Angry Fork
Member
This shit looks like a painting/art work or something, it's incredible. Current gen 'horror' games have yet to match this quality. Why can't Sony just get the Team Silent people together again for PS4 =( Whyyyyy
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The Silent Hill 2, 3 & 4 PC thread - A guide to a better HD Collection
- Thread starter Lime
- Start date
This shit looks like a painting/art work or something, it's incredible. Current gen 'horror' games have yet to match this quality. Why can't Sony just get the Team Silent people together again for PS4 =( Whyyyyy
I thought Silent Hill 4 was great as well. The concept was suitably creepy, first person mode in the apartment gave me chills, the music was classic Yamaoka, and ultimately I felt it was as compelling and interesting as most other entries. Different in ways, but similar in tone.
peronmls
Member
No unless you can cut the in game speed in half and double the framerate. Which is possible with KH2FM on PCSX2.
For me, SH4 > SH3. I wish it was relased as a stand alone survival horror as intended (named simply The Room) and not as SH4 though, the parts linked to Silent Hill feel forced.
SH3 is the sequel SH1 never needed and the story feels like a fanfiction, never liked it.
BTW, #TeamTeamSiren.
SH3 has the best characterization and believable protagonist of the whole series.
I'd say interesting and peculiar, but i wouldn't describe Heather more believable than James, for example.
As i always mention, Heather is quite an odd (in a good way,character wise) teenager:
Well, the proper word might be "well-realized". The way Team Silent chose to depict her and convey her emotional state seemed very well-executed and properly acted. Moreover, the variations in Heather's mood as reactions to the events around her do in fact seem pretty convincing. Whether it is disgusted, sad, revengeful, dismissive, joking, etc., they all seem like something an actual person would do in the different circumstances. I definitely think Heather is incredibly well-realized in that sense and her character is able to show off a wide palette of emotions (which the rest of the SH protagonists don't necessarily achieve).
Regarding James as believable: The way the character of James seems to react to his surroundings come across as more "anaesthetized", as a person suppressing his emotions. While that is understandable given the game's narrative, it still seems "off".
By the way, thanks to the recent SH thread and this bump, I've been playing through SH4 again (last time must've been in 2007 for me). I would definitely recommend to disable the real-time shadows and lowering the brightness and gamma settings, as it doesn't look particularly good compared to the PS2 version.
PS2 version (emulated):
PC version with default brightness and gamma
And SH4 was much better than I remember it. Or maybe it's just today's games that have lowered my standards.
PS2 version (emulated):
PC version with default brightness and gamma
And SH4 was much better than I remember it. Or maybe it's just today's games that have lowered my standards.
Somnium986
Member
Finished SH2 for like the billionth time, and it was awesome. Pretty much ran flawlessly with the patch, aside from the transitions to the map and the inventory being a little long. Guessing the pieces of missing geometry I saw(in very few areas and scenes) are a result of the patching? Unless my computer dies again, I don't think I'm ever playing SH2&3 on a console again. True HD collection, yo. 
I liked SH4 when it was released and still like it now. The only SH game that I bothered to 10 star
.
Yes, having to repeat all the areas again was really shitty, but the game still looked great, and the characters and story were interesting enough(well except for Henry...). Makes me cringe every time someone says that Homecoming is a better game.
Maybe a little bit of both? xD
I liked SH4 when it was released and still like it now. The only SH game that I bothered to 10 star
probably because it was so damn easy compared to past games.:lol
Yes, having to repeat all the areas again was really shitty, but the game still looked great, and the characters and story were interesting enough(well except for Henry...). Makes me cringe every time someone says that Homecoming is a better game.
angular graphics
Banned
Finished SH2 for like the billionth time, and it was awesome. Pretty much ran flawlessly with the patch, aside from the transitions to the map and the inventory being a little long. Guessing the pieces of missing geometry I saw(in very few areas and scenes) are a result of the patching? Unless my computer dies again, I don't think I'm ever playing SH2&3 on a console again. True HD collection, yo.
It's AA. I have warned here that AA in this game is considered a hack and it'll cause a few glitches but these are rare so in the end one should definitely enable it.
