US). The graphics are really good, as well as the gameplay, but the plot seems confusing. It feels more like a serial killer mystery about ****spoiler***** walter sullivan who is briefly mentioned in SH2. Anyone else played it yet? Your thoughts?

[toxicfluff]

Scabbed Angel said:

Just started playing it yesterday (just came out in the US). The graphics are really good, as well as the gameplay, but the plot seems confusing. It feels more like a serial killer mystery about ****spoiler***** walter sullivan who is briefly mentioned in SH2. Anyone else played it yet? Your thoughts?

I hope the plot is as enjoyable as I found Silent Hill 2's. Please tell more as you play it.

[Amaster]

I hope it can match up to SH1. Unfortunately I'll probably have to wait forever for the PC port :(

[Ralphis]

I haven't even played far into SH2 because it scares me ._.

It took me a few years to ballsy up and beat SH1

[Sephiroth]

i need to just order the first damn silent hill.

i am hopeing work has it when i get there in the morning. they seem never to get new release games.

i can't say 3 impressed me very much, i really like 2. i was hopeing for PH to return in SH4 but i dont think i will get that lucky. I like these games alot more than i like the RE series.

the silent hill series of games are great for any horror fan. however they are light on action, not like RE. monsteres tend to be more disturbing and creepy than gory. however there is always plenty of gore. if you liked aliens, halloween and event horizon you should like these games. they are focused more on story and the story is focused on leaving you distrubed.

[Reisal]

SH4 is out?? :D

[Scabbed Angel]

Yep came out yesterday. I hope it's longer than the last one (only 7 hours for SH3! WTF?!)

[Sephiroth]

well took me about 3 to 5 hours to beat SH3, took me around 4 in SH2. from what i have read this one is 10 hours. so yes longer. store didn't have it so i cant say. anyways hope its there tomarrow.

also seems to have a more RE'ish item system now. like only able to hold 10 items at once. and i hear that action has been increased in this new game

[NiGHTMARE]

Amaster said:

I hope it can match up to SH1. Unfortunately I'll probably have to wait forever for the PC port :(

Both the PS2 and PC versions are out in the UK on the 17th, so I'd say the PC version should be out the in US very soon.

[Sephiroth]

its already out.

at work it is also cheaper for some reason. both the PS2 and Xbox versions are $39 and the PC is $29

[Scabbed Angel]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=56424

I think this explains some of the problems I'm starting to have with this game.

[GGG]

Are the Silent Hill games like Rainbow Six or more like Metal Gear Solid? But then again, I haven't played any of these games.

[Scabbed Angel]

GGG said:

Are the Silent Hill games like Rainbow Six or more like Metal Gear Solid? But then again, I haven't played any of these games.

Mix resident Evil with Hellraiser and Stephen King's short short "The Mist" and you've got Silent Hill. Not like metal gear solid at all.

[ragnew]

Yeps, Silent Hill 4 is KICK ASS! I liked the other 3, but I'd have to say that this one is my favorite... I've already beat the game like five times.

My time for Hard Mode was 2:07, and the time for One Weapon Mode on hard was 2:12...

Now I'm just screwing around with Full Weapon / Apartment Replenish Mode!!! Fun as hell I tell ya! Can finally go out and kill EVERYTHING that you run into!

(Possible spoilers below)

Each time you go back to your apartment, you'll find 6 boxes of bullets in the laundry room and 10 nutrition drinks in the fridge!

GREAT GAME!

[Amaster]

Scabbed Angel said:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=56424

I think this explains some of the problems I'm starting to have with this game.

Damnit! The Silent Hill series is one that I've respected very much so far. This sounds really bad to me. I'll probably still buy it though.

[DoomDan]

I though SH2 was the scariest one in the series.

[Scabbed Angel]

Amaster said:

Damnit! The Silent Hill series is one that I've respected very much so far. This sounds really bad to me. I'll probably still buy it though.

