This is a cool ass game

[captain crowbar]

Obvious hilarious play on words aside, I actually like this game more now than I did after the first few playthroughs. It's not one you can play repetitively over and over from beginning to end like the others, but it's got a kind of quality and uniqueness that I can't help but love.

It grows on you. HARD. I just wish they had changed a few things prior to release that would have made it a true work of art. Those things are different for everyone, though, I'm sure.

Since we don't talk about this one as much as most others, let's kind of chat about it since Downpour will be out really soon, why not?

[Floodclaw]

It grew on me my first time through. That being said, I've only played it once through, so there's a bunch of stuff I haven't seen...

What is it that you wanted them to change? I know I would've wanted to be able to check the map while paused (NIGHTMARE SEQUENCES).

[The Gentleman]

In my opinion, Shattered Memories told the best, most emotionally provocative Silent Hill story and told it in a way that was very unpredictable and has you guessing right up untill the ending. I literally had no words when I got to the ending. Truely marvalous. <3

[TheRedNurse]

This is by far the best SH game IMHO.

[Floodclaw]

In my opinion, Shattered Memories told the best, most emotionally provocative Silent Hill story and told it in a way that was very unpredictable and has you guessing right up until the ending. I literally had no words when I got to the ending. Truly marvelous. <3

This, pretty much. I was stunned when I got to the ending. Only one other game has done that to me, and that one reduced me to tears.
Shame I won't ever experience either of those for the first time again.

[clips7]

The only aspect of SM that was done right was it's story....The otherworld sequences and the raw shocks were severly lacking. The only otherworld section i liked was the nowhere level. This is the one SH title that i play the least.

[captain crowbar]

As far as changes, I honestly would have preferred no enemies at all to the annoying rawshocks. I personally don't need a bunch of nightmarish monsters to enjoy a game like this.

And the puzzles were just too easy. I like the idea of the Wii mechanics being how you solve stuff, but it needed to be more logic-based and less obvious.

[gustavopi]

I think worth talk about this game since Downpour SEAMS to have some elements of this game. I've ended five times and discussed about a lot in this forum. Sometimes it seams I'm best fan, but in fact people attack it to easily and defend it is a hard job that somebody got to do!

The best part, to me, is the general idea, some inversion when the player feel observed and even played by the game - not everybody like this kind of feeling. The graphics conceptions where audacious like a PS3 game, breaking some old PS2 style, including interactions. And I think a brand new idea have some credit, we can't compare directly with other old re-re-remakes.

Of course I also find some limitations. The game is short considering the hole pack - the main game is not short, but there is nothing else to explore... They also could have explored more interactivity. But there is an aspect that I think is a source of conflict with some fans: the meaning of Silent Hill in the game.

REVEAL SPOILER

The characters are taken from Silent Hill 1 and placed into the psychological enigma but the city. The city is only the scenario. I'm not talking about otherworld or supernatural events but the meaning, the influence, the incidence (not sure if I'm clear) upon Cheryl. We have some real-life case when a city got a huge influence in the making of a psychological profile.

This could play bringing closer to the center line of the main series. But personally I don't mind so much.

[CheapBossAttack]

Agreed. I played this for the first time immediately after beating Downpour because I heard some of the ideas were brought over from it (the run for your life stuff, etc.). I'm loving it.

[Lingo]

Shattered Memories does so many things right - branching plot, cool use of Wii functionality, psychological profiling - but for me it's held back from greatness due to its decision to completely separate the real world and the Otherworld which instantly sucks out all tension and horror from the game. When you're exploring the town, which probably takes up about 70% of the game, you never feel scared because you know that the only danger you'll ever face is in the Otherworld. As much as I like and admire the game, a horror game with a structure so predictable it tells you when you're supposed to be scared is a problem for me.

[gustavopi]

Somebody in some post has mentioned something interesting: a scary game is different from a disturbing game, witch is the case of Shattered Memories. Others got a little from both, like SH2, etc..

[captain crowbar]

I like the sad silent hills. 2, 4, and SM really pulled off some depressing situations beyond "save the world from the cult bitches"

[gustavopi]

It's a hard job that somebody got to do. Plus SH1 still got a little of "playing detective" that mach with SM purposes.

