Sackmanjones

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Alone: Surviving the apocalypse in Lone Survivor

By Sackmanjones 4 Comments

It's been awhile since I've been able to sit down and throw my thoughts of a game on Giant Bomb. Between school and work, its been a hell of a year but the time is now for the return of my famous (not really) blog! I should warn you that if you have not completed Lone Survivor and expect to play it there will definitely be spoilers. If you have played it or don't mind spoilers I hope you enjoy!

I recently picked up on sale Lone Survivor and proceeded to finish the game in a mere 3 nights. It has been quite a while since I have felt truly impacted by a game; it seamlessly blends tension and horror with bits of humor due to the clever dialogue and characters. I've played plenty of survival horror games but none have truly captured the feeling of being alone as much as Lone Survivor. Not only do you feel completely removed from any sort of society, you can feel the sanity of "You", the nameless main character, slipping away every minute you spend in that apartment hell hole. There are some very apparent things that make you question the psyche of "You", mainly the pills you can take just before you go to sleep. A green pill sends "You" to a man with a box on his head, apropriotely named "Man who wears a box on his head". A blue pill sends you to a nameless man in a room that closely resembles a therapy office. You also constantly see a black haired woman, usually in distress. It doesn't take a genius to know there is a bond between "You" and this girl only known as "Her". This obviously tips you off that something isn't right but it's the little things that really set off that alarm in your head, ringing and saying "Hey, do you realize what just happened? You had no more batteries a second ago but there you are, putting more into your flashlight." I just went to bed starving only to wake up and have food in my inventory. This door was locked but now it's open; and the most brilliant part of this is you don't question it as much as you should due to the harsh atmosphere. The fuck if I care the door is suddenly unlocked, there could be food in there, a can opener so I can actually consume all these supplies just sitting in my inventory, a gas tank to heat up food and make it more appetizing.

Yeah... this is weird

The strength of the setting plays throughout the whole game and is only made stronger by the vagueness of it all. What is this infection? How long has it been since the initial outbreak? Is the whole world gone or just this town? You simply don't know and just have to deal with the results of it all. The apartment building you are seemingly trapped within is disturbing to say the least; as you go to the lower levels the walls and rooms become more organic and disgusting. In one room you must cut a hole in the wall that is made out of skin with something clearly moving behind it. It took me a few minutes to gather enough courage to go through with it. The creatures have the same effect, they raise much more questions than answers. It seems to be implied that at least the thinmen are a result of this infection but there are a few large creatures that are most definitely not of human origin.

Many settings are truly disturbing and terrifyingI think the thing that stuck with me the most though was the writing. It was clever and humorous and went perfectly with the tone of the entire game. "You" is trying to stay sane. He is trying to have a clear mind and stay focused of that task on hand which is to escape the quarantined apartment building. The excitement from him when he drinks a rare soda he finds is intoxicating or when he finds a canned fruit salad and mentions hes been saving that for last because it's his favorite thing, like a child would with his dessert. You constantly run into a man simply known as "The Director", is he real? Is he an imagination of "You"? It's up for you to decide, but what's certain is he is helpful. At one point he gives "You" a Gamejoy (which looks shockingly similar to a gameboy of course). This brought me to one of my favorite parts of the game. When you get the gamejoy you can go back to your room, sit on the couch, and play. That's it, you watch "You" grasps onto any possible joy he can. Using up his batteries to play and hold onto his humanity as long as he can. Its both wonderful and heart-wrenching to watch at the same time. Similar feelings pop up when you run into a cat that you can feed, the simple need for some kind of contact with a real creature bursts through the game and as the player, you feel that and want to get that contact.

The sound design and music seal the deal for the feeling of the game. It is simply phenomenal across the board, from the ear cringing noises the creatures make, to the music that lets you know you are back home. It's both beautiful and disturbing, calming and unsettling all at once.

One of few beautiful scenes

So we have reached the end of the game. To my knowledge there are three endings, I received the blue ending. However, I think the initial part of the ending is the same, "You" enters a hospital which he claims he has never been too, of course to his surprise he finds a clipboard with his name (which it does not show) and a room assigned to him. When "you" enters this room there is simply a blue pill and a bed and brings everything to a satisfying end. Now to be clear, it seems like these endings can have their own interpretations so you may not agree with my interpretation of the blue ending and that's fine.

After you take the blue pill, you are in a dream state and run into this mystery man you always run into after taking these pills. "You" being on the edge and enraged after the death of the director demands for this mystery mans name. When he refuses, "You" shoots him in the chest with a clear intention of killing him. But, as the player, we know its not that simple and the mystery man taunts "You" and we see the bullet hole disappear as well as the mask "you" has been wearing the entire game revealing a brief glimpse of his face that matches the mystery mans exactly. We then see a quick glimpse of a previous dream with "her" only instead of a green hill and being young, they are both old and the hill is dirt and overlooking a ruined city. The ending is very vague but in the best way possible and lets you decide exactly what happened. Did any of this happen or was it all in the main characters head?

For me personally this is how I saw it. From small clues hidden around the environment from drawings on the wall and small notes you find, I believe the city "you" lived in was attacked or bombed. In this bombing, his wife or girlfriend ("Her") was killed and he simply couldn't live without her and he felt alone. He was then hospitalized and created this horror world in which he is alone, because this is how he felt without his significant other. Every time you take the blue pill, "you" is taking prescribed medication to help him realize reality and is actively trying to deny it. At the end of the game, "you" is on the cusp of both his fantasy world and reality and then kills himself (not necessarily by gunshot as it does disappear on the mystery mans chest). He is then reunited with "her" and they go back to their old spot, before all this happened.

I could see how the ending could be seen in many different ways and I think that is totally viable and cool that "Lone Survivor" leaves so much up to the player to piece together. At the end of the game, you also receive that stats screen and in a way it makes you feel just as crazy as the character. Why did I constantly check the radio? I drank sour milk 3 separate times hoping it would help my hunger when instead it hurt me every single time. It was truly a fantastic ending that simply sticks with you days after you beat it, and this goes for the whole game. This is one of the best horror experiences I have had in a long time and I wish I would have played it earlier.

What solid snake actually looks like under his box

Well thank you guys for reading through this and I hope it wasn't filled with grammar mistakes due to the time I am writing this. Thanks again for reading

EDIT: I forgot to add the great run-ins with the man only known as "White faced man" When you first meet him he has nothing to say to you except for, "We will have something to talk about the 3rd time we meet". This 3rd meeting never comes. I couldn't tell you what it means but I was waiting for that 3rd encounter to happen and it never did, another element of the game playing with your mind. I just wanted to add this and see if anyone had any ideas on what the means.

4 Comments

Wei Shen is a dangerous man. The first 10 hours of Sleeping Dogs.

By Sackmanjones 40 Comments

NO SPOILERS HERE!

Karaoke and air guitar confirmed 
     Sleeping Dogs has come a long long way. From Black Lotus to True Crime and even to cancellation. However, by some miracle, the newly titled Sleeping Dogs has released and its actually a pretty damn good game. I can understand some peoples uncertainty towards it, even after the generally favorable reviews, so I just wanted to inform the people on the edge about the game and help you make your decision.  First off, I am playing the PC version on all high settings, running at a pretty constant 60 fps.   
 
I tried to hit the gas tank but failed horribly 
 
   Sleeping Dogs is an open world crime game and it's near impossible to not bring up the name Grand Theft Auto while talking about it.  You drive, you shoot and you fight your way through the game just as you do in GTA, but the game feels like its own product. It embraces its setting and "Hard Boiled" inspiration to great effect. You can jump out of your car and onto someone elses, jump out of your car in slow motion while firing your gun at endless goons in mid air, it's just plain fun. The story keeps it rather serious from where I'm at but there is definitely humor in some random citizen dialogue such as the parking garage attendant wishing he could live your life.... but only for one day. 
 