This is why in my patch's installer I ask the user to choose whether he will use AA or not, because if he's not going to, then I won't enable the AA hack for him.
Somnium986
Member
Ah, okay then. Just wanted to see if that was the glitch you mentioned. Doesn't bother me at all. :]
Chance Hale
Member
While Downpour doesn't compare to the first four games in quality, it's still a shame it doesn't seem to ever be coming to the PC. It has some pretty major technical issues on the consoles so it might not ever run well.
For Silent Hill 4, I have a pretty powerful pc so is emulating the PS2 version the best bet given the framerate issues and missing effect(s?) of the PC version?
For Silent Hill 4, I have a pretty powerful pc so is emulating the PS2 version the best bet given the framerate issues and missing effect(s?) of the PC version?
Napalm_Frank
Member
I liked Downpour more than 4
.I totally forgot Homecoming actually released on PC. Is PC version any good?
Typographenia
Member
It's extremely broken.
I don't know if there has been a proper workaround found or shared recently, but, last I heard, you get stuck on one of the bosses and are unable to continue on past the game unless you have a save file that is past that boss.
Widdly Scuds
Member
sorry if's this has been answered already (i'm a bit tipsy)
between SH2, SH3, and SH4 should I just rip my ps2 copies and run them on pcsx2 or should I seek out the PC versions?
If I read everything correctly the best experience for SH4 is pcsx2, right?
between SH2, SH3, and SH4 should I just rip my ps2 copies and run them on pcsx2 or should I seek out the PC versions?
If I read everything correctly the best experience for SH4 is pcsx2, right?
angular graphics
Banned
Perhaps you mean some other part, because I just tried part 4 and it's not down?
Odd, it is up now apparently! Nevermind :X
It's called disp.ini. You might need to boot up the game for the file to be created if I recall correctly. Then there's the line "size=640x480" or something needs to be changed to whatever resolution you desire it to be.
I know the file, saved in the game manually at the menu screen and save logo. The file is not visible where it should be.
Try looking in %LOCALAPPDATA%/VirtualStore/Program Files (x86)/KONAMI/SILENT HILL 3/savedata (type this into the Explorer address bar).
Got it! Thanks. I guess this is the Windows 8 solution.
As lovely as all of these screenshots and animations look, there is still one big problem with the Silent Hill 2 PC release: Its godawful audio. After scanning through the sound effects file, it seems like nearly every effect has been severely downsampled and reduced in bit depth, resultung in a raised noise floor and other artifacts. Even worse, some sounds have a different pitch from the original.
This is mostly apparent for sound effects and less for dialogue. Compare both startup sounds from the PC and PS2 version, for example:
http://audiour.com/playlist/hnste02y
Note the increased noise and the lack of reverb, as well as the pitch shifting.
Stuff like this occurs throughout the game with all sound effects and is incredibly distracting. Sadly, with my limited knowledge I have not yet succeeded in replacing audio files, as the game uses a binary file for all sound effects (which is laughably small in comparison with the PS2 release).
Sound files can be found here.
Does someone have any idea on how to replace them with higher quality ones?
This is mostly apparent for sound effects and less for dialogue. Compare both startup sounds from the PC and PS2 version, for example:
http://audiour.com/playlist/hnste02y
Note the increased noise and the lack of reverb, as well as the pitch shifting.
Stuff like this occurs throughout the game with all sound effects and is incredibly distracting. Sadly, with my limited knowledge I have not yet succeeded in replacing audio files, as the game uses a binary file for all sound effects (which is laughably small in comparison with the PS2 release).
Sound files can be found here.
Does someone have any idea on how to replace them with higher quality ones?
angular graphics
Banned
^
While working on enhancing the PC cutscenes, I did investigate ways to enhance the audio side as well.
I don't remember what was the deal with sound effects, but you can replace the music. I worked on it a bit using as a source the soundtrack cd, but I came to the conclusion that it takes someone that knows how to cut and join together portions of the music to match the PC samples. I have no such experience.
