Silent Hill: Homecoming
PostPosted:Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:46 am
I may have about ten games on the go right now, but that didn't stop me from renting Konami's latest puzzle/action/adventure/horror game. Better to get it out of the way now before the Q4 rush begins later this month.
My impressions after a couple of hours with it (no spoilars):
Combat is improved, as advertised. Like RE3 changed from RE2, there is now a dodge button in addition to your weak and strong attacks. Difference here is that they're thankfully not context-sensitive. In your combat stance, you can juke in any direction the avoid attacks. So far this has proven to be almost too useful against enemies, but maybe that's just because I'm still early in the game and everything I've encountered has been pretty tame. Although I wouldn't go as far as to say the reworked combat is fun, it's still satisfying as it ever was to bludgeon a prone enemy with a lead pipe.
When not in your combat stance Alex, the protagonist, can roll around using the dodge button which, from what I can tell, functions only as surreal entertainment around NPC's. When not actually conversing with others, you can roll around like a tard or try to attack them, both of which will not get the attention of said NPC's. I think I've gotten too used to environmental interaction in games when I'm disappointed that the action of trying to stab your rocking chair-bound mother with a hunting knife yields no results.
The rest of the environment is similarly uninteractive. Do you recall moments in previous SH games where you spot an object two feet behind behind a metal gate and you're carrying a three-foot long pipe or plank? Tough break, buddy, you'll need to find another way around to nab that gem. The first instance I came across this time was a man in a graveyard, inaccessible behind a gate, digging up graves not six feet away from me. Examining the gate nets the observation, "why is that man digging up graves?" The better question might be why doesn't he notice me wailing on the gate with my pipe?
The general atmosphere in the game are pretty good. It definitely, and unapologetically, rips-off Jacob's Ladder for inspiration as the series is known for. The very first scene of the game is straight out of the movie: you're being pushed down a disgusting hospital hallway while strapped into a gurney. It very much feels like Double-Helix's (developer) homage to the first two games... which is fine because the grimy, rusty, creeky, bloody rooms still manage to creep you the fuck out. The problem is that it really feels like a retread. There's always one locked door you need to get through and if you see a six-digit key pad next to it and a scrap of paper with three numbers behind it, you can bet you're going to have to trek through the only open doors available to find another scrap of paper not-so-obviously hidden among a bunch of non-interactive debris.
Graphics so far have been impressive. Only complaint being that Alex's model is more detailed than anybody else I've encountered so far. Alex is hitching a ride with a trucker who looks like he was made out of Play-Doh compared to Alex. The first resident of Shepherd's Glen Alex meets looks like somebody painted hair (poorly) onto a hat and made her wear it.
May seem like I'm not enjoying the game, but that's not completely true. I knew what I was getting into when I turned it on: a bit of the same ol' same ol' with a new coat of paint. At least, so far, it's better than SH4: The Room... which fucking licked.
My impressions after a couple of hours with it (no spoilars):
Combat is improved, as advertised. Like RE3 changed from RE2, there is now a dodge button in addition to your weak and strong attacks. Difference here is that they're thankfully not context-sensitive. In your combat stance, you can juke in any direction the avoid attacks. So far this has proven to be almost too useful against enemies, but maybe that's just because I'm still early in the game and everything I've encountered has been pretty tame. Although I wouldn't go as far as to say the reworked combat is fun, it's still satisfying as it ever was to bludgeon a prone enemy with a lead pipe.
When not in your combat stance Alex, the protagonist, can roll around using the dodge button which, from what I can tell, functions only as surreal entertainment around NPC's. When not actually conversing with others, you can roll around like a tard or try to attack them, both of which will not get the attention of said NPC's. I think I've gotten too used to environmental interaction in games when I'm disappointed that the action of trying to stab your rocking chair-bound mother with a hunting knife yields no results.
The rest of the environment is similarly uninteractive. Do you recall moments in previous SH games where you spot an object two feet behind behind a metal gate and you're carrying a three-foot long pipe or plank? Tough break, buddy, you'll need to find another way around to nab that gem. The first instance I came across this time was a man in a graveyard, inaccessible behind a gate, digging up graves not six feet away from me. Examining the gate nets the observation, "why is that man digging up graves?" The better question might be why doesn't he notice me wailing on the gate with my pipe?
The general atmosphere in the game are pretty good. It definitely, and unapologetically, rips-off Jacob's Ladder for inspiration as the series is known for. The very first scene of the game is straight out of the movie: you're being pushed down a disgusting hospital hallway while strapped into a gurney. It very much feels like Double-Helix's (developer) homage to the first two games... which is fine because the grimy, rusty, creeky, bloody rooms still manage to creep you the fuck out. The problem is that it really feels like a retread. There's always one locked door you need to get through and if you see a six-digit key pad next to it and a scrap of paper with three numbers behind it, you can bet you're going to have to trek through the only open doors available to find another scrap of paper not-so-obviously hidden among a bunch of non-interactive debris.
Graphics so far have been impressive. Only complaint being that Alex's model is more detailed than anybody else I've encountered so far. Alex is hitching a ride with a trucker who looks like he was made out of Play-Doh compared to Alex. The first resident of Shepherd's Glen Alex meets looks like somebody painted hair (poorly) onto a hat and made her wear it.
May seem like I'm not enjoying the game, but that's not completely true. I knew what I was getting into when I turned it on: a bit of the same ol' same ol' with a new coat of paint. At least, so far, it's better than SH4: The Room... which fucking licked.