    Gameplay wise, Sleeping Dogs is well rounded and does some things better than others.  The driving (I think) is rather good and satisfying but from what I've read this changes based on the player. It's a much more arcady feel where the cars can turn better than they should and the hand brake is the ONLY brake you should be using.  The driving is made for you to maneuver through each turn whether it be an open highway or tight alleyway.  There is even an "attack button" for the vehicles.  By the simple press of a button your car will jerk in a certain direction to slam into a cop car or an unfortunate pedestrian minding their own business. Like I said, it embraces its cinema setting.  Shooting..... well to be honest I haven't done much shooting in my 10 hours with the game except for a few side missions. From what I've played the shooting seems fine, nothing wrong with it and nothing amazing. The guns sound decent but they look a little too large in proportion to Wei which makes it look a little funky. A cool mechanic you can mix with the traversal (more on that later) is you can slide across benches in slow mo while picking off bad guys which is always fun.  
This time I must have hit the gas tank 
 
   Where the gameplay really shines is the hand to hand combat. This is without a doubt the best hand to hand combat in an open world game. It's bloody, brutal and just a ton of fun. It takes the base idea of  Batman: Arkham City's hand to hand combat and establishes it in a more...grounded reality lets say.  Wei Shen doesn't back flip to his next target, he doesn't glide across the floor for a counter, he is a man trained in martial arts, not  a super-hero.  He may not be a super hero but he still can kick some major ass, every punch packs an brutal feeling and some of the moves, like the leg break are grotesque and fantastic at the same time. It's based on a counter system, an enemy will outline in red and Wei can counter and in some cases disarm an opponent. Instead of gliding to counter though, if you are too far Wei actually grounds himself, preparing for the hit and if you time it wrong you'll pay for it. Probably the biggest thing though is grabbing enemies. Once you grab hold, you have a few options at your disposal like running a dude into the closest wall or pushing their head into an air conditioner (which ends with a bloody mess). You can even just flip the enemy over with a powerful takedown or charge your enemies and tackle them to the ground. Different enemy types vary how you fight. Larger enemies can't be grabbed but can't block either, some enemies are block heavy but are very open to grabs. There is a lot of options and variety in the hand to hand, and so far I have loved every bit of it. 
 
Another highligh is the traversal of the city. Wei Shen is a very mobile character.  He can climb large walls, slide across tables and car hoods,  dodge people in a crowd and like I said before, jump from car to car to get what he needs.  The system gets a little wonky sometimes but overall it works very well and just the act of chasing someone is a rush.   
   To add to the depth, there are not one, not two, not even three but four separate upgrade paths. You have the Cop path (which you gain doing drug busts and being "nice" during missions... like not running into property or people), this tends to upgrade things with your guns and cars.  There is the Traid path, which you gain points for just beating the living shit out of your enemies (throwing is ALWAYS encouraged). This you might have guessed, adds to your hand to hand combat. You have a face upgrade path that are just basic power ups. There is only one path to this however (compared to the others which have 2). These include things like people bringing you your car or being able to get discounts on items.  Lastly you have the martial arts skill path. You don't really gain points for this one, you find statues during missions and for each one you find you get to learn a new move for your old martial arts master. So if you want, there is a ton to unlock in Sleeping Dogs.
 
 As far as missions go and the general world, there is a decent variety with some repetitive instances.  The main mission as well as multi part side missions have so far been really varied and exciting. This helps thanks to the already interesting story and really well written characters. Then there are the side missions which have so far come in a few varieties. One of which is a series of drug busts throughout the city in which you do the same thing over and over. It does get a bit repetitive but the combat is so fun that it helps fight off the repetitiveness.  On top of this, it feeds into one of you 4 upgrades areas. The second set of side missions are very quick minute long sessions that deal with petty things like chasing a thief. Again, it gets a bit annonying but it helps you upgrade and chasing a thief as I said earlier is just a joy to do.  There are other things you can do in the city like buy clothes which contain bonuses if you match certain pieces, buy cars to keep in your garage, and buy food and drinks which act as power ups in combat.  The world is also very dense with people and cars during the day but are barren late at night and stormy. The city feels ALIVE in Sleeping Dogs and along with its already unique setting it creates a wonderful atmosphere to be in. 
 
 
  Voice acting so far is excellent, every character has his or her own personality and it shows well. It helps create emotion in the story which I haven't dug too much into but I'm already invested. The basic story revolves around Wei Shen who is an under-cover cop trying to infiltrate the Triads. That's all I'll say about the story, if you wanna know more you'll just have to play it!  To go along with this, the PC version of the game look FANTASTIC! The lights of the city, movement in combat and reflections off cars look absolutely great. The characters are pretty good but there are some weird animations that hurt them just a tad. I'll add some screens I took below but know this. This is a GREAT PC game, tons of graphical options and with it all turned up it is one of the best looking open world games out there. 
You can't see it but Wei actually bobs his head to the music 
 Sleeping Dogs is easily the most surprising game I've played this year. While it doesn't do anything groundbreaking it is a hell of a game to just play.  I'm 10 hours in and have barely touched the story so I know I have a lot more ahead of me and can't wait to see it.  I hope this helped some of you on the edge and if you have any questions feel free to ask and I will answer the best I can. Thanks for reading! 
 
    
This game looks excellent, in case I forgot to mention that . Click on pcs for best resolution
EDIT:    
 
Sorry, Im gonna add a few more pictures because I just love how the game looks haha 
 
 Busted my nice ride =(



This is a GREAT hospital hallway 

Dr. Shen 






40 Comments

Chewin Through my Summer Sale list. Its all Alan Estacados fault.

By Sackmanjones 5 Comments

   It has been a solid 8 years since I've had a good pc to play games on. Yes, my EVGA 9600 gt had a great run but the time had come, and I finally pulled the trigger on a new PC. Either I have the most amazing or worst timing ever because the day after I built it is when the Amazon sale started and a few weeks later so did the Steam sale.This is my first time contributing to a summer sale because 8 years ago I was too young to have plastic money and my parents were a bit anal during that time using the credit card online. But alas! At the end of this sale I came away with about 28 games that I've never played or had fond memories of. I just wanted to share what I've been playing and maybe post my idea on what to play next! I'm gonna do my best to post these in the order I played them.  
 
I will avoid spoilers but if I must, never fear I will use a spoiler bar.
 
 

You're right, it is my fault. I'm gonna go now. 
 
 
 
 1. Spec Ops: The Line 
    
    What can I say about Spec Ops that hasn't already been said? It is a game built from the ground up to make you, the player, feel like an absolute shit-hole. For the most part it succeeds in doing that.  It is a game where not only the characters in the game slowly unravel, but you unravel with them. There is a lot to like in Spec Ops: The Line, the story is solid and constantly throwing strange questions at you. The characters are believable and truly change before your eyes without overdoing it and most of all it shows that sometimes you don't have as much control as you think you do, something many games let you have. Of course, this doesn't come without its fair share of issues, as Jeff has already said, the game does take a bit of time to get going and while the sand mechanic in battle is neat, there just isn't enough use of it to really make an impact. However, while I can totally see and understand why people criticize it for the generic "third person" gameplay, I actually enjoyed it more than most and it has to do with one major fact. Power. Your weapons are deadly, 3 shots (4 at the very most) can down most enemies and for me that is a big plus. These weapons felt like real killing machines and as time went on, it was scary to see the joy Walker got out of this power.  I'm not gonna say this saves the game for everyone, it is a mostly standard 3rd person shooter with some added sand effects and some basic squad controls. However, with a pretty compelling story and some truly unique character arc's, I really enjoyed Spec Ops, probably more than it deserves. I should say I didn't even touch the multiplayer but it doesn't sound like I'm missing much, I also did play the campaign on hard which to me really stirred up the intensity of the game.
I give Spec Ops  4/5
 
  
 
 
 
 

You play as the daring hero, Miles Kilo (aka Miles Kilometer)
 
 2. Syndicate 
 
   Man, I have to say I was a bit disappointed by Syndicate. While I did enjoy my time with it, I guess I just didn't connect to it as much as Jeff did.  I really liked the world they created and just the overall distinct cyber future, overpowered corporation tone, however, I just didn't find most of the story that interesting and the 2 twist they throw in I saw coming from miles upon miles away. I just felt like I was moving through an interesting world without an interesting story to keep me connected and that really hurt the experience. Gameplay wise, I thought it was pretty good, I really REALLY liked how the guns moved around obstacles naturally (well for the most part) and the sprint while holding a pistol out is just incredible! On the other hand, the 3 chip powers you receive were ok but I just don't think they were very interesting to use. The one I used the most was backfire, which as it sounds makes enemies guns backfire, knocking them on their asses and easy to pick off. The other two powers consist of an enemy pulling a grenade out to blow himself and anyone else around up, and an enemy straight up switching to your side to mow down other enemies only to finish himself off at the end. I found the suicide power pretty hard to use, it's obviously made to take out groups of enemies but there was really never a time where it would kill more than two baddies. The persuasion power was fun to use but more as a distraction rather than taking out enemies (which is in itself useful I guess.) Boss fights weren't bad but I didn't find them overly exciting and just wanted to beat them as fast as possible to move on.  However, I did enjoy the look of the game, it had a weird cleanliness to it that I thought fit with the background story they made and of course lens flare is the best.(?).  Syndicate is a fun game but I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed once it was over. While the gameplay is fun for the most part, there was just nothing else drawing me into the game and made feel connected. For what its worth, the co op was pretty exciting and fun but only for so long.
 
