SH: SHATTERED EXPECTATIONS

[egosleep]

Or was this game slightly disappointing? I can probably guess what you guys are going to say based on the fact that there are plenty of threads above about the game (people crying at the end, etc) but I none the less have the urge to express that I found the "Other world" in this game almost completely ruinous. It lacked any kind of atmosphere, was so fast paced that it removed any of subtlety that the scariest sequences in silent hill are drenched in, and basically just made me wonder how a developer could take such a great opportunity for invention and atmosphere and turn it into an ice racing game.

I WANTED to like the game, I swear, and I was right with it up until about the third "race" when I realized that this was what 50% of the game would be here on in. I just don't understand how the concept for Shattered Memories got up off the ground in the first place. It's terrible. I mean, no enemies in the "regular" world, ever? Kind of hard to keep the players on their toes, no matter HOW much atmosphere you pour in, when the formula is recognized and the player knows that NOTHING is going to happen.

I've kind of gotten off on a rant here now, but I was just very disappointed. Anyone else agree? no? Dammit.

[Wren]

Actually, Homecoming and Shattered Memories are tied for my least favorite Silent Hill game. (I lean a little more towards Homecoming, though.)

They did a brilliant job of recreating the actual events of the first game in a VERY different context, but that alone isn't enough. There wasn't enough suspense or challenge for me in this game.
I respect it as a part of the SH universe, in much the same way I regard the movie. They did something interesting and inventive with concepts we loved from the first and third games, and I have to give it the *very little bit* of love it deserves.

[TraceBASS]

Having not played the game (yet), my opinion is probably going to be the most easily ignored
(This reply is as spoiler-free as possible. Apologies for incidentals.)

Despite Shattered Memories being, for lack of a better word, gratuitous, I thought it was pretty cool as far as trying to present Silent Hill in a new way.

They looked to the previous games to decide what Silent Hill was about - and concrete things were brought over. Silent Hill must be about rust, fog, Pyramid Head, nurses and creepy little kids. But Silent Hill isn't about any of those things.

(I know this was used in TRSHE, but I think here that Mr Hulett makes a good point.)
Anyway, back on track!

The Raw Shock monsters perturbed me because of basically the raw, instinctive fear that they instilled into me (i.e. "Holy f$#%ing cow biscuits, I'm being chased by a faceless monster, gotta run!!") and the fact that it was difficult to find the exit, and it sort of leaves you in a panic as you're STILL being chased, despite the fact that you've run around trying to find the goddamned way outta there, and failed spectacularly so far.
Graphics were awesome.
Character design was cool. Dr K's ideals were pretty cool, and his cynicism made for a few laughs.
Soundtrack was...okay. Not as good as the original four games', but still good. I loved Hell Frozen Rain and the Loved Lost version of Michelle singing Always On My Mind - they were great songs.
Storyline was interesting. It was hard to grasp because you kept getting conflicting things thrown at you, i.e. Harry lives here, wait no he doesn't, he lives there, who's this, he doesn't know...it just swirls around in a vortex of conflicting information and makes you think "Wait, what in the heck is going on?" Ending was just awesome as well.

To be fair, I rarely ever have expectations, and Shattered Memories was pretty damn cool...and surprisingly hard to find in the game shops where I live

[Wren]

^DANG!!!
You've never played the game and you know THAT MUCH about it?!

You've got dedication, my friend! I got tired of trying to figure out Harry Potter without reading the books, so I started collecting allen wrenches.

[TraceBASS]

^DANG!!!
You've never played the game and you know THAT MUCH about it?!

You've got dedication, my friend! I got tired of trying to figure out Harry Potter without reading the books, so I started collecting allen wrenches.

It's not really a case of my dedication - more my lack of a PS2/PS3 and/or a Wii (I actually used to have a Wii, but I got rid of it for a 360 instead hehe)

I'm guessing it already was, but I'm-a take that as a compliment anyways. It's what I do!

[what]

At the risk of sounding like an insult, almost every person I've ever seen criticize this game sounds like they're quoting everybody else who doesn't like it.

Perhaps my love for the game was due to me not really caring about gameplay. I only cared about figuring out what was going on. I didn't much care for the chase sequences as they were, but I consider it poor execution of a good idea, and it did nothing to ruin the experience as a whole for me.

[TraceBASS]

Perhaps my love for the game was due to me not really caring about gameplay. I only cared about figuring out what was going on. I didn't much care for the chase sequences as they were, but I consider it poor execution of a good idea, and it did nothing to ruin the experience as a whole for me.

THANK YOU! Exactly what I was thinking. I would high-five you, but I might accidentally break my computer screen trying

[Bronze Fox]

The thing is, I would have liked it a lot more if they used new characters, and didn't make it a 're-imagining,' but a new and original game. I don't understand the need to slap the names of Silent Hill 1 characters to these ones who are in no way like their original counter-parts. o _ O Lisa and Cybil are the closest, but it's still not them... The plot completely deviates from the original game anyway.


Basically...

I do agree with MetalMan about the music though. : ) I found the vocal songs to be spectacular~!

