Yes, I was excited when I found out Silent Hill would be coming to the next generation consoles and I bought it soon after its release. I have now finished it and have to say while overall I liked it, I was also a bit disappointed by it too. Let's just say I like Silent Hill 2, 3, and Origins more than this one. I liked it a bit more than Room and I have never played one so I can not really say if I thought it was better or worse than that game. Even though I thought it was overall better than Room, its story is not quite as good as that game either. It does boast the best graphics of the series to date, the monster look good, and the characters do too, the problem is the story is not up to par with the other Silent Hill entries I have played. Also, the combat is not as good as the last game of the series Origins, as in that one the character was a lot tougher than Alex in this game, beating enemies with his fists. Alex has the ability to dodge, but this becomes annoying as you have to dodge to hit certain enemies and if you screw up your timing you are, well screwed. The story has Alex returning to his hometown of Shepard's Glen after a dream sequence involving a hospital. He quickly discovers the town is not as he remembers as citizens are apparently going missing. He could care less though as his main goal is to find his younger brother Joshua in the town that is slowly going to hell. You meet many denizens of the town and at times are warped to a hellish world where monsters eat those who seem to have some piece of the puzzle. Of course, in the end it leads back to the town of Silent Hill. A couple of plot points just did not really work for me, the game featured members of the order like those seen in the movie, I am not sure if they appeared in the first game, but I know I never saw them in any of the other games I played. It seems this one focuses a bit on the religious cult more than previous games, but a lot of stuff presented here just did not add up. So for the best looking of the Silent Hills play this one, story wise though it is a bit weak.
14 Reviews
Really good game but a little anti-climatic
jaylex_ffxi25 March 2009
The game itself is a huge leap as it changes the combat system entirely from 1 and 2 (I didn't play 3 or 4 I'm assuming they're the same). For starters the game is more combat oriented with the introduction of using various combos and finishing moves to kill your enemies, you can also aim the gun yourself giving you the freedom to place a few pellets in certain monsters critical zones which can be really handy when your conserving those last 4 bullets that you 'wasted' 2 minutes ago fighting another creature.
The horror factor stands up to the silent hill name, really gory, really twisted and leaves you feeling cold due to the attention paid to certain details. The characters are likable and are great to interact with due to the new speech system allowing you to take complete control over certain dialogues. It's also great how you can have a combat buddy fighting alongside you, blasting monsters back to back.
My only complaint is the fact that the game is really anti-climatic towards the end, in many cases it feels that the designers just got bored and didn't bother with some greater in depth story line unlike in SH2 where you get two bosses and a scene explaining more of the story.
Overall the game is good and I give it 8 stars for the reason that the ending wasn't as good as it could have been, but it is definitely worth the look.
The horror factor stands up to the silent hill name, really gory, really twisted and leaves you feeling cold due to the attention paid to certain details. The characters are likable and are great to interact with due to the new speech system allowing you to take complete control over certain dialogues. It's also great how you can have a combat buddy fighting alongside you, blasting monsters back to back.
My only complaint is the fact that the game is really anti-climatic towards the end, in many cases it feels that the designers just got bored and didn't bother with some greater in depth story line unlike in SH2 where you get two bosses and a scene explaining more of the story.
Overall the game is good and I give it 8 stars for the reason that the ending wasn't as good as it could have been, but it is definitely worth the look.
"Silent Hill: Homecoming" is arguably the weakest entry in the series, yet it still has the feel and the tone of previous entries, and is a good game overall...
TedStixonAKAMaximumMadness5 April 2010
Each entry in Konami's "Silent Hill" franchise has explored a deep and dark portion of the human psychological makeup. The original game was about a father, desperate to find his lost daughter. The second game focused upon a man in perpetual grief, who comes to the haunted town to find his missing (and deceased) wife. The fourth game had a number of layers. Each game has that sort-of Grimm's fairy tale quality- there is always a moral, no matter how hard the trials may be, and "Homecoming" is no exception. It tells a tale about loyalty and love within the family unit, set within a hellish facade of horror and mayhem.
Being that this is my first review of a video-game, I'm going to do things differently- I'm going to give a brief, spoiler-free plot synopsis, and follow it up with an analysis of each major aspect of the game. (Graphics, sound, etc.)
The game follows Alex Shepherd, a soldier who returns home from battle to the small town of Shepherd's Glen. He has had a troubled relationship with his family- he cares deeply for his younger brother Joshua, but has grown distant from his mother and especially from his strict and seemingly emotionally abusive father, Adam, also an army man, who lives by the strictest of rules.
Alex notices that something is wrong the second he arrives. His town is covered in a thick fog, and everyone seems to be missing. Running into his childhood friend (and token hot female character) Elle, he learns that people have slowly been disappearing from the town, and that fiendish and otherworldly creatures have arrived, making travel dangerous. He also learns that his father and Joshua have gone missing. Feeling a special bond with his brother, he decides to go look for him, starting a quest that will take him to the bowls of hell and back, and eventually to the dark town of Silent Hill itself, on a mission to save the one family member that truly seems to appreciate him.
That's the basic plot, now here's a breakdown of actual game mechanics and facets, rated on a 1-10 scale:
Graphics... 7 out of 10 The Graphics in this game are, for the most part, superb. Characters almost look real, especially when viewed on a high-deff TV, and the creatures (more on those later) are incredibly designed. That being said, I have some complaints. For one, it seems to be a trend that no matter how good a character looks, their teeth are always... unnatural. This holds true for Alex, who looks like an animal with bared teeth during conversations. Also, some of the graphics become a little redundant, and there are some cheaply and quickly designed areas. And some cliché design. But overall, good, presentable graphics.
