I finally got a chance to play this game.

[captain crowbar]

All's I'm saying is that this game wasn't even the slightest bit creepy.

The cell phone messages that were supposed to be simply terrifying tended to make me lol, or back out early because I couldn't stand slow-walking while they talked to me about their ex-landlord's random coughing fit last Tuesday.

Cell phone that is a tool for a variety of purposes? Great mechanic.

Cell phone calls every 10 seconds? Annoying as phhhhhuck. I don't even like phones IRL.

You know what? I just came to a realization. It wasn't the story itself that was the problem...it was how so much crap was delivered through phone calls and stuff.

[gustavopi]

The question is what keep us interested in the game. If you search for a shooting game, you'll find it a crap! That's why I start to like it at the second time. What matters is the story, the story the player made putting peaces together as phone calls - the game plays with the player! Course, if you are looking for a experience like that.

[captain crowbar]

I made a video review that delves a little deeper into my thoughts and reasonings. I actually gave this game a better score after playing it a bit more and learning a bit more about it, so congrats to all the people that love it so much.

[gustavopi]

This corroborates my opinion about your opinion: you're looking for elements in the game, and isn't finding it, so you became frustrated and rate it bad based in your own idea of a good Silent Hill's game. Eg.: Dahlia is maybe the better character: seams like real life! Wanna busty blondes? This game should be appreciated, in my opinion, outside of the series, as a "parallel release".

[Purramid_Head]

Where is your accent from?

I agree about Lisa having little relevance in SM. I couldn't figure out why she was there either. And she had strawberry blond hair so red is not a stretch. Also, I think sexy Dahlia was supposed to look like a punk rock/bar bitch.

[captain crowbar]

I am from northern mississippi. My great grandmother was from Ireland, and she babysat me a lot, so I have a weird tendency to blend dialects randomly and pronounce words differently.

And Gustav, my rating was based on my thoughts of it as it's own game, not on how it ranks up in the SH series. I said that somewhere in the video, I'm sure.

[Purramid_Head]

I am from northern mississippi. My great grandmother was from Ireland, and she babysat me a lot, so I have a weird tendency to blend dialects randomly and pronounce words differently.

So that's what I was hearing. At first I thought you sounded a tad British, but then I could also hear the Southern accent coming through.

[Augophthalmoses]

Lisa was probably just there as another reference to SH1. The game is rife with references to several Silent Hill titles and since it's a reimagining of SH1 perhaps they figured there might be a bit of outcry if Lisa was left out of the game for some reason. *shrugs*

[captain crowbar]

Yeah, it gets a little strange sounding sometimes. especially when I start rambling. I emulate a lot of the dialects I hear frequently as well.

[Purramid_Head]

I think I'm gonna agree with Crowbar and say she's fan service., that's the proper term.

[captain crowbar]

The whole bleed out scenerio backs up that concept. It's like they were winking at us the whole time that part was happening.

Devs - "remember how she did this in the first game? Huh? Remember? It's Lisa, just like we promised."

[devil hunter]

I think that UFO ending counts as fanservice too, it's one of the best UFO endings in my opinion lol

[Purramid_Head]

I think that UFO ending counts as fanservice too, it's one of the best UFO endings in my opinion lol

Me too, but I loved that more so. I think it topped 3's UFO ending.

REVEAL SPOILER

"My mom was a bitch."

[gustavopi]

I agree about Lisa having little relevance in SM. I couldn't figure out why she was there either. And she had strawberry blond hair so red is not a stretch. Also, I think sexy Dahlia was supposed to look like a punk rock/bar bitch.

Yes, that's Dahlia.

As I remember, Lisa didn't has much relevance in SH1, she helps Harry a bit until she "dies". In SM the pill is a trap: if you take the wrong pill, the ending will be different, and at this part...

REVEAL SPOILER

...Sheryl is accused of a crime involved with drugs, it's an important "memory" to build sheryl's personality.

[devil hunter]

Me too, but I loved that more so. I think it topped 3's UFO ending.

REVEAL SPOILER

"My mom was a bitch."

Haha! That part was priceless.

REVEAL SPOILER

It's also nice to see all those references to other games on the last part of the ending, like the radio, Maria boss etc.

