Silent Hill: Downpour Poisons Water With Horror

[squid5580]

I can't wait. I hope they make this pretty cool. The series deserves another awesome game...not that homecoming was bad, I actually liked it. It was a good franchise entry.

This character looks pretty good too.

So did I. I have enjoyed every Silent Hill I have played (except 4 I didn't like 4 no I did not) so I am stoked about this. Much rather have a QTE frankly. There is so much potential to be a good Silent Hill game by using them for bosses instead of the "hold still while I wack you a gazillion times" formula which quite frankly has never made sense except maybe in 5 (since he was a soldier). With a QTE they can use the run and luck factor. It could be very interesting if done right. Will be crap if they go in the direction of GOW or Ninja Blade with the over the top impossible action sequences.

 

[FinalDream]

I don't like the degraded look of Silent Hill, I always found the perfectly preserved town creepy.

 

[michaelod]

Hopefully by QTEs in the boss fights the mean having to do quick time dodges, not get like seven in a row to kill the boss.

Please God let it be quick time dodging!

 

[JasonBurnout16]

I was going along with everything until it mentioned boss fights via QTEs. That somewhat dampened my enthusiasm.

I think it's hard for a game based around survival horror to have a good boss fight. Your meant to be conserving ammo, and the game is meant to keep you on the edge of your seat. Shoving a boss in front of you, and asking you to endlessly shoot rounds into him kind of ruins the suspense. I think by saying that 'Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour' actually would make this a better survival game - learning when to and when not to fight would help to crank up the suspense.

I'm trying to think of a way to do it without QTE's however and I can't.

Just my thoughts anyhow.

 

[zarix2311]

Everything I could say has been said so I'll just type in what I think would be a disgusted noise.

EEEHHGGGHGHGGGGTHGGHHHGSGGGAGGGEEEHEHHHHGmmmgyttQyRtreHHfgghhgheggggeh!

 

[sunburst]

I think it's hard for a game based around survival horror to have a good boss fight. Your meant to be conserving ammo, and the game is meant to keep you on the edge of your seat. Shoving a boss in front of you, and asking you to endlessly shoot rounds into him kind of ruins the suspense. I think by saying that 'Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour' actually would make this a better survival game - learning when to and when not to fight would help to crank up the suspense.

I'm trying to think of a way to do it without QTE's however and I can't.

When you should fight: When there are QTEs flashing up on the screen
When you should avoid fighting: All other times

I fail to see how that increases suspense. Seems more like it would shatter any suspense they already had building.

 

[ramboondiea]

well im not compleatly against the ide of QTE for boss fights, aslong as thats not all they are, and that theres not a load of them, would hate it for them to feel forced,
but other then that it sounds like a good premise, breakable weapons is going to be a ***** (in a good way tho) and aslong as they keep the puzzles il enjoy it, been a bit disapointed by silent hill lately, lost hope when i heard info on the movie sequel ha

 

[VanityGirl]

Degrading weapons could make sense in a survival horror setting. QTEs never make sense.

My thoughts exactly. Having a weapon break over time isn't that bad, in fact, it could help add to the anxiety of the game.

QTE's always break flow in games for me. In a horror game, a QTE rarely (if ever) fits.

I am sad.

 

[butterkniferampage]

This however should be the last game in the series. Sure the games have terrific atmosphere, but this series should have the dignity to end gracefully as oppossed to constantly strung out. What they should do if they want players to enjoy the atmosphere is release a level creating pack for die-hards that can offer their unique horror experiences online.

It's a little late for that, what with Origins and Homecoming being so freakin' awful.
OT: Eh. Whatever.

 

[aether-x3]

Is it me or does Murphy look quite a bit like Henry? I think it's the hair.

but anyways, I doubt I'll look much into it.

 

[-Moonlight-]

Well, I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, I'm very hopeful for this game and a good bit of what I've heard sounds good... but a fair bit sounds not quite so good. Still, I'm putting confidence into Vatra here. As long as they avoid the movie-related pitfalls of Homecoming and keep the gameplay from feeling dated, we might have a winner.

