Silent Hill: Homecoming

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Silent Hill 2 is on my short list of favorite games, as it is, I'm sure, on most Silent Hill fans' lists. It, and the first game, are shining examples of why this series is spectacular. Unfortunately, they are the only two games that I feel are great in the series. The third one felt more like a coda to the first (and was way too short), while the foruth one had more than a few design flaws that made me lose interest.

So, now the torch has been passed to Double Helix, an American developer, and the result is Silent Hill: Homecoming. Even with its flaws (and boy does it have some), Homecoming has become my second/third favorite game of the series and bodes very well for Silent Hill's future.

The story begins with you, as Alex Shepherd, tied to a gurney and being pushed down dilapidated halls of some hellish hospital. Looking to your right and left, you see even more disturbing sights as doctors drill into a patient or drop a body down a large and presumably deep hole. Eventually, you're led into an observation room and left alone. The doctor that left you is murdered, you break free of your bonds and have to make sense of where you're at.

Right away, the game had its hooks in me. This first level terrifically set up the rest of the game, but also presented some genuine frights and more than a few disturbing sections. From here, you'll go back home and try to figure out why Shepherd's Glen is cloaked in fog, where your brother left, why your mother seems catatonic and what exactly lurks in your flooded basement...

From a story perspective, Homecoming feels like a mix of Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 (with a splash of Saw thrown in the mix), which is definitely a good combination. Unfortunately, the story is also the most straight forward of the series (it's a Western game now) and while they try to mimic the essence of Silent Hill, they lose the ambiguous feel that tasks you with putting everything together. By the end of the game, you pretty much know all there is to know. Some might like that, but it was a sore spot for me.

The combat system, which was supposed to push Silent Hill into this new realm, isn't very good. In fact, I found myself trying to avoid enemies more in Homecoming than in any of the previous titles. On paper, it sounds good: light attack, strong attack and dodge. But the problem is that you absolutely have to dodge attacks or even the lowly dogs will eat your face. The problem is further amplified by the small, claustrophic areas you are in. A lot of battles take place in very tight corners, making dodging very difficult. And even when you successfully dodge in the small rooms, eventually you'll run into a corner, the camera will go wacky and you won't be able to see what you're fighting or, more importantly, see when to dodge.

Then, when you're in the big rooms, Double Helix is kind enough to throw two or three (or five) enemies at you at once. Dodging one is a pain in the butt as it is, but trying to juggle three enemies is...well, it's hell. Add to this some enemies with their gaseous breath that I could never seem to dodge and halfway through the game I never wanted to see another monster again. And don't get me started on the boss fights...

So, why the four star review? Because of what happens halfway through the game. At the halfway point, the game ratchets up the tension, brings the story into new light and really made me want to play more. In fact, I played the last half of the game in one sitting because I had to see how it was going to end. The last half really makes up for any of the deficiencies in the game.

Graphically, Homecoming is obviously the best in the series. The new sheen of gloss mostly works, though some of the monsters with the more colorful highlights (the gaseous monsters, for instance, with their red chests) look fake and break the color scheme. Taking a page from the movie, the transitions to the other world are real time, with the paint flaking off and floating into nothingness. It's cool but it's not as terrifying as waking up or just finding yourself in the other world.

And, of course, the music is phenominal. Akira Yamaoka, series music/sound effects creator and producer, returns to craft a haunting score that mixes industrial with noises, rock and some heart-pumping effects. Very awesome, some of the best of his music in my opinion.

In the end, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a great addition to the series. It feels like the most cohesive Silent Hill story since the second game and tries to branch into new territories. Having a new developer really helped the series avoid becoming stagnant. And even with some faulting moments, it really is an involving and engrossing trip into hell. Definitely recommend giving it a chance.

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I have to admit, I was a little wary of this game after hearing a lot of not-so-positive reviews. I will say that most of the criticism this game has received is pretty on the money. The atmosphere is creepy, but not very scary. The controls are a little uneven in a lot of points (you have to be standing just right to open doors and examine objects). And the story is very straight-forward compared to Silent HIll's 1 & 2 (they're the only one's I've played before this one).

Now that that stuff is out of the way, let me tell you why this game is actually worth owning (or at least maybe a weekend rental). The soundtrack is excellent. A lot of reviews, even the one's disfavoring the game are pointing out Akira Yamaoka's musical selection and it's some of the most eerie and rousing I've heard in a video game. It almost seems in-tune to what you have your character doing. The sound effects are perfectly tuned as well, from footsteps, to creaky metal sounds.

The story in this game comes across as a bit typical at first (the nightmare intro is VERY slow), you're a war veteran coming home to find your hometown empty of people and your brother and father missing. What I didn't expect was to be swept into the story and I actually wanting to keep playing to find out what happened next.

