Customer Reviews

Silent Hill: Homecoming

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Silent Hill 2 is on my short list of favorite games, as it is, I'm sure, on most Silent Hill fans' lists. It, and the first game, are shining examples of why this series is spectacular. Unfortunately, they are the only two games that I feel are great in the series. The third one felt more like a coda to the first (and was way too short), while the foruth one had more than a few design flaws that made me lose interest.

So, now the torch has been passed to Double Helix, an American developer, and the result is Silent Hill: Homecoming. Even with its flaws (and boy does it have some), Homecoming has become my second/third favorite game of the series and bodes very well for Silent Hill's future.

The story begins with you, as Alex Shepherd, tied to a gurney and being pushed down dilapidated halls of some hellish hospital. Looking to your right and left, you see even more disturbing sights as doctors drill into a patient or drop a body down a large and presumably deep hole. Eventually, you're led into an observation room and left alone. The doctor that left you is murdered, you break free of your bonds and have to make sense of where you're at.

Right away, the game had its hooks in me. This first level terrifically set up the rest of the game, but also presented some genuine frights and more than a few disturbing sections. From here, you'll go back home and try to figure out why Shepherd's Glen is cloaked in fog, where your brother left, why your mother seems catatonic and what exactly lurks in your flooded basement...

From a story perspective, Homecoming feels like a mix of Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 (with a splash of Saw thrown in the mix), which is definitely a good combination. Unfortunately, the story is also the most straight forward of the series (it's a Western game now) and while they try to mimic the essence of Silent Hill, they lose the ambiguous feel that tasks you with putting everything together. By the end of the game, you pretty much know all there is to know. Some might like that, but it was a sore spot for me.

The combat system, which was supposed to push Silent Hill into this new realm, isn't very good. In fact, I found myself trying to avoid enemies more in Homecoming than in any of the previous titles. On paper, it sounds good: light attack, strong attack and dodge. But the problem is that you absolutely have to dodge attacks or even the lowly dogs will eat your face. The problem is further amplified by the small, claustrophic areas you are in. A lot of battles take place in very tight corners, making dodging very difficult. And even when you successfully dodge in the small rooms, eventually you'll run into a corner, the camera will go wacky and you won't be able to see what you're fighting or, more importantly, see when to dodge.

Then, when you're in the big rooms, Double Helix is kind enough to throw two or three (or five) enemies at you at once. Dodging one is a pain in the butt as it is, but trying to juggle three enemies is...well, it's hell. Add to this some enemies with their gaseous breath that I could never seem to dodge and halfway through the game I never wanted to see another monster again. And don't get me started on the boss fights...

So, why the four star review? Because of what happens halfway through the game. At the halfway point, the game ratchets up the tension, brings the story into new light and really made me want to play more. In fact, I played the last half of the game in one sitting because I had to see how it was going to end. The last half really makes up for any of the deficiencies in the game.

Graphically, Homecoming is obviously the best in the series. The new sheen of gloss mostly works, though some of the monsters with the more colorful highlights (the gaseous monsters, for instance, with their red chests) look fake and break the color scheme. Taking a page from the movie, the transitions to the other world are real time, with the paint flaking off and floating into nothingness. It's cool but it's not as terrifying as waking up or just finding yourself in the other world.

And, of course, the music is phenominal. Akira Yamaoka, series music/sound effects creator and producer, returns to craft a haunting score that mixes industrial with noises, rock and some heart-pumping effects. Very awesome, some of the best of his music in my opinion.

In the end, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a great addition to the series. It feels like the most cohesive Silent Hill story since the second game and tries to branch into new territories. Having a new developer really helped the series avoid becoming stagnant. And even with some faulting moments, it really is an involving and engrossing trip into hell. Definitely recommend giving it a chance.

