Gamespot, Destructoid and GameInformer seem to have different opinions on the game. From what I read the general feeling from most reviews is that the game is OK but it doesn't have the same 'spark' that 2 and 3 had. The game also seems to have some frame rate issues.

I'll personally be waiting for a price drop, maybe I'll get the HD collection of 2 and 3 instead.

Oh well. I didn't have much faith in the game being good in the first place. I will being waiting on a price drop before picking it up.

Not super surprised. IGN had a preview of it a while back, and they were already harshing on it bad for being archaic or whatever. They're going to be the same way with Operation Raccoon City. I figure other places will score both games better, however.

Not surprised. From what I had saw a long time ago, I had already assumed as much.

I will never know what the game is like .... can't play it because of the Korn song.

@Quarters said:

Not super surprised. IGN had a preview of it a while back, and they were already harshing on it bad for being archaic or whatever. They're going to be the same way with Operation Raccoon City. I figure other places will score both games better, however.

That brings up a discussion I was having a while back with other members of the forum whether those archaic controls and game mechanics are in fact essential elements that make a game a survival horror.

IGN also makes mention of Akira Yamaoka's soundtrack even though he left the series awhile ago. I'm really looking forward to Downpour, and I'm glad that it got pretty good reviews from outlets other than IGN.

Some really mixed feelings on this one. I get the feeling I'll enjoy it, gonna replay the HD versions of 2 and 3 first.

@Humanity said:

@Quarters said:

Not super surprised. IGN had a preview of it a while back, and they were already harshing on it bad for being archaic or whatever. They're going to be the same way with Operation Raccoon City. I figure other places will score both games better, however.

That brings up a discussion I was having a while back with other members of the forum whether those archaic controls and game mechanics are in fact essential elements that make a game a survival horror.

This is a pretty interesting discussion to have because my instinctive reaction is to say that yeah you totally need those sort of bad controls and rough mechanics to really make a survival horror game, citing Resi 2 as a brilliant example and Resi 5 as what the genre has devolved into, giving the player more control seems to result in less fear and atmosphere. But then you look at games like Condemned, Penumbra, Amnesia, Dead Space, none of which have the old tank control schemes, all of which play pretty damn great and all succeed at being super scary games. The genre has evolved in some neat ways, but it saddens to think we'll probably never really recapture that feeling we had playing Resi 2 or Silent HIll 2 for the first time.

IGN is ridiculous.

Eh, Never cared for reviews when it comes to Silent Hill games. Silent Hill 4: The Room is one of the most critically panned in the series yet it's my favorite one above 2 and 3 despite its admittedly massive issues.

I'm picking it up and see how it stacks up to other games in the series.

IGN are the Rolling Stone of video games. Their opinion is totally irrelevant.

Well, one calls the game "unfun" in it's closing comments...I think I'm going with the other one.

Well, at least it wasn't Greg Miller. That dude has some of the worst writing on reviews, even when he's being positive.

What I don't get is, why do people expect a return to form for Silent Hill? The original developers are gone (went on to do Siren), Yamoaka resigned from Konami in 2009 and worked with Grasshopper on Shadows of the Damned, and really PC indie horror (Amnesia, Penumbra, Cry of Fear) is the place you should be looking for now in this genre. It's like expecting a new Resident Evil to be like 1-3, when Shinji Mikami is not there and they have a bigger audience to appease now which is why RE 6 is such a global action affair.

Will wait a couple of months for a price drop. Coming from someone who actually had some fun with Homecoming I'm willing to give this a shot.

This is literally the first time I've seen anything from this game. From the video, the game looks kind of neat. I might check it out.

I wasn't aware of this game but it looks pretty good. 

@AssInAss said:

Well, at least it wasn't Greg Miller. That dude has some of the worst writing on reviews, even when he's being positive.

He has lots of favorite parts to Dead Space 2.

I hope people don't exchange their money for this filth.

I'll side wuth Destructod but Shattered Memories was a good game with Yamaoka bringing heat

I wish they would up rez Shattered Memories. I can't stand the shitty Wii.

IGN reviewers should just go hang themselves.

The price on this game is going to drop faster than a lead balloon. I'll wait.

After reading these comments I have come to some firm ground in my judgement of giant bomb users.

Most of you are not closed minded sheep-people. And actually hold viewpoints that are your own. Rather than someone else's.

Thus, you bunch are alright.

I'll get the game eventually, but after a price drop.

I don't see how it can be any worse than Homecoming. I'll probably play it at some point. SH4 was actually my favorite as well. Had a good creepy atmosphere.

All the monsters I've seen in vids look disappointing tho. Just pretty generic.

I'm more interested in the HD collection. I think the best thing about this game is going to be the Daniel Licht OT.