Sound... 6 out of 10 The voice acting is what kills the sound category. I know voice over work has never been a highlight of the series, but "Homecoming" boasts some of the worst the series has had to offer. The actors really seem to be just reading their lines, and not actually, well, acting. Thankfully, the rest of the sound work is great, and makes up for it. And as always, Akira Yamaoka's score is haunting and poignant. Sound effects are great for the most part, as well, although some of the creature sounds are a bit lame. Overall, average sound work that could have been perfect with slightly better performances.
Controls... 4 out of 10 Here we go. "Silent Hill: Homecoming" controls beautifully when your exploring areas and searching for clues. But the second combat begins, prepare for frustration. The combat controls dropped this category from a solid 8 down to a 4. I've never seen a system so clunky... so unresponsive... so- - - WRONG, in my life. The developers tried to make this a more action oriented game than previous entries, and therefore beefed up the combat system, adding new attacks, new weapons, a new "evade" button, and more. And nothing works. I can't tell you how many times I used the evade button and it failed, or how many times I just flat-out missed my target due to bad controls. Prepare to be killed... a lot, due to the poor combat system.
General Gameplay... 7 out of 10 The general gameplay is similar to other entries in the series. Explore an area, look for clues, proceed to the next area and do the same. Fight some monsters and get some new ammo and health, and continue the cycle, occasionally encountering a cut-scene or two. It's a very "true to formula" entry, although that's what I wanted, hence, I can't complain. Basic gameplay is solid.
Story... 6 out of 10 Everyone in a "Silent Hill" game seems to be looking for something on the outside, and something on the inside. This game is no exception. While the story is essentially a watered-down retread of the first two entries, it is enjoyable enough, although the characters are underdeveloped. But it works, and works well. Some of the twists and turns are predictable, but I didn't mind. Also, you can tell this game is from an American developer as opposed to the Japanese developers who worked on previous entries, because despite similar styles and themes, the game does feel more "American", and as with American cinema, the game just isn't a subtle as the first few entries. But for their first "Silent Hill" game, they did a great job, and stayed true to the spirit of the game.
Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10. It's very enjoyable, and fans of the series should like it, I know I did, and I've been playing the series since its debut. Get ready to get your mind messed with once again!
Being that this is my first review of a video-game, I'm going to do things differently- I'm going to give a brief, spoiler-free plot synopsis, and follow it up with an analysis of each major aspect of the game. (Graphics, sound, etc.)
The game follows Alex Shepherd, a soldier who returns home from battle to the small town of Shepherd's Glen. He has had a troubled relationship with his family- he cares deeply for his younger brother Joshua, but has grown distant from his mother and especially from his strict and seemingly emotionally abusive father, Adam, also an army man, who lives by the strictest of rules.
Alex notices that something is wrong the second he arrives. His town is covered in a thick fog, and everyone seems to be missing. Running into his childhood friend (and token hot female character) Elle, he learns that people have slowly been disappearing from the town, and that fiendish and otherworldly creatures have arrived, making travel dangerous. He also learns that his father and Joshua have gone missing. Feeling a special bond with his brother, he decides to go look for him, starting a quest that will take him to the bowls of hell and back, and eventually to the dark town of Silent Hill itself, on a mission to save the one family member that truly seems to appreciate him.
That's the basic plot, now here's a breakdown of actual game mechanics and facets, rated on a 1-10 scale:
Graphics... 7 out of 10 The Graphics in this game are, for the most part, superb. Characters almost look real, especially when viewed on a high-deff TV, and the creatures (more on those later) are incredibly designed. That being said, I have some complaints. For one, it seems to be a trend that no matter how good a character looks, their teeth are always... unnatural. This holds true for Alex, who looks like an animal with bared teeth during conversations. Also, some of the graphics become a little redundant, and there are some cheaply and quickly designed areas. And some cliché design. But overall, good, presentable graphics.
Sound... 6 out of 10 The voice acting is what kills the sound category. I know voice over work has never been a highlight of the series, but "Homecoming" boasts some of the worst the series has had to offer. The actors really seem to be just reading their lines, and not actually, well, acting. Thankfully, the rest of the sound work is great, and makes up for it. And as always, Akira Yamaoka's score is haunting and poignant. Sound effects are great for the most part, as well, although some of the creature sounds are a bit lame. Overall, average sound work that could have been perfect with slightly better performances.
Controls... 4 out of 10 Here we go. "Silent Hill: Homecoming" controls beautifully when your exploring areas and searching for clues. But the second combat begins, prepare for frustration. The combat controls dropped this category from a solid 8 down to a 4. I've never seen a system so clunky... so unresponsive... so- - - WRONG, in my life. The developers tried to make this a more action oriented game than previous entries, and therefore beefed up the combat system, adding new attacks, new weapons, a new "evade" button, and more. And nothing works. I can't tell you how many times I used the evade button and it failed, or how many times I just flat-out missed my target due to bad controls. Prepare to be killed... a lot, due to the poor combat system.
General Gameplay... 7 out of 10 The general gameplay is similar to other entries in the series. Explore an area, look for clues, proceed to the next area and do the same. Fight some monsters and get some new ammo and health, and continue the cycle, occasionally encountering a cut-scene or two. It's a very "true to formula" entry, although that's what I wanted, hence, I can't complain. Basic gameplay is solid.
Story... 6 out of 10 Everyone in a "Silent Hill" game seems to be looking for something on the outside, and something on the inside. This game is no exception. While the story is essentially a watered-down retread of the first two entries, it is enjoyable enough, although the characters are underdeveloped. But it works, and works well. Some of the twists and turns are predictable, but I didn't mind. Also, you can tell this game is from an American developer as opposed to the Japanese developers who worked on previous entries, because despite similar styles and themes, the game does feel more "American", and as with American cinema, the game just isn't a subtle as the first few entries. But for their first "Silent Hill" game, they did a great job, and stayed true to the spirit of the game.
Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10. It's very enjoyable, and fans of the series should like it, I know I did, and I've been playing the series since its debut. Get ready to get your mind messed with once again!
