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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - survival horror re-conceptualized

http://www.mywii.com.au/img/game/lar...Memories-3.jpg
The introduction of a cell phone on Harry Mason's person opens up new possibilities to interact in the story and gameworld. Perhaps clues
and little details that deepen the narrative - a mysterious phone number, a anomaly in that pic you just took - may lead you in one direction,
or another.

title - Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
platform - Wii, PSP, DS, PS2
developer/publisher - Climax (they also did Silent Hill: Origins for PSP)/Konami
release date - Q3 2009

Throw out (at least partly) your recollection of the original Silent Hill on the first Playstation. This is a re-imagining of that story and how you'll experience it. The story will be a kind of fugue this time, the characters are a little different in both looks and background, and the permeating theme is that of coldness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IGN

The moment you make selections, the game begins your profile and it continues watching and evaluating you as you play.

Armed with the flashlight, you take control and everything you do is being monitored, considered. Based on your actions, the game itself changes on the fly. The design of the world. The characters. How they treat you. Everything. When Harry inevitably walks into a deserted office setting and looks around, the game will be analyzing your decisions. If you immediately look for a map, it'll think you're practical. If you look at a girlie picture instead, not so much. Either way, these decisions will incite changes, possibly even some with consequences.

- IGN.com

Combat is done away with. The goal is successful escape from and evasion of enemies, which itself lends a new dimension through which the narrative will be experienced.

The Wiimote will allow you to do things differently this time around. Things like simply scanning a dark room by panning your flashlight around, and taking pictures of objects and places digitally will involve physical moving and handling as opposed to clicking and analog sticking a controller.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wired.com

Harry’s mobile phone is one of his most important tools. He can use it to call phone numbers that he sees scattered across Silent Hill, take pictures of odd-looking scenes to reveal past events, and … well, probably a lot of other stuff that the developers don’t want to talk about yet.

- Wired.com

Puzzles are now less of a disconnected challenge and more emergent in the story and gameworld, as well as more respecting of the immediate environment so that the player doesn't need to go to, say, the other side of town to find clues or elements needed to solve enigmas. They're also more physically interactive this time around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wired.com

"In Shattered Memories, when I come to a locked door, a television I have to turn on, whatever it is, I can stop and think — ‘Look around, what am I missing in this area?’ I’m never going to have to run back to the grocery store two blocks away to find an egg or something ridiculous," says Hulett.

Instead, says Barlow, puzzles are about "giving the player something to grab hold of … interacting in a meaningful, physical way." The one example Konami showed of how this will work was very simple — a key was hidden in a soda can, and the player had to pick up the can with the Wii remote and turn it upside-down to dump the key out.

http://www.mywii.com.au/img/game/lar...Memories-5.jpg
The town of Silent Hill will be just as it was in the original Playstation...and yet very different this time around.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories will also be available on the PS2, PSP, and the DS. However, the very best way to experience it will be on the Wii for the obvious reasons.

For example, the characteristic radio static that sounds when a monster is nearby will feel more immediate and more suspenseful coming loudly from your Wiimote, as mentioned by Tom Hullet in Gamespot's interview (video). You cannot experience that on a PSP or DS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IGN

In my demo, one of the Konami reps tried to dial 911. "911, what's your emergency?" a voice asks through your Wii remote. Harry responds on-screen. There's some kind of interference, though and the 911 operator cannot hear him. She keeps asking if anybody is there and then hangs up. It's a very effective means to maintain Silent Hill's trademark sense of isolation.

Emphatically, the game assessess YOU, the player, thereby moving the story around you based on your behaviour as Harry Mason. The narrative is treated organically so that it shifts around according to your decisions. You may or not meet a character at a particular time because you didn't do something or go somewhere beforehand. Plot events happen that are triggered by you. You may or may not receive a call on your phone, or have to make a certain call.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IGN

Here's an example. As Harry explores the town, he will soon see through the snow some kind of open establishment. Based on the choices he's made previously -- both in the profile and presumably along the way in his snowy travels -- something will have changed. In some cases, he'll see an open diner. In others, an open bar. As I watched, it was the latter. Harry walks inside, confused, and chats with a bartender...

As someone who has enjoyed all the Silent Hills (yes, including Homecoming) - I'd be interesting as to how this plays out.
I don't have a Wii, though, and I get the impression that the other ports will be pretty half-baked given the apparent reliance on the Wiimote.

I think the Wii needs more games like this. Honestly, I can see Condemned being a good game on the Wii, with the intuitive melee fighting and Crime Scene Tools.

Anyways, this does look good, especially for being a huge Silent Hill fan (except that I didn't play the PSP and Fifth games)

I noticed that in some Silent Hill online communities fans of the series had mixed feelings about this upcoming game. Some of them were disappointed that it wasn't a brand new story with new characters, some were excited at going back to the story but in a new way, and still others were intrigued by the concepts or at least cautiously optimistic.

I wonder how it'll be presented at E3 and how people will take to it.