Please, Please Please Amaster, do not waste your hard earned money. Want me to send you my copy? It's that or shit on it and try to fry my brain by huffing turpentine in an effort to forget that the makers of SH betrayed their fans with this cheap, poorly conviend, poorly designed slap in the face to all that is Silent Hill. I've been playing Sh since the first one, have already loved it and have never been disapointed (well, the "blonde" ending to silent hill 3 was out of place, but meh.. compared to this trainwreck, that was a blessing). As a game on it's own (why oh why didn't you leave well enough alone, Konami, and kept it as a separate game??!) it isn't that bad, I'd say a little less cool that Fatal Frane 1 (Interesting game, just the atmosphere was pretty cliche, imp) and had a HUGE amount of potential. There were a lot of unique gameplay innovations (the apartment) that started off really cool, but didn't really go anywhere. Like the plot. ********MAJOR SPOILER******Konami:"Hmmn, this game is pretty lame, don't you think guys. I mean, a dead serial killer coming back to life because he thinks an apartment is his mommy? Good lord, this'll never sell. Damn, what are the stockholders gonna think?! Jeeze! Hey wait! Fuck the fans, let's change it into a silent hill game!* Yeah, it's almost done but all we need to do it make the serial killer one from the SH worlds... ummm... what's that one guy in the newspaper clipping from SH2? Oh yeah, Walter Sullivan! He was born in Pleasantville, not silent hill? Hmmn, those idiot gamers won't know the difference. What about that creepy apartment super? Hmmn, something else from Silent Hill 2, since that was our best game. Yeah! Let's change his name to James Sunderland's dad! People will never be fooled by these cheap last minute references! Wait now though, everyone complained that the last game was too short and this one's only about 3 ours long now too. Well, why spend money on more level designs?! Fuck! Let's just fucking double the level's in the game?! And we'll make a second character that slows the guy down, make him go through 2 cinematics to and from his apartment! That should shut those stupid fuckers up. And they'll think it's "creepy" and "innovative". What's that? We don't have any level's in the game that are actually in Silent Hill? Hmmn... there a lake in one level right? Meh, just stick a sign in in about that Taluca lake in the Second one and some shit about the cult from 1 and 3. That should do it....************END SARCASTIC SPOILER***********


Seriously, I could go on and on on my theories on how Konami and the SH team disregarded what the fans would like. Recycled crap name Silent Hill for marketing purposes. At leat I preordered and the soundtrack's decent, but I don't usually pay $40 for a soundtrack... more to come

*Don't beleive me and didn't read the article?

The article said:

It's certainly a dramatic change alright, but rumour has it that the game didn't even start life as a Silent Hill project. "That's actually the right information you have," Tsuboyama admits. "Originally this development was started from what we named Room 302, rather than Silent Hill, so the original concept wasn't from Silent Hill." Presumably that was to give the game a better chance commercially? He nods. "We started off with the title Room 302, but if the Silent Hill didn't exist then we still had the idea of Room 302. Without Silent Hill we didn't have this title, but because we did have Silent Hill we wanted to have something different, but it's kind of a mixture of ideas."

[Scabbed Angel]

ragnew said:

The impossible.

Hang your head in shame, sir, for clearly you are not a true fan. : (

Whoops! Double post, I hangs my own head in shame.

[Sephiroth]

i thought the game was decent, however had similar complaints.

i really liked #2. 3 wasn't much to worry about and 4 was alright. more like a mystery than SH.

SH 2 was great at making for a deressing enviroment. ALso the number of endings made it fun to play agian. so did all the odd and uneasy people you encountered. like angela and eddie.

[Scabbed Angel]

Yeah, most people who aren't hard core fans will probably like the game but find it mediocre. As a game it's alright with an equal balance of shitty monsters and interesting ideas to weigh pretty much balance out. But from a hardcore fan's standpoint, it was a huge letdown. : ( I can only hope they'll actually make a Silent Hill game for 5.

Picture this though, id software making a nwe game back in 94, realizing it won't sell well and then "changing" it into Doom 2. It would have sucked from fan's eyes. And knowing what Doom 2 is, this is what Silent Hill 4 could have been. Another asounding game. I almost wish they would have ended the Silent Hill series with three.

[ragnew]

Scabbed Angel said:

Hang your head in shame, sir, for clearly you are not a true fan. : (

Whoops! Double post, I hangs my own head in shame.

Head is hung in shame, BUT only for a while... :)

[Submerge]

I have it. I liked 3 better. but I like 4 better than 2. I'm not done with it yet though.... ^_^

[toxicfluff]

I didn't like the little I played of 3. When I encountered about 3 monsters in the second room I entered, it immediately seemed to lack the restraint of SH2. Also, the story seemed pretty awful and not particularly interesting to me.

[Windowpain]

Scabbed Angel said:

Mix resident Evil with Hellraiser and Stephen King's short short "The Mist" and you've got Silent Hill. Not like metal gear solid at all.

Wow, the Mist was a fucking awesome story, although too short. Anyway, if a game was based on that story, it would make some sales by word of mouth alone.
Now, down to business. Any fan of the SH series will understand that the first game was the best simply because of it's innovation. No, it was not an RE rip-off but a well planned thriller with an incredibly detailed atmosphere. The second one also played very well, but as already mentioned, was too short. Konami tried to make up for this with the half-dozen or so different endings. Even so, replay value was ok. The third one began to slip in the direction of simply capitilizing off of a name. And now I am shamed to hear Scabbed Angel's summary of the 4th one but will take his advice because I would hate to see this franchise be mutilated.