What games are you currently playing?

[DakAttack]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Gyromancer: fun at first, but it gets old pretty quickly. It's basically Bejeweled Twist embedded into a fantasy world. You'll be playing that mini-game over and over and over and over again. The plot wasn't so terrible, but it's given to you in tiny two-dimensional pieces with avatars that never animate, emote, or whatever. Sometimes the ranger chick screams, but that's it.

I'm trying to write a review of it for some gaming website, as a user submission, but I just can't stretch that out. The game basically falls flat because it's the same thing over and over. After a while, they start to punish you for 'idle twists', but it's not really fair when they're locking gems to the board and wont allow me to twist anything near them.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So yeah played the demo, and Dante's inferno kicks ass.

It feels like just another another God of War/Devil May Cry game, but that's OK. It's the atmosphere that matters, and that's what Visceral Games does best.

---------- Post added at 03:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 PM ----------

Here's another reivew of Silent Hill Shattered Memories, apparently by someone that actually played it and saw the new things Climax was going for rather than please series purists.

Destructoid - Review: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

I don't think anyone's calling it a bad game. I'm just inclined to agree with Joystiq's review in that it should have just been a new IP altogether. All the basic elemnts of a silent hill game were thrown out the window, with the only real reference to the 1st game being the reuse of the character names. That and I loath the notion of having to run away from every single encounter (there's no combat at all, you either run or die) so... yeah no thanks. I'll rent it and hopefully enjoy it ^^ but not a game I wanna buy.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

The thing that defines Silent Hill is that its a psychological thriller more than they are survival horror or action games, they haven't been back to that since Silent Hill 2.

Focusing more on the psychological elements would make it more of a Silent Hill game than the last four entries of the series.

[Tickmeoff]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So, with finals out of the way, I was looking forward to finally trying out the demo of Dante's Inferno now that I no longer have to slave over books.

What a fucking disappointment. I had to replay the Bayonetta demo a few times just to get the taste of shitty action game out of my mouth.

The beginning is shit tier. You spend 5 minutes in a tutorial level spamming the square button to defeat 80 helpless minions that may not even be able to actually attack you (and spamming square is all you get besides one faggot heavy attack that hits a narrow line in front of you), and then.. you get stabbed in the back by one random faggot.

Really? I just killed 80 of this faggot, why am I just standing there while one stabs me?

Alright, whatever. Boss fight with Death! This is gonna be bad ass! No, wait, it isn't. I still only have ONE combo to use and because I have to dodge with the fucking right stick instead of a button the entire battle is hurrr block til he finishes attacking, spam dat square button, block some more, repeat until win.

Alright, whatever, new weapon! I have more options than hurr square button now! Yeah! Wait, I have to grab enemies one by one and Absolve or Punish them to level up higher? And both of those actions involve QTEs to actually work? Yeah, you have to individually grab and QTE kill every single enemy if you ever want to unlock new skills, and even after that you still have to farm more souls to buy them.

And then the demo ends exactly the same way the God of War 3 demo of 6 months ago did... you fight some huge beast, bust out some QTE to take control of it and then use it to smash helpless enemies to bits.

I expected so much more from the creators of Dead Space.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

The thing that defines Silent Hill is that its a psychological thriller more than they are survival horror or action games, they haven't been back to that since Silent Hill 2.

Focusing more on the psychological elements would make it more of a Silent Hill game than the last four entries of the series.

Eh yes & no. The focus on the psychological aspect is what makes the series so awesome, but the fact that the town has virtually nothing to do with the plot in Shattered Memories is just ridiculous. The whole point of Silent Hill is the evil influence that permeates it. Be it the demon cult of main story, or how it twists and reflects the sins of those who visit it in the 2nd.

The icy world is kinda cool, but I still prefer the classic, rusted hell that is the hallmark of the series. Again, points for originality, I just object to the game being called Silent Hill when really it's something totally new altogether.


And... you're seriously bitching about a demo? The gameplay is not that bad. Nothing terribly original, but not horrible either (unless you really suck at God of War). In fact it's almost too easy since you can actually get hit and it won't interrupt your combo if you're fast enough to hit another enemy. You only have access to a handful of skills and the game isn't defined by the gameplay, it's defined by the atmosphere. The whole point of the game is to highlight just how crazy and fucked up Hell is.

[DakAttack]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Games that aren't defined by their game-play? Maybe those are called movies, or books.

ALSO DEAD SPACE 2 ON NEXT GAME PRO COVER WOOOOOO yea awesome let's win

[Lmnop]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I agree with Mal on Silent Hill, actually. Well, I don't know anything about this new game so maybe I don't. Whatever.

