Screenshots :.
Silent Hill: Homecoming
360
Matt
03-03-2009
"School photo ruined."
"Hey good looking!"
"A young Ted Danson"
"Not the nicest of things to encounter."
"*fanboy cheer*"
Since they first became apparent to my gaming radar in 2001 or so (number 2, in case you are wondering), Silent Hill games have held somewhat of a fixation for me and I'm not entirely sure why. In a sea of mature horror type games they are still probably the most harrowing, gruesome and nightmarish bunch of the lot, yet with a nice mixture of puzzling and adventuring the games used to (well, up until number 4 that is) strike a perfect balance. Homecoming, the sixth game in the main series and the second not to be developed by original developers Team Silent, aims to restore a little shine to the series and, much to my surprise, does a pretty good job.
Telling the tale of a chap called Alex Shepherd who has been sent home from military duty to investigate the disappearance of his father and brother, the game pretty much punches you in the face right from the beginning by eschewing some kind of long, mellow calm-before-the-storm intro and throwing you straight into the nightmare from the get-go. It's particularly nasty, grimy stuff and sets the tone for what is one of the more unpleasant, downbeat games on the market.
Thankfully, Alex has the means to fight back against all this unpleasantness. This time around the player has been given a series of dodges that can be performed by tapping the B button to instigate a roll or sidestep depending on which direction they are holding, and despite initial doubts as to how much of a gung-ho action game it would turn Homecoming into it actually ends up being more of a useful tool that can balance some pretty serious odds.
Obviously, most of those odds come in the form of the various monsters and boss monsters that you end up battling with, and it's fair to say that Homecoming's crop is probably the strangest, most unnerving selection yet. From the skinless dogs that leap out of the fog right through to the glowing and pulsating Smogs that are a complete pain in the arse to fight and are probably best avoided, there are all sorts of strange and really rather disgusting things to battle through. The bosses are also gigantically proportioned freaks of nature, a particular highlight being a 10-foot tall porcelain doll whose shell fractures to reveal tissue and blood as you almost waltz around her.
The best part of the above is that the game also balances the weaponry pretty well, giving you plenty of light, medium and heavy melee offerings and keeping ammunition for guns at a premium. There were plenty of times throughout the game where it felt like the player was being challenged to attack an enemy that they really could do with running away from, and the resulting panic that arose was a genuinely scary moment. It doesn't all work so well, mind; the difficulty level does occasionally really ramp up and leave you up the creek with no paddle, such as a section in the middle of the game containing the above-mentioned porcelain doll boss, whom is reached via thirty minutes of descent through a level that yields no health or ammo drops.
The combat itself is mostly fine, with Alex being able to perform a quick attack and a heavy, more long-winded one should the player find a pocket of time. Combined with the dodge roll and shuffle you can learn how various enemies attack and put tactics to good use, although at times you will still be handed somewhat of a beating no matter how versed you are. It's a pretty satisfying system to use on the whole, and it's not been overpowered to the point where you feel like you can easily take on all the enemies the game throws your way.
The puzzles, on the other hand, are a bit of a mixed bunch, although there are enough of them to dispel fears that Homecoming would be all brawn and little brain. Most of the time these puzzles merely require careful exploration of the surrounding level to collect items to use in certain places but on occasion there is the odd logical teaser thrown in, such as a particularly crafty clock puzzle about midway through and one of those sodding annoying block shuffling puzzles at around the same point. It certainly feels a better puzzle/action balance than the last couple of Silent Hill games, mind, so that's a good step back in the right direction.
For all those good steps there are a few steps back, mind. The camera can now be rotated by the player rather than being fixed, but the lack of an invert option will annoy those strange folks who like up being down and down being up. In all truth I can't say I noticed many times when massive manipulation of the camera was needed, but hey – best let people know. Another – more story-based – thing that didn't particularly sit well with me is the way the game steps slightly away from the whole monsters thing later in the game and instead introduces some human opponents for the first proper time (forgetting the odd boss battle) in the series. It doesn't really feel in keeping with the setting or the series as such.
Another thing that counts against the game is that it is vastly linear, often leaving the player only a couple of smaller areas to explore outside the main path through. It certainly doesn't offer the random wandering that the second or third game offered, but then you could argue that the strong narrative lessens the blow slightly and allows you to absorb yourself into the story without feeling the need to spend hours tooling around in the fog.
With all that being said, you still end up sitting in front of the game and enjoying what is playing out in front of you. Double Helix have done a pretty damned fine job of replicating the Silent Hill style for the current generation of consoles, with characters' faces emoting nicely and a good group of voice actors putting in some decent performances. As ever, Homecoming does showcase the whole grainy filter thing that can make it hard to see much (especially as the flashlight is pretty useless outdoors), but the mixture of whispy grey streets and deserted green parks with blood red flooring, skin-covered windows and burning red fires of the more nightmarish sections is something that will really leave a mark on you.
Likewise, the game's story is as bonkers as you would expect a Silent Hill plot to be, but along the way it does a great job of hammering home the desperation, the loneliness and the sheer sadness of what is going on. All this is backed by the usual mixture of clanging industrial noises, horrible gurgling monster cries and a number of haunting musical tracks, and as with previous Silent Hill games it is fair to say that the audio side adds more than its fair share to how genuinely unnerving the game ends up being.