[gustavopi]

I think that UFO ending counts as fanservice too, it's one of the best UFO endings in my opinion lol

My opinion too! Maybe the very best one.

[what]

Lisa serves an real role in the story. She's not just fanservice.

The characters in the story all reflect an aspect of Cheryl, to varying extents, and Dr. Kaufmann's psych profiles are closely related in many cases. Cybil's initial attitude and appearance are determined by how you answer the questionnaire. The answers you give regarding marriage and commitment reflect in how the John/Michelle breakup plays out.

Lisa is no different. She represents Cheryl's blame issues regarding Harry's death (and, consequently, her portion of the game follows the "Determine the guilt" story of Celestine and the bull. That story is telling for two reasons: it does not have a 'correct' answer, and it doesn't matter who is guilty, or if anyone is guilty, because Celestine is still dead.

A large part of Cheryl's problem in dealing with Harry's death is that she blames both herself and her mother for Harry's death, and worse, she believes that her life has been a huge pile of suck because Harry was not around to rescue her from some defining bad situations growing up. The arching plot of Cheryl's narrative fantasy is that Harry is trying to find her and save her. Of course, Harry never did anything of the sort, but Cheryl has needed saving nonetheless. Harry's interaction with Lisa mirrors this in that Harry assumes temporary care of Lisa, escorting her to her apartment and making sure she gets there okay. But, this doesn't matter, because Lisa isn't okay. Lisa is doomed, in fact. She will ask Harry for help in the form of pills, but it doesn't matter whether the pill he gives her is right or not. When Lisa freaks out after he leaves (hai leaving being an analog for death) and she calls him to come back, he does so, but it doesn't matter. He can't save her.

That's where Cybil comes in, sees the dead Lisa with Harry standing over her body, and implies that Harry is responsible.

Who is guilty for Lisa's death? Is it Lisa herself, for trying to sleep after suffering a bad concussion (which any nurse should know is a bad idea)? For potentially swallowing the pills Harry gives her without checking to see if they're the right ones? Is it Harry's fault, for not staying to make sure she was really okay? For potentially giving her the wrong pills? For not making it back in time? Was it the fault of the pills she took?

Taken to the meta level, who's to blame for Harry's death? The car? The snow which made him lose control? Harry himself, for losing control? Dahlia, for their separation? Cheryl, for not being there with him when it happened? The Guilt Game does not allow for a 'nobody' answer; you have to assign blame to everybody in some amount. The point of that game is that, like Celestine, and Lisa, what actually kills Harry is just a dumb and random accident, where you can blame everybody involved if you want to, but assigning blame just makes a bad situation worse, and like Celestine, and Lisa, Harry is dead and finding the right person to blame for it won't change that fact.

Perhaps at the center of Cheryl's issues is that she believes that all the bad experiences in her life would not have happened if her father had been around. That is, of course, what inspires the fantasy of Harry saving Cheryl inside her narrative. Examining Cheryl's various problems from an objective standpoint, you're likely to see that most of her bad episodes are the result of Cheryl's own poor judgement and bad decisions, with a few instances of just plain shit luck. Cheryl blames this on her father's absence so that she does not have to accept responsibility for her own life and her role in how it has turned out.

Lisa's fanservicey in how she resembles the original Lisa, but there's definitely more to her than that.

[gustavopi]

That's a large post, should be a topic - my suggestion.

[captain crowbar]

Good breakdown, What. I never really thought of it like that.

[gustavopi]

Lisa's fanservicey in how she resembles the original Lisa, but there's definitely more to her than that.

As I remember, original Lisa helps Kaufmann and lives in a "comfortable ignorance" about what's happening, until she's advised: you're in our schema... Lisa from SM got some of this naif personality, but I agree, she's much more important to the story. Great analysis, What.

I got a different ending last night...

REVEAL SPOILER

Michelle's boyfriend was different, like a bad boy with a different sporting car. She is the one that breaks the relationship. Dahlia was dressing some military clothing. Sheryl says - What you have to die, not my fault... he says - Forgive-me... Than Sheryl meet's her mama finally outside, runs the "drunk dad" clip and the end with "Frozen Rain" track (it was never played before to me in the credits). The only part is always the same is when she get the memento's box.

End this game is always exciting to me!