Zero Punctuation: Silent Hill Origins

[Frederf]

My only exposure to the Silent Hill series is "The Room" as well as walking by a Silent Hill movie poster... oh and C. S. Yahtzee's comments on #5. Personally I liked it for the approach to horror in which horror is the main thematic element. Good horror too, not the popoutboo type but the creeping "Did I file my taxes correctly?" horror. I didn't get very far into it because it wasn't very rewarding but I can see the charm.

"...name any game in which weapon degradation has been a good idea." I'm going to be Little Johnny Literalist and say pretty much all games weapon degradation has been a good idea. Never mind that most of those games wherein weapon degradation was a good idea didn't actually have weapon degradation and that most of those that actually did implement weapon degradation did so in an annoying way. How's that for numbingly literal interpretation?

The point was to get some needed breathing space between concept and implementation. What C.S. Yahtzee wanted to ask was "...name any game in which weapon degradation was implemented well" but he's not from America so I can forgive his passing familiarity with the English language. The answer to this better, more American, question is that... "well not many." Dead Rising is right on the edge between "well" and "passable" in terms of implementation.

Unfortunately, game developers are like only child 8 year olds with a crate and a half of toys. They are so proud of HDR this, weapon degradation that, bloom hoohah that they fail to temper their showing off with subtlety. Can you name any game that had ragdoll physics that didn't randomly blow a body across a room during the single player campaign? Any game featuring HDR that didn't do the now-cliche dark tunnel to super bright room?

Where was I? Oh right, if a game has weapon degradation they seem to think that weapons can't last more than a dozen hits/shots and self destruct. Not because it's pleasing, realistic, or immersive, but because they got it for Christmas and they'll be darned if you aren't up to your eyeballs in it.

 

[Firia]

I agree with you that Silent Hill 4 had the best story, but personally I think Silent Hill 3 was the best in the series. Don't get me wrong, 2 was brilliant, but personally I liked Heathers character more than I did James.

I agree, just about 100 percent.

Just about.

While SH2 is by no means Bad, for me it didn't match up to the terror that was SH1, and was later completely out done by SH3. If you had two catagories for SH games, those being Story and Horror, SH2 would score high for story, but moderate for horror. I felt SH 1 and 3 had big points for each. SH3 gets bonus points for being the closest thing to a sequal in all all of the Silent Hill series. SH4 was gripping, and I felt was capable of estableshing a pattern; High scoring for story (I loved learning what it was that barred the man from leaving his house), but moderate points for terror.

I havn't played SH O, but I trust what Yahzee is saying... well, not all of it. I'm hopeful for SH5. But if Origins didn't work up a good reason for this trucker to be in town, and didn't murder and eat his own children (for example) to give some form of tragity, then yes, failure of story. Posably even low points. I'll never know, because I don't own a psp.

Fingers crossed for SH5.

 

[SpiderEternal]

"Name one game where weapon degradation was a good idea."

System Shock 2. ^^

 

[hex1]

I don't know how you can diss Zim forums looking at your recent standards of writing. I mean come on, your humour's gone to hell, every other word is fag, shit, arse or cock. You spent too much time in America. Have a look at some of the old stuff on your site, or even the first two or so videos here. By comparison the recent stuff is pathetic. You can do better and I'd love to see it.

 

[Ciarog]

Haven't played Silent Hill in ages, I loved the original, I can still hear that creepy gate squeeking...
And here's some useless trivia: A Pennsylvania town named Centralia was used as the basis for the town in Silent Hill. For the past 45 years a mine fire has been burning underground there, releasing toxic steam and warping the streets. There is a seriously creepy old church and graveyard where steam rises up right amongst the headstones. (I used to live about 45 minutes away from Centralia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

Lot of small towns in that area are being destroyed, some in less dramatic fashion.

Mine fires are pretty common anywhere you find abandoned coal, there's one been burning in Northwest Colorado since 1899.