Silent Hill games always manage to have a certain... something. There's just something about their atmosphere that's different from other survival horror games. And, yes, a lot of it has to do with the idea that the whole world you're in is subject to complete planar transfer into some sort of demon realm at any time.

Though didn't The Room not take place in Silent Hill? Or was it his apartment not in Silent Hill but the different places he exited to were in Silent Hill? I don't remember enough about those games.

I also seem to remember small portions of 3 (I think? It had a girl main character) taking place outside of Silent Hill, where the game showed it doesn't really matter where you go, once you're tagged.

Also, not fighting isn't fun, but I can't say I hate it. It's actually been a mark against the Survival Horror genre that so often, they load you down with awesome weaponry and nigh-limitless ammunition.

Dante's Inferno: I'm still pissed that both God of Wars got retardedly high ratings (especially considering the sequel was 96% the same game as the first). I have no desire to BUTTON MASH SQUARE! just to open every fucking door in every game I play. God of War clones need to die.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

The new Silent Hill takes the psychological element really seriously. In fact, you'll start out in a psychiatrist's office and be asked to answer some questions. This isn't intended to be difficulty setting flavor, but will actually affect how this version of Harry Mason views his world, what he encounters and how he interacts with other characters.

Your actions will be analyzed during the story as well.

I guess I just don't find Silent Hill to be a definable series, because when it becomes definable, its starts to not be frightening. And that's exactly the problem with SH3, SH4, Origins and Homecoming - they're not psychological. They also added nothing coherent when they tried to.

SH and SH2 weren't definable and they did fuck with you as much as they could. The tension came from the fact that there were more of those creepy, bad things out there than you had bullets for or could combat hand-to-hand. It wasn't that they were going to jump out and scare you so much as you knew they were there and would have to be dealt with of fled from and you could never be sure of success.

Resident Evil was always about jumping out and going "Boo." That's they kind of fear RE thrived on and that's why when it became more action oriented, it became much less scary. "Boo" scares encourage a reflex response. Psychological creepiness is what Silent Hill deals in. There's a little bit of the "Boo" scare in there, but the settings you're thrown in and what you encounter along the way add to a sense of dread. This is because you're now being pursued.

RE only ever accomplished that with RE3 and the B path of RE2, nowhere else, really. You knew the Nemesis/Tyrant was out there, always and knowing that affected every action and gave it an edge the rank and file zombies, lickers and hunters couldn't provide.

As for snow over "rusted hell" for LOTS of people, snow is frightening, uncomfortable and loaded with uncertainty. People in many regions refer to it as "bad" weather. Its because there's a loss to function as they normally would. All the creature comforts are gone in the snow and people in many regions of the world that aren't used to it have a hard time accepting it as natural.

They fear it because it brings discomfort. People will overcompensate for the situation, get tense over ice and snow. They know its there and that it has to be dealt with.

It makes a lot more sense than "rusted hell" when you look at it that way. I actually like the snow, I'm pretty adaptive to it, but not so much in the dark. I'd just as soon no go out there at all because while I can trust myself in inclimate weather, I can't say that so confidently for those around me.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I'm just saying, for the umpteenth time, that the town itself must be incorporated in some way; that is the very soul of Silent Hill and it's namesake. That said, I love how this new one has a psyche profile right at the beginning that it uses to determine how best to scare the shit out of you through the course of the game (which would have been all the better IMO if the game had at least some combat in it. I mean, there isn't even a final boss...)

RE3 is still my favorite in the series because of Nemesis. The tension he created was maddening; always wondering when he was going to pop out next, the split decisions that could affect future encounters... and of course, the one critical element that's missing from RE4 and 5; the fear of running out of ammo. Sure, you could expend all your ammo to drop him down and collect the briefcase of goodies he's carrying, but is it really worth it?

RE is just like any old horror movie; all the focus is on the violence and "boo" scares. But I still like it (I can handle artificial gore; movies make it too realistic to for me to handle) since the plot was somewhat decent and the games were generally fun and scary (at least on the 1st playthrough) but you do eventually stop feeling scared and it becomes more of a "Ok, what's gonna pop out so I can kill it next?" feeling.

As you said, the SH series is more of an assault on the character's (and player's) psyche. Where as Resident Evil has you thinking "Holy crap there are monsters everywhere how the hell am I going to make it out alive?!" Silent Hill has you thinking "Okay, what the fuck is going on around here?! WHY IS EVERYTHING SO CRAZY?!" and slowly sends you into spiral of self-destruction. Or at least that's what it ought to do.