Not necessarily a wrong turn - certainly a new one
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews8 February 2011
Review of the PC version. When Alex comes out of a military hospital and returns to where he grew up(after having been gone for years), he finds his mother catatonic, his younger brother missing(is there going to be a creepy kid in every installment of this series?) and his father(John Locke) seemingly having gone in search of the aforementioned sibling. You can never return home, a theme explored in this. Of course, usually that's done without Hellraiser going on. The characters aren't bad(if everyone looks the age of 30 tops, including the ones who have adult offspring), and the voice acting is above average, and yet this does not have the impact of the others(it is around the same as The Room in that area). Yes, the plot is going to let some people down, if the twist is pretty good. I don't think that's it... no, it's that there are hardly any puzzles in this. Well, they're there... I just wouldn't dignify them by referring to them as that. I'd call them "tasks". Go into a room, find an object, place it in another one, that's it. There are two or three that take in excess of a minute or two and aren't your first guess, the rest, you're almost going through the motions. You don't have trouble finding your way, either. This is as linear(and the levels as nicely done, with an infested hotel and a police station under attack; you go back to some of the same spots as earlier on in this) as the rest, and tense enough for you to not notice. The challenge all comes from the more action-oriented tone of this. It does still build atmosphere, effectively with the excellent sound-side, the grotesque creature designs(there's a four-legged man-sized spider with blades for legs, a tight-clothes-wearing psychotic nurse with bouncy cleavage(...why?) and a knife with your name on it, and the second-hand-smoker's worst nightmare that you'll want to keep away from you; then again, this does have the worst dogs(it's the only bad case, really), they're essentially skinless with a head that's the cross of a newt and a leopard... no, really, I swear, this makes them seem superior to how they actually are), the Hellish Otherworld and the abandoned, fog-covered(and it's done better than any of the earlier ones, and you can "lose yourself" in it and suddenly be running in the direction you came from... you know, like Neo trapped in Limbo early in The Matrix Revolutions; that's not a spoiler), should be quaint yet *isn't*, isolated suburbia. You have environment interaction(in addition to the realistic Havok physics engine, as also seen in Max Payne 2), where you can squeeze yourself through, duck under or hop over if there's a partial entrance to another place(note that some of your foes can follow you, including opening doors! And you'll want to sometimes up and run away from them), as the guy is a soldier... and this does make the tough fights seem greater(how nasty must these things be if a trained army guy has trouble?). When you enter combat, you can do fast attacks(and combo) or powerful ones, and dodge/block(the enemies will do that as well; AI is marvelous, except for when the bugs hit it... there are a bunch in this, that can really frustrate you, though I never had to start this over), and you have to learn their style to get past them. It works fine enough, if the timing can really be bothersome, and it is highly exciting. You get a knife(that can also cut through fabric), a pipe(that can pry open doors), an axe(that can hack through boards), a pistol and a shotgun. Ammo is extremely sparse similar to #4, so make the bullets count. You can do a short-range blow with any firearm in this, if they get too close(and aiming is first-person... thank you, Konami). There is a lot of inspiration drawn from the lousy movie... they do kinda pull it off. This requires fast-clicking(and in general it's fairly immersive) in certain situations, like in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. It's quite cinematic. The cut-scenes are all in-engine or pre-rendered. Graphics are nice, with a real dynamic look to some of the things where it makes sense(you see a sort of vein running across the metal-plated floor, and it seems to be flowing, or like something fluid is running through it) and fantastic filters, like "old film", creating a genuinely unsettling mood. It's like the first in ways, but when you reach somewhere where the road is gone, it looks like it slid down. There are fancy features that you don't need, like the ability to turn around items(it's not like you can catch subtle details on them that help you... it's already giving you too many hints). I do love that we get complete control over a 360 degree camera when we want... you gotta stand still, that's all. The light even follows it. That really should have made it into these sooner. Faces and hands look "off", I can't put my finger on why... it's not unlike Robert Zemeckis' CGI flicks, his A Christmas Carol(the one with Jim Carrey), Beowulf and the rest, you know, soulless eyes, they're like really close to human yet *not*... the movements are strange at times, and they seem incapable of displaying three emotions... also, our protagonist always looks confounded, as well as like he doesn't know what that word means. Animation is excellent. If we define Silent Hill as what we got in the original three and what the fourth was a different artist's take on(not the same, yet interesting in its own right), then this, well, ain't it. That's not to say that it isn't a cool and fun game. The psychology holds up, and it makes you think, like the rest of them. There is bloody, gory, brutal violence, sensuality and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to fans of survival horror, and not to purists. 8/10
Silent Hill? ..... Not quite
angie29119 March 2009
As an avid fan of the Silent Hill series, I understandably, had this pre-ordered way back 2 months ago. I received it last week and completed it 2 days ago. That's a miserly 12 hours in all! So, how do I rate this in comparison to the others?? Quite frankly, I don't. It does not come anywhere near S.H 2, 3 and yes, even 4 (which I really enjoyed). All fans of Silent Hill know the formula -it's that oppressive, dark, dense, anxious build up. Claustrophobic and psychological right the way to the end. These elements are synonymous to Silent Hill and were severely lacking in this game. It borrows so heavily from the film and has a Resident Evil feel about it, that doesn't work. The plot, length, atmosphere, quality and overall feel of this game was quite frankly nothing more than an American travesty of something that was unique and brilliant. It is a passable RPG at best. A Silent Hill game? I think not.
Silent Hill: Homecoming (PC experience)
sam_aj_013 March 2009
The majority of Silent Hill: Homecoming is based in Shepards Glen which is a very risky idea. I found it was more interesting discovering how a second town was rapidly descending to the nightmarish underworld of Silent Hill...
