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When I first saw the theme for this month's Musing, Digital Devil Saga immediately came to mind. I had a blog ready to go in my head, and I started typing it up a few days ago.
And then I bought Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
I've tried playing Silent Hills 2, 3, and 4 in the past, and I could never get into them. (I know, I'm a blasphemer for not liking Silent Hill 2.) But when I saw the videos and the reviews of this game, I knew I wanted to play it. I figured it was a good place to start, too, seeing as how it's a reimagining of the first game. So I grabbed it, and I've been playing it pretty constantly. Thanks to what I've experienced so far, I can safely say I've never been torn between loving and hating a game so much in my life.
There's a ton to love right off the bat when it comes to SH: SM -- The ambiance is mysterious, the graphics are excellent, and the controls are used in ways never before used. The flashlight mechanic is the best in any game I've ever played, and it single-handedly proves that the Wii Remote's greatest feature is the infrared pointer. And even though it's pointless, I think it's absolutely awesome to be able to look behind you while you're running away from those faceless skin people that love to chase you so much.
The attention paid to detail in the game is really amazing, and there's so much that can be overlooked. I don't know how many dozens of phone numbers you can manually dial throughout the experience -- Most of which don't matter in the least, but some of which provide ways of unlocking doors and finding items. The psychological part of the game is amazing as well -- Depending on what you answer and what you do, characters will look and act differently. The game does an amazing job of reading the player and almost tailoring the game specifically to him/her.
So if this game is so amazing, then why do I hate it so much? Well, how about because it's about as scary as Resident Evil 5? This game, which is a part of what many gamers consider to be the scariest series in existence, barely made me flinch even once. There's one main, glaring reason for this: What should be the scariest parts of the game -- the parts when the only light anywhere near you is merely coming from your flashlight -- are completely devoid of threats. Unless you're engaging in a chase scene while Silent Hill is frozen over, there are absolutely no enemies to be found. So whenever all the lights go out and you can barely see a thing even with your flashlight, you have absolutely nothing to worry about because you will never be attacked throughout the entire game. The parts that do contain enemies are actually pretty well-lit, meaning you'll be able to see the monsters coming before they get to you. Sure, there are a couple times where this rule doesn't apply, but for the most part you won't be surprised at all.
Another element of this game that pulls me in two different directions is the story. The method in which the story is told is actually extremely well-done. You're not even given an inkling of what's really going on throughout the entire thing, and the ending is actually a pretty big twist when looking back at everything you'd done. The problem is that the twist has been done so many times before that the shock only lasts for about half a second before you say "Oh, well that's a cop-out." See, when Konami said this game was a "reimagining" of the first Silent Hill for the PlayStation, they weren't kidding -- Absolutely every single thing in the game aside from the find-your-daughter plot is completely different from the original. I may not have completed the original game, but I have a pretty good idea of what happens in the end, and it's way more out there than this iteration -- Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to the player, though, since the presentation here is quite good.
Shattered Memories almost mocks you, to be honest. It takes what is essentially the absolute best horror environment in gaming history -- the real world -- and it gives you the absolute best control scheme ever seen in a horror game, and it completely removes any feeling of actual horror. It's like they were thinking "Hey, we've got this awesome, scary game, but instead of actually scaring the players, we're just going to hold their hands throughout the entire thing, completely removing any sense of survival." It just don't get it. The parts of the game that should be scary aren't, and the parts that shouldn't be scary -- the chase scenes -- are the ones that try to scare you the most, but ultimately fail. It's literally backwards, yet the depth of the story and the innovation of the control scheme kept pulling me in more and more, even though I became increasingly disappointed every time I played it. When I pick up a horror game (which is a genre that seems to be growing quite rapidly on the Wii, as crazy as that is), I expect to be scared. I want to be scared. I don't want to know exactly where and when all the game's threats will appear. There's no suspense involved anymore when that happens.
Ironically enough, though, there's one thing that this game managed to accomplish that I never expected it to -- I've officially become very interested in the rest of the series, even to the point that I'm willing to give the games that I have played and didn't like another chance. I think I'm going to end up downloading the original Silent Hill from the PlayStation Network very soon, and at the this-should-be-illegal-it's-so-good price of $6, too. I already know the story and gameplay are completely different in Shattered Memories, but I think that's a good thing -- It's not the same game. Good or bad, that's the fact of the matter, and I really am interested to see exactly how much was changed, and if the original iteration will scare me as much as I've heard it will.
Will I keep Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? Probably not. But I am thankful for it's ability to renew my interest in the previous games, and that alone was worth the experience.
Contest:
12:00 PM on 12.25.2009
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@Wry
I've only played a bit of the original game, and it was the only one I could get into. I'm really hoping it's aged well, because I'm dying to try it.