I have to admit, I was a little wary of this game after hearing alot of not so positive reviews. I will say that most of the criticism this game has received is pretty on the money. The atmosphere is creepy, but not very scary. The controls are a little uneven in alot of points (you have to be standing just right to open doors and examine objects). And the stroy is very straight forward compared to Silent HIll's 1&2 (they're the only one's I've played lol).
Now that that stuff is out of the way, let me tell you why this game is actually worth owning (or at least maybe a weekend rental). The soundtrack is excellent. Alot of reviews. even the one's disfavoring the game are pointing out Akira Yamaoka's musical selection and it's some of the most eerie and rousing I've heard in a video game. It almost seems intune to what you have your character doing. The sound effects are perfectly tuned as well, from footsteps, to creaky metal sounds.
The story in this game comes across as a bit typical at first (the nightmare intro is VERY slow), you're a war veteran coming home to find your hometown empty of people and your brother and father missing. What I didn't expect was to be swept into the story and I actually wanting to keep playing to find out what happened next.
Another big criticism of this game was the fact you are playing a combat heavy character making alot of enemy encounters no where near as scary as they were in the previous titles. This is true. However I personally find this approach a bit refreshing. It took some getting used to, but once I tried out all the combos I actually had fun in fights. Again, not everyone's cup of tea but it's different.
The graphics aside from some clipping errors (and the sandy cam filter and lame water animation) are VERY good. You can actually look off in the distance and pick out locations in the game you've been to or are going to. The cemetary's, playgrounds and other outdoor locations really bring you into the world. It's no GTAIV, but you can pratically BREATH the fog and stale air.
Anyway, I hope this helps you decide on this purchase of the game. It's not perfect, but it's fun and unique enough that it kept me glued to the TV.

i personally hate how much people say this game was awful ive beaten all SH games exept shattered memories and 4 and i cant see why people say this trash? so it was made in US so what it was still awesome loved the story main character and everything about it. this game is actualy very fun, it does have some altered controls that can be a little difficult to get used to but once you do youl enjoi it, the things people say about this game are usally just people complaining about every little thing. in short its a great buy. give it a try.

This is not a good Silent Hill game...I would say it's the least impressive of all the major releases to date. It's a very small-time venture, and only holds about two-thirds of the amount of gameplay that I would wish for in a game from this series.

Lets start with the plot...A man named Alex comes home to the sleepy town of Shepherd's Glen only to find fog everywhere and the town eerily deserted and locked up tight. In his wanderings he comes across about 5 people (amazingly all have some important connection with him), one of whom is his mother who tells him his brother is missing. This is pretty banal, as 99.99% of the whole TOWN is missing, but anyway, Alex goes off on a search that takes him through foggy streets, a cemetery, a prison, a hotel and so on. On several occasions, Alex spots the young brother, who (stop me if you've heard this before) always trots off round a corner just as Alex calls his name and approaches. Yawn! How much longer are we going to have to put up with that old plot mechanic? As well as the cliched speech that Alex gives to everyone he meets: "I need to find my brother! Have you seen him". Anyway it isn't long before Alex starts to realise there's a whole lot of nastiness going on, and so the tale unfolds.

Lets leave the plot there and concentrate on what's good and bad about the game.

GOOD: Graphics are great, some of the scenery is terrific and there's lots of detail. There is also a really nasty climax to the whole game with large dollops of very shocking gore and torture - be prepared for this. There are some new monsters with some cool designs (we liked the poison gas belching things, the Scarlet boss, and the gas chamber boss).

BAD: And, sorry folks there is more bad than good. The character faces look awful - Alex looks like an eyerolling zombie in some shots. The controls are pretty bad and you get REALLY low maximum ammo capacity! Cruelly, you often can't even backtrack to pick up unused stashes when you need them either - this game is really linear. And the inventory ring is terrible! If you open it and then quit without making a selection, you automatically use or equip whatever was on the screen at the time you quit - and in my case I was continually using up the best healthpacks (serums) even when I didnt want to. BAD DESIGN! Plus, the locations are fun but quite small - and more of those frickin' faceless nurses - enough already!!! Think of something new!

Finally the PS3 version is also pretty buggy - several times puzzles look like they have gone wrong but still work (the four locks on Alex's house?) and you often see screens glitching between game view and cut scenes.

All in all it's a bit botched. Seems like quite a rushed job with some very ugly scenery in places (The Lair? What was THAT?). Added to this how short (and also easy) it is, and you won't be spending very long in Silent Hill this time. Not to mention that the game spends precious little of the time in Silent Hill anyway (and both it and Shepherd's Glen have a ridiculously small amount of explorable streets).

The only thing that really lingered in my mind was some of the graphic violence (I think the 18 rating is earned), but most of the rest of this trip to Silent Hill only warrants a flying visit.

I didn't buy this game from Amazon but I thought I would write a review of the game for those who are thinking of buying it from Amazon.

The plot is about a guy name Alex who is looking for this brother Joshua. Just like most Silent Hill games are; you're looking for someone.

I really liked this game, being a Silent Hill fan, it is probably one of my top favorites from the series. I can probably say that I loved this game. The story is good. It is creepy, ecspecially when the main character's brother [This is located in the start of the game] asks you to get his toy for him and while you are looking around all you can hear is him whispering your name and giggling[ along with some of his humming too]. I say creepy and eerie, I wouldn't say I lost any sleep over this game.