I bought this on PC format for the purpose of my new laptop and I have to say I really enjoyed playing it. Despite some very long loading times between levels & scenes it was quite easy to control, although as much enability you are given to explore the town its too freaky to go of wandering. The monsters are freaky as ever, there are many ways to attack, dodge and tackle them and as you progress through the game its more clear how they behave.
I know most people compare this to Resident Evil but this is what makes your skin crawl...
I bought this on PC format for the purpose of my new laptop and I have to say I really enjoyed playing it. Despite some very long loading times between levels & scenes it was quite easy to control, although as much enability you are given to explore the town its too freaky to go of wandering. The monsters are freaky as ever, there are many ways to attack, dodge and tackle them and as you progress through the game its more clear how they behave.
I know most people compare this to Resident Evil but this is what makes your skin crawl...
The goriest Silent Hill game ever
ichwan_mil22 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoy virtually all Silent Hill games. Thankfully, most of them were also out on PC, which had become my sole gaming platform for years. Starting from Silent Hill 2, 3, 4, and the latest one is Silent Hill Homecoming - the last title out for PC (no word on PC version of Downpour as of yet, quite a letdown indeed).
Homecoming offered an interesting plot: a soldier returns home from battlefield finds his family is a mess: his brother and father are missing and his mother, while not missing, is no less tragic. So it's up to the soldier to find out the truth behind the disaster, and the rest is as we've all expected - trapped in the demonic dimension of a Silent Hill neighbor called Shepherd's Glen, and followed by the traditional story (for Silent Hill series anyway) of human sacrifice and things - No, I wouldn't reveal the plot further, you just have to experience it yourself.
The atmosphere - as we have all expected - is spooky enough. It is nicely designed to tickle your inner fear. The graphics, while not as good as, say, Heavy Rain, are great, not surprising though giving it is a PS3/X360-class game. Our favorite SH arch-nemesis, Pyramid Head, is back on the trail of terror, only this time he is called The Boogeyman. Boogeyman or Pyramid Head, I honestly agree (and most of you I think will too) that he is one of the scariest enemies in horror games.
One most distinctive feature is that Homecoming employs more gory scenes than before. I remember one scene where the character's father is chopped in half by - none else than our beloved Pyramid Head/Boogeyman, after made a tragic confession to his son. Quite a chilling thought to behold, especially if you imagine, what IF it is REALLY your father?? Gloomy, eerie, and disgusting at the same time. Gore-splatter element would give significant value to the 'horrorness' of a horror, though fears could still be elicited without one, and even many gory scenes are present in non-horror shows. So how about gory horror? One thing for sure: it is certainly not for the faint-hearted. At times it will be more disgusting than it is frightening.
Homecoming offered an interesting plot: a soldier returns home from battlefield finds his family is a mess: his brother and father are missing and his mother, while not missing, is no less tragic. So it's up to the soldier to find out the truth behind the disaster, and the rest is as we've all expected - trapped in the demonic dimension of a Silent Hill neighbor called Shepherd's Glen, and followed by the traditional story (for Silent Hill series anyway) of human sacrifice and things - No, I wouldn't reveal the plot further, you just have to experience it yourself.
The atmosphere - as we have all expected - is spooky enough. It is nicely designed to tickle your inner fear. The graphics, while not as good as, say, Heavy Rain, are great, not surprising though giving it is a PS3/X360-class game. Our favorite SH arch-nemesis, Pyramid Head, is back on the trail of terror, only this time he is called The Boogeyman. Boogeyman or Pyramid Head, I honestly agree (and most of you I think will too) that he is one of the scariest enemies in horror games.
One most distinctive feature is that Homecoming employs more gory scenes than before. I remember one scene where the character's father is chopped in half by - none else than our beloved Pyramid Head/Boogeyman, after made a tragic confession to his son. Quite a chilling thought to behold, especially if you imagine, what IF it is REALLY your father?? Gloomy, eerie, and disgusting at the same time. Gore-splatter element would give significant value to the 'horrorness' of a horror, though fears could still be elicited without one, and even many gory scenes are present in non-horror shows. So how about gory horror? One thing for sure: it is certainly not for the faint-hearted. At times it will be more disgusting than it is frightening.
Welcome Home: a Silent Hill review
Wolfdemon20 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Silent Hill is a survival horror series that's focused on psychological horror rather than shock horror. I've played a few games in the series, I wasn't too interested in the original Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2 was pretty good, I didn't play Silent Hill 3, so I can't judge that one and same thing goes with Silent Hill Origins, as for Silent Hill 4: The Room, I didn't like that game at all. In my opinion, that game sucked. I played Silent Hill: Homecoming and it was a huge improvement over Silent Hill 4. I'll tell you in this review.
Story: The game is about a former soldier named Alex Shepard returning home after his service from the war but he's not getting the homecoming he deserved. Everyone in Shepard's Glen has been turning up missing, especially the kids. Alex goes on a search for his missing brother Josh but his search would take him to the foggy ghost town that is Silent Hill where the mystery of the missing citizens of Shepard's Glen takes a dark turn. Alex must unravel the dark connection between Silent Hill and Shepard's Glen and find out why his little brother Josh and everyone else had disappeared. 5/5
Graphics: Like Silent Hill: Origins, Silent Hill: Homecoming wasn't developed by Team Silent. This game was developed by an American video game developer, Double Helix Games. When I first played this game, I was surprised Double Helix Games pulled the graphics off really well. In my opinion, they surpassed Team Silent in that department. The graphics are nice and dark, character models look amazing, and the creatures look particularly scary. Double Helix even took some inspiration from the Silent Hill film for the Otherworld moments which is a plus.
