In Defense of: Silent Hill: Homecoming *Excessive Spoilers*

Thanks to T-RAV for the title. He originally did "In Defense of: Mercs 2" Great read by the way, but anyway, thats where the inspiration for the title comes in. That is all :)

I can't stand hearing all these people rant about how SHH is a horrible game. AND I'M SICK OF IT. Therefore here we go, on Ravec's rant on how SHH is a great addition to the series. (P.S. I love D-toid because their review is DEAD on. This is more geared to the people on various sites being complete morons. Silent Hill has always been about atmosphere and symbolism, so why is it so hard for these so-called "HardCore Fans" to see that? Anyway before I get ahead of myself, here we go.





First off, as far as storytelling goes, i thought that SHH was actually a fairly well told game. Here, let me give you an example. You are given little hints throughout the game and in the end it ties in. It seemed fluid. Of course there could have been more emotion after certain elements of the story were revealed, but that leads back to the bad lip sync and facial expresssion. You say that a flash back was just vomited at you, well think about this. Silent Hill has always been about atmosphere and symbolism. When Halloway reveals the final bits of what happens, listen to what she says. It goes along the lines of the Shepard Family not being able to make their sacrifice, well, if you think about how many years the families have been doing this for, there is no reason that the Shepard Family shouldn't have participated. This is the mental poke that Alex gets, insinuating the final flashback, after seeing his name on the grave stone in the sacrificial room. It isn't spit out of no where. It is lead up to through the different things in the story, landing a mental breakdown and realization in the end. If you look around, you will see the different things that truly are the catalyst for that final realization, throughout the entire game.

The Descent into hell as you might call it was not "unnessacary". I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. The random noise and the creepy atmosphere really scared the pants off me. The enviroment was incredibly well constructed and I think it was one of the most "Silent Hill" Moments in the game.

The number of characters was a lot, because well, the game focused on an entire town. It seemed weird at first that there was a bunch, but in the end there is a reason. They can't take everyone from the town so it is okay that there are a least a bunch left. It gives that feeling of this place actually being a town in ruin. If there were only 3 characters, i would have been thinking to myself, how is this a town in any way?

Judge Halloway. She wasn't a random psycho. Listen to her voice acting throughout the game, with a little pickup or smile at certain parts of the speech, it is quite obvious going back through that she is a psycho. Also, the torture wasn't random. If you killed your daughter, watching her die in frount of you, and then someone comes along and screws up what you had coming in return (as far as safety) I would be REALLY pissed. Not to mention I would want that person to suffer, before i stuck a drill through their face.

Lastly, the thing that made me mad the most was your rant about "throwing PH in there" He stood his purpose. As far as a character, PH in SH2 was an executioner to those who had done wrong. A punisher if you will to those who needed punishment. Punishment for sins of any kind. Thats why he came after James, and thats why he raped Alex's dad in half with his knife. PH was his symbol, and he stood his ground. It wasn't "fan -service" ughh.

Anyway, one more thing i have to gripe about is that, Josh is a kid. Big deal, it really ties into the story well, as far as his childish behavior, and how in the lake he is afraid of the dark. Which leads up to the flashlight and the neck incident. He fit well, and i might add. As he is running away, i saw it as a symbol as The truth escaping Alex. Notice how Josh runs farther and longer in the beginning and near the end he is closer.

I think i might title this "In Defense Of: SHH". In my opinion, it was a great game, and truly fit into the series' main themes. I think the people who are griping about all of this reallly REALLY need to take a closer look at the game before makeing mundane comments. Just go past the skin, PLEASE, before i see another bad review that focuses on false comments. Double Helix did a great job, and I think Team Silent passed the torch onto the right people.