[Wren]

I don't understand the need to slap the names of Silent Hill 1 characters to these ones who are in no way like their original counter-parts.

My own feelings aside, this^ is the exact thing that bothers me about the fans who are so insistent about Shattered Memories being spectacular because it follows the cold action of the first game (cold action=going to a house on Levins street, meeting a nurse named Lisa, going to a school called Midwich, etc.)
They are almost always the same people who had a problem with Pyramid Head showing up outside of the second game! What's the difference? Using that logic, didn't they just "reimagine" the red pyramid thing?

Shattered Memories should be accepted for what it was-a Silent Hill game that thematically added to the main narrative, but didn't concretely add to the main narrative. And I'm very pleased that the more prominent members of the Silent Hill fandom (like Whitney) understand this difference, It speaks to their intelligence.

That being said, there's still always going to be a tiny little part of me that wants to consider SM a continuation of the first game's bad ending. I like to completely forget the word "reimagining" and try to cram it into my own personal canon, by force almost.

[what]

The thing is, I would have liked it a lot more if they used new characters, and didn't make it a 're-imagining,' but a new and original game. I don't understand the need to slap the names of Silent Hill 1 characters to these ones who are in no way like their original counter-parts. o _ O Lisa and Cybil are the closest, but it's still not them... The plot completely deviates from the original game anyway.


Basically...

I do agree with MetalMan about the music though. : ) I found the vocal songs to be spectacular~!

That was really the whole point to the game. Give you names you recognize, let you form your own expectations, and then completely subvert them. It's the same premise behind the Resident Evil remake, taken to a whole new level. The fun lies in being surprised by the familiar.

I'm loathe to be one of those people who says that you must approach the game with the correct mindset in order to enjoy it, but it's true in this case. The complaints I tend to see about this game make it clear, to me, that at least half of the problem is the player expecting something completely different and is disappointed rather than delighted by the surprises.

[TraceBASS]

I'm not one who understands things easily, but I just like it for what it is - an awesome game that I really should have kept my Wii for
But all kidding aside - I liked how it was far more expansive on the amnesia idea, and turned into not quite amnesia, but more total regression, a total need to forget, and I liked how this was used in the Ice World (i.e. anything that tried to make Cheryl remember and confront what happened was completely shut down, and Harry had to run away from the Raw Shock monsters in order to find the truth).
I think what what said (sorry, this is the best way I could put it in ) was basically what hit it right on the button. I can't really expand on this because I'm pretty retarded but yeah, I just like it, and it may not be quite as scary, or as much of a thrilling experience as the first Silent Hill game, but it was still a brilliant game in its own right, and gave a new, more interactive look into the series.

[Wren]

^You got rid of your wii? Dang. You better have a good reason for that!

[bardo pond]

I was never really able to make my mind up about the game, I think it's a big step in the right direction though.

The chase scenes, I thought, were excellent but the area you were running in was a complete maze and if you died trying to get out it took a lot of the fun out of it. The fact that you know when the place turns blue that you're going to be running was a bit of a let down, it kinda fragmented the game a lot more than I would have liked. But I loved the torch (it's all about the little things) and the way the different stories came across and I think in the grander scheme of things this game was really important now having heard the combat system in downpour (personally my dream survival horror game would have you run away more often than not).

To be honest I probably won't go back and play it again for a long time but really this game, for me anyway, was more about konami's willingness to change the direction of the whole series and for that reason I would say overall. It could be a lot worse.

At least it's not a rails shooter.

[TraceBASS]

@SilentWren how about the fact that there is almost ZERO good games on the Wii? seriously, I had about 4 games on the Wii (excluding Wii Sports) - and they were okay, but got boring and repetitive quickly. Plus this was BEFORE Shattered Memories came out, and BEFORE I even got into Silent Hill disappointing, but I prefer the 360 nonetheless.

[hairymason]

^You got rid of your wii? Dang. You better have a good reason for that!

Hey! i got rid of my Wii also! I'm a woman now!

Oh....Nintendo Wii. My bad.

Seriously though, while the ice world was infuriating at the time, and highly repetitive, it left plenty of room to focus on the reimagined plot. I would have chose something else, but I don't work in videogame design. I don't work at all lately, hell, even Target won't hire me.

The ice world made me break my nunchuck and fatten my lip, I'm not so good with motion controllers. Aside from that, I liked it enough to play it like 4 times. I couldn't figure out how to get the endings, because it was too much trial and error. I don't like strategy guides. But it was still worth trying.

[JeremyHDragon]

Well to tell the truth, this was the first Silent Hill game I played and beat. Like I said from my topic "Hello to all", my oldest brother got this game. When I played the game, at first, what I didn't like about the game is the chase scenes. Until when I beat it, I got used to it. But when I watched the movie, I recognized that Alessa was in the first. And I was disappointed that she wasn't in this one. For a fan, it's not worse game, but it would've been better.

[Granhunter101]

I actualy played the crap out of this game on PSP, I beat it about 9 times. I loved this game.