5/5 Sound: The sounds are at their atmospheric best. The ambient noise truly en-chances the darkness and scare factor of Homecoming and the music is by Akira Yamaoka. He did such a great job on the hauntingly beautiful music. 5/5
Gameplay: In Silent Hill 4: The Room, I felt the controls were stiff, melee combat was delayed, holding ten items until you put them in a chest was tedious and repetitive, and the first person perspective just didn't serve a purpose. As I said before, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a huge improvement. Not only Silent Hill: Homecoming goes back to the basics of previous games, it also implements the over the shoulder targeting mechanic and has greatly improved melee combat. Once again, Double Helix Games really pulled it off on the gameplay. 5/5
I truly recommend this game to anyone who's a big fan of Silent Hill or survival horror games in general. Don't listen to what Gamespot said in their review of the game. Silent Hill: Homecoming is a great game and go check it out but don't take my word for it.
Final Score: 5/5
Story: The game is about a former soldier named Alex Shepard returning home after his service from the war but he's not getting the homecoming he deserved. Everyone in Shepard's Glen has been turning up missing, especially the kids. Alex goes on a search for his missing brother Josh but his search would take him to the foggy ghost town that is Silent Hill where the mystery of the missing citizens of Shepard's Glen takes a dark turn. Alex must unravel the dark connection between Silent Hill and Shepard's Glen and find out why his little brother Josh and everyone else had disappeared. 5/5
Graphics: Like Silent Hill: Origins, Silent Hill: Homecoming wasn't developed by Team Silent. This game was developed by an American video game developer, Double Helix Games. When I first played this game, I was surprised Double Helix Games pulled the graphics off really well. In my opinion, they surpassed Team Silent in that department. The graphics are nice and dark, character models look amazing, and the creatures look particularly scary. Double Helix even took some inspiration from the Silent Hill film for the Otherworld moments which is a plus.
5/5 Sound: The sounds are at their atmospheric best. The ambient noise truly en-chances the darkness and scare factor of Homecoming and the music is by Akira Yamaoka. He did such a great job on the hauntingly beautiful music. 5/5
Gameplay: In Silent Hill 4: The Room, I felt the controls were stiff, melee combat was delayed, holding ten items until you put them in a chest was tedious and repetitive, and the first person perspective just didn't serve a purpose. As I said before, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a huge improvement. Not only Silent Hill: Homecoming goes back to the basics of previous games, it also implements the over the shoulder targeting mechanic and has greatly improved melee combat. Once again, Double Helix Games really pulled it off on the gameplay. 5/5
I truly recommend this game to anyone who's a big fan of Silent Hill or survival horror games in general. Don't listen to what Gamespot said in their review of the game. Silent Hill: Homecoming is a great game and go check it out but don't take my word for it.
Final Score: 5/5
Different but still amazing Silent Hill game
dushes-634665 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Have to admit, i'm not amongst the hardcore fans of the originals (1,2,3 and The Room maybe), though they are undeniably best in the serie, especially when we talk about the second one. The Silent Hill Homecoming was my own first complete experience with the this franchise, the game's interest was also fueled up after wathing the first movie. So back then when I played the Homecoming it felt like excellent horror Silent Hill game, with all those Pyramid Head, the Nurses, the Cult Members and etc. Felt just right and in it's own place. And of course, the bosses are amazing, both scary and symbolic. I think, if people could to not compare this game to the first three (or four) of the fracnhise, it could have gotten much higher deserved praise.
Pretty good, I think - little terrifying, and the combat's great
Cashel_The_Phantom16 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The summary basically describes my thoughts on this game. I liked it, but I don't think it holds a candle to Silent Hill 2, but then again I had the static turned off and the screen rather bright. Anyway, my favorite part of this game was probably the combat system. I love being able to dodge around my opponents and use different kinds of attacks, not to mention having at least some enemies to fight that same way. For example, the Needler's would attack and you could dodge them- they were freaking hard to strike at times, but fun to fight in that they could block your attacks.
The graphics... eh, they were alright, though I didn't expect much more than what they are. The blood effects they had were certainly awesome. But before you enter Silent Hill the (first?) time, when in... I think it's the Bartlett family crypt or something like that, it looked like something from an older game like Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories, in my opinion.
I think the voice acting was good, but I've never been able to really judge those.
All together, though, I'd give the game a seven. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes that kind of combat system, for sure, as long as you don't mind a little terror along the way.
The graphics... eh, they were alright, though I didn't expect much more than what they are. The blood effects they had were certainly awesome. But before you enter Silent Hill the (first?) time, when in... I think it's the Bartlett family crypt or something like that, it looked like something from an older game like Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories, in my opinion.
I think the voice acting was good, but I've never been able to really judge those.
All together, though, I'd give the game a seven. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes that kind of combat system, for sure, as long as you don't mind a little terror along the way.
Good as a game, bad as a Silent Hill game
sebastiansawko5 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
#CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SH2 AND SH4#
(A NECESSARY) INTRODUCTION
Firstly, I know that games are made to make money. Much too often the most important thing for the creators is to pander to the tastes of the AVERAGE gamer, who often thinks, "Hey, I fork out my parents' hard-earned bucks and I want to get what I already know and like fog, flashlight and Pyramid Head, 'cause he was sooo cool and I wanna be like him! Oh, and make it all more accessible, 'cause the previous games were too weird and open to interpretation. I just wanna shoot some monsters dammit!"
Secondly, I realize that most games are made to entertain. Fine by me.
However, I always thought SH was an exception to the rule. I felt that Team Silent's primary ambition was to create ART and not pure entertainment. They were willing to share their own artistic vision with us, and were not afraid to challenge the fans of the series with new (and sometimes risky) ideas. They could have just repeated the well-tried formulas over and over again. They didn't do it. Each of the first four games offered something new and unexpected. Each new installment thrilled and surprised the gamer. Team Silent concocted four highly ORIGINAL and INVENTIVE works of art. They never compromised their creativity because they never completely succumbed to the casual gamer's expectations. In other words, they had the balls to defy our wishes.
I mean, if you want to create true art you should never listen to the masses, but to your own sense of artistic sensitivity. Be like Zappa, Zorn or Patton. Be like Lynch, Bunuel or Jarmusch.