I contacted someone which seemed to possess both audio editing skills and a love for SH, but apart from an initial enthusiastic reply that he'd look into it, I haven't received another, even when I asked weeks later if there have been any developments.
While working on enhancing the PC cutscenes, I did investigate ways to enhance the audio side as well.
I don't remember what was the deal with sound effects, but you can replace the music. I worked on it a bit using as a source the soundtrack cd, but I came to the conclusion that it takes someone that knows how to cut and join together portions of the music to match the PC samples. I have no such experience.
I contacted someone which seemed to possess both audio editing skills and a love for SH, but apart from an initial enthusiastic reply that he'd look into it, I haven't received another, even when I asked weeks later if there have been any developments.
By the way, I've been playing around with the Silent Hill 3 camera hack.
rootbeerafloat
Member
I read this thread and googled a bit, so sorry if this has been answered before.
I'm hesitant to put time into the PC version because of what I assume to be a missing texture right at the beginning.
PC
PCSX2
I played around with the settings (in game options, disabling AA and nearly everything else in the nvidia control panel). The last thing I want is a similar problem popping up at a key moment and breaking the immersion. It's already bugging the crap out of me and I haven't even got to the third screen. Maybe if it's fairly limited I could just deal with it.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
I'm hesitant to put time into the PC version because of what I assume to be a missing texture right at the beginning.
PC
PCSX2
I played around with the settings (in game options, disabling AA and nearly everything else in the nvidia control panel). The last thing I want is a similar problem popping up at a key moment and breaking the immersion. It's already bugging the crap out of me and I haven't even got to the third screen. Maybe if it's fairly limited I could just deal with it.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
I suspect it's a driver problem. I have not encountered this issue myself, just checked right now just to be sure. Since I am running an AMD graphics card, it could be due to backwards compatibility issues with modern nvidia drivers? Are you running the most recent version of the nvdia driver?
Stealth_Cobra
Member
Suscribed.
I managed to run SH2 and SH3 fine on my Win 7 PC a while back, but IIRC, SH4 gave me troubles. Didn't do anything fancy with them, like altering FOV and stuff, so I'll give these tweaks a try, especially if it means an even better SH experience.
Still the PC version of SH2 and SH3, even when not optimised with mods , still looked way better than their PS2 counterparts.
I managed to run SH2 and SH3 fine on my Win 7 PC a while back, but IIRC, SH4 gave me troubles. Didn't do anything fancy with them, like altering FOV and stuff, so I'll give these tweaks a try, especially if it means an even better SH experience.
Still the PC version of SH2 and SH3, even when not optimised with mods , still looked way better than their PS2 counterparts.
angular graphics
Banned
That's AA that does this. But like 90% of the game is fine with AA enabled so it's not really a problem.
I talked about it before: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=51003708&postcount=203
PetriP-TNT
Member
Does Silent Hill 4 require the disc to be in the machine all the time or does the "fixed .EXE" do that. I really wouldn't want to download a no-cd crack from some shady site?
PetriP-TNT
Member
Well, I took the bite and bought SH4 for 4 euros (tripple dipping fuck yeah!). Hopefully I can get around to
a) get it working
b) get it working with the PS3 pad!
a) get it working
b) get it working with the PS3 pad!
Unreal
Member
Is there a fix for the Silent Hill 3 (PC) random drops from 60 to 30fps ?
I only have this problem with 2048x2048 (im playing at 3840x2160 but im also getting the drops at 1920x1080) internal render resolution and above...
I also cant enable antialiasing (that's why im playing at "4K") and Vsync (im getting a horrible tearing) with Nvidia Inspector.
specs : 2500K + GTX670.
I only have this problem with 2048x2048 (im playing at 3840x2160 but im also getting the drops at 1920x1080) internal render resolution and above...
I also cant enable antialiasing (that's why im playing at "4K") and Vsync (im getting a horrible tearing) with Nvidia Inspector.
specs : 2500K + GTX670.
.:Wesker:.