There is not too much exploring to do, but that is ok with me because I don't like to feel like I am wandering around aimlessly anyway. There is more exploring I would say in the alternative world. The controls are fairly easy to handle. The one really difficult part of this game is combat,more so with the bosses than anything else, though you do get hints after dying. Some bosses were...tough, but passable. All in all I enjoyed the game, plus though there are new creatures some of the Silent Hill favorites still in here [Like Pyramid Head].

As a fan of Silent Hill since the beginning, believe me when I say that this title undoes everything that made the series unique and enjoyable. The strong points of the series have always been atmosphere, design, and sheer compelling mystery. Homecoming fails on all of these points. I think you should know about the game's overwhelming flaws in some concrete detail before you decide whether or not to buy it.

Firstly, the story, unlike those in previous games, is utterly predictable and tedious. It's straight out of the worst horror movies; every spoken line will seem familiar, and you can predict half the scenes and 'twists' before they happen (Yes, the villain coolly explains everything to the hero at the end. Yes, every time you see the main character's kid brother, he'll run away just before you get to him, over and over and over again in nearly every section). The stories in the previous games weren't always perfectly written, but they were never this insultingly cliché. There's no mystery, no creeping fear, no unresolved questions.

The graphics are, in many details, far worse than in every PS2 installment, even when running at 720p. Textures are dull, facial models for some characters are incredibly unnatural, many 'organic' shapes are distinctly low polygon count. Some graphical elements, especially paintings on the walls and the child's drawings you frequently pick up, are so pixellated they wouldn't look out of place in the PS1 original. Water doesn't move as you wade through it. The noise filter even makes the fog look pixellated. Random gory bodies are similarly badly textured, and frequently show up in the exact same pose. Consider these concrete examples, and bear them in mind whenever people say 'the graphics look amazing!' without offering any further explanation.

As for the monsters, they nearly look right for the series, but their behavior is worlds apart. Instead of being willful and mysterious, they're just like the posturing, aggressive beasts you'll find in any other game. That's more a matter of taste, but fighting them is definitely more simplistic than before. When you engage an enemy, you can practically feel the scripting pop into gear; the whole process is nothing but a timing game. Block, button mash, the end. Or, if the monster gets a hit in, enjoy being hit again and again and again as you try to either get back up or get out of the way. It's cheap and nothing but cheap, and not remotely enjoyable. Compounding this fact is that you have only 3 melee weapons that differ in speed and attack pattern, and these qualities stay the same even when you get 'new' weapons (which just replace one of these 3, and play exactly the same).

The puzzles are shockingly simple. The solutions are frequently completely obvious, sometimes even without reading the 'hint' (which is usually posted immediately near the puzzle, and barely obscures the solution if at all). In two cases, object interaction puzzles are actually repeated; one is only slightly different the second time around, but the other one is literally the exact same puzzle with the exact same method of solution! Overall, the puzzles come off like an afterthought, and add nothing to the experience.

The environments are some of the worst designed I've ever seen, let alone in the SH series. All they are is a series of run-down, gray buildings (look at the screenshots on any gaming site to see just how overwhelmingly, monochromatically gray they really are). They're frequently small and always completely linear, allowing for no substantive exploration whatsoever, and occasionally feature completely baffling design choices (one section, clearly meant to be a maze, nevertheless has the dead ends easily in view from every junction). The Otherworld segments are (visually, at least) more engaging, but rare; only a tiny, tiny fraction of game play takes place there. It usually only comes into play in the room where a boss fight takes place. With one or two exceptions, the longer Otherworld segments involve virtually no combat, puzzles, or even fetch quests: they're simply runs to the exit. Even in the last section of the game, you don't see it until you face the boss. The Otherworld has always been the trademark of the series, and arguably its most distinct and compelling aspect. In Homecoming, it's effectively been stripped away.

You don't have the option of reversing the Y axis except when aiming a gun. In my play through at least, there was a glitch that frequently jumbled the controls during a load, requiring me to repeatedly reset them to the defaults.

Everything about this title exhibits an astonishing lack of attention to detail, not to mention a lack of competent design. It's not good by any reasonable standard, let alone as the latest in a well-established and unique series like Silent Hill. It would be a rip-off at $5, and it's not worth your time.