[Augophthalmoses]

I really didn't care for it myself and for me it's easily the worst in the series with number of problems. I pretty much went into it with the same mindset of every SH game (which is not knowing what to expect). This will probably wind up being unpopular with some people but I'll explain why .

For starters removing combat to "enhance tension" felt like a cheap and lazy way to up the scare factor without putting any legitimate effort into the weapon system, controls, and monster design. Speaking of which...if the point of removing is to bump up the scare factor then why have only one type of bland monster throughout the entire game that repeats the same attack over and over? That's not scary, atmospheric, or intimidating to me not to mention defeating the entire purpose of the premise. It's just boring and repetitive. I mean earlier games managed to bring an oppressing atmosphere just fine with combat intact so it's entirely possible to do it again. Removing it was just taking the easy way out and it's been done better in other games like Haunting Ground.

The Otherworld environments were pretty boring not having any disturbing or thought provoking imagery. The ice theme kinda made things look pretty uninspiring. I mean yeah it's a good idea to try something new other than blood and rust, but ice doesn't cut it. I'd rather see something more creative than just basic themes like ice, fire, wind, blood, water. Yeah, I know that's easier said than done given it would take more thinking on the developer's part but it would be something new.

The puzzles themselves were for the most part too easy. I don't have a problem with things such as click the button, pull back on the analog stick to open the drawer but it's not a good idea when that type of puzzle is used so many more times throughout the game. The only ones that stood out were the ones for the planetarium and of course

REVEAL SPOILER

the car in the lake which was probably the best part of the game

I liked the puzzles in the earlier games where you actually had to scour your notes to figure out what to do.

Then what else is there do in the game? Yeah, you can play on the phone and call random numbers but it's more of a small...I guess a small side mission (for lack of a better word) rather than something that actually carries the gameplay. Taking pictures and things like that weren't very interesting.

So combine the lack of combat, easy puzzles, no boss fights, no inventory, and it results in the game going by quicker than you'd expect for a Silent Hill game which leads me to my next point: lack of replay value.

Yeah, there's the psyche system but it really doesn't change the gameplay up that much which isn't good since the psyche system seems to be the crutch that tries to support the game. Sure, there's dialogue, costume, and the background variations but you're still going to be taking the same pictures, calls, doing the same puzzles, running from the same type of repetitive monster and going to same places throughout the game. It doesn't really change the game that significantly. I'd just rather have new weapons, items, game modes. There was the UFO quest and that's about it. Luckily the UFO ending was worth the effort. Aside from the UFO quest there aren't any unlockables either which is disappointing.

As for the story itself...the presentation itself was very good. The voice acting is easily the best since SH3 and the dialogue is fun to listen to. However, the actual story itself I didn't care for it. It's a personal pet peeve of mine but I'm tired of the whole

REVEAL SPOILER

amnesia "oh I just remembered this" subplot that's already been used in SH2, 3, Homecoming, & Origins. It's getting to a point where I think it's becoming more overused than the cult aspect of the series.

I guess I just wanted something new.

And one last thing: glitches. I don't know what other people experienced with their copies, but I played the PS2 version. Sometimes the game will play smoothly. Other times cutscenes will freeze or dialogue may just fall silent in the middle of the cutscenes.

Bottom line: yeah, I know the series needs some fresh new ideas and you're talking to a guy who liked SH4 and Homecoming just as much as the first three games. But there are such things as bad ideas and I felt this game had too many cons in the long run. I get what Climax was trying to do, but it just didn't feel like the game had enough compelling gameplay to accommodate the formula they put into Shattered Memories.

[what]

And one last thing: glitches. I don't know what other people experienced with their copies, but I played the PS2 version. Sometimes the game will play smoothly. Other times cutscenes will freeze or dialogue may just fall silent in the middle of the cutscenes.

The PS2 version was ridiculous with glitches. Visually, it looked like the 3D models were duct-taped together. I later got the PSP version and found it to be much more pleasing to the eyes (I have the same opinion of Silent Hill: Origins).

There was no amnesia in this game.

REVEAL SPOILER

Cheryl didn't forget that Harry was dead. In fact, she never even claims that he did survive. The entire adventure is a fanciful allegory which parallels (but, importantly, does not directly reflect) the content of her sessions with Dr. Kaufman. You're viewing her memories through the filter of her wildly confused mind and powerful desire to rewrite her past so that her father actually had been there to protect her when her life's choices got her into trouble.

[Augophthalmoses]

Perhaps not amnesia itself but I'm talking about

REVEAL SPOILER

basically the whole concept of Cheryl mentally blocking out specific factors of her crisis (in this case her father's death and his overall image as a father). After experiencing James's blocking out killing his wife, Heather suddenly regaining memories of her past, and Travis blocking out his parents' disappearance...it just really didn't seem very fresh anymore.

I'd like to see something more original I guess. That's probably why I liked SH4's story so much. It was something new and borrowed a lot of tidbits from past games as well as expanding on the town's history whilst at the same time not overflowing the game with too much with it. While it did have the same psychological influence that's known throughout the series it at least wasn't another tale of mental blockage.