Shattered Memories is a very fun game and has a better story than most of the Silent Hill series. I'll agree it doesn't really "feel" like a Silent Hill game, mainly due to the lack of combat, but whatevs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seil
Shattered Memories loses points right out of the gate for telling you that it's going to try to psychoanalyze you, then the "scares" pretty much amount to long chase scenes with the "scary monsters" or taking a photo of something and hearing a scary sound effect.
|
To be fair, the psychoanalysis gimmick was never meant to make the game scarier, it just changes pretty much all the NPCs and character interactions, as well as your ending. I'll agree though that this is the first Silent Hill game that I've played that I would classify as "Not even remotely scary at all" but I don't think it was really trying to be. I don't know why it wouldn't try to be, but I'm not a game developer!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seil
The game tries to incorporate reality into the mix, such as having relatable moments atwixt characters and giving definitely plausible reason that the streets are cleared. A huge snow storm has hit Silent Hill, and like in Max Payne, that's their reason for no one being on the streets. Which kind of flops the "alone," on its end, as you're imagining everyone's there, you're just staying inside.
Which totally ruins the puzzle aspect of the game - in a mall bit, I had to go into a hair dresser's shop and turn on a faucet - hot water here, guys - so that the steam would allow me to read the code to a nearby door on a mirror. Now in a regular Silent Hill game, that'd be great - the puzzles in SH1-4 were like that, emphasizing on the "empty haunted fog filled town" ideal. But since the game is trying to break the reality ceiling here, it's just confusing - why wouldn't someone write a note? Now everyone who gets their hair washed in the salon will know the code to the door.
|
I don't know, the whole vibe I was getting from it was the storm was just Mason making up a reason as to why this town was deserted. I mean, all the locales you visit look like they've been empty for way, way longer than the storm has been going on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seil
The monsters are kind of a letdown - in each prior game, they designers, whether the original Team Silent team or Climax, tried to match aspects of the monsters with aspects of the main characters personality - creating a wonderful metaphor of battling ones own demons. They were generally scary or off-putting, and viewed at as challenges. The Raw Shocks - ("Rorschach") ...aren't.
|
Yeah, Raw Shocks pretty much suck. The only thing they've got going for them is how they caress you lovingly after they've killed you, which is probably important/creepy.