 
Syndicate 3/5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

Wake is sure to remind you he is a writer at least 3 times  throughout the game
 3. Alan Wake 
 
   Alan Wake is a great game! I really enjoyed my time with Alan Wake, from the weird story mixed with Remedy's goofy charm and flowy writing made for a world I wanted to know more about and explore. The game is absolutely beautiful on PC and combat (I thought) was fun and exciting. The story of Alan Wake is a twisted tale of a small town called Bright Falls. On the surface what seems like an innocent town turns out to have a dark secret and the game feeds you information at a near perfect click to keep you interested all the way until the credits roll. Alan Wake is an extremely likable and believable character, he is a man with good intentions but has flaws, and he knows it. The supporting cast is also excellent, most of the characters you meet are interesting to listen to and can put a smile on your face ( Barry that knuckle head!). As I said before the gameplay I think is really fun. The dodge move Wake has is extremely satisfying just with its excellent animation and well timed slo mo shots. It's a balancing act of crowd control as well as power control with your flashlight. On top of this you have things like flares that can get you out of a rough patch.  Should I use this flare to weaken my enemies, or use it to help me run to the next safe zone?  This keeps the intensity up at 100% all the time and while there are a few hard parts because of the mechanics, in the end it works really well.  Of course, to add on even further to this excellent game, the atmosphere is just perfect. From the small town feeling to the quirking writing and brilliantly done "Night Springs" you just feel absolutely connected to Alan Wakes fantasy. As I said before, the game is gorgeous. Trees naturally sway in the wind, and light look amazing bouncing off different surfaces and into your eyes.  This is a game you need to play and experience for yourself. What an awesome adventure, and with the added DLCs in the pc version, you get a lot of bang for your buck. Also if you are a Max Payne fan there are a lot of little easter eggs for you to enjoy that sure brought a smile to my face!
 
 
 
 
Alan Wake 5/5 
  
 
 
 
 

Jensen never asked to get his ass kicked 
  4. Deus Ex: The Missing Link  
 
   I loved Deus Ex: HR. I never played the originals but man I wish I did now. DE:HR did such a great job of sucking you into its amazing world that also paired with a great story and gameplay. While the gunplay isn't the strongest, the stealth and exploration is and man is it fun to find that hidden vent and bypass security like nobodies business. It was one of my favorite games last year and I'm really glad I picked up this DLC. There isn't much to say other than its more Deus Ex with a pretty good, self contained story that is dark and intense.  The gameplay is just as good as before, but things are a bit more cramped and thus there is less to explore which is a shame. It's also a shame that you start bare, with no augments at your disposal, yes you do get upgrade points faster than the normal game but it would have been nice to have implemented what you had in your main save to this. It's a nice chunk of content (running around 5 hours for me) and if you enjoyed Deus Ex: HR there is no reason you should skip on this. 
 
Deus Ex: The Missing Link  4/5  
 
 
 
 
 
 

OH GOD THAT IS SO AWESOME! 
 5. The Darkness 2 
 
   This game is so god damn fun! At the end of the day, video games are supposed to be fun (who knew?) and that is exactly what The Darkness 2 is. The gameplay is incredibly fast and fun and makes killing the last guy just as amazing as the first.  You again take the role as Jackie, a tormented soul who has trapped the darkness deep down for 2 long years after the previous game. However, one thing leads to another and Jackie must call the darkness out for help again. It's a good, dark tale that throws in some great twists for good measure that second guesses your sanity as you play.The story is a decent one but you come to The Darkness 2 for its gameplay. The gameplay is fast, intense, brutal and exciting! You have tons of weapons at hand plus the darkness tentacles that are always by your side (unless light is in your way). Unlike the first game, the darkness is a far better weapon to use, you can slash enemies in half, impale them with poles and throw car doors at them, slicing their head clean off. Also there are execution moves (as seen above) that are just so gory and over the top that you can't help but smile. One of these moves includes the darkness pulling a dudes spine out........OF HIS ASS! I mean holy shit, I don't think anyone deserves that kind of punishment! However, at the end of the game, there are a lot more enemies and they seem to be more resilient to your attacks, this doesn't make it more excitingly challenging, it just makes it more annoying and kinda hurt the game a bit for me.  The Darkness 2 is just a fun game to play, it has a story that keeps you mostly interested but if its not your style don't worry, everyone enjoys an ole spine out of the ass mutilation.  As of right now I haven't touched the co op mode but I don't think you need to to get the full excitement out of the game. 
 
         
The Darkness 2   4/5 
  
 
 
 
 
 

Alan Wake likes plaid but only in... Night Springs
  6. Alan Wake's American Nightmare 
 
 
   I think Patrick was mostly spot on with this nice little piece of content. It is an absolutely wonderful idea that plays to all the things I loved about the original Alan Wake. Night Springs was awesome, and getting a chance to be in an episode was super cool and exciting. Unfortunately, the game just barely overstays its welcome and kind of dampers the whole experience in the process. Don't get me wrong, if you liked Alan Wake you should really pick this game up but set your expectations correctly. Anyway, like I said it takes place in the fictional world of Night Springs, which happens to be somewhere in Arizona. The Desert setting is a great detour from the forest setting in the original and the plot revolving around Wake's arch nemesis, Mr. Scratch, is fun to watch play out. The FMV in the game is so well done that I didn't mind standing around and watching them all play out. The characters are again quirky and good to listen too and the atmosphere, while different, is still perfectly made and looks beautiful in each of the three distinct environments. They also added some new enemies that add to the challenge like a taken who splits when you shine your light on it and spiders who..... I actually just think they are big spiders. But like I said, the games main twist on things is really neat but it happens just one too many times and near the end I found myself running past things just to finish it up. Overall, American Nightmare is a good experience for fans of the original game but even fans might be just a bit disappointed by the lack of variety in the games landscape. 
 
 
Alan Wake's American Nightmare  3/5 
  So those are all the games I've gone through from the summer sale so far! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Right now Im currently trying to decide what game to play next, Im trying to get through the shorter ones before I start my big RPG's like The Witcher 2. 
 
I am currently considering now: 
 Mafia 2 
Hard Reset 
Stalker: SOC 
 
I may also just get through Dear Esther since its supposed to be like 2 hours tops but right now Im stuck on deciding between these 3. Your insight would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks again for reading! This is Sackmanjones, signing off.
5 Comments

I need a vacation (A trip through the Silent Hill series) Part 3

By Sackmanjones 10 Comments

   Welcome back fellow bombers to "I need a vacation". If you missed part 1 and part 2, I will link them for your convenience! So my journey is coming to a quick close and I've had great time with these games. Currently I'm near the beginning of Downpour so from now on these will be more of "updates" rather than write ups. Anyway not much else to add so lets get to it! 
 

