Silent Hill: Downpour (Silent Hill 8)

[Benstamania]

Bah, I don't care what the pc version looks like from how many years ago.. It looks fine on my 47" TV and I'm happy to be able to play them again.

Which I'm doing right now.

That's all I care about.

 

[Balthus Dire]

Silent Hill 2 is still probably the scariest game I've played in my life. I'm tempted to pick up the HD collection, but isn't it only SH2 and 3?

I haven't actually played through a full SH game since "The Room" because I felt the series took a bit of a change in direction. I feel like I'm so damn behind at this point it'd be kinda pointless to pick up this new game, even though I used to love the SH stories.

Dead Space kinda filled my Silent Hill void.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Silent Hill 2 is still probably the scariest game I've played in my life. I'm tempted to pick up the HD collection, but isn't it only SH2 and 3?

Yeah.

I haven't actually played through a full SH game since "The Room" because I felt the series took a bit of a change in direction. I feel like I'm so damn behind at this point it'd be kinda pointless to pick up this new game, even though I used to love the SH stories.

Dead Space kinda filled my Silent Hill void.

SH4 is kind of a special case. It wasn't originally intended to be a SH game, and was only altered to do so when Konami lost faith in as an original IP. And it's obvious too, when you consider how shoehorned the SH aspects of it seem. Homecoming and Origins are more in line with the previous games. They aren't quite as good, but I thought they were worth checking out.

 

[Benstamania]

Yeah, it's only 2 and 3..which happen to be the two best games in the series.. SO.. Win/win.

 

[Naked Shia]

While I really like both, I still think SH3 is only a remake of sort of SH1.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Wuh? How do you get that? It's basically a direct sequel to SH1, but there's nothing about that makes me feel like it was just a copy and paste of the first one, even from a gameplay perspective.

 

[Benstamania]

^Agreed

3 is the only one connected to SH1... But it's not a remake or retelling.

 

[Havok83]

Silent Hill 1 is the only one Ive owned and played through and I loved it. Thankfully it will be a free game on PS+ in April

 

[Benstamania]

Oh? Nice.

 

[Crockett]

Shattered Memories is the only installment I've played in the SH series and even then it's not for too long. The first 3 has always interested me, but it doesn't help that I can be easily startled.

I'm thinking of getting the first one through PSN and afterwards decide whether to get the HD collection or not.

 

[Benstamania]

SH2 is easily one of the scariest games out there.

 

[Balthus Dire]

I agree. The only game to come close to SH2 for me was probably Dead Space but even then it was a different kind of scary. SH2 was disturbing and creepy on a weird, psychological level that no game has touched since IMO.


I've done some reading up and it seems like the only game I could even catch up on at this point would be Homecoming because I don't have a PS2 or PS3 to play the other ports. Is it even worth it to try to catch up in that case, or can I enjoy this new SH without playing the games between 4 and 8? That seems like a pretty huge gap.

 

[Soapy]

From what I gather, Downpour is completely standalone.

 

[Havok83]

I thought all the SH games are standalone except 1 and 3?

 

[Soapy]

That's what Benstamania said.

 

[KevanG]

All the games except 1 and 3 are stand alone even then it's more of a 20 years later type thing. Shattered Memories is a remake/reimagining of SH1. Never played SM as don't have a Wii anymore or SH: Origins. Enjoyed Homecoming alot, was disappointed in 4, loved 2 and 3.

Downpour as was said before doesnt have anything much to do with the rest of the series besides being in silent hill. The main character isn't supposed to be related to anyone else form the previous games or was friends with a guy who was second cousins with someone who's ex had a fling with a guy who may have been a cult member. Although that would be hilarious to have a small throw away joke to spaceballs in there somewhere.

 

[Balthus Dire]

Sweet, I just wanted to make sure this new game wouldn't be full of obscure references to previous games that I would completely blank on having not played a bunch of them.

Maybe I'll grab Homecoming first since it's like dirt cheap now at most places. It'll be pretty cool to go back to Silent Hill after so many years.

 

[KevanG]

There'll likely be a few things that you might see that you might not notice but nothing that would make the story worthless. They usually have a few in jokes or items that are there to make the fans smile. Like in SH3 you go back to the same amusement park that Harry from SH1 went to and you can find some notes on the notepads that were used to save the game on SH1.

 

[Benstamania]

There's also a dirty toilet joke in 3 that breaks the 4th wall if you have a SH 2 save on your memory card.

 

[Naked Shia]

Wuh? How do you get that? It's basically a direct sequel to SH1, but there's nothing about that makes me feel like it was just a copy and paste of the first one, even from a gameplay perspective.

I think the mood is really similar, and the story structure is similar as well.

Basically, SH 1 is about Harry discovering the truth about his daughter, and fighting Silent Hill's past and the order.

SH3 is about Heather discovering the truth about her past and fighting the order.

The places she goes to may not be the same, but the story is really similar. That doesn't make it a bad game, far from it, as the ambiance is fantastic.

 

[Rodrigo90]

After playing through the games back to back...all I can say is, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE HORROR?

Silent Hill's scares are supposed derived from your own mind, supplied by the sutble nature of the world around you.
I'm not scared by the horrors being so obviously crammed down my throat.

I can scare just of the top of my head using the old games logic -
Walk into a dark room, inside Brookhaven. In the room there is an overturned pram, it's squeaky wheel slowly coming to a stop, a doll lying next to it, with it's head lying not far beside it.
"Where's the baby?..."

What scares you is yourself thinking why is there a pram in a mental hospital
Then your mind starts asking about the baby's safety, it's condition, and why the doll is beheaded, could it have happened to the baby by a patient..and it's scary because you'll never get the answers.

That's what makes Silent Hill distubing...and the developers of nowadays have no clue.

 

[Rodrigo90]

I just asked Guy Cihi on Youtube, the guy who played James in SH2, if he and Dave Schaufele, who played Eddie, would consider playing through SH2 and uploading it on Youtube. Fingers crossed they do

 

[Naked Shia]

I think Downpour is a great Silent Hill Game. The main story is interesting, with great characters interaction and development.

But what really makes the game to me, are the side quests. You have to search the whole town to find them, which allows you to really appreciate the town as a character. I think the level design is really good, and making it an open world game was both bold and rewarding in that regard. I had the most fun while I made my way through the city and was searching for side quests.

Those missions are also quite imaginative, and every one of them feels unique. Some of them are really frightening, like the search for a beating heart, or that scene where you witness a murder and have to punish the murderer for what he did.

Vatra took their cues from shattered memories (the chase sequences, the phantomatic mood and apparitions) and they manage to make it their own.

To me, it's a great addition to the mythos, while being really different and having its own voice, and it's certainly a step in the right direction if we want the franchise to continue without making the same old games again.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I think the mood is really similar, and the story structure is similar as well.

Basically, SH 1 is about Harry discovering the truth about his daughter, and fighting Silent Hill's past and the order.

SH3 is about Heather discovering the truth about her past and fighting the order.

The places she goes to may not be the same, but the story is really similar. That doesn't make it a bad game, far from it, as the ambiance is fantastic.

Woah, never actually saw this reply haha.

I think this comes down to the fact that SH3 is a direct sequel to SH1. So calling it a remake is like calling any sequel to a game that is similar to it's predecessor a remake. Some sequels do feel this way, I guess, but I don't see SH3 as one. It's been awhile since I've played them, but I think they're both quite different from one another.

 

[Naked Shia]

I can't find the music playing when you're in the town. It's definitely not on the ost. Does Anyone have any clue as to how to find it?