 

[RPJesus]

I kinda hated the protagonist in SH3. Granted I never played that far, but I figured she wanted to die, so who am I to stand in her way?
"This van is blocking my way out. God forbid I climb over it."
"Those boxes look heavy. And obviously getting raped killed and eaten (not necesarily in that order) by sins against nature is a much better alternative to shoving some boxes off a crate."
Not to mention she unloads an entire fucking clip into the easiest monster type of all those I encountered. It's like the only one you can use the knife on without getting hit for christs sake. Which I suppose is less of an issue in easy mode where they're like
"-have some more ammo
-Uh, my inventory's full
-Well then have some more inventory"
But I was playing on hard I believe, so it was more like
"-Can I have, like, a stick at least?
-Fuck off"
Finally I'll close with an actual line of text from the game which is probably a large part of why I can't take it seriously
"This is a fire door. It doesn't lead anywhere."

 

[Ciarog]

I don't know how you can diss Zim forums looking at your recent standards of writing. I mean come on, your humour's gone to hell, every other word is fag, shit, arse or cock. You spent too much time in America. Have a look at some of the old stuff on your site, or even the first two or so videos here. By comparison the recent stuff is pathetic. You can do better and I'd love to see it.

Very few people can consistently write reveiws of games that tend to be unique only in the manner in which they suck.

 

[Midnight Voyager]

Um, let's see... *random criticism of reviews and how they suck* *offer to bear your children* *expression of undying love* etc, etc.

Eh, makes me laugh every week.

Anyway, I'd be thrilled if they decided simply to remake the older games to bloody well work better. I have never played more than a few minutes of the first and second Silent Hill games... which didn't really give me enough heart to go on. The camera and controls are frustrating to no end. If they remade them with updated graphics, better controls, and a better camera... that would be just ducky.

I know you don't like remakes, but that was Laura bloody Croft and this is something that could actually benefit from a remake. It'd bring Silent Hill to a new generation, so to speak.

Or to people like me, who didn't have the right system when the older ones came out and who can't adjust to the "What the hell is wrong with the mechanics here!?" curve.

 

[penischucker]

I kind of want them to remake the first Silent Hill, (just to update the graphics a little even though I still want to have grotesque pixelated sex with it) but I am afraid they're going to leave that to American companies who have no idea what the fuck they're doing... and then before you know it there is a worldwide mass suicide of fanatics thus rendering all intelligent life forms extinct.
And whoever said that "pre Kid-A" Radiohead sucked then may God have mercy on your drooling, fat and retarded soul.

"R.I.P. Silent Hill."

 

[Demon Sultan]

I know that this is going to get me flack, but I have this discussion every time SH comes up. (I never played 4, so I'm not sure if this applies).

I understand the desire to have fear in a game, and that being Trenchcoat McBadass is going to detract from gameplay. I understand the need for 'normal' characters that are unable to simply wade through the remains of their slain enemies. But it seems that people want this taken too far, to the point where if the character has an idea what his/her arms are for, suddenly they are too combat capable and the game is no fun. SH goes beyond 'normal' and strays into an area where you wonder how difficult it might be for the character to eat with kitchen utensils. The combat system in SH made me think of trying to survive a scary situation as a paraplegic with down's syndrome. There's better ways of making a game hard than making a character suck miserably at life. Want that feeling of helplessness? Make the monsters more invincible or something. There's something sad about knowing that despite one's pasty flabbiness, one can still outperform the protagonist in basic physical tasks, to say nothing of combat. Once again, I'm not saying James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger need to be running around Silent Hill. I must also emphasize that the story more than makes up for it to the point where it is a better game than most that don't have this problem, and that I love the series (that I have played) to death. Just stop making excuses for the combat.

[/rant]

 

[Khakidoo]

Haven't played Silent Hill in ages,...

That only applies to the movie. The town in the game isn't based on a single place, it's an amalgam of all the small towns in which horrific things happen in all the books of American horror authors.

Well, I'll be darned. I am apparently both pitifully out of touch with popular culture and semi-illiterate. I had no idea there was a Silent Hill Movie, even though right there in the wiki it says film. The shame... it burns...

