whoa.. dodge?.. counter attacks?? what the.. I have no health???
Homecoming.. i dunno.. just didn't have that same feel. Though different.. it wasn't a bad different. I was thoroughly entertained.. here's the review:
Graphics: 9
One thing I will bet a paycheck on is that fans have wanted a graphically inclined version of their bone-chilling franchise. Not to say the graphics were horrible for their time.. buut they certainly weren't amazing.
This game has a very detailed aspect to it. Seeing the transformation of the purgatory real world to the hellish otherworld in real time was a definite plus. Ever since I saw the movie, I wanted it to happen in-game so bad.. thank God Double Helix provided. It doesn't happen every time though.. maybe only twice throughout the entire game.
Now lets talk about character models and creatures..
At first glance the characters aren't bad looking.. compared to other games.. yea they're better.. but not by much. When you start to look at the characters more closely, you will probably sigh and roll your eyes at the lack of expression. I remember Silent Hill 3 being the best at this because they used a technique called pixel puppeting. Homecoming seems like the animators wanted to spend more time on creatures and bosses.. which is fine I suppose.. but in my opinion I believe these sorts of minute details are what makes a game memorable to play. So if there was one thing that I could suggest to future developers.. pleeease smooth out the rough edges.
Now for creatures.. they are very disturbing.. in a 'oh god what is that??' sort of fashion. The realism incorporated to their animations can actually give you an extra fear factor when they start to come at you. The bosses are also very well done. I believe that when putting bosses in a game like this, the visuals really have to make you feel genuinely creeped out, and not wanting to get close to it. So in my book this game definitely aces the boss battles.
Sound: 9
Atmospheric games such as this absolutely NEED a great surround effect. Homecoming definitely delivers, and more-so due to the different variations of levels.
Akira did come back to do the soundtrack, but as much respect as I have for his creative genius, this game's score wasn't as great as previous games. Prime comparison is again SH3.. I mean come on.. that soundtrack was the prime basis for the movie.. it was just that awesome. Though this one is decent enough, it just wasn't as spooky.
VOICE ACTING! Thank you Double Helix for delivering here.. the definition of the voice acting was substantially better than all the previous games put together. Just.. wished the facial expressions would have reflected the acting a bit more.
Controls: 7.5
Okay.. I really do love how everything is in real time in this game.. trust me I do. It makes you feel more into the atmosphere and I get it.. the developers wanted a more immersive perspective. Nothing wrong with that... however.. there are some issues here that need to be smoothed out before hopefully another Silent Hill hits the shelves.
Combat- I loved that the system has improved from the standard 'wack me.. then kick me dead' gameplay. Dodge..counter..combo is all you need to remember. However.. I feel like the dodging system was kinda flawed. I would open up with a quick combo and wait for the creature to strike so I could dodge and counter.. well.. sounds like a good tactic, but it works probably 40% of the time. Even if dodge is pressed you will most likely still take the beating regardless of how fast your fingers are... which can be severely frustrating.
Camera- Is pretty worthless in tight spaces.. like really.. here's an example: I was walking through the hotel, and would enter a room with a narrow hallway. Apparently there were 3 nurses that I was supposed to kill but the camera was so far behind and unresponsive that I simply just couldn't see where I was getting swiped at from.
Inventory- is much improved.. but still not as good as I would have liked. Call me dumb.. but sometimes I would accidentally use a serum when all i wanted was a key. Now it could be because the thumbsticks get a little touchy, but serums are health items right? And the health items were mainly used by bringing up the inventory and pressing a button to use it... why couldn't they do the same for the serum?.. no idea.. not a big deal but it did get a little annoying.
Value: 8
With the 5 different endings, this game does have a variable replay value just to see how the endings will come about. Double Helix boasted that each experience will be different each time played... well.. yes and no.. in context I suppose it's true, but it's not like I'm going to get to fight pyramid head for being a total jerk to all the characters in the game (which I kinda wanted to happen lol) the only differences between gameplays are the dialogue paths. If you care enough, then it's fun to see all the different endings. Not to mention the unlockable costumes and weapons. Uhm.. but the weapons aren't great.. (circular saw and laser pistol) the saw is.. extremely hard to use correctly, and the laser is just waaay too overpowered. Basically god mode cause everything dies in one shot.
My appeal to the value was another Silent Hill addition to my collection, because I own them all. If you're a SH fan then awesome.. pick it up. If not then it's alright, because it's certainly an entertaining ride.
Is it worth the 60 dollars?.. haha THE question.. and my verdict is no.
Some have different opinions, but if given a second chance I probably could have waited until the price dropped. Nevertheless, I'm glad it's on my shelf
Overall: 8
Not a perfect game, but it certainly tries hard to be. I give my respects to the western take of Silent Hill, because there's a lot of creative potential. Though there are still many areas of improvement
-TiX