Big day! We now have Silent Hill: Downpour screens and a LOGO! The graphic improvements from the e3 2010 is mindblowing. The game is gorgeous and it’s still in production! Environments and character detail look pretty damn good for a title that is still a ways away from release. That mysterious clock tower makes an appearance in the logo as well I’m thinking it’s going to play a big role in the game. What do you think? Downpour is set to release this Fall…I seriously can’t wait!
The parent company of Vatra games has added a promotional reel for some of their upcoming titles. A brief clip of Silent Hill 8 is shown which shows quite an improvement to graphics shown in the e3 trailer! Check it out on the front page of their website:
I noticed a lot of cool things watching the HD version I didn’t before 🙂
The neat!
1) The monsters are pretty creepy. It looks like Murphy DIDN’T shoot the other inmate. From what I can see it looks like the female monster mauled and bit him. He was way too bloody from a single gunshot.
2) When the little girl jumps into frame there’s also a little boy in the doorway. The man she pushes is wearing jeans and a green button down shirt and not a prison coverall so it could be a flashback. Maybe the boy and girl are related to Murphy in some way. His kids…his siblings…random ghosts from that apartment? Their clothing did look dated next to the man in jeans.
3) The man on the TV seems to be black
4) Murphy is in a prison cell when the world shifts to the other world. I really like how the other world becomes like a vortex/blackhole and sucks all the stuff away.
5) Overall the world had a lot more color. Everything looked pretty gray and washed out before but I can a much more detailed Silent Hill now. If anything it really reminds me of the Blue Creek Apartments area of Silent Hill 2. The brief glimpses of fog look really good in my opinion. This could be the most “realistic” version of the town yet. Nice rain effects as well!
6) Great voice acting from the little we hear. I also like the music!
Not So great
1) Murphy looks pretty blah and plasticy…especially his hair. I’m really hoping he gets more detail on his character model.
2) Some animation does look stiff but I’m sure it will improve!
Overall I’m pretty DAMN excited 🙂 What about you guys?
Wow I was able to get the PS2 for only $20 thanks to cash I had left over on an amazon gift certificate (thanks Alexis and Justin!) and oh boy am I glad I got the wii version! This version is definitely lacking a lot of graphical details I was shocked.
First the controls:
The wii version is definitely more immersive since I could move the flashlight freely but I think the actions of the PS2 Harry were still worked well. You can still zoom in and look at things and I got to say it was nice not having to twist my wrist every which was to try and get a can to turn over properly :).
The only big difference I’ve seen is the inability to shake and nod your head or turn things over, all of which have button prompts instead of movements. It wasn’t a bad thing to tell you the truth since the doc was quicker to get my yes and no responses.
Completing puzzles by grabbing things wasn’t that hard either, sure it was a little slower because my movement was restricted to the analog stick and I couldn’t just flick a wrist every which way but it still worked.
Oh and something weird happened when I left Theresa’s I’m sure you can see it on my video Harry hit an invisible wall at one point and I couldn’t walk through a large opening..not sure what that was about.
My coloring was also a whole lot nicer on my happy family picture since it was impossible to go outside the lines!
Sound/Music
Didn’t really notice that big of a difference
Graphics
Okay now we get to the not so great part. The graphics I’m sad to say weren’t anything special. If people thought the wii version looked “bad” they aren’t going to like the PS2 one. Here are things that really jumped out at me:
-The lack of shadow effects. When I was in Theresa’s I was surprised not to see a shadow appear behind the dress mannequin (you should be able to see in my quick playthrough video below). I thought I was standing at a bad angle at first but nope it never showed up.
– Characters have less detail in their textures. Harry and Cybil had less blemishes and marks.
– Echo photos should be a whole lot easier to spot since you have several white staticey lines that appear through echo subjects…even through Harry.
– Background details removed. For example in the first nightmare when you jump into the pool there’s a large frozen puddle to one side in the wii version…this wasn’t so in the PS2.
– In the nightmare level there seemed to be less ice but it could be that I’m tired but a lot of it wasn’t translucent like in the wii version. This was especially apparent at the part where Harry runs from a monster in the alley. It was pretty funny since you can’t actually SEE a monster behind the ice and you can barely see one above Harry so it looks like he’s running from nothing.
-While inside Cybil’s car it didn’t snow outside (it did in the wii version right?) and I could see things clearly out the window.
I also have the PSP version now thanks to my brother who pre ordered it for my birthday, I haven’t played that yet but I will tomorrow and write my thoughts.
Gameplay Video
(if anyone is curious I just answered yes to anything asked)
I don’t have a PS2 copy yet but someone on NeoGaf took some screens of the differences between the Wii and PS2 version of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
I’m working on recording each variant of various cutscenes. So far I have meeting Cybil and Lisa’s Death complete! Working on the bartender….but I keep getting Cybil darn it!
Konami redesigned their website and with that redesign came some new PSP screens taken sometime during Comic Con 2009. Looks like “sexy cop” Cybil likes to smoke. Sadly there’s still no PS2 screens up just ones from the PSP and Wii. The Official Silent Hill: Shattered Memories site isn’t working at the moment but I hope it’s because they are getting that microsite up!
IGN has written up a new hands on review of the first three hours of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. I didn’t want to ruin anything so I barely skimmed the article but from the final paragraph it’s seems like the first three hours made a good impression (and we got two new screens!):
I read the message boards like everybody else and the sentiment from at least some gamers is that Shattered Memories is destined for failure. Having sunk some time into the experience, this is not a sentiment I share. The Nintendo editors voted and collectively decided that it was the Best Game of E3 2009 and three hours in, it shows all the potential that it did back then and more. Climax has created a 3D engine that runs and looks fabulous on Wii. The utilization of the Mason’s flashlight as the main tool is a stroke of genius because it works triumphantly with Nintendo’s controller. The game is moody and beautiful at times. And, of course, it’s freakin’ scary. The experience may or may not hold up until the end, but so far, so good.
Shattered Memories ships just in time for the holidays. We’ll have more media leading up to our review in early December so stay tuned.
Looks like IGN is gearing up for their own review in early December, I can’t wait to read it!
Silent Hill Delayed for PS2
It’ll come to Wii in December, but PS2 owners will have to wait until next year.
by Matt Casamassina
November 12, 2009 – What could be better than spending the holidays scared out of your mind? If you answered ‘nothing,’ then you’re in luck — well, if you own Nintendo’s system, anyway. Konami confirmed on Thursday morning that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories will ship for Wii in America on December 8, despite rumors that the game might see a delay to next year.
The publisher also stated that the release dates for the PlayStation 2 and PSP versions of the game would be revealed at a later date, which suggests that these builds will in fact be pushed to the 2010 time frame, allowing Wii owners a temporary exclusive. Various online retailers have the PS2 and PSP titles listed for mid-January.
Shattered Memories, a re-imainging of the first game in the acclaimed horror series, stars Harry Mason, a distraught father with amnesia on a quest to find his daughter, who has gone missing in the eerie town of Silent Hill. Armed only with his flashlight and cell phone, Mason searches the town for clues and soon discovers that the area and its inhabitants are plagued by gruesome monsters. In addition to tight controls tied to Harry’s flashlight, which illuminates the dark hallways and spooky woods he treks through, Silent Hill employs a psych profile system that analyzes players’ decisions and moves and then dynamically modifies the game.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was named IGN’s Wii Game of E3 2009.
Check out new character art and screenshots in our media section.
