Zero Punctuation: Silent Hill Homecoming

[Dragon_Nexus]

I was wondering when Yahtzee was going to make another hilarious video based around the cinematics of an old game. We waited too long =)

And I'm glad my fear over the adverts returning upon seeing this video was 7+ minutes long was baseless.

 

[SirCannonFodder]

They say the trick to creative writing is sticking to what you know, and I'm willing to say this is great proof of that. Ever notice how the greatest points and jokes are made when he's talking about games he really knows a lot about? "Hardly suprising," you say, "isn't that the idea behind observational comedy?". So i says, "Yes. So why does he keep reviewing games he hasn't had enough chance to play or are of genres that he's unfamiliar with like Spore or any fighting game"

So go-go Silent Hill, Fable II, and all the other reviews of games he'd probably play anyway...

This man speaks the truth. Either The Escapist needs to go back to letting Yahtzee choose what games to review, or if that's what they do already, Yahtzee needs to stick to reviewing the games he knows.

 

[grimzero]

awesome video

 

[LiquidSteel]

I am very disappointed with the downfall in Silent Hill recently. I remember being a massive fan of the first 3, and getting the fourth, I liked that even thought it was different, but I didn't even realise that Origins had even came out, and Homecoming is out here in 2009, but by the sound of the story (which I read on Wiki because reviews I've read didn't rate it highly) it sounds about as far away from Silent Hill as I remember.

Silent Hill will be a Quadrilogy to me!

 

[Irysa]

This was your best review in a very very long time.

Thank you, I agree with many of your points concerning homecoming.

 

[hathfallen]

fine, whatever, don't do WAR it's almost irrelevant now anyway.

but you chicken out of Fable 2, Molyneux has officially made you his *****.

 

[Indrid Cold]

Something's been bugging me. Whenever a Silent Hill fan (and I am one, believe me) expressed fear that Homecoming would fail to live up to its predecessors (or claimed it failed, after its release), they seem to put forth this theory that Japanese horror is slow and psychological, while American horror is cliche-ridden and chainsaw-happy. I call shenanigans. Sure, Silent Hill may be a Japanese series, but, as Akira Yamaoka said, it's always been a Japanese take on a distinctly American brand of horror. Hence the streets of Silent Hill or Shepherd's Glen or South Ashford being named after Western horror authors and directors - Lynch, King, Campbell - and certainly not least of all Lyne St., named for Adrian Lyne, director of Jacob's Ladder, an American horror film which is perhaps the most direct outside influence Silent Hill can claim (particularly Silent Hill 3, which borrowed scenes from the movie itself). For every American movie that abandons psychological weight for blood and tits, I can name a Japanese movie that retreads the same old "soggy ghost with knee-length black hair" stereotypes and winds up just as dull. That said, didn't Silent Hill 4 have a female companion tagging along all through the second half of the game? What about Resident Evil 4? Still Japanese, but it all but abandoned horror in favor of action. Judge horror on its own merits, not its nationality.

 

[SirCannonFodder]

Something's been bugging me. Whenever a Silent Hill fan (and I am one, believe me) expressed fear that Homecoming would fail to live up to its predecessors (or claimed it failed, after its release), they seem to put forth this theory that Japanese horror is slow and psychological, while American horror is cliche-ridden and chainsaw-happy. I call shenanigans. Sure, Silent Hill may be a Japanese series, but, as Akira Yamaoka said, it's always been a Japanese take on a distinctly American brand of horror. Hence the streets of Silent Hill or Shepherd's Glen or South Ashford being named after Western horror authors and directors - Lynch, King, Campbell - and certainly not least of all Lyne St., named for Adrian Lyne, director of Jacob's Ladder, an American horror film which is perhaps the most direct outside influence Silent Hill can claim (particularly Silent Hill 3, which borrowed scenes from the movie itself). For every American movie that abandons psychological weight for blood and tits, I can name a Japanese movie that retreads the same old "soggy ghost with knee-length black hair" stereotypes and winds up just as dull. That said, didn't Silent Hill 4 have a female companion tagging along all through the second half of the game? What about Resident Evil 4? Still Japanese, but it all but abandoned horror in favor of action. Judge horror on its own merits, not its nationality.

Resident Evil has always used a more western style of horror, Yahtzee even highlighted that in the video.

 

[Irysa]

Resident Evil 4 was not a "horror" game and comparing it to Silent Hill is pretty damn laughable.

 

[Russian Redneck]

YES! I agree completely that "fans" are the bane of all video gaming things. Yahtzee, you are my hero!

Irony Alert...

Professing Yahtzee as a grand prosecutor of the truth is fanboyism?

I hate the modern "fan" with an ire that burns hotter than hell itself. They're impossible to please, will ***** and moan and have a temper tantrum if they don't get exactly what they want - and subsequently accuse others of "ignorance" when their beliefs clash - , act like the jaded "poor me" skeptic when things go awry, and to top it all off, when they see even so much as a shining glimmer of the "good old times", they'll suddenly jump off their high horse and shove everything they've ever thought or said underneath the rug. I've seen so many countless Nintendo "fans" balk at Nintendo's current "casual gamer market" strategy, sell their Wiis, and denounce Nintendo as a traitor for having abandoned them - only to see them come crawling back like the pitiful, spineless, washed-up messes that they succeed at being.