Member
Has anyone ever enabled force feedback in Silent Hill 2 PC? I've got one of these and a Dualshock 2 hooked up and even though the vibration function is turned on, I never feel a thing. I also can't configure the sticks at all, but luckily the left stick works as it should. The right stick doesn't though, so the camera control has to share the same stick as movement. I know it's not the controller's fault, it works perfectly in other games/emulators/etc.
Also, the texture work and lighting is unbelievable for a 12 year old game.
I haven't touched SH3 yet, but have you tried setting power management to 'prefer maximum performance' instead of 'adaptive' in nvidia control panel?
Also, the texture work and lighting is unbelievable for a 12 year old game.
I haven't touched SH3 yet, but have you tried setting power management to 'prefer maximum performance' instead of 'adaptive' in nvidia control panel?
kunonabi
Member
And finally everyone's favourite scene in Silent Hill 3:
I'll stop with the gifs now (got plenty more), but it was brandohn who made me do it
It's one of mine. The look of pain on her face as the camera fades to black always gets me. It really isn't the happy ending everyone makes it out to be.
.:Wesker:.
Member
This doesn't have anything to do with SH, but are Dualshock 2 knock offs generally easy to spot? I've always felt like something might be off with mine, but I don't know if there are any major indicators that it's a cheap knock off or something.
John Rabbit
Banned
has a fix for the problems in SH4 on PC ever turned up?
So, during the last few days i've marathoned through SH 1, 2 and 3 , on PS2 (i'll post here since we have no Silent Hill general OT in community, which is a shame).
Of course i had played through the games many times before, but it was actually years since i had played 2 and 3 (i also had never played 3 on hard riddles, i realized).
Oh boy what a ride.
Some quick thoughts:
Silent hill 1 is still great, thought it's the less varied (for technical reasons) of the three, those limitations also help it get closer to something Lynch-esque.
The long pauses between sentences are alienating, and the weird delivery from the actors helps that, too; i'm thinking those long pauses are due to the PS1 limited memory, though it's just an hypothesis.
Also Harry is a dickhead (that scene with Lisa come to mind).
Silent Hill 2 is easily the best one, incredibly varied, good pacing start to finish, amazing texture work (some of the best i've ever seen); some of the writing is too much on the nose and clichéd at this point (especially concerning Angela) but the game is from 2001, so i'll cut it some slack; really an amazing experience.
My favorite game of all time, i still maintain that opinion.
Silent Hill 3 has some really great moments, along with some big flaws.
The pacing is off in the beginning, with nothing but "get home" as a motivation, you go through various locales with little story thread to held them together, until you reach the apartments, basically, and the writing being the weakest of the three (SH1's isn't great, but it's not taking the front seat much either) with a LOT of annoying exposition, some cringeworthy dialogue, some out of place jokes and in general feeling undercooked.
Heather's character, however, is probably the most interesting in the series, too bad she was put into an otherwise limping story, with many interesting points not explored enough and a whole lot of fan service.
It doesn't feel as cohesive as 1 and 2, however it sports probably the best acting (although Mary's actress was good) and surely the best soundtrack of the three, on par with SH2, on the visuals department, they are crazier and more creative, but also feel less directly tied to the story.
Also those riddles on hard are borderline absurd, i mean the Shakespeare one is hard enough even if you know his stuff, but the real killer for me (cost me like 45 minutes before i had to look it up, something i never did for a SH game) was the morgue/birds one, and i still call bullshit on their reasoning for it, but whatever.
However, the reason i made this post, is basically because i had never noticed, but one of the best music Yamaoka ever made, was actually in the result screen for Silent Hill 3:
Silent Hill 3 Ranking Screen Msuic
Listen to this thing, it's so beautiful, it almost sounds like something you'd listen in a CyberPunk game, or out of Ed Harrison (NeoTokyo).
In the end, playing these back to back, and then start playing Resident Evil (i'm still at the beginning of ZERO) it's obvious how the gameplay in SH is more of a second thought, compared to RE.
infinite inventory and basically get into a hallway, try every door and you already have the solution in hand, with the monsters being a nuisance, mostly.
