Silent Hill: Downpour Poisons Water With Horror

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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Silent Hill: Downpour Poisons Water With Horror


Konami's next Silent Hill game will be as scary as always, but a little more damp than previous titles.

The latest issue of Game Informer has unveiled Silent Hill: Downpour, the latest survival horror title in the Silent Hill [http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B002CZ3SLO/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294585731&sr=8-1-fkmr0] franchise. Czech-based Vatra Games is on development duty this time, and it's adding a general theme of wetness to increase the game's horror level.

Silent Hill: Downpour stars Murphy, a prison inmate whose transport bus crashes in Silent Hill. Not exactly the ideal prison break scenario. Though Downpour will have some connection to earlier Silent Hill titles, Murphy is not the descendant or relative of any previously experienced characters.

Players will be able to make choices and decisions that affect Murphy's future. Even Murphy's outfit will apparently determine how characters regard him.

Vatra is going back to the "classic style" of Silent Hill with Downpour's camera system. It'll feature two kinds of sections where players either control the camera or have a predefined camera angle set for them. The goal is to add a feeling of tension, as players won't know whether a fixed camera switch will lead to a "scare moment" or not.

Of course, wrinkled fetus creatures and inside-out dogs will still pester players, but the new theme of horror in Downpour will revolve around water. For example, in one scene where Murphy is being chased through waist-deep water by a fog creature, the water begins to flow upside-down on the ceiling. Another big part of the gameplay will be clues, maps, and notes found by Murphy throughout the environment. Players will have to determine which of these clues are worth following up on.

Combat plays out just like you'd expect in a survival horror game. Murphy can hold one weapon at a time, such as a crowbar or pipe, and all weapons have limited durability. However, Murphy's inaccurate striking abilities don't make him a very good warrior. Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour, with boss battles mostly taking place through QTE.

Additionally, Silent Hill: Downpour features what could possibly be the biggest playable world of any Silent Hill game. Players will actually have to utilize a subway system to move between areas. Despite the size, Vatra isn't reusing any locations from earlier titles. The whole game is said to last around 10 hours.

Silent Hill: Downpour is scheduled for release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.

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Erja_Perttu

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May 6, 2009
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Well, it's nice to see a sequel to Heavy Rain- Sorry Silent Hill which looks alright. Here's hoping it's at least a little bit good.
 

DatCracker

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Tom Goldman said:
Combat plays out just like you'd expect in a survival horror game. Murphy can hold one weapon at a time, such as a crowbar or pipe, and all weapons have limited durability. However, Murphy's inaccurate striking abilities don't make him a very good warrior. Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour, with boss battles mostly taking place through QTE.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU

Degrading weapons and quick time events??
That is huge glowing warning sign saying that this game will suck.

Oh Silent Hill, what happened to you??? D:
 

StriderShinryu

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Dec 8, 2009
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Well it sounds like they're heading in the right direction at least. Not sure if I like the Downpour subtitle itself but I do think the focus on water could be cool, especially if that water turns to blood in the alternate world.
 

moretimethansense

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Apr 10, 2008
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Hm, maybe a Czech company will havew abetter time understanding Japanese horror that the yanks, that or give it a little Czech flavour.

Can someone tell us, Is Czech horror any good?

DatCracker said:
Tom Goldman said:
Combat plays out just like you'd expect in a survival horror game. Murphy can hold one weapon at a time, such as a crowbar or pipe, and all weapons have limited durability. However, Murphy's inaccurate striking abilities don't make him a very good warrior. Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour, with boss battles mostly taking place through QTE.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU

Degrading weapons and quick time events??
That is huge glowing warning sign saying that this game will suck.

Oh Silent Hill, what happened to you??? D:
Nevermind...
 

sunburst

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Mar 19, 2010
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I was going along with everything until it mentioned boss fights via QTEs. That somewhat dampened my enthusiasm.
 

JokerboyJordan

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Sep 6, 2009
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Not sure about the name "Downpour", just seems gimmicky. Also did anyone else think of the X-Files theme?
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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That trailer is terrible.

"Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour, with boss battles mostly taking place through QTE."

Surely the answer would be to not have boss battles then, instead of contradicting yourself and implementing a feature that no one likes?
 

DatCracker

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holographicman said:
is it just me or are the recent silent hill protagonists staring to look the same?
White, burly, with voice actors that sound like they're 13 year old boys doing an impression of a grown-up?
 

icame

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Aug 4, 2010
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I was like :D

"Fighting should be avoided whenever possible in Downpour, with boss battles mostly taking place through QTE."

Then I was like D:
 

Frostbite3789

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Erja_Perttu said:
Well, it's nice to see a sequel to Heavy Rain
That was my exact first thought. They saw Heavy Rain and thought, "Hmmmm, people like precipitation apparently...how can we turn this into money?"
 

Eternal_Lament

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Sep 23, 2010
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I'm sceptical, but I have a feeling that if this game does end up being good (both on it's own merit and as a Silent Hill game) that this may be the saving grace of the series so that it can be truly said that the series ended well.

The things that worry me are the degrading weapons and QTEs. However, if other sources are to be believed, there is a higher emphasis of escapeing the enemies rather than fighting them, so as such the degrading weapons wouldn't bother me if they are indeed used more to get out of sticky situations rather than a constant necessity. Also, if the degradation is more like Condemned's (I think it may be since it mentioned on Hell Descent how the weapons may be used to open new pathways) where they degrade, but only after a reasonable amount of time if that weapon was in the real world (as oppossed to Origins 9-hits-and-its-gone-sledgehammer), then I'd be all for the weapon degredation, because it actually makes you tense to wonder how long you can go untill your defenseless. Further, if the QTEs are used in a way so that they are easy to see and are used often enough so it actually becomes a core part of gameplay as oppossed to a gimmick, then those wont bother me either (it would be further interesting if these QTEs don't so much save your life, but rather determines what paths open after the boss).

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.
 

Blue Musician

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Mar 23, 2010
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Quick-time events and degrading weapons? Well, that is already a bad sign, no matter how the rest of the concepts will be.
But still, the other concepts seem interesting, but still we need to see how it plays out.
 

_Janny_

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Mar 6, 2008
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Erja_Perttu said:
Well, it's nice to see a sequel to Heavy Rain
Nice... *chuckles*

Don't care about the weather, but I like the idea of playing a criminal. Imagine the potential for mental problems. He'll feel right at home in Silent Hill.
 

mireko

Umbasa
Sep 23, 2010
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Degrading weapons could make sense in a survival horror setting. QTEs never make sense.

What actually happened to the original Silent Hill team?
 

Boneasse

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Jul 16, 2008
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holographicman said:
is it just me or are the recent silent hill protagonists staring to look the same?
I think he looks like the guy from the Alone in the Dark reboot.

OT: Degrading weapons is kind of realistic, as long as they don't degrade 10% with each shot/hit. QTE's? Boo, I'd rather have a game with little bit of boss-combat or where you apply certain tactics to beat them, than have QTE's. Sigh.

I think they should hire the guys from Frictional Games to do some work for them.