Another big criticism of this game was the fact you are playing a combat heavy character making alot of enemy encounters no where near as scary as they were in the previous titles. This is true. However I personally find this approach a bit refreshing. It took some getting used to, but once I tried out all the combos I actually had fun in fights. Again, not everyone's cup of tea but it's different.

The graphics aside from some clipping errors (and the sandy cam filter and lame water animation) are VERY good. You can actually look off in the distance and pick out locations in the game you've been to or are going to. The cemetary's, playgrounds and other outdoor locations really bring you into the world. It's no GTAIV, but you can pratically BREATH the fog and stale air.

Anyway, I hope this helps you decide on this purchase of the game. It's not perfect, but it's fun and unique enough that it kept me hooked.

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i personally hate how much people say this game was awful ive beaten all SH games exept shattered memories and 4 and i cant see why people say this trash? so it was made in US so what it was still awesome loved the story main character and everything about it. this game is actualy very fun, it does have some altered controls that can be a little difficult to get used to but once you do youl enjoi it, the things people say about this game are usally just people complaining about every little thing. in short its a great buy. give it a try.

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This is not a good Silent Hill game...I would say it's the least impressive of all the major releases to date. It's a very small-time venture, and only holds about two-thirds of the amount of gameplay that I would wish for in a game from this series.

Lets start with the plot...A man named Alex comes home to the sleepy town of Shepherd's Glen only to find fog everywhere and the town eerily deserted and locked up tight. In his wanderings he comes across about 5 people (amazingly all have some important connection with him), one of whom is his mother who tells him his brother is missing. This is pretty banal, as 99.99% of the whole TOWN is missing, but anyway, Alex goes off on a search that takes him through foggy streets, a cemetery, a prison, a hotel and so on. On several occasions, Alex spots the young brother, who (stop me if you've heard this before) always trots off round a corner just as Alex calls his name and approaches. Yawn! How much longer are we going to have to put up with that old plot mechanic? As well as the cliched speech that Alex gives to everyone he meets: "I need to find my brother! Have you seen him". Anyway it isn't long before Alex starts to realise there's a whole lot of nastiness going on, and so the tale unfolds.

Lets leave the plot there and concentrate on what's good and bad about the game.

GOOD: Graphics are great, some of the scenery is terrific and there's lots of detail. There is also a really nasty climax to the whole game with large dollops of very shocking gore and torture be prepared for this. There are some new monsters with some cool designs (we liked the poison gas belching things, the Scarlet boss, and the gas chamber boss).

BAD: And, sorry folks there is more bad than good. The character faces look awful Alex looks like an eyerolling zombie in some shots. The controls are pretty bad and you get REALLY low maximum ammo capacity! Cruelly, you often can't even backtrack to pick up unused stashes when you need them either this game is really linear. And the inventory ring is terrible! If you open it and then quit without making a selection, you automatically use or equip whatever was on the screen at the time you quit and in my case I was continually using up the best healthpacks (serums) even when I didnt want to. BAD DESIGN! Plus, the locations are fun but quite small and more of those frickin' faceless nurses enough already!!! Think of something new!

Finally the PS3 version is also pretty buggy several times puzzles look like they have gone wrong but still work (the four locks on Alex's house?) and you often see screens glitching between game view and cut scenes.

All in all it's a bit botched. Seems like quite a rushed job with some very ugly scenery in places (The Lair? What was THAT?). Added to this how short (and also easy) it is, and you won't be spending very long in Silent Hill this time. Not to mention that the game spends precious little of the time in Silent Hill anyway (and both it and Shepherd's Glen have a ridiculously small amount of explorable streets).

The only thing that really lingered in my mind was some of the graphic violence (I think the 18 rating is earned), but most of the rest of this trip to Silent Hill only warrants a flying visit.

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I didn't buy this game from Amazon but I thought I would write a review of the game for those who are thinking of buying it from Amazon.

The plot is about a guy name Alex who is looking for this brother Joshua. Just like most Silent Hill games are; you're looking for someone.

I really liked this game, being a Silent Hill fan, it is probably one of my top favorites from the series. I can probably say that I loved this game. The story is good. It is creepy, ecspecially when the main character's brother [This is located in the start of the game] asks you to get his toy for him and while you are looking around all you can hear is him whispering your name and giggling[ along with some of his humming too]. I say creepy and eerie, I wouldn't say I lost any sleep over this game.

There is not too much exploring to do, but that is ok with me because I don't like to feel like I am wandering around aimlessly anyway. There is more exploring I would say in the alternative world. The controls are fairly easy to handle. The one really difficult part of this game is combat,more so with the bosses than anything else, though you do get hints after dying. Some bosses were...tough, but passable. All in all I enjoyed the game, plus though there are new creatures some of the Silent Hill favorites still in here [Like Pyramid Head].