In RE, the management of stuff is much more important, the mixing of herbs, bringing the right weapon, going through the right corridor to avoid enemies etc etc, however the story is mostly throwaway and the atmosphere isn't as great (nor are the riddles/puzzles).
I could totally see Silent Hill becoming a point and click adventure game, without losing much of its strength.
---------
I would've played 4, but i have it on Xbox, which i don't have with me right now.
Of course i had played through the games many times before, but it was actually years since i had played 2 and 3 (i also had never played 3 on hard riddles, i realized).
Oh boy what a ride.
Some quick thoughts:
Silent hill 1 is still great, thought it's the less varied (for technical reasons) of the three, those limitations also help it get closer to something Lynch-esque.
The long pauses between sentences are alienating, and the weird delivery from the actors helps that, too; i'm thinking those long pauses are due to the PS1 limited memory, though it's just an hypothesis.
Also Harry is a dickhead (that scene with Lisa come to mind).
Silent Hill 2 is easily the best one, incredibly varied, good pacing start to finish, amazing texture work (some of the best i've ever seen); some of the writing is too much on the nose and clichéd at this point (especially concerning Angela) but the game is from 2001, so i'll cut it some slack; really an amazing experience.
My favorite game of all time, i still maintain that opinion.
Silent Hill 3 has some really great moments, along with some big flaws.
The pacing is off in the beginning, with nothing but "get home" as a motivation, you go through various locales with little story thread to held them together, until you reach the apartments, basically, and the writing being the weakest of the three (SH1's isn't great, but it's not taking the front seat much either) with a LOT of annoying exposition, some cringeworthy dialogue, some out of place jokes and in general feeling undercooked.
Heather's character, however, is probably the most interesting in the series, too bad she was put into an otherwise limping story, with many interesting points not explored enough and a whole lot of fan service.
It doesn't feel as cohesive as 1 and 2, however it sports probably the best acting (although Mary's actress was good) and surely the best soundtrack of the three, on par with SH2, on the visuals department, they are crazier and more creative, but also feel less directly tied to the story.
Also those riddles on hard are borderline absurd, i mean the Shakespeare one is hard enough even if you know his stuff, but the real killer for me (cost me like 45 minutes before i had to look it up, something i never did for a SH game) was the morgue/birds one, and i still call bullshit on their reasoning for it, but whatever.
However, the reason i made this post, is basically because i had never noticed, but one of the best music Yamaoka ever made, was actually in the result screen for Silent Hill 3:
Silent Hill 3 Ranking Screen Msuic
Listen to this thing, it's so beautiful, it almost sounds like something you'd listen in a CyberPunk game, or out of Ed Harrison (NeoTokyo).
In the end, playing these back to back, and then start playing Resident Evil (i'm still at the beginning of ZERO) it's obvious how the gameplay in SH is more of a second thought, compared to RE.
infinite inventory and basically get into a hallway, try every door and you already have the solution in hand, with the monsters being a nuisance, mostly.
In RE, the management of stuff is much more important, the mixing of herbs, bringing the right weapon, going through the right corridor to avoid enemies etc etc, however the story is mostly throwaway and the atmosphere isn't as great (nor are the riddles/puzzles).
I could totally see Silent Hill becoming a point and click adventure game, without losing much of its strength.
---------
I would've played 4, but i have it on Xbox, which i don't have with me right now.
Ran Echelon
Neo Member
I've been thinking of playing these games for a while, seeing this thread convinced me.
Thanks Lime!
Anyone know the inspector bits for SH2 sgssaa?
Thanks Lime!
Anyone know the inspector bits for SH2 sgssaa?
Good write-up, Urbanrats, and I completely agree with you. I just played through Beyond: Two Souls (terrible plot & writing as expected), but I was thinking throughout my playthrough that the style of presentation (camera angles, lighting, graphical emphasis on characters and facial animation) would be applicable for an atmospheric horror à la Silent Hill. Most of all, I was thinking what Team Silent would have achieved with a similar budget and motion capturing as that game.
afternoon delight
Member
This prospect with fixed camera angles is kind of making me wet right now.
Someone type up a proposal and send it someone who's listening.
I agree that heather is well realized.