I never wanted SH to be tailored to my demands! I wanted it to surprise me, shock me, make me FEEL and THINK and REEVALUATE my ideals. Well, that was the case with the first four SH games. Now, with Origins and Homecoming it's over. SH is officially dead to me.
THE REVIEW PROPER
I feel that with the new team the main concern was how many bucks the next SH game would/should earn. It's like they wanted to play it safe and their main goal was to please the old fans and at the same time make the game attractive to casual gamers. They had no true artistic vision of their own they just reverently imitated and combined the "coolest" elements from the previous games to suck up to the fanboys and added some "in vogue" novelties to broaden the target market. Hence, to me Silent Hill is no longer about art or new ideas it's about making easy money through imitation rather than creation.
Here's what I find wrong with SH Homecoming:
In short, the game is well-produced but STALE.
In more detail:
1) FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT
It's repetitive all the trademark features of the previous SH games are used in a basically unchanged way, which makes the game dull, predictable and unscary.
Cases in point: flashlight, fog, locations (hospital, sewers, prison), monsters (nurses, dogs, straitjacket monsters), music (exactly the same ambient stuff we've already heard so many times before) and the most important thing: storyline (an ugly imitation of SH2 story and some elements from the movie). The problem lies in rehashing the same things for the FIFTH time without adding anything substantially new to the ATMOSPHERE or the STORY!!!
I know they've improved the fighting system, introduced dialog trees, changed the viewpoint, etc but these things are just small cosmetic changes that can't hide the fact that the franchise suffers from stagnation it's got stuck in a rut!
I mean, how many times can you fight the nurses? How many times can you visit hospitals? How many times can you listen to the same ambient tunes during conversations? Jeez, the overexposure just makes the game BORING.
2) TWO IS A COMPANY, THREE IS A CROWD
There are too many characters in Homecoming (I think around a dozen in total!). SH was about isolation and solitary quest for the truth, here we get a team effort. It was an interesting idea to introduce more characters, but come on! The game is "teeming with unnecessary people"! Some characters are totally irrelevant to the plot and you can't help but wonder why they're in the game at all. This overabundance makes the game less creepy and claustrophobic.
3) BOO! GOTCHA!
The game has a very tired approach to inspiring fear in the gamer. Namely, there are a lot of jump scares and loud action scenes reminiscent of typical Hollywood film productions. Again, all this is too familiar and derivative to produce true fear or excitement.
4) I WANNA PLAY A GAME
In all truth, the game is more gratuitously disgusting than scary. It bows more than once to the trendy sub-genre of torture-flicks there's blood, guts and cutting and drilling aplenty. In my humble opinion, the graphic nature of some of the scenes is out of place in a game like SH. (Do you remember the subtle way they showed James's crime in SH2? Or when in SH4 they only showed the deaths of two of Sullivan's victims? The other three acts of violence were implied!) Please, don't turn SH into "Hostel", for Mary's sake!
To sum up, although well-executed, the game is derivative on all fronts and doesn't introduce anything substantially new to the series. If you enjoy the feeling of deja vu in your gaming experience you will probably like this game. If you crave for something original, surprising and inspiring you are in for a disappointment.
(A NECESSARY) INTRODUCTION
Firstly, I know that games are made to make money. Much too often the most important thing for the creators is to pander to the tastes of the AVERAGE gamer, who often thinks, "Hey, I fork out my parents' hard-earned bucks and I want to get what I already know and like fog, flashlight and Pyramid Head, 'cause he was sooo cool and I wanna be like him! Oh, and make it all more accessible, 'cause the previous games were too weird and open to interpretation. I just wanna shoot some monsters dammit!"
Secondly, I realize that most games are made to entertain. Fine by me.
However, I always thought SH was an exception to the rule. I felt that Team Silent's primary ambition was to create ART and not pure entertainment. They were willing to share their own artistic vision with us, and were not afraid to challenge the fans of the series with new (and sometimes risky) ideas. They could have just repeated the well-tried formulas over and over again. They didn't do it. Each of the first four games offered something new and unexpected. Each new installment thrilled and surprised the gamer. Team Silent concocted four highly ORIGINAL and INVENTIVE works of art. They never compromised their creativity because they never completely succumbed to the casual gamer's expectations. In other words, they had the balls to defy our wishes.
I mean, if you want to create true art you should never listen to the masses, but to your own sense of artistic sensitivity. Be like Zappa, Zorn or Patton. Be like Lynch, Bunuel or Jarmusch.
I never wanted SH to be tailored to my demands! I wanted it to surprise me, shock me, make me FEEL and THINK and REEVALUATE my ideals. Well, that was the case with the first four SH games. Now, with Origins and Homecoming it's over. SH is officially dead to me.
THE REVIEW PROPER
I feel that with the new team the main concern was how many bucks the next SH game would/should earn. It's like they wanted to play it safe and their main goal was to please the old fans and at the same time make the game attractive to casual gamers. They had no true artistic vision of their own they just reverently imitated and combined the "coolest" elements from the previous games to suck up to the fanboys and added some "in vogue" novelties to broaden the target market. Hence, to me Silent Hill is no longer about art or new ideas it's about making easy money through imitation rather than creation.
Here's what I find wrong with SH Homecoming:
In short, the game is well-produced but STALE.
In more detail:
1) FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT
It's repetitive all the trademark features of the previous SH games are used in a basically unchanged way, which makes the game dull, predictable and unscary.
Cases in point: flashlight, fog, locations (hospital, sewers, prison), monsters (nurses, dogs, straitjacket monsters), music (exactly the same ambient stuff we've already heard so many times before) and the most important thing: storyline (an ugly imitation of SH2 story and some elements from the movie). The problem lies in rehashing the same things for the FIFTH time without adding anything substantially new to the ATMOSPHERE or the STORY!!!