I've been able to appreciate creepy atmosphere without fear of danger. I think RE1 for 'cube does this really well. Then when you least suspect it, something comes through the window or a door, or a crimson head pops up from what you thought was the corpse of a zombie. I think if there's a few of these moments, that you're not suspecting its a lot more effective than keeping your nerves tense all the time. I haven't played the game, but mightn't you have a constant fear of going into a nightmare sequence?
That's a good point, and I agree completely. The problem is that these nightmare sequences are always in the same spots every time you play, so after a single playthrough, you already know what's coming and where. And as you're going through the non-nightmare sequences, there's nothing that pops out at you, even to scare you -- It's literally not scary. Tense, yes, running away from the creatures. But certainly not scary.
Still, as I said, though, it's totally worth playing through it. It was my first Silent Hill game, too, and I've also played all the GameCube RE games, so I know where you're coming from.
Oh, there's no other way to play horror than to have the only light coming from the TV. That's the best experience in gaming in my opinion. :D
The suspense is killing me!
I play a lot of survival horror, yet I don't find a lot of it scary. Tense for sure. The first time I played through RE1 GCN I couldn't play for more than an hour before I had to turn it off. After a while you just get desensitized to it. There's a lot of fear of death, and while jump scares tend to get me I'm never sweating bullets. That's part of the reason I am attracted to this. The psychological horror, as opposed to just shock horror. I kind of agree that its unfortunate that most of the time, you're free to wander around creepy environments with no fear of harm.
@Dale
I know exactly what you mean about RE5 -- I also love it. In fact, I still like to throw it in, and I'm going to get the Gold Edition (physical copy) on day one. I guess I'm just mad that SH: SM had the potential to be the absolute scariest game ever, and for me, it just wasn't. It definitely was sure as hell tense, though, during the chase scenes. I do love the game, and every Wii owner should play it at least once. I guess I just look at being tense and being scared as two different things, personally.
I'm halfway through the game as I stopped to replay RE: Dark Side Chronicles and Spirit Tracks.
By the way, the game may be on the short side but its length is actually good because it doesn't include any unnecessary filler content. Besides, it offers good replay value due to the psych profile's offering of different character and monster physical appearances, access to different areas and puzzles, different dialogue and different endings too.
CHERYL?!
Sure it is a twist in the fact that it surprises (I personally was sure there was a twist, just didn't know exactly what it was), but it makes perfect sense of the game. It def wasn't a cop out, again, it made perfect sense. So I COMPLETELY disagree with you there, this wasn't a random deus ex machina, the story/game wouldn't make sense without this ending.
You gotta explain yourself buddy, because "actually a pretty big twist when looking back at everything you'd done" just doesn't make sense. The game is literally called Shattered Memories. The game's ending is fine (unless of course you are talking specifically about a certain ending, e.g. Sirens).
I never said I didn't like the ending... In fact, I like it quite a lot. It's just that I've seen the situation the main character ended up in in a lot of other stuff before, so while it was indeed cool, and it was a shocker, it was just short lived for me. That doesn't mean I didn't like it, or that I thought it didn't make sense.
And the ending IS a big twist, if you think about it. Not once was the ending implied throughout the game, so it was a shocker to see what was actually happening.
Maybe it gets much worse soon or something, but so far I totally agree with Dale's review.
SH2 was my to my liking (I was a huge fan of Harry Mason), but I went back to it and I'm glad I did, it's a great game.
How was it not implied? Through out the game the cop questions whether your character actually who he is. Also the other characters imply the same, that Harry 'might not like what he finds out' (which has a clear double meaning). And I'd hope it wasn't too implied anyway, even though everything makes sense with the ending (the whole structor of the game has based on 'memories' and a meeting with a doctor who is going through your past)... leading the player onto what will happen in the end spoils it.
And the shock wasn't that big because of course the game makes sense with the ending.
It isn't a big twist. Actually I disagree with it being a twist AT ALL. Twist implies that some new information interrupts what is already there. But the ending is a REVELATION, it tells the player what the story is about rather then changing it.
Your explaination to why you don't like the ending is vague and it sounds like you have some silly stupid reason (something that may have nothing to do with the explaination you are trying to give) that stops you from enjoying it. Otherwise, I do agree with much of what you said, even though the chase-gameplay is pretty good as you go on and where more risk is involved (e.g. starting again, taking photos, etc).
This game was never going to try to make you feel like you're struggling to survive at all times. It was the intention to make you feel ALONE, and CONFUSED, and with that would come occasional ANXIETY. This is because you are mirroring the main characters traits that is is projecting on to you, the playable character, who is
****************************SPOILER**************************************
simply a phantom. a memory. The parts of the game when the environment freezes over clearly represents sections of her memory freezing in time because the therapist is getting to close to breaking through and shattering the world that she has been trying so long to maintain. This world in which her father carried on in some ideal existence. The "enemies" are all manifestations of her from 18 years ago, trying to subsume their father figure and keep him from making the shift from fantasy to reality. If they are able to pin you down, all they do is lightly pet/caress you.