 

[PurpleRain]

I keep hearing that Pyrimid head rapes deamons and the likes. This game sounds quite morbid.

 

[sergeantz]

"Press X to Nurby Durby Durr". That gave me a few laughs throughout the rest of the review.

 

[Sylocat]

I understand the desire to have fear in a game, and that being Trenchcoat McBadass is going to detract from gameplay. I understand the need for 'normal' characters that are unable to simply wade through the remains of their slain enemies. But it seems that people want this taken too far, to the point where if the character has an idea what his/her arms are for, suddenly they are too combat capable and the game is no fun. SH goes beyond 'normal' and strays into an area where you wonder how difficult it might be for the character to eat with kitchen utensils. The combat system in SH made me think of trying to survive a scary situation as a paraplegic with down's syndrome. There's better ways of making a game hard than making a character suck miserably at life. Want that feeling of helplessness? Make the monsters more invincible or something. There's something sad about knowing that despite one's pasty flabbiness, one can still outperform the protagonist in basic physical tasks, to say nothing of combat. Once again, I'm not saying James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger need to be running around Silent Hill. I must also emphasize that the story more than makes up for it to the point where it is a better game than most that don't have this problem, and that I love the series (that I have played) to death. Just stop making excuses for the combat.

That's why I brought up the idea for having SH4 do away with all combat and just make it a Myst-style point-and-click discovery game.
In the Myst games, the protagonist has no combat skills, because he is an everyman, but it works because those games don't focus on killing baddies. Do the Myst games need baddies to make them interesting and atmospheric? No they do not. I think the SH games, SH4 in particular because of its unique story, could have compounded on that excellently by doing away with all combat and having it be all about the story.

 

[blueberrypanda]

yes. yes yes yes. yahtzee, you've made my day.

 

[Chis]

And whoever said that "pre Kid-A" Radiohead sucked then may God have mercy on your drooling, fat and retarded soul.

I just had a word with him. He says you and the rest of the emos can go first. Call it natural selection. Hell, I'll be sure to mention you all at the next Darwin Awards.

I kinda hated the protagonist in SH3. Granted I never played that far, but I figured she wanted to die, so who am I to stand in her way?

Be honest, you're a chauvinist.

Anyway, Silent Hill 3 had a magnificently creepy moment near the end of the game, which I believe took place in the hospital? This is a minor spoiler if you haven't completed it: when entering one of the toilets (the room, not the cubicles), the door would lock behind you. Gradually the screen would erode, your vision becomes blurred, and everything around you gets covered with "noise". A dark red crawls along, staining the walls and floors. It moves towards you and eventually "grows" all over you, depleting your health. By this time you can run out the door again, and it's all a bit pointless. But completely, and utterly chilling.

It seemed that Silent Hill 4 would be full of little moments like this, but I just stopped playing after a few hours because I'd suddenly decided I just could not find any enjoyment in the combat any more. Interest killed completely. Shame, I'm sure I missed out on some more moments like the one above.

 

[Dr. Whiggs]

I don't know how you can diss Zim forums looking at your recent standards of writing. I mean come on, your humour's gone to hell, every other word is fag, shit, arse or cock. You spent too much time in America. Have a look at some of the old stuff on your site, or even the first two or so videos here. By comparison the recent stuff is pathetic. You can do better and I'd love to see it.

Whoo! Good one! Keep up the funny.

 

[Bahakitty]

I always loved the silent hill series and I wanted to play origins just because I'm a rabid fan. But I don't have a PSP so I borrowed my friend's game in hopes that some dude would throw me a PSP but that hasn't happened yet. From the sound of it the game would only be good if you are a fan. Also hoping SH5 doesn't fail. There's also the house-of-the-dead spinoff I wanna try for the same rabid-fan reason. awesome review!

 

[GHoD]

Before you eat your own arse, please review Call of duty 4!

 

[moromete]

Well, I haven't played any of the Silent Hill games yet this made me laugh... especially yhe press pause dig and the deleting bit at the end... Yes, I pause a lot while watching Yahtzee...