I know they've improved the fighting system, introduced dialog trees, changed the viewpoint, etc but these things are just small cosmetic changes that can't hide the fact that the franchise suffers from stagnation it's got stuck in a rut!
I mean, how many times can you fight the nurses? How many times can you visit hospitals? How many times can you listen to the same ambient tunes during conversations? Jeez, the overexposure just makes the game BORING.
2) TWO IS A COMPANY, THREE IS A CROWD
There are too many characters in Homecoming (I think around a dozen in total!). SH was about isolation and solitary quest for the truth, here we get a team effort. It was an interesting idea to introduce more characters, but come on! The game is "teeming with unnecessary people"! Some characters are totally irrelevant to the plot and you can't help but wonder why they're in the game at all. This overabundance makes the game less creepy and claustrophobic.
3) BOO! GOTCHA!
The game has a very tired approach to inspiring fear in the gamer. Namely, there are a lot of jump scares and loud action scenes reminiscent of typical Hollywood film productions. Again, all this is too familiar and derivative to produce true fear or excitement.
4) I WANNA PLAY A GAME
In all truth, the game is more gratuitously disgusting than scary. It bows more than once to the trendy sub-genre of torture-flicks there's blood, guts and cutting and drilling aplenty. In my humble opinion, the graphic nature of some of the scenes is out of place in a game like SH. (Do you remember the subtle way they showed James's crime in SH2? Or when in SH4 they only showed the deaths of two of Sullivan's victims? The other three acts of violence were implied!) Please, don't turn SH into "Hostel", for Mary's sake!
To sum up, although well-executed, the game is derivative on all fronts and doesn't introduce anything substantially new to the series. If you enjoy the feeling of deja vu in your gaming experience you will probably like this game. If you crave for something original, surprising and inspiring you are in for a disappointment.
This is NOT the Silent Hill I know
snowbum7803 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
(some spoilers)
okay so I just finished the game, and I have to say, I have never been more disappointed and angry at a game before. Maybe it's because I loved the other silent hill games so much, and had such high expectations for this one. Either way, I have to say that Silent HIll: Homecoming is a sorry excuse for a Silent Hill game. I consistently enjoyed every other SIlent HIll installment, even SH4, which had a different feel than the others, but had the same essence. On the surface Homecoming may have looked like the other SIlent HIll games, but when you look closer it actually has nothing in common with them aside from the name.
I think the foremost thing that the Double Helix team missed about Silent HIll is the element of mystery and the unknown. Previous Silent HIll games were about subtlety, and hinting at things, but not actually affirming much. "Fear of the Unknown" is what drove Silent Hill. You never knew what could be lurking around the next corner, or what you would find behind the next door. The little nuances and creepy occurrences were what made the other SIlent HIlls great. To give a few examples: SH2, when you go into that abandoned shop that has scrawled on the walls "There was a hole here it's gone now", or when you're on the roof of the hospital and after you read the diary pyramid head comes out and attacks you. Or in SH3, when you find the phone off the hook, and pick it up to have someone sing you happy birthday, or in the "fun house" where bodies fall from the ceiling, or even the escalators in the mall that lead to nothing but an abyss.
These creepy little imaginative things made these games, and are what Homecoming lacked. Homecoming had a lot of over the top gore and brutality, reminding me of the cheap "eww" moments of American horror films (including the silent hill movie) and not the eeriness of SIlent HIll. There was nothing at all that left you wondering. We watched a man get his head ripped off, we saw his mother get stretched to death, we viewed his father get cut in half. So what? Yeah, it was gross to see, but not creepy or eerie at all.
Also, the monsters in this game were all about combat, and not at all about evoking fear in us. There were the big-boobed nurses from the SH movie, the dogs that have been in all of the games, some sewage monster, and some other creatures with big blades that were hard to kill. Nothing very original at all. Okay so we get to dodge and do combo attacks, who cares? I don't buy silent hill games to fight. And what about the sounds that SH creatures usually make, that add so much to the atmosphere? They weren't there. I think the dogs growled, but that's about it. In SH2, you could hear the straight jacket monsters walking toward you in the fog. In SH3 there was a ceiling monster that had blades that you could hear scraping together before it got to you. We got none of that in this game.
Another thing I want to acknowledge about this game is the lack of desperation and loneliness. There were so many people in this one that Alex came across. It seemed like he was never alone for more than ten minutes. For much of the second half of the game he was either with Wheeler or Elle. There was no time when I felt he was completely alone in the depths of horror, as in the others. It all felt very diplomatic and contrived to me, not horrifying and raw like I wanted it to be.
Finally, I just want to say that the locations of this game were awful. I can barely distinguish them in my head, aside from the "hell descent" level which did nothing for me. They were BORING. I'd have to say the best one was the prison, and that was done in SH2, and much better. His house level was limited and unimaginative, the graveyard was maze-like and annoying, the church was...nothing more than an ordinary church, and the last level had nothing to it! It was a bunch of rooms and corridors with order members. That's it. Not even a monster to be found. Usually in a video game I would think that the last level would be building to a climax. In previous silent hills, the last level is where everything goes to *beep* showing you that this is really it, and that something really horrifying is coming. Didn't get that feel at all in this one.
In short, this game may have had some new bells and whistles (new combat, seamless room transitions) but I'll take the clunkier SIlent HIll games any day. This game lacked everything that I loved about Silent Hill. I'm not an avid gamer, but I played Silent Hill because it was different. It took me into another world that was so interesting and imaginative and surreal that I didn't want to leave. I was really hoping that I would get that again with this game, but my expectations couldn't have been more wrong.
okay so I just finished the game, and I have to say, I have never been more disappointed and angry at a game before. Maybe it's because I loved the other silent hill games so much, and had such high expectations for this one. Either way, I have to say that Silent HIll: Homecoming is a sorry excuse for a Silent Hill game. I consistently enjoyed every other SIlent HIll installment, even SH4, which had a different feel than the others, but had the same essence. On the surface Homecoming may have looked like the other SIlent HIll games, but when you look closer it actually has nothing in common with them aside from the name.
