Mister Gas Mask Rain Coat Hammer Guy?

[devil hunter]

That long armed, long legged thing is called Weeping Bat. Freddy Krueger guy is Screamer.

[Deadalux]

What if the Hammer guy plays a guardian role, like how Pyramid Head pushed james off the building to make sure that he got to where he was supposed to go?

[captain crowbar]

I'm sure that's the plan they have for him...but it's once again a little bit of a tired concept. Pyramid Head, Valtiel, The Butcher, Bogeyman...now MC Hamma.

It's just painfully cliche by this point. But maybe it won't be a negative for the game overall. Maybe he's just a background thing that doesn't have a prominent role. I know I would personally prefer it if he wasn't that important to the story.

What I'm interested in is that nun. As long as she isn't a reference to the one in the movie, I think she'll have some really awesome story potential. Nuns are scary. Well...to me anyway.

[devil hunter]

lol you should see Fatal Frame series then. They have an undefeatable enemy in all 4 games.

I'm still wondering if the nun is real, or if her and gas mask guy are connected to Murphy at all.

[captain crowbar]

The only Fatal Frame I've played is 3, and it scared my balls off. Like literally, they're in a jar. I talk to them sometimes.

But I'm afraid that the enemies are starting to look a little too human. The weeping bats look pretty cool, but the screamers, barbie, mc hamma, and that ICP superfan looking guy all just look like something you'd see in a game like Condemned.

But then again, I was perfectly alright with the Ghosts in SH4, so I can't exactly say that the idea of overly humanoid enemies is stupid. What can you do but accept it and move on? I'm dead serious though, if they fail again with this game, it will be probably be impossible to revive the series.

[Augophthalmoses]

lol you should see Fatal Frame series then. They have an undefeatable enemy in all 4 games.

I'm still wondering if the nun is real, or if her and gas mask guy are connected to Murphy at all.

Or perhaps we'll learn the guy in the mask was actually the nun the entire time.

[Deadalux]

I'm dead serious though, if they fail again with this game, it will be probably be impossible to revive the series.

This is exactly what I was saying before. I feel that if this game flops, and the fan(g)s get super pissed, this will be the end for Silent Hill. Even I am thinking that I would give up on the series.

Fans see this game as the chance to make Silent Hill credible again, to resurrect Silent Hill to its former glory. That means a lot because it means that he game and the team of developers is already doing a good job. This also means that this game has a lot of pressure. It lives in a large shadow of the past Silent Hill games. This game is going to be judged and watched very carefully. If the fans are let down in any way, well, the only one's buying Silent Hill games in the future will be the people who don't know any better.

[Purramid_Head]

It doesn't matter if hardcore fans drop the series. It matters about the sales figures. Homecoming, Shattered Memories, and Origins had decent figures. HC itself was mostly rated by critics as 7/10, that's not too bad. I also, if I recall, there's something online somewhere that it was the top selling SH.

Here's Homecoming's first 10 weeks sales figures:

Silent Hill: Homecoming Sales (PS3) Sales History (Launches Aligned)
Summary of weekly unit sales from launch broken down by region (for first 10 weeks of sale)
Week Americas Japan EMEAA Worldwide Running Total
1 41,527 N/A 24,901 66,428 66,428
2 15,285 N/A 17,307 32,592 99,020
3 9,289 N/A 8,346 17,635 116,655
4 6,400 N/A 5,258 11,658 128,313
5 4,685 N/A 3,506 8,191 136,504
6 3,772 N/A 2,825 6,597 143,101
7 3,281 N/A 2,489 5,770 148,871
8 2,799 N/A 2,056 4,855 153,726
9 4,151 N/A 1,520 5,671 159,397
10 3,121 N/A 1,427 4,548 163,945
Ten Week Totals: 94,310 0 69,635 163,945
Lifetime Totals: 159,784 0 97,990 257,774

That's only for PS3. Here's the sales figures for 360:

Silent Hill: Homecoming Sales (Xbox360) Sales History (Launches Aligned)
Summary of weekly unit sales from launch broken down by region (for first 10 weeks of sale)
Week Americas Japan EMEAA Worldwide Running Total
1 47,517 N/A 22,951 70,468 70,468
2 10,656 N/A 15,496 26,152 96,620
3 6,089 N/A 7,867 13,956 110,576
4 4,054 N/A 5,445 9,499 120,075
5 2,956 N/A 4,043 6,999 127,074
6 2,072 N/A 3,438 5,510 132,584
7 1,425 N/A 2,820 4,245 136,829
8 1,443 N/A 2,413 3,856 140,685
9 2,267 N/A 1,756 4,023 144,708
10 1,740 N/A 1,694 3,434 148,142
Ten Week Totals: 80,219 0 67,923 148,142
Lifetime Totals: 218,281 0 149,585 367,863

Those are pretty good sales. Remember, this is only the first 10 weeks. It's obviously bigger now.