Imagine Babies 7.5

God Hand 2.6

IGN Logic.

Gamespot: 7.5/10

http://www.gamespot.com/silent-hill-downpour/reviews/silent-hill-downpour-review-6365456/

Gameinformer: 7/10

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/silent_hill_downpour/b/xbox360/archive/2012/03/12/silent-hill-downpour-review-foggy-with-a-chance-of-mediocrity.aspx

Destructoid: 8/10

http://www.destructoid.com/review-silent-hill-downpour-222794.phtml

Rely On Horror: 9/10

http://www.relyonhorror.com/reviews/review-silent-hill-downpour/

G4G: 9/10

http://golden4games.com/en/report/review/25400-silent-hill-downpour-6.html -- bad English Translation

http://golden4games.com/report/review/25400-silent-hill-downpour-6.html -- original here

Australian PS3 Magazine: 7/10

http://shshatteredmemories.com/blog/2012/02/21/australian-playstation-magazine-downpour-review-710/

IGN: 4.5/10

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1220529p1.html

http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/03/11/silent-hill-downpour-video-review - video review

oxmonline: 7.5/10 (edit)

http://www.oxmonline.com/silent-hill-downpour-review

gamesradar: 7/10

http://www.gamesradar.com/silent-hill-downpour-review/

@ahaisthisourchance said:

Imagine Babies 7.5

God Hand 2.6

IGN Logic.

Games that are different

Logic by internet person.

@Vegetable_Side_Dish:

Lol, oh, how I remember this!

I bought this game. I'm hoping GiantBomb finishes it up before me and post a review, but if not, I'll be glad to. It will be my first review of 2012.

@Dany said:

@ahaisthisourchance said:

Imagine Babies 7.5

God Hand 2.6

IGN Logic.

Games that are different

Logic by internet person.

Also comparing reviews done by different people.

It's like people forget that actual people with their own individual opinions write for IGN.

lol IGN

And for comparison:

Gamespot Silent Hill 2 review (but only PC) : 6./10

http://www.gamespot.com/silent-hill-2/reviews/silent-hill-2-review-2899284/

"The problem with Silent Hill 2 is that it's all atmosphere and no real scares." :P

Whatever, I'm still excited (already paid for via preorder) and no matter who's doing the reviewin', I never take IGN reviews to heart. Besides as others have posted, Downpour is looking to be decent as far as what the majority of other reviews seem to exhibit.

I should be getting it from Gamefly this week, along with Yakuza Dead Souls and Tales of Graces. I've been really interested in checking this Silent Hill out. It's been ages since I've played a Silent Hill game.

Yeah, i couldn't care less about IGN, but i wasn't interested in playing it either way, if it was getting amazing scores, maybe i would look more into it, but this just goes with what i felt about it.

I'll just grab the collection a replay 2 and 3.

@AssInAss said:

Well, at least it wasn't Greg Miller. That dude has some of the worst writing on reviews, even when he's being positive.

What I don't get is, why do people expect a return to form for Silent Hill? The original developers are gone (went on to do Siren), Yamoaka resigned from Konami in 2009 and worked with Grasshopper on Shadows of the Damned, and really PC indie horror (Amnesia, Penumbra, Cry of Fear) is the place you should be looking for now in this genre. It's like expecting a new Resident Evil to be like 1-3, when Shinji Mikami is not there and they have a bigger audience to appease now which is why RE 6 is such a global action affair.

This. People get too hung up on the brand and forget the names behind them. The team has moved on, so should you. I'm sure there might someday be another great Silent Hill game but there are other, more reliable developers out there providing a similar experience (in tone, if not gameplay).

Man this looks pretty bad from that video review. Also Korn makes me want to shoot myself.

thecontrolleronline: 7/10

http://thecontrolleronline.com/2012/03/silent-hill-downpour-review/

"It’s been a very long time since a horror game actually scared me, but Silent Hill Downpour actually manages to literally give you the chills at times. The combat is still the worst part of the game but ends up being far less tedious than previous games in the series (looking at you Homecoming). Once I was out of the starting zone and able to explore the much more open streets of Silent Hill I realized there was a lot to like about Downpour, it was just hidden by some dated mechanics. I don’t know how many new fans this entry will win over, but every fan of the series should check this one out."

Some new screenshots from review:

http://shshatteredmemories.com/blog/2012/03/12/gameinformer-review-is-online-with-a-slew-of-new-screens/

Everywhere else is saying that it's actually okay. So I think I'll at the very least give it a rent

I know playing the first section doesn't make the game, but my first impressions are a damn sight higher than a 4.5. It controls well (though combat could become a tad irritating), sounds good, the chase sequences from Shattered Memories (which got a 4/5 here and an 8.6 at ign) are back and are done well.