I think the foremost thing that the Double Helix team missed about Silent HIll is the element of mystery and the unknown. Previous Silent HIll games were about subtlety, and hinting at things, but not actually affirming much. "Fear of the Unknown" is what drove Silent Hill. You never knew what could be lurking around the next corner, or what you would find behind the next door. The little nuances and creepy occurrences were what made the other SIlent HIlls great. To give a few examples: SH2, when you go into that abandoned shop that has scrawled on the walls "There was a hole here it's gone now", or when you're on the roof of the hospital and after you read the diary pyramid head comes out and attacks you. Or in SH3, when you find the phone off the hook, and pick it up to have someone sing you happy birthday, or in the "fun house" where bodies fall from the ceiling, or even the escalators in the mall that lead to nothing but an abyss.
These creepy little imaginative things made these games, and are what Homecoming lacked. Homecoming had a lot of over the top gore and brutality, reminding me of the cheap "eww" moments of American horror films (including the silent hill movie) and not the eeriness of SIlent HIll. There was nothing at all that left you wondering. We watched a man get his head ripped off, we saw his mother get stretched to death, we viewed his father get cut in half. So what? Yeah, it was gross to see, but not creepy or eerie at all.
Also, the monsters in this game were all about combat, and not at all about evoking fear in us. There were the big-boobed nurses from the SH movie, the dogs that have been in all of the games, some sewage monster, and some other creatures with big blades that were hard to kill. Nothing very original at all. Okay so we get to dodge and do combo attacks, who cares? I don't buy silent hill games to fight. And what about the sounds that SH creatures usually make, that add so much to the atmosphere? They weren't there. I think the dogs growled, but that's about it. In SH2, you could hear the straight jacket monsters walking toward you in the fog. In SH3 there was a ceiling monster that had blades that you could hear scraping together before it got to you. We got none of that in this game.
Another thing I want to acknowledge about this game is the lack of desperation and loneliness. There were so many people in this one that Alex came across. It seemed like he was never alone for more than ten minutes. For much of the second half of the game he was either with Wheeler or Elle. There was no time when I felt he was completely alone in the depths of horror, as in the others. It all felt very diplomatic and contrived to me, not horrifying and raw like I wanted it to be.
Finally, I just want to say that the locations of this game were awful. I can barely distinguish them in my head, aside from the "hell descent" level which did nothing for me. They were BORING. I'd have to say the best one was the prison, and that was done in SH2, and much better. His house level was limited and unimaginative, the graveyard was maze-like and annoying, the church was...nothing more than an ordinary church, and the last level had nothing to it! It was a bunch of rooms and corridors with order members. That's it. Not even a monster to be found. Usually in a video game I would think that the last level would be building to a climax. In previous silent hills, the last level is where everything goes to *beep* showing you that this is really it, and that something really horrifying is coming. Didn't get that feel at all in this one.
In short, this game may have had some new bells and whistles (new combat, seamless room transitions) but I'll take the clunkier SIlent HIll games any day. This game lacked everything that I loved about Silent Hill. I'm not an avid gamer, but I played Silent Hill because it was different. It took me into another world that was so interesting and imaginative and surreal that I didn't want to leave. I was really hoping that I would get that again with this game, but my expectations couldn't have been more wrong.
Terrible game
Patience_Is_A_Virtue28 February 2009
Oh my lord. I am possibly the biggest Silent Hill fan I know, I've managed to introduce several friends to the wonders of this series and many of them enjoy it too. I recently received an Xbox 360 for Christmas, and the main reason I wanted it was for this game. I waited months for this game to come out, and having adored all the previous titles (even 4!) I was eagerly anticipating this one's release. I always say that no matter how bad a Silent Hill game is I will always finish it. But I've decided not to finish this one. Honestly, this game is beyond terrible. The graphics were decent and the voice overs were pretty good but that's about all. Besides having a totally boring plot that hardly ties in with any of the previous games at all, the game is crawling with glitches. Just as I decided to give it another chance this morning I walked right into a glitch many others have been having problems with. Therefore I had to start over. Now I just can't be bothered to finish the game, having spent many frustrating hours screaming at the television screen because this game is so damn.. ugh, it basically takes the word frustration to a whole new goddamn level. What really sucks about this game is that they had the atmosphere just right; the town of Silent Hill, the fog, the whole atmosphere was pretty much perfect. Then they threw in the dumb ass combat and it all went to hell. What makes a Silent Hill game for me is not the constant fighting, but the wandering around in the fog, and that helpless feeling you get when you hear a strange noise in the distant. In this game they pretty much took out all of these things and threw in a bunch of extremely annoying enemies that take about fifty hits from the axe to actually kill, that is before they've already knocked you on your ass half a dozen times. Also, weapons and ammo are extremely limited. I'm not saying there was a bunch of ammo everywhere you looked in the previous games, but hell, this is like playing Resident Evil - only even goddamn harder, and you can imagine what that's like. I'm so disappointed at this game, it could have been amazing if the Japanese hadn't handed it to the Americans. That being said, Origins which was also made by the Americans was a lot better than this game, so maybe they just went wrong somewhere. It's a pity really, this could've been a really good game if they'd just fixed a few things. I'm sad that I wasted thirty eight pounds buying this game, but I don't really regret it. I would've bought it anyway at some point, so it's just bad luck really. I've never been so annoyed with a game in all my life, and this one is easily the most difficult SH game I've ever played. Anyone who enjoys action and combat should try this game, but if you're a true Silent Hill fan who still considers the second game the best of the bunch, I'd say rent it. It's certainly not worth wasting any of your hard earned money on. 1/5
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