You go through the game, being there (after the fact) for all of her most crushing and trying moments. Moments when she was longing for her father. I'm glad that you liked a bunch of elements of the game, but you're missing the point and ultimately longing for a different type of game; one with more shocking moments, more gore, and more violence.
Trust me, I got the point of the game. After playing through it once (and as I was going through it), I understood everything that was going on, just like I was supposed to. But like you said, I think one of the things I expected was something with more shock value. Not violence, trust me -- I like psychological scares more than gory ones, but shocking nonetheless. So you're right, I went into it expecting something a bit different. That is by no means to say that I thought it was a bad game, though -- Like I said, I recommend that everyone who has a Wii play this game. It was definitely worth it. It's just not something I see myself coming back to, but it's definitely something I thoroughly enjoyed playing through once.
@Letters
I don't look for reasons to not like a game, I promise. And I actually loved this game, as the first half of the Musing theme implies. I just don't see myself playing it more than once. But for one run through, it was amazing.
@Holmes
One of my favorite parts in the game was actually the fact that there wasn't any actual combat -- I think it makes it feel way more realistic. I know if I were caught in Silent Hill, I wouldn't wait around and start beating mutants with pipes or something. :P And the game doesn't get "worse," it's a great game -- If anything it gets better as you go. Everything I type when it comes to games is opinion, never anything I try to pass off as fact. It was just my personal take.
Never stated you were looking for a reason to hate the game. Rather I stated that for some odd reason, that you give no specific details of, you dislike the ending even though the ending fits the game perfectly and is one of the main highlights.
I've been through many reviews of this game, and the one thing people have never noted is disliking the ending. It isn't a surprise, because the whole story leads up to it... The choices a player makes even decides the type of ending, so if anything it is the opposite. If the player plays it through again they 'get' the game even more, because they realise what the game is (Shattered Memories) AND the amount of depth in it (try looking at some message boards, people actually go in depth about why something is where it is when the player is traveling through it, and in depth about the girl's life WITHOUT it being far-fetched theorycrafting).
My point was that you really give no solid reasons to disliking the ending, and I wonder if it is because a) you aren't explaining yourself correctly (it is not that I tried to say that you purposely withholding something, my point was that you weren't getting across your true meaning), or b) because you really have no reason at all a part from some random personal taste that no one else (or rather, not many) has.
I personally don't have a love/hate thing for the game overall (more love then hate), but there are aspects which could have been done differently (for my taste) that mimic your problems. Because the game is just that, a game. It purposely lets you explore like many games do, without it being too scary. Sure, it WOULD have been nice to combo the two and I don't disagree (adventure with constant fear of being attacked). I personally thought the chase gameplay were scary, but not overly so.
The game is just setup in a way where, where it is different at certain points (without the differing styles of the game overlapping, overlapping is almost non-existant a part from a few areas);
* Adventure
* Interactive/Choice
* Survival Horror
* Puzzle
Basically my point: When you think of all the searching/etc one does without any risk/scare factor, just think of the game as an adventure game that has depressing and dark overtones rather then a horror (at that specific moment).
Anyway, it's good to hear that the game gets even better. Right now, I'm splitting my gaming time between Shattered Memories and The Spirit Tracks, and I'm really digging them both. It's nice to end the year with games good enough to make your personal "Best of 2009" list.
Best Ending... Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
Obviously some people liked the ending so much that they gave it an annual award for the best Ending of the year.
Just sayin'........
Okay, since I can't explain this without spoilers, EVERYONE READING THIS COMMENT PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.
I don't think you're understanding that I liked the ending. I actually really liked the ending. My problem is that the whole main-character-has-actually-been-dead-throughout-the-entire-thing storyline has been done so many times before in different forms of media that it turned me off a little bit. I'm not saying the ending wasn't well done, because it truly was -- And yes, I've seen all the different endings you can get. I was just comparing it too much to the ending of the original PS1 release of Silent Hill, and I think that was probably something I shouldn't have done.
Also, I'm truly glad GiantBomb liked the ending enough to give it an award. I'm not GiantBomb. Opinions are allowed to be had by people -- Not every single person on the face of the Earth has to think alike.
I'm flattered that you actually saved my blog to come back and read later. :D I'm glad you enjoyed the game, as did I. They really did do a great job with it.
I agree that the chase scenes are frustrating as hell, but tell her to just stick with it, because the rest of the game is worth it.