But I also think that Maria is particularly incredible.The way her character masterfully segues into different "modes" is fascinating.She is a oddly familiar yet creepy stranger(rosewater park), a terrified "partner" of sorts who expects james to protect her, a motherly figure in a fine instance(asking frantically about laura in the hospital scene) very sexy but her sexiness never gets abused(by the writers that is).She is inaccessible to james almost hints at it many times.(Im here for you james. see ,I'm real)
She tortures him, seduces him , helps him , misleads him, insults him(all you care about is that dead of your's)
And I LOVED born from a wish.It just adds a whole different to her character and raises so many questions about the origins of her existence.
A mystifying character coupled with a sensible yet alluring visual design, maria is probably one of(if not) the best female character I have ever encountered(in my humble opinion)
I can't imagine what the likes of masahiro ito and Takayoshi Sato can do with powerful hardware.What kills me inside is the reality that it might never happen.
Sato's CG is strangely unique.It just looks like its own thing.So beautiful and melancholic.I dunno if its just me,but his CG is particularly groundbreaking in that its timeless.
To explain what I mean by timeless, I don't think this shot can ever get overshadowed by new CG simply because its old.Like a vermeer painting, it is what it is.
I really love Sato's work with CGi, he has a strong (yet subtle) character design, i'm playing Resident Evil 0 as i said previously, and by comparison, the CGi in that game is down right embarrassing even compared to Silent hill 1's.
However i think Silent Hill 3 did just fine without it, and the models/animations of the in-engine characters are beyond impressive in it.
Also to expand a little bit on Heather, i think she's a great character, she's natural enough to not come off as completely delusional as James, but weird enough to not come off as simply "the avatar of normality in an insane world" like many horrors have.
Just a look at her room's decor or her never mentioning anyone outside her father, tells us that.
She's also very resolute and independent (probably because she had to live on the run) but her voice actress has a wonderfully trembling tone, that gives her a further complex shade.
What frustrates me, is that she's tied to the sequel to a game that didn't really have strong characters at all.
Toyama is a good game designer and i'd even dare say somewhat of a small visionary in my eyes (i adore all his creations, really) but his characters aren't really that interesting, even Siren doesn't go too deep on that aspect, and concentrates more on the general lore, with the characters being more a beacon for that.
And i think Harry is no exception, he doesn't have much of a personality (beyond being weirdly emotionally detached from others) and i think SH3 being tied to him, is actually dragging its potential down.
Heather is forced to spend a lot of her dialogue for boring and out of place exposition, and the fan service the game feels the need to bring on, i think takes away from what could've been time spent on developing Heather herself.
Sure we may argue that Harry in SH3 is an element of Heather's personality, much like Maria is for James, in SH2, but given that they have an entire game to tie up beyond the character, it takes too much away from what could've easily been another Silent Hill 2-level story.
EDIT: Also wanted to say a thing on the adventure bit.
Although maybe having it be a straight up point and click would be quite drastic, yeah, i do think something Heavy Rain-esque wouldn't be bad at all.
Combat always felt more of an obligation anyway (since the series was born as Konami's answer to Resident Evil's popularity) and actually the most interesting deaths you could have where those puzzle related.
Having being killed because i
, in SH1, was something that was burned in my mind as a kid, as opposed to being killed by a random nurse.
Those kinds of (unfortunately few) environmental deaths were powerful because they gave all those other random noises SH always had (glass breaking, someone walking near, random thumps, screams etc) more weight.
At least the first or second time around, you weren't quite sure which one of those meant something and which were only random sounds.
I'd take SH3's
over SH2's spawning enemies when you
, for example.
So yeah, it being more of an adventure game wouldn't mean not having a death screen at all, but they'd be much more free to play around with player expectations and interactions, directly tied to the storytelling.
And these games last around 3 to 5 hours anyway, so it's not like they need incredible amount of filler.
They play a lot with backtracking (alienating and inconsistent geography, scenery changing, etc) but they don't play as much with combat, i think.
However i think Silent Hill 3 did just fine without it, and the models/animations of the in-engine characters are beyond impressive in it.