Total is: 625.637

I saw an article from awhile back about SH2 reaching this point, but it took awhile to do that. HC got there in ten short weeks excluding sales in Japan because the release was delayed.

Source

[Augophthalmoses]

People had the same worries when SH4, Homecoming, Origins, and Shattered Memories released. You had plenty of naysayers (especially for Homecoming) thinking the series was nearing its end yet it's still going to this day. As long as Konami thinks there is some value left with the franchise they'll going with it.

And since they, for whatever reason, seem to have problems creating new IPs these days they just appear to be content working with what properties they already have.

Furthermore, what constitutes as a failure is so goddamned diverse among the fanbase. In my eyes the only real failure in the series is Shattered Memories simply because it did away with too many established set in stone ideas while not providing enough substance to make up for it. For others it's just Homecoming or every single Silent Hill game that isn't made by the super, magical, perfect, unable to be rivaled in any category race of Japanese people. You're going to have people citing "I don't know how the series is going to recover from this" when every single game comes out. Just wait when Book of Memories releases. You'll have the same doomsday propagandists saying the same thing.

So just be happy the franchise is still up and running.

[captain crowbar]

I get sad when I see a 98 year old quadriplegic woman in a coma hooked up on life support. But at least her family that visits her once a week is glad she's still around.

[The Gentleman]

I get sad when I see a 98 year old quadriplegic woman in a coma hooked up on life support. But at least her family that visits her once a week is glad she's still around.

And opinion infinitely varies as to the severity of her condition.

[Augophthalmoses]

I get sad when I see a 98 year old quadriplegic woman in a coma hooked up on life support. But at least her family that visits her once a week is glad she's still around.

And opinion infinitely varies as to the severity of her condition.

Crowbar is a noted troll just posting shock value based comments for attention. Just humor him.

Anyway, the point is the whole "I don't see how the series will ever recover from x title" has been said God knows how many times in the past so I wouldn't be so quick to worry about the series future at least until after the game comes out and we've all played it.

[captain crowbar]

You're just jelly that I have free will Aego.

The ability to disagree with someone =/= trolling.

That's just the way I see it, so I tell the truth. If that upsets you, then it might be best to grow up a little. We're talking about video games, not someone's mother.

Unless your mother is a 98 year old quadriplegic woman in a coma hooked up on life support...in which case I'm sorry.

[devil hunter]

No need to start arguing people.

@crowbar that "comparison" was unneeded.

@Aego no need to constantly call crowbar troll.

Personally, I think we need to play the game before we judge how it will be.

[captain crowbar]

No need to start arguing people.

Personally, I think we need to play the game before we judge how it will be.

1. Agreed.

2. Agreed.

But I can't help but speculate. I shouldn't, by all rights, even consider getting this game after how dissapointed I was in the past few titles. I'm a good example of a hopeful fan. I'm willing to give it a chance because I have a little faith in the concept of Silent Hill. But if it dissapoints me...I can't see wasting any more money on them. It would be financially irresponsible.

[Augophthalmoses]

People said the same damn thing about Homecoming yet here Downpour is and the majority of the fanbase is still looking forward to the title.

Just wait until it comes out and look up reviews. Watch a Let's Play, rent it, or borrow it off somebody. No need to be overly dramatic about the overall health of the series.

[captain crowbar]

Nah, I'm buying it. That way, I get the full force of either the disappointment or joy of playing it. Nothing else is coming out any time soon that I'm interested in any way.

And none of my friends want anything to do with it, so I can't borrow it

[devil hunter]

SH was always about scares and story. Judging by SM story is something I don't really have to worry about. I hope they will make an interesting story in Downpour too. I didn't saw nothing that is scary in Downpour though.

But this is not the point of the thread, I really dunno what else I could say about Gas mask guy....I think he will be present in the gameplay, maybe he'll attack Murphy or something. There's a screenshot that doesn't look like a cutscene, it shows him smashing a floor with his hammer.

[Augophthalmoses]

He's most likely the guy who was choking Murphy towards the end of the E3 2011 trailer in the cellblock. But one thing it brings to mind is that Silent Hill really needs to bring back those instant death sequences.

For example, in SH1 if you fail to use the Ring of Contract before removing the dagger Harry gets pulled into the fridge. Used sparingly things like that are a good way of getting people off guard.

And since the game apparently has autosave and checkpoints it wouldn't be too frustrating of a scenario.

[captain crowbar]

Yeah, he may show up to open up new areas like that or something. Maybe he's a guide for Murphy, more than an enemy.

OMG...

What if he actually physically helps you like a sidekick? That would be AWESOME.