I don't know. I still have mixed feelings on this one. The Wii version looks promising, but I'm skeptical how well that will be translated to the PS2 version for those of us without Wiis. This series doesn't need more gimmicks, it needs more stories that are gripping and truly frightening. Rehashing the original is ok, but we fans thirst for fresh blood. Think I'll wait for more concrete info from E3 before I decide to finally grab my Wii. :P

http://smilies.vidahost.com/otn/sad/iiworry.gif Oh god. I wonder how they'll handle Lisa Garland this time? I don't know if I could bear it again. The first time I had to turn my Playstation off and walk away from the game for 2 days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by silent_m (Post 509805)

The fact that its coming out on the PS2 is a problem, no matter how you see it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammerite (Post 509674)

As someone who has enjoyed all the Silent Hills (yes, including Homecoming)

There shouldn't be any shame in liking Homecoming, it was a nice addition to the series that added some cool ideas that hopefully will get expanded on in the next true sequel.

As for Shattered Memories, it definitely seems to be taking a unique approach to the idea of remakes. Getting rid of combat completely makes sense, the fighting in the series has always been one of the weakest points, and the phone and branching storyline seem like nice touches. The only thing that has me worried is the fact that it's developed by the team who made Origins, which was easily the worst and least scary game in the series, so I hope they've gotten better.

Check E3 thread for first trailer.

http://s3-llnw-screenshots.wegame.co...21104808_l.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomadsoul (Post 510181)

Check E3 thread for first trailer.

:P Oh screw it, I'll just post the damned link here:

FIRST TRAILER

Pre-E3 2009: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Hands-on | IGN

Quote:

Walking and strafing is tethered to the nunchuck while the remote pointer – acting as your flashlight – adjusts your line of sight. Point your torch toward the edge of the screen and you can glance up, down or even turn 360-degrees. It feels perfectly natural as you explore Shattered Memories' incredibly atmospheric environments but, crucially given the intensity of the game's frenetic chase sequences, responsive too.

...the lower the barrier to emotional investment in survival horror, the more likely you are to feel the full force of fear. It's an ethos that's apparent throughout: take, for instance, the PDA – one of Shattered Memories' most prominent new features. With a tap of the minus button you've got immediate access to your phone, contact list, SMS, camera, map and a handful of game-setting functions. It's an ingenious touch that places all your typical HUD elements in one central space without breaking the integrity of Shattered Memories' seamless world.

Perhaps most impressive of all though is Shattered Memories' much-touted psychological profiling feature. It's a cool concept on paper but even more exciting when you see it in action. Playing through the demo a few times, it's evident that profiling has the potential to revolutionise the survival horror genre as the game tailors itself around your subtlest actions to truly get under your skin. While Shattered Memories will ultimately build your psychological profile throughout its entire duration, we only had chance to see how the world shapes itself based on the game's opening questionnaire.

It does sound very interesting - I think I'll get it on PSP after all...

Pics to drool over

http://nintendodpad.com/Welcome/News...s_screens.html

That window pic is creepy, seriously walking alone on street, pan up and WHAM

I'm VERY sceptic about this. I haven't played Homecoming yet but it feels like the series has lost many things since the original developers sold it which is really sad. ;(

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamandMax (Post 509862)

the phone and branching storyline seem like nice touches.

Though if you check the storyline and the year the first Silent Hill is played out; there's no way Harry would have a phone that was that hightech. It bothers me.

I'm one of those who kinda wish they'd stop after the third one. (Conservatism, wohoo! Erhm.) but I stopped playing after the 4th, so I guess I need to play them before speaking :x

I never played Silent Hill because of the combat system, I liked the fact that it was simple; find a pipe, bash a monster; get it over with and focus on the story.

Baaahhh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thorn (Post 510547)

Though if you check the storyline and the year the first Silent Hill is played out; there's no way Harry would have a phone that was that hightech. It bothers me.

:) Thorn, it is NOT A RE-MAKE OF THE ORIGINAL GAME. It is a RE-IMAGINING. It is its own experience. That's why I warned you in the first post of this thread to throw out most of what you remember of the original game.

You don't have to play it, but you must understand that this game is NOT a re-make.

Why do they even make references to the first game? Why not a completely new story? I don't get it. But I guess this can still be good. Hopefully I get pleasantly suprised. Fingers crossed.

Interesting how it asks about your personality, this will determine the differences in the game?

Looks pretty good the walkthrough, I didn't like the first silent hill that much other than it got much better on the second half of the game. So its nice with a re invention of the first game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomadsoul (Post 510844)

Here is gift for you all

http://media.wii.ign.com/media/143/14325477/vids_1.html

Thanks, hon! I think detractors should at least watch these in-game clips to get an idea how this version departs from the original game and how new elements - cell phone w/ camera, flashlight, evasion as opposed to combat, dynamic A.I. observation - are incorporated into the gameplay and story.

Not saying that the game will be awesome, but it does give credit to the developers that they are trying intelligently to give the Silent Hill world their own spin.

Holy crap! Well I'm totally sold, this is a "must have". I'll be spending this summer eating noodles. Too many great games coming out. :D