"Fan" is derived from the word fanatic. In case the meaning has been so lost in translation that it could mean whatever anyone wants it to be, I'll cite Dictionary.com:

"Fanatic (noun)"

-a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.

Keyword: "uncritical"

Now, think about how many so-called "fans" that applies to. Go to any video game, music, or similar forum and compare the numbers of "critical fans" to the number of "zealous fans" and you'll see what I mean. Most people now don't even the meaning of the word. They just think they like something, slap the adjective at the end of their favorite noun, and behave like unassuming, sympathetic little twats. It disgusts me to see so many devout followers bawl themselves to death when they don't get what they want and advocate themselves as "hardcore Nintendo Playbox 3600.7 fans" just to toss that meaning around like a dirty wash rag.

Actually, I suppose "fan" is an appropriate term for these so-called imitators because that's exactly what the word is: an imitation. By basically cutting off four extra letters, the definition of the word has degenerated into whatever the speaker allows it to be. It's the sickest perversion and abuse of any word I've seen, second only to "Classic Rock", and anyone who has the gall to say they're a hardcore Metallica fan but hate Load, Reload, and St. Anger need to have their heads chopped off and screwed back on properly. I'd rather listen to a weeaboo go on and on about how much "better" said subbed anime is than dubbed anime because at least they're blindly devoting themselves to whatever their love interest happens to be, not copping this wishy-washy "love 'em, hate 'em" attitude.

I'm not a fan. I don't devote myself to any particular person or group because, to be frank, organized cults disgust me. I hate being lumped in with the crowd just because I display similar traits but identify myself differently. It makes me feel like I'm just another "one of them". I actually regret joining some fanbases for the sake of discussion because of the alarming rate of back-and-forth "fanboyism" (for lack of better words).

That's enough, because in the last five paragraphs I've been venting I've come to the conclusion that your alleged irony accusation is false and unjustified. You don't know me and you probably revel in taking words out of context. I am not suggesting that I'm not a Yahtzee fan; I am telling you that I am not a Yahtzee fan. I am not, never have been, and never will be because I don't associate myself as someone who overzealously rides someone's dick, blindly following their every command. In that sense, there are no "real fans" anymore because everyone is so self-absorbed in their own criticisms and allegations that the meaning has been lost to overuse; assuming that "fan" still has ties to the word it originated from, but that's not very likely anymore.

 

[Fuzzinator]

OMG SO FUNNY! do you reckon you could make a single clip of the end part with the cleaners i want it BAD!

Good job

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

YES! I agree completely that "fans" are the bane of all video gaming things. Yahtzee, you are my hero!

Irony Alert...

Professing Yahtzee as a grand prosecutor of the truth is fanboyism?

Yes...Yes it is...Denoting anyone with that sort of praise really is.

I hate the modern "fan" with an ire that burns hotter than hell itself. They're impossible to please, will ***** and moan and have a temper tantrum if they don't get exactly what they want - and subsequently accuse others of "ignorance" when their beliefs clash[/i] - ,

- Huge Rant -

That's enough, because in the last five paragraphs I've been venting I've come to the conclusion that your alleged irony accusation is false and unjustified. You don't know me and you probably revel in taking words out of context.

- More justification on why you're SO not a raving fan.

Slow down...look at how the bold text and the italic text match up. That's the irony.

 

[Indrid Cold]

Resident Evil has always used a more western style of horror, Yahtzee even highlighted that in the video.

But...so has Silent Hill.

 

[Woe Is You]

I must be tired, but the fans pun was hilarious.

 

[Doug]

cham-cham-cham-cham-chamaeleon.... Excellent review!

 

[maximara]

Something's been bugging me. Whenever a Silent Hill fan (and I am one, believe me) expressed fear that Homecoming would fail to live up to its predecessors (or claimed it failed, after its release), they seem to put forth this theory that Japanese horror is slow and psychological, while American horror is cliche-ridden and chainsaw-happy. I call shenanigans.

I agree. American Horror in the 30s, 40s, and even 50s was more slow and psychological becoming more in your face from the mid 70s on. Compare Mummy (1932), Them (1954), Monolith Monsters (1957), House on Haunted Hill (1959) and most horror films of that period to those being made today and you will see how much slower paced and psychological the horror was. Even British Hammer Film got pulled into the whole blood and boobs mindset around the early 1970s.

Of course the Japanese are not above slapping their culture views on something they borrow but for some reason they can pull it off (most of the time). So we are perfectly willing to accept the Japanese turning Stoker's Count Dracula into a modern gun toting psychopath ala Dirty Harry gone crackers with a fashion sense borrowed from the 30s Shadow (but with red as his favorite color) with a pseudonym borrowed straight from the American film "Son of Dracula" (1943) and a female sidekick whose assets are in the C+ range.

 

[Loderian]

looks to be a somewhat decent game. May give it a rent before buying.

Love how my local game crazy is handing out free copies of the SH movie on DVD w/ every reserve.

 

[Murrah]

Pyramid head reminds me of myself>>> "Will rape for food"

 

[risingphoenix]

These are the sort of reviews that I find most appealing - the reviews that are witty, funny, and slightly offensive while still containing excellent critiques of particular problems in the video game industry.

Video games tend to have too many love interests even though there shouldn't be any, like this game. I would guess because hot women in video games makes teenage boys ( the main demographic for most games) more likely to want to buy it.