SILENT HILL: HOMECOMING

 BEWARE: FULL OF SPOILERS
          
                                                                                  Homecoming has some of the best music in the series (play for full effect)


 
 
   Silent Hill: Homecoming is not a scary game. As I said in my earlier posts, the Silent Hill games have been the scariest games I have ever played and this one just does not fit into that category. The game still has excellent atmosphere and looks really pretty. I love the look of the transitions to the otherworld (the one they stole from the film, like many things) I think that looks really sharp. The problem is they never catch the tension the others had, they never let your mind do the work. Now this is the first console release that didn't have team silent attached to it (unless shattered memories came first). This really does show, but this does not mean I disliked the game. For what it was, I generally had a decent time playing it.....well at least half of it.  The biggest problem is the game never picks up until the end and that REALLY REALLY hurt it for me.  I never really got the combat till about half way through and they story basically stands still until you hit that middle point, this is where things get really interesting.  I see what they were trying to do with combat and yes they did succeed in some way of making it more fun to fight but this only goes so far. In my personal opinion, I believe they aimed for the "Resident Evil 4" approach. "Lets make the game more action oriented but still try to keep the scares". Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as great as it did for RE4. Anyway, I didn't mean to "review" the game, I just wanted to lay out some thoughts before I go on. 
Alex Shepard
 
   In Silent Hill 3 I never really got attached to Heather until maybe the last few hours of the game, but in Homecoming Alex Shepard was instantly a better character as well as most of the supporting cast. Alex is much more than a one dimensional character and it shows right off the bat of the game. While I did say the beginning of the game was slow and rather uninspired, I will say the opening sequence is excellent. We witness a very disoriented Alex being wheeled in what I can only describe is a hospital suited for the devil himself. We get to see short glimpses of torture, blood splattering out across the floor and wall, its truly a very grim opening and perfect for a Silent Hill game.  Once we reach our destination, the lovely doctor who wheeled the stretcher in goes outside only to be sliced to bits by the iconic Pyramid head. Now whats great is they don't show pyramid head, but fans who played 2 would recognize the sound of his blade scrapping the ground below him anywhere. Alex is then forced to struggle with the straps on his arms and legs only to escape and this is when I knew I'd like him.  Unlike Heather and even James, Alex recognizes instantly that things are extremely fucked up. He's muttering to himself, when he is trying to escape his straps he is struggling and grunting and you can tell fear is running through his body. 
 Guess who's back
  
  Finally free from his death bed the only thing going through my mind is, find a weapon and get the hell outta here.   As we search the hospital we run into Alex's brother Joshua, the main driving force of the story. Of course, things aren't that simple and Josh is locked behind a door and won't let us in until we find his rabbit (you know the ones that littered the amusement park of Silent Hill 3, lovely toys).  As we search we run into a familiar face, a creepy nurse who has taken on the form of the nurses from the film. I'm actually a fan of the movement of these monsters so I was OK with how they looked.  This is also the first chance to try the new combat.  The combat in Silent Hill: Homecoming is based off of a very strategic counter system. First off, you need to decide how to take a foe down and when to counter. One on one the combat works great, but when I first ran into 3 or 4 nurses I died instantly...about 3 times in a row.  To say the least this was rather annoying and figured out you can slowly sneak by the nurses by turning your light off (again from the movie but a cool addition) . So again we find Josh only to have him run off and for me to chase after him onto an elevator.  Things aren't that simple, you can faintly hear that blade scrapping the ground. Pyramid head was on his way and before I knew it the blade went right through the door and into Alex's chest. 
The atmosphere is still excellent
 
  Luckily, this was all a dream and we see Alex has hitched a ride back to his town that was named after his family, Shepards Glenn.  We learn that Alex is actually a former U.S solider and was recently wounded by some means.  However, when Alex arrives things don't look exactly great for the town, its covered in fog and the town seems to be deserted.  We eventually run into Judge Holloway who doesn't seem to have an issue with how the town looks and advises Alex to head home.  I gotta say the entrance to the house is great, the music sets the tone perfectly as you wander around only to find nobody home.  After scavenging around the house we get to see Alex's mom, and she looks like she is having a rough week.  We soon find out that Josh is in fact missing and its now Alex's issue to find out where he went.  
 
  After about 20 minutes I totally lost interest in the story and events of the game. A few memorable things happened such as the strange lady in the apartment and the startling doctor's office. However, this is about it for what I truly find memorable. I actually really enjoyed the boss fight with the mannequin looking creature.  It has a very scary look to it and the entrance was one of the more terrifying parts of the game.  Surprisingly, the boss fight was pretty fun too, breaking the plastic mold on the creature only to make it hop around like a spider.  It was extremely unsettling and I was very happy to see it dead.  This goes for many of the boss fights, they are definitely the highlights of the game for me (except the first and last one). 
 
   I'm going to skip really far ahead, the first half of the game has a few interesting (but too familiar) enemies and we are introduced to the judges daughter Elle (who clearly has a thing for Alex, or once did) and deputy Wheeler. It's really a shame that half of the game is really uninteresting and filled with some backtracking. We do get to meet Curtis, a gunsmith who.... uh.... doesn't seem too right in the head.
 Down boy! Down!
. 
 
Things start to get interesting once we return to the Shepard's house.  We soon find out that Alex's dad has headed to Silent Hill to do something but we don't know what exactly.  Time to get mom talking and find out just exactly what the hell is going on in this town, but as soon as we get talking Alex is attacked by men wearing mining uniforms and they kidnap is mother in the process.  Now we get to see the house switch to the other world and its really a site to see, everything gets pretty damn gross.  These puzzles aren't too hard but they are rather interesting and provide a bit of foreshadowing in the later parts of the game. 
 
Once we escape, its time to take a trip to Silent Hill with Elle and Wheeler tagging along. Things are never simple of course and the boat is attacked, leaving everyone totally separated and disoriented.  It's now up to Shepard to find out what the hell is happening, but we soon get a call from Wheeler saying they are stuck inside of the prison which Alex sure has a hard time getting into.  Homecoming captures the atmosphere and a bit of the tension the previous games do when you enter Silent Hill. It also helps the story has picked up since we know the cult is involved but we don't exactly know what they are up too. Mystery's are some of the most interesting parts of the Silent Hill games and I got much more invested in the story because of it.   
 The monster design is well done for the most part
 
  Finally, we reach the prison and this is probably the scariest part of the game.  There is a good amount of combat but not too much to overdo it and the setting is very dark and grimy just like the previous games were.  I definitely got tensed up one or two times during this section, squeezing through small cracks hoping nothing is waiting for me on the other end. Also we get introduced to the first morale dilemma, Alex's mom is strapped to some horrible torture contraption that is stretching her in half.  She asks Alex to end it quickly but its up to me to decide her fate.  I honestly had to think about this for a minute. I knew she had been through a lot and I felt connected to her and it was a hard decision, but I eventually decided to end it quick for her because I can only imagine the pain of being stretched to death.  I was quite surprised on how effective this choice was on me and was curious to see more. But just like that this section is over and leads into a clever puzzle featuring a few riddles and a nasty looking structure which Alex has to stick his hand into.  After this we are then led to another grotesque boss and quickly learn the mayor of Shepards Glenn is in with "The Order" of Silent Hill. 
 
  Once we take care of the monster ( which took Wheeler somewhere) we enter the church.  Again, this is a moody area filled with puzzles and a bit of combat.  At this point the combat is nothing to me, Alex is a badass and tears every monster a see a new one which in a way makes the game even less scary.  Anyway, we run into a very familiar scene of a man inside a confessional (Silent Hill 3?) I pretty much know this is about Alex's dad and I think he does too and decide to forgive the man for what he has done. 
When all the puzzles are set up we finally get to see Alex's dad in person, and the conversation following is not pretty.  We soon find out that Alex was in fact in a hospital but not because he was shot, he has been in a mental hospital for years ever since the "accident" happened. I love how the whole story isn't spread out right away, what accident is he talking about? Maybe his dad is the one who is truly crazy? These questions don't change the fact the pyramid head then comes to slice his dad right in half and then leaves for you to follow. 
There are many familiar faces...but not exactly faces
 
  We quickly get into a miners uniform and head over to the elevator to be greeted by nonother than Curtis himself.  For some reason Alex's uniform clearly shows off his dog tags which voids his entire disguise and Curtis takes advantage of this by knocking him out.  We wake up in a strapped down to a chair and a very angry Judge Holloway who lays out the rest of the story to us. Apparently to protect Shepards Glenn, the people of the town must kill one of their children to keep the hellish things of Silent Hill away. Thanks to one of the Shepard boys not being killed, things have started to happen to Shepards Glenn and the only way to fix is to kill Alex and her own daughter Elle.  She proceeds to shove a damn powerdrill into Alex's leg which looks damn painful but once again he breaks free and has a tussle with the judge herself.  Finally, after some button mashing we shove the drill right into her face and boy that was satisfying.  
  