Also to expand a little bit on Heather, i think she's a great character, she's natural enough to not come off as completely delusional as James, but weird enough to not come off as simply "the avatar of normality in an insane world" like many horrors have.
Just a look at her room's decor or her never mentioning anyone outside her father, tells us that.
She's also very resolute and independent (probably because she had to live on the run) but her voice actress has a wonderfully trembling tone, that gives her a further complex shade.
What frustrates me, is that she's tied to the sequel to a game that didn't really have strong characters at all.
Toyama is a good game designer and i'd even dare say somewhat of a small visionary in my eyes (i adore all his creations, really) but his characters aren't really that interesting, even Siren doesn't go too deep on that aspect, and concentrates more on the general lore, with the characters being more a beacon for that.
And i think Harry is no exception, he doesn't have much of a personality (beyond being weirdly emotionally detached from others) and i think SH3 being tied to him, is actually dragging its potential down.
Heather is forced to spend a lot of her dialogue for boring and out of place exposition, and the fan service the game feels the need to bring on, i think takes away from what could've been time spent on developing Heather herself.
Sure we may argue that Harry in SH3 is an element of Heather's personality, much like Maria is for James, in SH2, but given that they have an entire game to tie up beyond the character, it takes too much away from what could've easily been another Silent Hill 2-level story.
EDIT: Also wanted to say a thing on the adventure bit.
Although maybe having it be a straight up point and click would be quite drastic, yeah, i do think something Heavy Rain-esque wouldn't be bad at all.
Combat always felt more of an obligation anyway (since the series was born as Konami's answer to Resident Evil's popularity) and actually the most interesting deaths you could have where those puzzle related.
Having being killed because i
hadn't used the ring of contract
Those kinds of (unfortunately few) environmental deaths were powerful because they gave all those other random noises SH always had (glass breaking, someone walking near, random thumps, screams etc) more weight.
At least the first or second time around, you weren't quite sure which one of those meant something and which were only random sounds.
I'd take SH3's
red light of death
fail the hanged men enigma
So yeah, it being more of an adventure game wouldn't mean not having a death screen at all, but they'd be much more free to play around with player expectations and interactions, directly tied to the storytelling.
And these games last around 3 to 5 hours anyway, so it's not like they need incredible amount of filler.
They play a lot with backtracking (alienating and inconsistent geography, scenery changing, etc) but they don't play as much with combat, i think.
Ran Echelon
Neo Member
So I just finished playing Silent Hill 2 and I have to say, it was amazing!
These days I find that a lot of games don't hold my interest for long and I end up only getting part way through before starting something new.
I didn't have that problem with SH2 however - once I got into the swing of things I could hardly stop and ended up finishing the game in a couple of sessions.
A storyline the likes of which I'd never seen in a game, interesting characters, incredible atmosphere and near-perfect pacing combine to make one of the best and most compelling games I have ever played.
These days I find that a lot of games don't hold my interest for long and I end up only getting part way through before starting something new.
I didn't have that problem with SH2 however - once I got into the swing of things I could hardly stop and ended up finishing the game in a couple of sessions.
A storyline the likes of which I'd never seen in a game, interesting characters, incredible atmosphere and near-perfect pacing combine to make one of the best and most compelling games I have ever played.
This was your first play-through with the game? If so, welcome to the club!
The 9 hours time, tells me it probably was, i can't get it to more than 4 or 5 hours now, even if i pretend i don't already know what to do in every room (*sigh*).
It never feels short though, i must say, as you said the game has a great pacing.
My suggestion is, now try for different endings and with riddles at hard (SH2 is very doable with riddles at hard) action level however, i usually keep it at normal still, as i don't enjoy the combat that much.
The 9 hours time, tells me it probably was, i can't get it to more than 4 or 5 hours now, even if i pretend i don't already know what to do in every room (*sigh*).
It never feels short though, i must say, as you said the game has a great pacing.
My suggestion is, now try for different endings and with riddles at hard (SH2 is very doable with riddles at hard) action level however, i usually keep it at normal still, as i don't enjoy the combat that much.