Oh, and clue # 1 for someone not knowing what they're talking about when it comes to Silent Hill: repeating the boring old Team Silent meme. Do you want to know how many people worked on all four the first four Silent Hill games? One. Akira Yamaoka. There was no original development team that moved on. Konami didn't steal Silent Hill from its original creators. They just assigned new people to work on it, like always, except eventually those assigned stopped being Japanese.

As funny as this might sound given my previous thoughts on the man, published on this website, I've actually done a complete turn around with the whole Jim Sterling thing.

Fat tits is my man now. I want to cuddle him and stare into his deep, beady, blue eyes all day long. So yeah, I'm trusting his review over IGN's any day.

Fuck IGN. They're basically nothing but a faceless shill corporation now anyway...their reviews are all bought.

@CptBedlam said:

@AssInAss said:

Well, at least it wasn't Greg Miller. That dude has some of the worst writing on reviews, even when he's being positive.

He has lots of favorite parts to Dead Space 2.

He is going to tell you about about it's scary moments, cool kills, and how much he digs the main character's internal struggle.

I've actually been watching a walk trough of this game and it seems like it's not bad at all.

Sure it's no Sh 1,2,3 , but I actually think it tops Homecoming.

Only big thing I hate about it, from what I have seen, are the repetitive enemies. Those screamers really start getting old fast.

I just finished the game and it definitely has its downfalls. The picture randomly glitches bright blue in various patterns on the screen. It also gets all slow and lags occasionally. After accidentally putting my gun down I had it literally vanish on me twice! The repetitiveness of the enemies did really lower their scare factor over time. I can understand how those and other technical problems coupled with the sometimes clunky combat style and inadequate visibility throughout much of the game could translate to a poor game experience to the non Silent Hill uberfan. That said I'd like to express my personal opinion of the game.... I thoroughly enjoyed my most recent trip to Silent Hill! Were the combat and game controls dead on and seamless? No. Did I fall in love with and continue to adore Silent Hill because of its perfect controls? Absolutely not. I honestly think that imperfect control of my character and his various weapons adds to the creep factor. Knowing I may miss my adversary or run into a wall adds to the feel of being in the character's situation. That sense of of helplessness. It gave me a small taste of the terror he would undoubtedly be feeling and make me yell out a few choice words as I scrambled to get him to safety and renew the attack or just give in and run for dear life. I would add that I loved the huge variety of things available to wield as a weapon and the reality the game has of the more improved weapons breaking after rigorous use. I also didn't fall for Silent Hill for breathtaking advances in gaming graphics. Again the constant lack of clear visibility in all the games has always added to the fear for me. I was however truly impressed by a lot of the visuals in Downpour compared to the other titles in Silent Hill. I kept thinking some of the actual game play had turned into cut scenes, but it still had enough of the fog and darkness I've come to love to make me wonder on several occations, "Oh s**t. What the f**k was that?!?" I will say that the screamers and the various incantations of the prison monsters definitely lost their thrill as the game went on. The "porcelain doll" monsters did not come close to touching the endearment I have towards those creepy nurses nor could the boogeyman think of rivaling my all time fave....Pyramid Head. Would I have liked to have seen those favorites? HELL YES...but I must admit I was still thoroughly impressed and creeped the f**k out by both "the Aristocrat"s single appearance and the constant appearance of that wheelchair and its tracks. As for Game Informer's critique of the endings and having been left wanting. I'd like to say I've personally never been completely "satisfied" by a Silent Hill ending. If by satisfied you mean having learned all the information there was to know and have not a single question I'd love to have answered. Maybe all this is just me, but I again give Silent Hill points for this fact not bad marks. These unanswered questions and blanks leave room for discussion and your own imagination to run free. It also adds to the replay factor for me because I always wonder, "Did I miss something?" Chances are I did. Anyway I'll guess shut my long-winded mouth soon. The only other thing I'll say in defense of the game is about the comparisons I've noticed toward the original three. How many times is it possible to blow our minds before we start to kind of anticipate the inevitable insanity the characters fall into? I know my way of thinking alters temporarily every time I re-visit that town as I try to guess what demon the new character must have inside them to have deserved a trip to Silent Hill.

@MsMalloryKnoxx: No one will ever read that.

@TentPole: Okay...May I ask why?

@MsMalloryKnoxx said:

@TentPole: Okay...May I ask why?

Paragraphs, my friend, paragraphs.

@shivermetimbers said:

@MsMalloryKnoxx said:

@TentPole: Okay...May I ask why?

Paragraphs, my friend, paragraphs.

I see. Note taken.