  
    We then have to search around to find Elle before Curtis saws her in half and just in the knick of time we do and Alex puts at least 10 rounds into Curtis before the bastard finally goes down.  On the homestretch, we reach our final  dilemma as we see Wheeler barely alive with knives in his chest.  We can either give him a medpack or go without him and I decided to do the latter. In doing this, Elle stays behind to help him and Alex continues to the final few rooms.  We reach our last puzzle and after we enter to what looks like a sacrifice chamber.  After investigating both the doctor and judges alter we reach the Shepards alter and soon realize the last revelation.  Alex is the one that his father picked to be sacrificed, but why didn't this happen? A brief flashback answers this question; Alex remembers that he and his brother went out on the lake one night and the "accident" happened.  After Josh shows Alex what his father gave him (the family ring) Alex tries to tug it away from Josh which ends up in Josh losing his balance on the boat and falling, breaking his neck in the process.  Due to Josh dying when it was supposed to be Alex, the entire balance was thrown off thus leading to all the horrible things happening in Shepards Glenn.  I thought all of this was an excellent twist in the story and really brought the story together, if only it would have been this interesting throughout the whole game. 
This is never a good situation to wake up too. 
 
  After the last boss is defeated we see an incarnation of Josh come out of it and Alex come to terms about what happened and what he did.  This leads up to the ending, and the one I got was the "good ending". Alex catches up with Elle and he tells her that he sees clearly what happened and comes to terms with it.  While I thought this ending was good, I read the other endings and I thought they were WAY BETTER! I really enjoyed that two of the endings totally nullify that any of this happened, in one we see Alex wake up in the hospital getting shock therapy as he frantically yells out if what just happened was real (and the answer is a stern no).  The other one finds Alex tied up in the bathtub as his father decides to drown him as the sacrifice.  I love a good bad ending and would have much rather gotten one of these two.  The final one other than the normal UFO ending is the boogeyman ending; this is where Alex is actually turned into a pyramid head, kinda goofy but still pretty damn neat!  I will embed the endings if you guys wanna take a look.    
  
 
   Silent Hill: Homecoming isn't a bad game, but it's a disappointing one.  I was rarely ever scared and while the atmosphere was done pretty well I never got that horrible tension like the prior games.  The combat was like an experiment in the series, it succeed in a few areas but failed in more.  I enjoyed most of my time with the game but this is definitely my least favorite so far by a long shot. Without Alex as a great character and and decent story near the end, this game would have been a much bigger failure. 
 

NEXT UP: SILENT HILL: DOWNPOUR

 Thanks for reading again! If you having any questions or improvements feel free to leave them in the comments section. Like I said above, the next few posts will be more of updates about my progress through Downpour rather than recaps.  So far I am really enjoying the hell out of Downpour and it's a great return to the horror. Thanks again for reading!
10 Comments

I need a vacation (A trip through the Silent Hill series) Part 2.

By Sackmanjones 12 Comments

  Welcome back fellow bombers to "I need a vacation". If you missed part 1 I will link it here for your convenience!  In part 2 I will be talking about my experiences with Silent Hill 3, but first I'd like to give an update on where I'm at in the series. So since Silent Hill 4 was not included (for some crazy reason) in the HD collection, I moved straight to "Silent Hill Homecoming".  In fact, I just finished up the game last night and I was a bit surprised. I started out pretty cold on the game, the combat was hit or miss and the story was just meh at best. However, about 1/2 way in the story started to pick up and I was starting to get the combat. Overall, I ended up enjoying the game much more than I thought, but thats for part 3 =)  
I will be starting Downpour tonight.
 
So, without further ado lets jump into:   

SILENT HILL 3

FAIR WARNING: SPOILS OF SPOILERS
                                                                                                                               Once again, music for effect
 
     Silent Hill 3 had high expectations to live up too, following up to the excellent Silent Hill 2 is no easy task. I was extremely glad to find out that not only did it live up to those expectations, but in many ways is better than 2 (in my opinion). I enjoyed the insane story of Heather and the twisted cult behind Silent Hill. On the topic of horror, I'd have to say overall, Silent Hill 2 is scarier, although there are many moments in Silent Hill 3 that surpass anything Silent Hill 2 dishes out. So again, Im gonna be jumping around in points that really stood out to me during my playthrough. 
Heather Mason 
  
     We start out in some damned amusement park, its dark, the walls and floors are caked with blood and worst of all... dead mascots.  I already have a thing for people in giant costumes whether it be Mickey Mouse or a cute bear. Now when you add an already creepy looking rabbit and cover it with blood is just downright cruel. Walking through this nasty park with little to no context makes everything that much worse. What should I be doing? Where do I go, and what the fuck is that noise that has been following me since I started. The game starts you with so many questions and absolutely no answers, and it was awesome. Making my way further into the park I ran into the first creautures, the double headed dogs and closers. I noticed how truly disturbing and unique each sound the creatures made, which is a taunting way of telling you what is coming to feed on your bones. I got to a point where I met the pendulums, which made such a horrifying first sound I believe I ran around in circles for a few minutes trying to avoid them before I found the entrance to the roller coaster. I thought this would end up in a load screen, and it didn't which made me continue to run until I couldn't anymore and lead me to being run over by a roller coaster. 
Why...WHY! 
 
Thank god, we see Heather wake up and get some plot and character development happen. It then hits me that I'm probably not going to like Heather as a character, and it turns out I was right. I just never really felt the same connection I did with James and many times she just got on my nerves. I will say Heather does turn out better towards the end and some of the inside jokes (like the toilet gag) did put a nice smile on my face. Unfortunately, this is kinda how I felt for most of the characters in the game. I was truly interested in every person I met during Silent Hill 2 and wanted to know what made them tick. While I thought a few characters did shine (and maybe some monsters) I'd have to say the cast of characters was much weaker in 3. Anyway, during this scene we meet detective Cartland, a man hired to find Heather ( and eventually admits to being hired by Claudia, but we aren't there yet)
 
 
   Moving forward, we end up quickly getting caught up inside the other world at the Central Square Shopping Mall. Man, monsters are EVERYWHERE and I finally got to meet the numb bodies. I'm not sure whether it was their grotesque shape, or horrible humming noise they made, but I was always nervous to run into them. Again, I cant stress enough how well the sound design works to the games advantage of trying to tense you up and scare the shit out of you. This is also thanks to the always excellent music done by Akira Yamaoka. To be honest, other than those numb bodies, this was probably the least scariest part in the game. We are then introduced to Claudia Wolf, who is obviously a part of the cult that has been deeply rooted into Silent Hill's past. We don't find out much about her but she is definitely a rather menacing presence.  
 I never killed any of these because I was too scared of the sound they made
 
    Heading down to the Subway Station brings back the terror that I have gotten to know from the series.  The incredible restraint the developers show in this section is phenomenal and definitely reminded me just how scary these games are. For about 20 minutes there is nothing but you walking, and the sound of your footsteps. No music, no enemies, nothing. This plays terrible tricks on your mind and lets YOUR own brain turn against you. Finally, we end up at the bottom of the subways station and finally encounter our first enemies that are accompanied by the most ear piercing noise I've ever heard. If you remember this section of the game you know what I mean, the best I can describe it is if someone blew high pitched whistle in your ear and didn't stop. To be honest, I ran out of there as fast as I could and waited until I was prepared to return, which wasn't for awhile. 
 
    So I decided "Hey lets check the other platform just across here!" To my surprise there was nothing there so I continued forward and I was introduced into a cutscene. It was in first person of someone or something breathing extremely heavily and slowly walking behind Heather and eventually pushes her onto the tracks. Naturally, I was yelling at Heather to turn around and she didn't listen so I needed to scramble quickly to get back on the platform. Directly after that I read an article about the same thing happening to another passenger waiting for a train. This really stood out to me because it makes you feel like this isn't just RANDOMLY happening to the person your playing as, its been happening to people as long as the town has been there. We eventually get on board the train and I expected yet again to go into a cutscene but there was none. I had to walk through this damn train with no choice but to move forward which really made me claustrophobic and a bit worried combat wise.   In Silent Hill 2, while still a survival horror game never really restrained you with ammo.  In 3, they strike a great balance between health items, melee items, and ammo. You always tend to have ammo, but just enough that you don't want to use it unless absolutely necessary. 
 This is just lovely
 
   Before we jump to the Hilltop Center I would like to note that YET AGAIN, during the construction site we see that restraint of having no enemies and letting your mind do the work for the developers. While it was shorter than the subway, it was just as effective and was a great lead up to the Hilltop Center.  Let me tell you a thing or two about the Hilltop Center, this is the scariest part of either games. There is one scene, just one that beats out almost anything in any game or movie ever ever ever. As I move around the Hilltop Center I am in desperate need of supplies and I'm in luck to find a small room open that may have some. 
I have trouble looking at this picture... 
 