But christ, am I the only person who actually liked Shattered Memories? Yeah, it was very far from a typical SH game, but I think that's exactly what the franchise needs right now. The rest of the games past SH4 have been riding the coattails of the vastly superior Team Silent games (plus unnecessary, out-of-nowhere and annoying fanservice), rather than insert the staggering amount of forethought and symbolism that the original developers put into the games with stories overall much more simplistic and less involved than the original games. However, Shattered Memories had an outstanding story every bit as cerebral as the original Silent Hill games with a great framing device and an incredible ending. It was far from perfect (namely the Nightmare Sections), but it managed to capture the same level of depth and vision that the original Silent Hill games had, all while creating it's own identity.

 

[soul_rune1984]

As long as it has the same score composer and a good story I'm there. I always found that it was the audio aspects of the games that kept me coming back for more even when the story was kinda lame (Origins). Having weapons that break doesn't really bother me unless they break at a ridiculous rate. QTE's I hate them but they seem to be unavoidable.

 

[Laze]

How come on most horror games, people complain about it being to action orientated. But on this people complain about having to avoid using guns??

Oh, and I have never played a Silent Hill game so if there is something I am missing tell me...

People are never satisfied about anything these days.

Of the games I've played (1, 2, 3, and Homecoming) 2 was the best...so I suggest you start there. (that and the soundtracks to all of the games are pretty great).

OT: I'm looking forward to this. This feels like it'll be one of those "make or break" titles for the series, but saying it might not be that good because of degrading weapons and QTEs well before its release is just silly.

There are varying levels of "not action oriented" and everyone has their preference but there are in general a few ways to put in action without removing the horror:
1. Make killing the enemies just as disturbing as leaving them alive.
2. Provide such limited amounts of ammunition/weapons that the player is forced to make difficult choices about when to fight on the fly, so that they are still running away most of the time.
3. Have no action at all, only scares and running/hiding/being sneaky. Or, make some monsters invulnerable so they CAN'T be fought, just run from.

There are very few games that succeeded with #3 because it's hard to strike a balance between frustrating someone with endless seemingly unavoidable deaths, and just making every attacker super easy to run away from.

SH2 did very well with #1 (it really makes you feel uncomfortable to kill almost everything) but one of its (only, IMO) failures was in #2 - there was WAY too much ammo in proportion to the amount of monsters, which took away from the horror towards the end.

The lesson here is that there are definitely better alternatives to having QTE boss battles, and QTE in horror is generally a sign of laziness and unwillingness to balance the game properly.

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

The Silent Hill titles have gone progressively downhill with the release of Origins (though Homecoming is my least favourite).
From what I've read, this game does just about everything wrong.
This series should have been put to rest after 4 and gone out with dignity, rather than the bloodletting it's enduring now. I love the series, and that's why I don't want to see it butchered.
We can at least remember how great 1-4 were.
That being said, this game COULD prove us all wrong. But I doubt it.

 

[Mako SOLDIER]

Konami's next Silent Hill game will be as scary as always

I stopped reading here. Silent Hills stopped being scary on SH2, with SH3 catching up on last breath. The rest is just...not scary.

I respectfully disagree. I found Silent Hill 4: The Room to be the scariest game in the whole series, even over SH1 & 2 (although SH2 is imo the better game). In terms of how scary they are I'd list them: 4, 1, 2, 3, everything else, descending. Of course, fear is completely subjective, so one person's terrifying may be another's slow-drying pink paint.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Now that's more like it! Finally a recent SH game that is more inline with the serie's roots.

Given that the town feeds on the fears and hang-ups of its occupants, God knows what weird creatures the psyche of an escaped convict will conjure up.

 

[Yossarian1507]

As being that last person on this planet, who actually LIKES QTE's and thinks they are an awesome feature, I'm looking forward to play this game, if the story will be any good. The setting sounds interesting, definitely.

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

If Metro 2033 is any indication, the eastern Europeans can do the f'ed-up horror that Silent Hill is perfect for. Plus, they're terrible at controls, amplifying the terror.

And the rain offers an excuse to bring the fog back.