I've seen some pretty bad reviews for this title, and I don't think it deserves it. Granted, the game isn't perfect, it is FAR from bad!. In fact, I think it's pretty damn good. Aside from the facial features of the characters during conversations, the graphics are amazing. The music is very nice, though it seems to be a bit off queue at times (not often, but enough to warrant me mentioning it.) Over all, the game play is good. Combat seems pretty smooth, and it can be a challenge at times.

There are some bugs in it, though. For example, when I first came across the Judge in her office, Alex was floating in the air while they were having a conversation (his feet were about the same level as the top of her desk!) The biggest problem I have with the game is the lack of save-points. They are too few and the distance between them is substantial. Unless you're using a guide, or have played through the game before (or fairly lucky/fast at playing,) the exploratory nature of the game makes it so you can expect a good 45 minutes to an hour between saves. The challenge of the game steadily increases, and losing an hour of play can be demoralizing to some. The story is good enough to keep me going back for more though (the nurses in the Grand Hotel ate me alive for a while there!)

Advice for those playing through for their firs time: Save as much as you can, and make multiple save-files. Otherwise you might find yourself starting over because you used up all your ammo or recovery items a few hours in. Coming up with some solid tactics can save you a fair amount of grief later in the game.

Over all, this is a very welcome addition to the Silent Hill series, as well as the Survival Horror genre in general!

Let me just say first that I did not play any previous Silent Hill games, but would really like to. But, I am, however a big horror fan.

Story: The story in this game does NOT follow the movie, only some monsters are borrowed from that. You play Alex Shepard on his quest to return hoome and find his missing brother Joshua. The story has great twists and is very interesting, especially to people who enjoy a good psycological thriller. You can choose different diologue options when speaking to characters, but only 3 parts in the game actually determine which ending you get.
It's worth mentioning the the notes you pick up in the game are worth reading.

Graphics: This is a 2008 game. It looks decent, now. The mood and atmosphere is still great though. Excellent monster designs!!!

Sound: Nothing to complain about. Monsters and voice acting are good.

Gameplay: This is different from other Silent Hill games. You have a light attack, heavy attack, and a block. The combat in the game is good, you will find very few guns and ammo and will need to mostly use melee weapons. The enimies are tough and you don't want to leave them behind for fear they will catch up to you. The low ammo and health is what makes this game slightly scary sometimes. The combat can get repetitive and it is possible to mess up your entire game by using alot of healing items and then not having enough for certian parts of the game. That adds to scry factor, but doesn't make you too happy when it happens. Tip: keep multiple save files!!

Boss fights are awesome and super demented!

There is also alot of basic problem solving in the game, which is very enjoyable and should be familiar to anyone who has play survival horror games. I did find the puzzles to be an issue, though. They range from super easy to the most impossible thing ever. You could sit for an extremely long time trying to figure out the end puzzle, it is mostly impossible without a guide.

Value: If you like horror it's definatly worth it for $20. There are different endings to unlock and for getting the different endings you get different costumes and weapons to use during the game. You also collect clild's drawings, serums, and pictures as collectables. There are no trophies on PS3. The drawings and pictures are nice to look at though for slight backstory and dementedness.

Overall: Horror fan? Get this game. A good horror game, not the best, not the scariest, but very good.
8/10

I wanted the PS3 just so I could continue to play the SH series...

Beware what you ask for...
Thanks to all the great realistic graphics, it is now even harder to play this game.
I can barely convince myself to sit long enough to finish.
My nerves get so worked up and then I end up getting shanked by some nurse.
DARN IT.

Great game to add to the series.

Silent Hill Homecoming is a game I love to play but almost hate to play because it scares the heck out of me. One thing it does perfectly is music and sound effects. They're brilliant. When you bump into a trash can you can hear metal screeching. Metal gates and everything just have the perfect sound effect to make you feel like you're in the game. You can hear dogs barking off in the distance and know there is something out there to get you.

The graphics are very nice. Although, I think the character models could have been a bit better. Their hair is very last gen. It's just a helmet with texture. Very little movement.

I'm not at all impressed with the combat. It's very slow and sluggish. If you're in tight quarters and a monster is right there with you, the camera can be darting all over the place and you wont know what the heck is going on. I kind of wish there were less enemies because I just don't enjoy fighting them.

I also wish there were more save points. I don't understand how a game in this day and age doesn't have auto save. Doing it manually is so annoying. And I like how in other games I can play up to a certain point and if I get tired I can quit and my progress is saved. Here, if you quit without finding a save point and saving, you could have just lost a ton of progress.

The story in Homecoming is really good and so is the voice acting. It's a game I'll enjoy playing multiple times to unlock secret stuff. Overall, good game