[Nomed]

In my opinion, Shattered Memories told the best, most emotionally provocative Silent Hill story and told it in a way that was very unpredictable and has you guessing right up until the ending. I literally had no words when I got to the ending. Truly marvelous. <3

This, pretty much. I was stunned when I got to the ending. Only one other game has done that to me, and that one reduced me to tears.
Shame I won't ever experience either of those for the first time again.

Same here except three games have reduced me to tears.

[Shadedarkan]

I really enjoyed the freedom to explore and the focus placed on the story and its development. The way you interact with the world is more personal in this game as you have to actually go through motions for things you do in real life. Taking pictures with the phone, holding the 'phone' to your ear (when it worked), actually having to wheel yourself through the Otherworld hospital (that was a truly 'fuck me, really?!" moment on my first time through).
The game for me was both disturbing and scary for at least the first play through. Yes, you are in no immediate danger while in the Fogworld, but the scary part was that you had no idea when the change to the Otherworld would take place. When you are just running through exploring and you interact with an object, just like the last five or six objects, and all of a sudden everything freezes over is pretty damned scary.

[CheapBossAttack]

After beating SM, I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would but also felt that it was too simple. Maybe a great entry point to anyone new to the series, but like someone else brought up, while you're exploring there is no sense of terror since you're never in a sense of danger. Beating the game with a certain ending definitely lead to a lot of afterthought as to the nightmare sequences, etc.

[gustavopi]

After beating SM, I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would but also felt that it was too simple. Maybe a great entry point to anyone new to the series, but like someone else brought up, while you're exploring there is no sense of terror since you're never in a sense of danger. Beating the game with a certain ending definitely lead to a lot of afterthought as to the nightmare sequences, etc.

That's depends on what you understand by danger.

REVEAL SPOILER

She may be trapped forever, Cheryl's self may die and she also never will be a free person in real life.

We are usually very materialist, but everybody will die some day, maybe never live a happy free life is more dangerous... ok, ok, I'm talking too much...

[Pyramid_Heart]

Glad to see we have some smart fans on this board who appreciate what a work of art this game is. Such an underrated thing. I wish Downpour were more appreciative of this, rather than running with his tail tucked back to old conventions.

Shattered Memories was the first game to actually insert me into the storyline. I knew i controlled James, Henry, Heather, etc...But with SM, I forgot that I wasn't the guy in the game. I was looking and I wanted to find my lost child.

The way that story unravels almost gently at times its a show of its true art. They wouldn't let the conventions of a 'horror game' upset what they were trying to do. The chase parts, for me, were like a commercial break from the actual story, but they did serve a purpose. They also spooked me, especially on other playthroughs when the game detected I knew the pathways, so it would throw monsters in front of me more.

It is probably my favorite in the series, but my attachment to the second game is stronger in the long-run. Shattered Memories is great and I'll never have anything bad to say about it.

The other games, though...Lets just say that I don't even understand the praise for Downpour, the bright noisy action-oriented duct-tape repair job of Homecoming.

[Augophthalmoses]

Well, for starters Homecoming and Downpour actually have some semblance of gameplay whereas Shattered Memories throws that out the window for unfulfilled gimmicks that come off as mere afterthoughts.

That and SM takes place in a different universe and doesn't really touch upon the mythos and history of the town in the same way as the other titles. I'll give it credit for trying something new, but it's a perfect example of why story should not be given that much more priority over gameplay. The Silent Hill games aren't visual novels. And since it's one of the more basic games in terms of gameplay it's not one of those designs that can be used in multiple installments without getting stale unless some serious attempts at freshening things up are done. It's better off as a one time special.

If you like SM that's fine by you. But it shouldn't be difficult to figure out why some people may like Downpour, Homecoming, or even both more than SM as there are plenty of reasons why and they aren't limited to just lack of combat. And you don't have to be an RE4 raging, action obsessed, unintelligent fratboy in order to have that opinion either.

And I'm not sure why you'd level criticism towards Homecoming and Downpour for being action oriented when all the other titles have had some type of focus on action save for perhaps SH2.

[Yuki]

Well, for starters Homecoming and Downpour actually have some semblance of gameplay whereas Shattered Memories throws that out the window for unfulfilled gimmicks that come off as mere afterthoughts.

It's a gimmick to have the lack of combat be completely symbolic of the plot? It's a gimmick to be able to walk around and explore the town?