 
  Turns out this room is filled with a bunch of mannequins (anyone know where I'm leading too). Anyway, Im no fool, I know as many do that mannequins are trouble, always have been. While most of the room is filled with a mannequin pieces, there is one that has a torso, arms and a head (as seen to the right). I really really tried to draw this out, I went to one side of the room, I went right up to the mannequin and pressed X, I went out of the room and back in... nothin. Feeling a little better I went to grab the two health drinks. At this point a horrifying scream filled the room, the lights flickered and I just about pissed my pants. Of course being the curious man I am, I go to see whats up and notice half of the mannequins head gone and in a pool of blood. Writing it out like this makes me feel kinda stupid but when it happened it was fucking terrifying. I stopped playing the game for 2 days, 2 DAYS until I could return to the game. The worst part of it all was I had to relive it again because I didn't save, genius. Oh but this isn't the end for this hell hole, no its got more tricks up its sleeve once we enter the other world. 
 
    Of course, the first thing I do is head to the 1st floor and what happens to be there? A massive monster blocking the exit that is just stained with blood.  Naturally, the right thing to do is to get back on the elevator and for the love of god avoid the 1st floor at all cost! We also get to meet Vincent Smith here, which is one of my favorite characters in the game. He is a sly snake who tries to control all the angles he possibly can, and for the most part he does an excellent job. As I keep moving forward, I stumble into a room that is basically a giant mirror. This is a sign things are about to go terrible. Red vines start to creep on the walls, but only in the mirror and start to stalk Heather as I frantically run around to avoid it. We then get to see a bit of foreshadowing as we see something disgusting happen in the mirror version of Heather. 
Boy I hate waking up to this 
 
    Luckily, we escape and head over to our apartment where Claudia shows up again, and sadly see a dead Harry Manson.  This is kinda where I start to sympathize with Heather and turns from the bratty 18 year old to a more mature character. After we kinda get some more interesting insight that Heather probably isn't who she thinks she is, we begin the journey to Silent Hill. WOW, the drive up with Cartland was a huge info dump and turned the story of this game upside-down. I'm still not sure if I got it straight but from what we know as of now: Heather is actually Alessa who was killed in the first one but gets reborn as a baby and is given to Harry....by herself before she again dies in her adult form? Ya, it turned for the crazy, but in a good mind-bending way.  
 
   We have now arrived at Silent Hill, and thanks(?) to Vincent we have a lead on a man named Leonard Wolf.  We don't know much but its our only option to find him in the hospital.  We say goodbye to ole'Cartland and head on our journey.  This is where familiarity kind of hurt the horror for me.  While I know the hospital could be slightly different (different unlocked doors and such) I knew what to expect and it kinda suppressed the scare factor. I have to say though, all the small notes and an insane phone call from one Stanley Coleman really did make me worried about moving forward; expecting to run into this psycho at any corner. Again, the anticipation of this meeting really did a number on me and we never get to meet this strange character.  However, we do get to have a number of interesting conversations with Leonard himself. He seems like someone we can trust, which made the fact that he was some creature that much more impactful, as well has him being Claudia's father.  
   
   Once we dispose of him and take his medallion we get to go to my favorite place... the damned amusement park again! It is nearly exactly the same, which isn't good since the place is crawling with monsters and is all around a horrible place to be. Once I enter the souvenir shop things start to change from the dream, we find a key to the roller coaster. This should come in handy so I don't get run over yet again. After we dodge the roller coaster (because the key didn't work??), we get led to the Haunted Mansion (which was so awesome). If they were trying to mimic Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, then bravo Silent Hill 3, bravo. They do an impeccable job of  making it seem a bit cute and cartoony and then when you least expect it a brilliantly laid jump scare. It was the first time in my life I was laughing while also being scared shitless. 
oh hey there!
  
    The last thing we do is is fight...well ourselves, well to be more descriptive, Alessa. A strange fight, but fitting with the twisty story of Silent Hill. After, we find Cartland in a rough spot and decide to leave him be and finish this without him.
  
    We are on the homestretch now and have reached the church. We now know that "god" is impregnated inside of Heather/Alessa and is feeding off her anger for Claudia. We also figure out that Vincent (that sly sly man) has basically used us to eventually kill Claudia, and he throws in this line that really got me thinking. "Is that what they look like to you?! Monsters?" Now I realize he says he's joking directly after this but was he really? Has Heather been killing innocent people, has the "god" inside her driven her insane? It's something that is never answered but I'm still asking this even now, a week out from the game. To add further to the mystery, we find a confession box, with someone in it and Heather goes to talk on the other side. Its obviously a person is great distress, but who is it? Why are they here and how long have they been here? Mysterious are never in short supply in the town of Silent Hill. Oh, in case anyone is curious, I did forgive the woman inside.
 
    Its finally time, we have caught up to Claudia and have witnessed her murdering Vincent. Heather quickly becomes incapacitated as the "gods" birth is near. Thank goodness Harry has prepared us with a red powder get rid of that nasty evil soul inside of Heather.  She actually throws up the fetus of the "god", which is gross alone but is then followed by Claudia swallowing it (fantastic). The last boss fight was a struggle. I had low health and nearly no ammo, while I can appreciate how disgusting they made "the god" look (which is what Claudia visioned it to be) but I really really hated this fight. After a few attempts we kill the "god" and save the world from being consumed by the paradise (which the other world, and that is most definitely not a paradise) and head out of the church. 
  
    I got the ending where Heather (now going by Cheryl) plays a quick joke on Cartland and they ride off into the sunset. While I felt ok with this ending, the possessed one really sounded kinda interesting and made me further think about what Vincent said earlier in the game.  I really really liked Silent Hill 3, I think I may even prefer it over 2. It's insane story is just what I expected from Silent Hill times 10 and I really enjoyed it. While no characters nearly matched James or Eddie, they did just enough and developed enough for me to warm up to them. This is a SCARY GAME, it took me much longer to beat this than 2 thanks to the massive peaks the game had. I still stand that overall 2 is more scary but the highs of 3 are just unmatched by any game. 
 

NEXT UP: SILENT HILL HOMECOMING

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions or improvements just let me know in the comments. Well I'm off to start Downpour, wish me luck... 
 
Sackman Jones 
12 Comments

I need a vacation (A trip through the Silent Hill series) Part 1

By Sackmanjones 16 Comments

    Hello! Welcome fellow bombers to "I need a vacation" my cleverly named blog post about Silent Hill! Over the past month I have been trying to catch up this series, one I missed because when I was young even the sight of a Silent Hill game gave me chills. However, a few years have passed and I've decided to man up, pick up the HD collection and dive into the world of  "Silent Hill". So in theory I will be posting these as I continue on through the series and try to share my opinions and thoughts about the game (and also for your personal enjoyment).I should mention that I actually beat SH2 about a week ago and  just finished Silent Hill 3 about one hour ago so I'm gonna start there and eventually catch up to where I am in homecoming ( which is stuck because I cant get a grasp on the damn combat!) and end with Downpour (which I haven't touched)  I will mostly be mentioning the "highlights" of my playthrough about SH2 and 3.
 
Lets begin    
LAST THING:There be spoils of spoilers ahead

                                                                                                         Play music while reading for best effect!
 
         

SILENT HILL 2

    
James Sunderland
  
 
 Silent Hill 2 is one of the scariest, if not, THE scariest game I have ever played. Not because the enemy in that corner jumps out and grabs you, but the anticipation the game builds of your inevitable demise. Whoever thought that giving a warning when enemies are near would actually make things more terrifying, its genius. 
 
