Silent Hill Prom Night... Homecoming...
 

Yay! I'm really loving this game and there have been several parts where I've been all "JESUSCHRISTWHATINZEHELL!" Combat system is vastly improved, and the enemies are harder. If you get the timing down you start to kick some ass, but I could still use some more healy dealys. Bosses are fun, hardish, and creepy as hell.

Also, Pyramid Head makes a cameo, though I don't know if he'll show up again later. I love PH, but it just doesn't make sense for him to be in this one personally. In 2 he existed to punish James, but as far as I know, he serves no purpose but to walk by for two seconds and be badass.

Go play it!

Yeah, I've heard it's actually pretty good despite the misgivings about the American developer because EW AMERICA right?

As for Pyramid Head, he's not exclusive to James, he's part of the core history of the town. Well, not him singular, but he/they are based on the hooded executioners the town used to have, so it makes sense that they'd show up for other people.

If it's anything like 3, I am sooooo in. That was amazing. I like the real time cut scenes I saw in the trailer, how are those in the game?

My group's playing it right now. Girlfriend's currently working on the final boss.


As much as I'd love to talk about the metaphors and the plot and shit, because holyshitholyshitholyshit, I don't want to spoil anything either. Suffice it to say, it's immersive like SH1, but with a plot closer to SH2. The bosses are absolutely horrifying.

You can definitely see the American influence, I will say. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but there were definitely shades of Hostel, Saw, the Condemned, and the Suffering later in the game. Plus, the sheer violence level in certain parts (especially if you get offed by a Schism) rival that of, say, Resident Evil 4. There's more gore, but it's in such short bursts and so finely whipped out of left field that it leaves you more shocked than grossed out. Like, it startles you that things suddenly went from normal to oh my god.

And don't go to the GameFAQs forums for this. At all. Ever. I know that's a general rule of thumb, but they're frustratingly retarded. This game is good, better than Origins and 4 at bare minimum.

I know PH is based on the hooded executioners, but still, it kinda takes away from his role in 2 in my opinion. I just wish they could come up with a new creature that comes anywhere near the awesome level of PH. Also, the part where he kills his Mom... Holy shit, that was awesome in an emotional plot sorta way...

Anyone who says this game sucks is obviously an idiot...

Have you gotten to the end yet? The stuff later with his dad is so mind numbingly multi-layered that I think it might make you-know-who better than before. The more I think on it, the crazier and crazier the context gets. The spoileriness is absolutely killing me.

Then put it in spoiler tags, that's the accepted method around these parts.

This was actually my first foray into Silent Hill, and I've gotta say I enjoyed. The combat system is what I would consider quite nearly perfect for a survival horror game. The character is competent enough with weapons, instead of the normal 'I know only one way to swing a knife/stick/whatever' that makes it impossible to effectively use melee weapons and force me to resort to running back five feet and shooting every 3 seconds. And finally someone smart enough to go "Hey I bet I could bash in something's head with this steel pipe/fire ax/whatever instead of just using my pocket knife" instead of just using it for that one puzzle where I'm forced to use it to break-down-that-one-door-in-the-back-left-corner-of-the-second-floor-of-the-mansion. Alex has just enough skill to fight back and dodge effectively without becoming the invincible walking doom incarnate. Ammo is scarce and the limited carrying capacity prevents me from ever deciding/being able to just unleash all my ammo to breeze through a section.

Everything in the game just feels wrong, even when I'm walking down an empty hallway, there's something about the atmosphere that causes me to tense up, and every errant sound pricks my nerves to yet another level of alertness.

I gotta say some of the puzzles in the game ticked me off because the clue to the puzzle was a document I couldn't pick up or didn't write down a note about. Then when I actually get to the puzzle I can only vaguely remember what the relevant article said and there's no way to go back because I'm trapped in the doom dimension and the note is in normal space. Also there were way too many times when I find myself scouring the entire town for the next clue because I didn't see the tiny graphical hint in the last section Such as those special door keyholes that have to be opened with the ceremonial dagger.

As for the story I've got to say spoilers up to the last cut scenes I was wondering the whole time about while Alex's dad was such a dick to him all his life while showing Josh all his 'cool stuff', and while Josh was the exact same age in flashbacks as he was in the current time. At the time of his death though I figured out he meant to sacrifice Alex before seeing the giant coffin. However I didn't realize Alex had so directly caused Josh's death, until I saw it.

Yeah, while I do love this game, it easily has the worst puzzles. Most SHs had... you know, brain teasers. Puzzles that worked your mind over. Most of these are either riddles older than dirt, or puzzles based on trial and error.

The second move shit puzzle pissed me right off cuz the first time I tried it I messed it up beyond solving it back. Wire puzzles can fuck right off. Seriously. I do miss the puzzles from other SH's... Hanging people for the win!

And the zodiac puzzle from SH1. Homicide was nearly committed when three different people simultaneously realized how to fucking solve the thing.