Homecoming is not the best Silent Hill game to date, but it's a surprisingly good addition to the series and certainly betters the previous two games by some margin. As you play through the game's 10-hour (or so) length you will constantly be barraged by unsettling images, horrific sounds and a sense of melancholy that plenty of similar horror games would love to achieve, whilst the now familiar process of unlockable costumes and different endings does add replay value for those who are fanatical enough. If you're a fan of horror games in general or a Silent Hill nut, best get the new underwear ready and settle down for another trip into hell.
Telling the tale of a chap called Alex Shepherd who has been sent home from military duty to investigate the disappearance of his father and brother, the game pretty much punches you in the face right from the beginning by eschewing some kind of long, mellow calm-before-the-storm intro and throwing you straight into the nightmare from the get-go. It's particularly nasty, grimy stuff and sets the tone for what is one of the more unpleasant, downbeat games on the market.
Thankfully, Alex has the means to fight back against all this unpleasantness. This time around the player has been given a series of dodges that can be performed by tapping the B button to instigate a roll or sidestep depending on which direction they are holding, and despite initial doubts as to how much of a gung-ho action game it would turn Homecoming into it actually ends up being more of a useful tool that can balance some pretty serious odds.
Obviously, most of those odds come in the form of the various monsters and boss monsters that you end up battling with, and it's fair to say that Homecoming's crop is probably the strangest, most unnerving selection yet. From the skinless dogs that leap out of the fog right through to the glowing and pulsating Smogs that are a complete pain in the arse to fight and are probably best avoided, there are all sorts of strange and really rather disgusting things to battle through. The bosses are also gigantically proportioned freaks of nature, a particular highlight being a 10-foot tall porcelain doll whose shell fractures to reveal tissue and blood as you almost waltz around her.
The best part of the above is that the game also balances the weaponry pretty well, giving you plenty of light, medium and heavy melee offerings and keeping ammunition for guns at a premium. There were plenty of times throughout the game where it felt like the player was being challenged to attack an enemy that they really could do with running away from, and the resulting panic that arose was a genuinely scary moment. It doesn't all work so well, mind; the difficulty level does occasionally really ramp up and leave you up the creek with no paddle, such as a section in the middle of the game containing the above-mentioned porcelain doll boss, whom is reached via thirty minutes of descent through a level that yields no health or ammo drops.
The combat itself is mostly fine, with Alex being able to perform a quick attack and a heavy, more long-winded one should the player find a pocket of time. Combined with the dodge roll and shuffle you can learn how various enemies attack and put tactics to good use, although at times you will still be handed somewhat of a beating no matter how versed you are. It's a pretty satisfying system to use on the whole, and it's not been overpowered to the point where you feel like you can easily take on all the enemies the game throws your way.
The puzzles, on the other hand, are a bit of a mixed bunch, although there are enough of them to dispel fears that Homecoming would be all brawn and little brain. Most of the time these puzzles merely require careful exploration of the surrounding level to collect items to use in certain places but on occasion there is the odd logical teaser thrown in, such as a particularly crafty clock puzzle about midway through and one of those sodding annoying block shuffling puzzles at around the same point. It certainly feels a better puzzle/action balance than the last couple of Silent Hill games, mind, so that's a good step back in the right direction.
For all those good steps there are a few steps back, mind. The camera can now be rotated by the player rather than being fixed, but the lack of an invert option will annoy those strange folks who like up being down and down being up. In all truth I can't say I noticed many times when massive manipulation of the camera was needed, but hey – best let people know. Another – more story-based – thing that didn't particularly sit well with me is the way the game steps slightly away from the whole monsters thing later in the game and instead introduces some human opponents for the first proper time (forgetting the odd boss battle) in the series. It doesn't really feel in keeping with the setting or the series as such.
Another thing that counts against the game is that it is vastly linear, often leaving the player only a couple of smaller areas to explore outside the main path through. It certainly doesn't offer the random wandering that the second or third game offered, but then you could argue that the strong narrative lessens the blow slightly and allows you to absorb yourself into the story without feeling the need to spend hours tooling around in the fog.
With all that being said, you still end up sitting in front of the game and enjoying what is playing out in front of you. Double Helix have done a pretty damned fine job of replicating the Silent Hill style for the current generation of consoles, with characters' faces emoting nicely and a good group of voice actors putting in some decent performances. As ever, Homecoming does showcase the whole grainy filter thing that can make it hard to see much (especially as the flashlight is pretty useless outdoors), but the mixture of whispy grey streets and deserted green parks with blood red flooring, skin-covered windows and burning red fires of the more nightmarish sections is something that will really leave a mark on you.
Likewise, the game's story is as bonkers as you would expect a Silent Hill plot to be, but along the way it does a great job of hammering home the desperation, the loneliness and the sheer sadness of what is going on. All this is backed by the usual mixture of clanging industrial noises, horrible gurgling monster cries and a number of haunting musical tracks, and as with previous Silent Hill games it is fair to say that the audio side adds more than its fair share to how genuinely unnerving the game ends up being.
Homecoming is not the best Silent Hill game to date, but it's a surprisingly good addition to the series and certainly betters the previous two games by some margin. As you play through the game's 10-hour (or so) length you will constantly be barraged by unsettling images, horrific sounds and a sense of melancholy that plenty of similar horror games would love to achieve, whilst the now familiar process of unlockable costumes and different endings does add replay value for those who are fanatical enough. If you're a fan of horror games in general or a Silent Hill nut, best get the new underwear ready and settle down for another trip into hell.
8/10