As I ran down the hill to make my way to the town, the growls of some creature in the fog already started to make my heart-rate climb ( which happened quite a bit during my playthrough). I then got to meet Angela, a seemingly ordinary girl but I knew thing weren't right with her. Anyway, after a brief chat I started to venture further into the fog, and then I reached the infamous town of Silent Hill.  At this point, I already started to question whether I even wanted to g
 This a bad time?
o through with this, I can see barely 5 feet in front of me and many of the roads are... well missing. Its quickly apparent that James isn't all there, I mean he is looking for his wife who has been dead for three years due to an unknown illness. At this point I ran into my first obstacle, a very fuzzy shadow that is accompanied by a trail of blood, naturally I tried my best to NOT go that way but of course I was eventually funneled into following the trial. This turns out to be what I can only assume is a human trapped inside a straight jacket made of flesh, the first appearance of this thing was quite a shock but I didn't feel the terror I had originally imagined I would. That is until the thing fell on the ground, let out a strange, terrifying screech, then took off on its belly only to haunt me everywhere I went. 
 
From this point on, I feared the sound these damn things made and the radio white noise they created. Everytime I heard the radio I constantly turned 360 degrees to figure out where the hell this "thing" was and what exactly it is. Skipping ahead to the apartments.. good lord almighty this is where everything it the fan for me. At this point I had little health, and no flashlight. Trying to maneuver through the dark, long hallways of the abandoned building stressed me out to no end. The radio is constantly buzzing, James is constantly breathing thanks to my endless sprinting and all I have is a damn pipe to defend myself. Every door I check I'm actually hoping is locked, which would be followed by me saying "pheww". Of course some of these doors had to open and what was in there... most of the time nothing other than a few supplies.  This is what makes the few jump scares and overall atmosphere terrifying.  Everything tends to look grimy, dirty, and overall nasty but most of the time thats all there is. Most of the horror happens in your mind and what could be behind that counter. To say the least, finally grabbing the flashlight which triggered the mannequin behind it to move caused me to actually drop my controller. So much build up and tension actually made me let my guard down, and I sure as hell paid for it. I finally meet Laura, a snobby little girl who has a nag for making my life a lot more difficult than it really should be. She is the fly that is always buzzing in your ear and doesn't stop, annoying little girl.
 Ah good a lig...OH GOD!
 

Fast forward a bit, I have found a pistol (which was followed with yet another phew) and I'm heading back to the first main puzzle which involved the clock. and then there he is... just standing there. Pyramid Head. He does nothing. He stands behind the bars just looking at James, taunting him and me. Pyramid Head is one of  the most iconic thing in the Silent Hill series and I still wasn't prepared for my first meeting. The fact that he doesn't move a single muscle scared the hell outta me so I continued on hoping that he would just leave me alone. This leads me to a door where I was greeted by the loud sound of a tv with white noise and a dead body in front of it (foreshadowing anyone?) This mixed with the brilliant music made me save and wait to continue another night.   
What.The.Fuckkk 
 I picked up the next day to meet Eddie, who tells me he didn't kill the man in the kitchen, crushed by the fridge. I was not convinced and tried to stay as far away from him as I could. Later, I met Maria who looks a lot like James's wife but is clearly not the same person... and she seems to be real interested in James (strange). She decides to tag along and go through this hell together, not a bad idea and I felt some comfort of her being there. 
 
 Lets skip ahead to the hospital.  I knew what was waiting for me in there, I just knew it. Them nurses. I stood in front of the door, maybe I've gone far enough in the Silent Hill series, this is as good as any to stop and enjoying cuddling with bunnies. But no, I trudged into the hospital very aware I was gonna be in for a hard time. I was not wrong, not only are those nurses terrifying, they are damn well everywhere. This is the first transition you get to the other world and wow, I thought things looked shitty in the normal world! This consisted of me running as fast as I could checking every door nook and crany to just get out of this nightmare. Well this didn't pay off when I quickly scurried to the rooftop. I was shocked to see an angry pyramid head who surprised me from behind freaking the hell out of me and pushing me off the roof into the mentally insane wing of the hospital. Getting up I wandered over to the elevator to continue forward. I gotta say though, the "gameshow" thing in the elevator made me laugh and brightened the mood even though the questions I was supposed to answer were extremely morbid. The last event of the hospital was James watching Maria, a nearly identical match to his wife being stabbed through the chest by pyramid head (I hate that guy!)  You could just see in James's face that he wasn't only watching Maria die, but watching his wife die again. At this point James is still holding together but the town has been grinding his morale down every second he's there, inch by inch.  
Can I just sit down and wait for somebody to rescue me? 

 Jumping ahead once more brings me to the scariest part of the game, the prison. Wow, I have never had such a hard time continuing a game in my life. As soon as you enter this area, there is a constant banging on the doors. Where is it coming from, who is making the noise, why is it making the noise?  There is stress everywhere I go in the prison with that noise never truly going away. I notice that I have now found a door that the sound is originating from. I slowly enter and I am surprised to see... nothing. As I walk slowly checking each cell with the little light I had, I then hear a deep horrifying voice saying "Ritual, Ritual". I stood up turned off my ps3 and went to bed. I can't describe how I felt when I heard this mysterious voice of a creature (or person) I can't even see. It was horrifying. I picked back up and this time made it all the way through the cell block still terrified of the sound this thing made. Lastly, I made it to the gallows. This is constant noises of something but I got what I needed and left with absolutely no conflict. Again, tension builds and decreases with no crescendo to speak of. It keeps you guessing every second you play.
 
We then find ourseleves in a giant maze that involves James constantly jumping down holes he can't see the bottom of (brave,brave man) This is where things get very twisted as we eventually find out that Maria is trapped at the bottom. At this point, James has barely a hair of sanity left in him, and he seems to notice it crumbling around him. In the HD collection he is voiced by Troy Baker who really brought me to like and believe the James character, and made it all the more agonizing to watch him suffer. In the maze we also find out about Angelas past of being abused and raped by her father as well as Eddies past of being bullied (but still says he would never hurt anyone). Lastly, before we exit the maze I was treated to a boss fight with Eddie, who happens to be a crazed manic himself (who knew?)
Hmm... yes this is a good idea to continue forward
  
Lastly, after rowing across the lake, we reach the "Lakeview Hotel" and the final stretch of the game. We find out the fate of Angela who cant get over what happened during her childhood which leads into a rather depressing cutscene of her waling up burning staircase which we can assume she kills herself at. From the start I knew it would end tragically for her, I thought I would be able to do something and was a bit upset I couldn't. Now, just before we are introduced to another "otherworld sequence" we find out the twist of the game.
 We find out that James himself killed is wife, honestly I was surprised by this revelation but I had a feeling that this was the fate of her all along. I also assume that the town is punishing him by making him watch is "wife" meaning Maria die over and over again. 
 
  We see this happen again as we are forced to battle TWO pyramid heads! After then follow down a very long hallway which introduces some very interesting dialogue between James and his significant other. Finally, we run into the final boss which is another interpretation of Maria. After the fight, James is basically forced to yet again murder his wife to finish the game which is pretty damn depressing.  
One day I will find the meaning of this...
 
I got the "Leave" ending which I felt OK about but I was hoping maybe for a bit more closer. However, Silent Hill is built on the mystery it creates so overall I was ok with the ending I received. 
 
Silent Hill 2 is a truly fantastic game maybe even a masterpiece, and a terrifying one at that. Like I said, I was tensed up nearly the whole time I wandered the town of Silent Hill and for good reason. Every step forward was harder than the previous to take and the hairs on my arm never really relaxed until the PS3 was turned off.
 
NEXT UP: 
Silent hill 3 
 
I hope you guys enjoy the read, if there is anyway to improve it please let me know. Oh and excuse some of the errors, it is now 1 in the morning here and I'm exhausted! 
 
Thanks for reading! 
 
Sackman Jones 
My visual signature 
 
 
If you enjoyed this, here is the link to part 2, featuring Silent Hill 3. 
If you enjoyed this, here is the link to part 3, featuring Silent Hill Homecoming.
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Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City final thoughts

By Sackmanjones 0 Comments

I just posted a review but I wanted to add just a quick few thoughts about the final hours of the game. 
 

  • The game ends very quickly and its definitely for the worst. 
 
  • The Leon segment is kinda cool but also very contrived 
 
  • Boss fights continue to be a hassle 
 
  • There is a ton of great nostalgia near the end of the game 
 
  • Hunters suck ass. 
 
  • A.I still sucks ass. 
 
