Zero Punctuation: Silent Hill Origins

thebrink

New member
Dec 5, 2007
15
0
0
jaisimar_chelsea said:
when r v gonna c a review of crysis or cod4 or even ut3
Crysis? is that one of those darn blasted PEECEE games I been harin about? I have no idea what you are talking about mistar.
 

SacrificiaLamb

New member
Nov 14, 2007
20
0
0
Odjin said:
BonsaiK said:
Dark Shikari said:
There has been a good game with weapon degradation--its called System Shock 2, Yahtzee ;) and I named it before the second was up, too!

Agreed with the rest of the review though.
He asked to name one game where weapon degradation was a good idea, not one game that was good and happened to have weapon degradation in it. Both System Shock 2 and Jagged Alliance 2 have weapon degradation and are good games, but both would be better off without it...
I would disagree on this one. Granted in SS2 it had been too much. It's okay if your guns don't last forever since it's all moving parts that can wear but in SS2 it had been too fast. JA2 on the other hand struck a nice balance. Weapons degrade but at a low pace. Unless you play Rambo shooting full auto all time you have to fix up your guns not very often ( and hey, for wtf else you have that russian guy on your team if not to repair all your equipment with his dim wits... :D )
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. used weapon degradation decently as well. Guns would jam more frequently as they degraded, but it would take a good thousand rounds before it was time to toss it. SS2's degradation was total overkill however.
 

[HD]Rob Inglis

New member
Jan 8, 2008
337
0
0
Well, I don't know much about the Silent Hill series, except for the fact that it is supposed to be extremely creepy (in a good scary way)and well written. I always enjoy this fast-paced, picture book humor.
 

TrevWolf

New member
Sep 7, 2007
5
0
0
I demand a miniature stuffed version of Professor Dodgy Camerawork. I wish to snuggle him.
 

thebrink

New member
Dec 5, 2007
15
0
0
RPJesus said:
Fire Emblem?
Not in my experience. Granted I only played one for the GBA, but all it basically meant was that I had to pick up an assload of generic weapons for my tanks and only use their best weapons on special occaisions. I think Golden sun uses it nicely, although it barely uses it anyway but still, magic rings that break and have to repaired (namely the "Free healz" one) were nifty.
Yeah, but it was still pretty good, if you could use the good weapons in that game over the course of the game, it would be ridiculously imbalanced. The items that repaired the weapons had a limited use, making you choose which weapons you prized more. Overall I think it worked well, plus you had the choice to buy cheap iron weapons or more expensive steel/silver weapons. It's not obnoxious, and it doesn't break the game, so I call it a good use.
 

SomeCrazyGuy

New member
Jan 8, 2008
21
0
0
Sorry, I haven't played this game, in fact, I'm trading in my PSP for a video game system (which I foolishly assumed the PSP was before I bought it) later this week, so I probably never will. THIS review, I didn't care about so much... It just didn't strike me as funny where it intended to be, especially about the final remark regarding RH5. However, the points you stated, if they weren't exagerations (I've become a bit skeptical of internet reviewers in this respect, since most [Even the more popular ones] have been proven to exagerate some problems with false statements), were all valid. Weapon degradation is good in some games, but only if done right, such as the already stated Fire Emblem, which balances it out very well most of the time (Making it so stronger weaponry can be used enough to be worth carrying, but only to be used in special occasions, while weaker ones are sturdy enough to handle regular use). And in games where the main character is facing ab-/paranormal activities, a reasonable motivation shouldn't be too much to ask for. (I am aware of the countless gramer an spelin erors, leave me be!)

(Unrelated to this review, I bought Psychonauts thanks to Yahtzee's recommendation, I'll be playing it within the next couple of days. n_n)
 

blackfly01

New member
Dec 5, 2007
62
0
0
Bravo again, Yahtzee! I was kind of expecting you to review the latest SH game what with your comment on Silent Hill 2 in your Fable review, though I will admit my love for the series died at 4 which leads me into question: how stoic is Travis compared to Henry? To me at least the pinnacle of detestably emotionless heroes in a brilliant game series like Silent Hill lies on Henry's shoulders, only thing is I feel I'm the only one unafraid to say it.

That, and I too countered your 'name one game' challenge with Silent Hill 4's everlasting golf clubs in mind, but there were enough solid weapons there that put Origins to shame apparently.

You have however made your points valid and your presentation is just as thorough and entertaining.
 

NSiky

New member
Nov 1, 2007
11
0
0
By using "Just" during the end credits, I can only assume that Yahtzee took on my advice about more Thom Yorke love after including him in the Mass Effect review, and we have all benefited from the results. Good job, Yahtzee!
 

Yerocha

New member
Nov 3, 2007
68
0
0
RPJesus said:
Fire Emblem?
Not in my experience. Granted I only played one for the GBA, but all it basically meant was that I had to pick up an assload of generic weapons for my tanks and only use their best weapons on special occaisions. I think Golden sun uses it nicely, although it barely uses it anyway but still, magic rings that break and have to repaired (namely the "Free healz" one) were nifty.
The only problem with Fire Emblem degredation that I noticed was that they also degrade during your opponent's turns, and if your unit is actually good, it's entirely possible for the enemy to swarm one unit and your weapon to break in as little as three turns. The enemy DOES like to swarm, doesn't it?
 