I have to call bullshit on the games in that light; no sane person could survive that hell hole for long. Particularly in the original game when Harry is in the nightmare classroom and then the phone rings. He picks it up and hears his daughter's voice say "Daddy?" and then a dial tone. If that doesn't just break you into a sobbering, crumpled heap on the floor idk what will. People have breaking points, and that's what Silent Hill tries to do, is push people to those points (and torment/kill them with horrible monsters)

I won't get into it anymore, but I'm still looking forward to trying this new one. I will forever maintain that it should have been called something else with it's unique cast though, rather than using the silent hill name for something completely original in the same manner 4 did.


Also, a few things; Yes, 3 stared a girl who was really Alissa reborn at the end of the 1st game. The official story line goes 1 > 3 >5 with 2 and 4 being their own separate stories. Also about halfway into the game Heather makes for Silent Hill, but it starts off in a shopping Mall in the town that Harry's presumably from (for all we know he might have moved as far away as possible from Silent Hill. Too bad it wasn't enough...)


As for 4, I don't remember if any of the places in the game take place in Silent Hill or not. All I remember about it having any ties is that the main villain was a character mentioned toward the end of Silent Hill 2, and when James is in the graveyard you can see Walter's Grave as well as some of his victims IIRC.

[Feba]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I'm just saying, for the umpteenth time, that the town itself must be incorporated in some way; that is the very soul of Silent Hill and it's namesake.

Yeah, and if Square isn't about to have to bail out of the video game industry, they shouldn't be making a game titled Final Fantasy.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Malacite, there you go taking story seriously again. Stop.

Silent Hill's stories might be coherent to the characters and scenarios, but the history, the "origins" and the logic behind the town is one massive clusterfuck of nonsense. The only point is to get inside your head. This game - as you stated in the past - was a revisioning. Revisioning means we can leave useless garbage out.

Also, Clock Tower and Rule of Rose are games in this genre with no combat. Just because other games had combat doesn't mean this one has to. Nintendo's proven you can replace Epona with a boat or a train in Zelda. She was useful for a few games, but not a requirement to get around long term. They've replaced Hyrule with an ocean, then made an new and less developed Hyrule with trains afterward.

And they still manage to be Zelda games.

Some fantasy purists probably won't even play Zelda Spirit Tracks because it has industrialization and that's a fantasy no-no. But fuck those guys, Zelda with trains is now officially awesome.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

then made an new and less developed Hyrule with trains afterward.

Um . . . pardon me if I'm mistaken, but aren't trains a bit more on the "developed" side than horseback?

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Silent Hill's stories might be coherent to the characters and scenarios, but the history, the "origins" and the logic behind the town is one massive clusterfuck of nonsense. The only point is to get inside your head. This game - as you stated in the past - was a revisioning. Revisioning means we can leave useless garbage out.

Like the namesake of the series and it's impact. I'm not taking the story seriously... I'm taking the identity of the series seriously. Silent Hill is always about just that; Silent Hill. Be it the demon cult or the town itself, everything revolves around this one town being fucked up something fierce. This is actually why 2 is my favorite of them all, because the Town itself is seemingly just another ghost town, but in reality is a malevolent force that gives form to sins of those who visit it. Thus, that little 6 year old girl (or however old she was) never saw any of the monsters the others did because she's young and still innocent.

Of course there's always the distinct possibility that the guy who wrote the review over @ joystiq is an idiot who missed something, but based on what he wrote the Town of Silent Hill itself has no relevance to the story; they just chose to use all the same names write a completely new and original tale.


Thus my beef is with the title of game, why is that so hard to understand?!

[Yellow Mage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Thus, that little 6 year old girl (or however old she was) never saw any of the monsters the others did because she's young and still innocent.

I'd stop taking anything from the plot seriously after that BS.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Um . . . pardon me if I'm mistaken, but aren't trains a bit more on the "developed" side than horseback?

The new Hyrule in this game is only a hundred years old and not very populated yet, thus, not very developed beyond the whole train thing. They train tracks are really chains that bind the forces of evil from escaping their prison and the train Link controls was given to the original race that settled there before the Hyrulians discovered and were allowed to settle there as well.

Suprisingly, this Zelda makes some attempts at continuity as well, making notable references to previous adventures.

Also, Malacite, yes, I realize your beef its with the title of the game. You believe series tropes and imagery should define a game's title. Its a pretty stupid notion I can't get behind.