  • Blowing apart zombies and taking them as meat shields is pretty entertaining 
  
Read my review if you want it more in depth but the quick version is the game is actually pretty entertaining but mostly for RE fans. Its a hard sell at 60 or even 40 to anyone else. If you have any questions just leave them here or on my review. I hope this helps you in your decision =)
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My Second Impression of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

By Sackmanjones 2 Comments

First off, If you haven't read my first blog click here.  I will be expanding on what I said previously. This is based completely on the PS3 version of the game. I just wanted to write this due to the crazy range of the reviews and a lot of people being on the fence about it. Lets begin
 
    So I have played a bunch more of the single player but I actually restarted the game on a harder difficulty because normal is pretty easy even alone. For some reason I'm getting a bit more fun out of the game do to it being more challenging but maybe thats just how I like my games (played ME3 on hardcore and played Dark Souls).  So the story seems to being going... kinda nowhere. Since I recently played and enjoyed RE2 its kinda cool to make these little references like "Oh thats why the city has no power", this also supports my idea that you need to be a massive RE fan to enjoy this game. All the classes seem different but I'm mainly sticking with the "assault" class because she has an ability to have unlimited ammo for a short time.  
 
     I would like to add that ammo is still an unfortunate issue, when things get really tense and you only have your pistol, it sucks having to run and find it.  Iv'e also discovered the only dodge move is while your sprinting you press X to do this awkward dive thing that doesn't really do anything. Also YOU SHOULD TOTALLY LOOK AT THE MANUAL OF THIS GAME.  Its like a real manual in 2012!!! I figured out that there are 3 variations on the melee.  After you stagger an enemy you have 3 options, pressing X, Triangle or Circle. X simply pushes an enemy to the ground and head stomps them. or if your close to a wall slams their head into that.  Triangle does each characters "special attack" which can be interesting sometimes.  The "scientist" of the group actually sticks a chemical in an enemy that attracts any zombies in the area and is quite useful.  Lastly holding circle down will grab an enemy as a meat shield.  This can seem silly but it is useful in firefights and I believe it also protects against some zombie attacks. 
 
    The combat has gotten a bit crazy, fighting spec ops, zombies, and occasionally lickers at the same time is kinda nuts and awesome.  You can cause spec ops to bleed out which attracts basically all infected to him which is a good strategy to keep the pressure off you. My biggest complaint though is even on normal the humans are bullet sponges, its pretty insane how many bullets these dudes can take.  I understand lickers and zombies but people? Come on. Anyway, I finally had my first boss fight kinda sorta and it was awwwwwffffuuuuulll.  Basically a man stands in a window and shoots his sniper at you and it takes waaaaayyyy to long to actually beat him and move on.  Its extremely tedious and pretty boring.  It doesn't help that after 2 or 3 shots some of the guns become insanely inaccurate.  I have gotten used to the cover system but its still hit or miss. I really don't get why they thought an "auto-cover system" was a good idea.  A.I is still abysmal on your side and spec ops dudes aren't much better. I can say I have gotten used to the shooting mechanic and I feel a little better about it but its still......off.  Probably my biggest complaint about the controls is the way you pick up weapons and revive people.  It is EXTREMELY easy to grab a weapon.  All you have to do is tap the X button and the problem lies where you need to revive a team member which requires you to hold down the X button.  Countless times I have simply picked up a weapon instead of reviving the member I was trying to. To make things worse, that weapon is replaced by your old one so you physically need to find a different position to revive them. Its really annoying and could have been easily solved by changing one button prompt. 
 
    I didn't touch on the sound or graphics last time so I will give a brief description about those.  The music is strange, the menu music is like mixed with RE5 and dubstepishy music.  I don't think it sounds terrible but its not great.  Other than that I barely notice the music except when moonlight sonata was playing (which scratch that good ole nostalgia). Gun effects sound muffled and bad, the pistol sounds a bit better but its very lacking.  I think melee sounds ok with the slicing of zombies but other than that sound effects aren't good.  Graphics look OK.  Character models look pretty good and zombies come apart pretty nicely.  For the must part close-quarter kills looks good with the occasional visual glitch.  I read a lot of reviews saying there is no atmosphere and I'd say there is a bit but its nothing to write home about.  The environments look ok I guess.  Fire and grenades look like totally fucking garbage though.  They just look fucking terrible and they don't have any sort of punch (thanks to bad sound effect design). To sum up, this is no Resident Evil 5 graphically. 
 
Overall: 
 
I'd say Im enjoying the game more than I previously was on my last write up.  Given I knew this was not a traditional resident evil game by any stretch.  I'd still mostly recommend this to hardcore RE fans only, and it might still be a stretch for 60 bones but I'm feeling a bit better about my purchase after last night.  My next write up will probably be a review of the and right now it would still stand at a 3/5 
 
If you have any other specific questions, feel free to leave me some and I will answer them when I can =).  I hope this is helping my fellow bombers on deciding this purchase

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My first impressions of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

By Sackmanjones 5 Comments

So I just got done playing Raccoon City for probably 2 1/2 hours or so (1 hour campaign, 1 1/2 multiplayer)and I know a lot of people are on the fence about the game due to the reviews. So here are my first impressions. Know that I am a HUGE Resident Evil fan so that already makes this game a bit better for me personally.  OK here we go. 
 
First off, the game starts with you fighting a lot of Special Forces, this is not exactly fun. Their A.I is... well lacking to say the least. They tend to just run right by you on occasion and can be really annoying if they catch you in a melee loop. Also the auto-cover system makes this kinda meh also.  It works probably 70% of the time, but sometimes it seems like you should be able to take cover and you just cant.  I haven't had any trouble getting sucked onto walls because you kinda need to be running right at it, but I can see how it can happen. Finally near the end of my first hour I got to start fighting some zombies and ran into a shit ton of lickers. I gotta say this felt pretty tense and I started to enjoy myself.  With the horde of zombies and bow's around, this is what I picture umbrella going through during the Raccoon City incident. 
 
Lets move on to the combat.  The shooting feels a bit awkward, and it doesn't help that a lot of the guns become really inaccurate if you don't shoot in 3 shot bursts.  I know it seems like this is ok but trust me, it gets kind of annoying especially when your getting swarmed.  Also in cover you sometimes cannot aim which is just utter nonsense. I should also add that I haven't really relied on cover so take that for what you will.  On a positive note the way the side-arm can be handled is quite unique and interesting.  For PS3 if you run out of ammo on a clip you can simply press (and hold)  L2 and your character automatically pulls out their sidearm and aims to the closest target and then you just need to shoot.  You can also control this a bit by pointing the way to aim if the auto lock isn't where you want it. Of course if you just tap L2 you can just switch to the pistol and aim as you please.  Speaking of ammo, you seem to run out.... like a lot and need to scavenge for some.  There tends to be plenty scattered around but in the heat of combat it can be a pain.  There is where melee comes in.  I think its kind of cool much like the side arm stuff, simply press circle and push the left stick where you want to swing.  You have 360 degree control and it has a nice tactile feel to it.  You can also finish enemies off by press X after you have hit an enemy quite a bit. 
Overall the combat feels solid enough, and there are tons of guns and perks to unlock for each specific character. Its not great but it gets the job done. 
 
Finally multiplayer, my biggest surprise 
 
I didn't expect to enjoy any of the multiplayer at all, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. The 2 modes I played were Survive and Heroes. Survive is when two teams need to head to a heli pad and hold it off until the chopper arrives. What makes it interesting is there are 8 people playing and only 4 seats on the chopper (which gives you a decent xp bonus if you get in)  This leads to the ending of the match to be quite hectic and awesome (and sometimes a bit stupid since it takes a while to climb into the helicopter). Heroes is an interesting take on team deathmatch. Each person starts with a Main hero or villian (Leon, hunk, Claire etc...) and that is the only time the hero is alive.  Once a hero dies that person then turns into one of the generic solider classes to help support their hero and kill the other. Once the 4 heroes on one side are killed the game is over. 
 
So overall, being a huge Resident Evil fan helps this game a lot (seeing hunters and lickers makes me go nuts because of nostalgia).  Like I said I'm pretty early in but I have had some fun times, but more why the hell did my a.i partner run right into that tripmine times.  Multiplayer seems like it could actually turn out good if they fix some of the connection and lag issues. There is a solid amount of perks and weapons to unlock to keep ya going and if you have friends playing with you in the story or competitive it makes the game much more entertaining. 
So far I'd give the game a 3/5 

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