Zyr

New member
Jan 9, 2008
21
0
0
Muddy62 said:
SomeBritishDude said:
Never even heard of silent hill...

something tells me that wasn't the best way to open my post

great review Yahtzee, might just buy the game any way just so I can get some use out of my fucking psp!!!
I would do the same but some little shit stole my psp
I don't know if I feel more sorry for you or for him :p

...

Oh crap. I've become a fanboy.
 

HSIAMetalKing

New member
Jan 2, 2008
1,890
0
0
Mmm, another game to not buy for my PSP. Sigh.

Another brilliant review, Yahtzee! You continue to be my hero.
 

step2ice

New member
Oct 26, 2007
2
0
0
Finally someone who sees the good points in Silent Hill 4.
I played Silent Hill in the first week it came out and it was amazing.
Since then it really is like Jahzee (sorry if I got the name wrong) said.
They tried to do something with the formula.
The main big failure in Silent Hill 4 was the level recycling other than that it was brilliant.
The dream world, visiting Walter when he was a child and all the victims who had no clue, just great.

As for Origins, I think the problem starts with the fact that it's developed for PSP.
Honestly, except some 2D remakes I can't see the point why anybody plays this handheld stuff.
When you can have a big screen with real games running on it.

And since Silent Hill has gone west, I also fear the series is dead.
Silent Hill is an asian thing, period.
 

GloatingSwine

New member
Nov 10, 2007
4,544
0
0
step2ice said:
And since Silent Hill has gone west, I also fear the series is dead.
Silent Hill is an asian thing, period.
Not really. Silent Hill was always an odd creature, it being a Japanese take on the American written horror tradition (hell, it's even set in Maine, which is Stephen King country).
 

Break

And you are?
Sep 10, 2007
965
0
0
Yerocha said:
RPJesus said:
Fire Emblem?
Not in my experience. Granted I only played one for the GBA, but all it basically meant was that I had to pick up an assload of generic weapons for my tanks and only use their best weapons on special occaisions. I think Golden sun uses it nicely, although it barely uses it anyway but still, magic rings that break and have to repaired (namely the "Free healz" one) were nifty.
The only problem with Fire Emblem degredation that I noticed was that they also degrade during your opponent's turns, and if your unit is actually good, it's entirely possible for the enemy to swarm one unit and your weapon to break in as little as three turns. The enemy DOES like to swarm, doesn't it?
Yes. Which is why you don't do the retarded thing and run into the heart of the enemy with one character and one weapon. The weapon degredation in Fire Emblem worked fine. It added an extra layer of tactics to the game.

I think Oblivion did weapon degredation fairly well, also. Stuff got slightly weaker as you used it, and could be repaired with little effort.
 

VMerken

New member
Sep 12, 2007
130
0
0
Step2ice, hi :)

For what it's worth, you're not entirely alone. I immensely enjoyed the setting and storytelling of SH4 too. The idea of being trapped in an apartment which is slowly taken over by freaky apparitions, only gradually discovering what's happening in- and outside is great. The parallel worlds you discover are cool, too (the rooms in that hospital, oh yeah)... until the point that you have to backtrack through all of them with a companion that makes Sherry Birkin (RE2) the most userfriendly tagalong ever.

Also, fighting ghosts? Totally unnecessary and tacked on.

As for the purpose of handheld games: the name says it all, actually. Handheld. They're ideal for a quick game on the bus, the train or the airplane, places where you don't have your bigscreen TV around. Or to take along during a trip so that you can play in the hotel room during a rainy day (I doubt you'll have the room to bring an Xbox 360 instead).
 

Chis

New member
Nov 28, 2007
34
0
0
Absolutely sublime from start to finish. Top form: I don't want to hear anyone complain about slow delivery this week, you bastards.

The only fly in the ointment: pre-Kid A Radiohead sucks and is for tragically emo teenagers.
 

GloatingSwine

New member
Nov 10, 2007
4,544
0
0
Break said:
Yes. Which is why you don't do the retarded thing and run into the heart of the enemy with one character and one weapon. The weapon degredation in Fire Emblem worked fine. It added an extra layer of tactics to the game.

I think Oblivion did weapon degredation fairly well, also. Stuff got slightly weaker as you used it, and could be repaired with little effort.
Whilst I would say that the weapon degradation "worked" in Fire Emblem, I don't think it was necessarily a good idea. The balance reason for it's existence, not using godweapons all the time, could have been addressed in far more interesting ways, (like, for example, not having them. I recognise their place as a fantasy trope, but that doesn't mean everyone needs them).

Oblivion is the only game I think that has been improved by item degradation, and that only because of the high level armourer skill that lets you repair items to beyond 100% functionality.