Homecoming Review
Story:
I'm not going to go into details on the story much, just because this is a 100% story driven kind of game. But, Ill say this. You play as Alex Shepherd. A recently discharged soldier making his way back to his hometown of Shepherd Glen. Upon arriving, he is met by an unearthly thick fog, empty town, a near catatonic mother, and monsters that look like they had just crawled up out of the 5th circle of hell. As Alex, you must get to the bottom of what is plaguing this town (eventually leading you to Silent Hill, obviously), venture through terribly spooky environments including the Prison and Hospital and take on some of the most memorable and horrifying bosses to be seen in a game. Don't worry, its got a classicaly Silent Hill twist that may be a bit predictable by the time you reach the middle of the game. The story is heavily influenced by aspects of the movie. The Cult seen in the film plays a much larger role in this game. A lot of people have claimed this was a poor choice on the development teams part and that its uninspired. I disagree. I found the story to be very well done actually, more so then the film. It doesn't live up to the greatness of past Silent Hill story lines, but its a whole hell of a lot better then Origins or The Room.
Game-play:
The major change is obviously the combat system. It places a heavier emphasis on player skill, requiring great timing to dodge and counter attack your foes. If you don't learn the tell tale signs of an enemies attack pattern, you'll find yourself running out of health drinks very, VERY quickly. The dodge mechanic can be a bit sketchy, putting you INTO harms way at times rather than saving you. I can remember a number of occasions when Alex would, rather then leap back to avoid a downward swung blade, side step right into it. This can be very frustrating, and make the difference in your survival at any second. Overall though, I think the combat makes for a more entertaining experience, keeps you on your toes, and adds a great deal to the ever important Survival aspect of the survival horror genre that seems to be so often neglected. (I'm looking at you Resident Evil 4).
Puzzles.... well... they were passable. Most of them required a heavy amount of trial and error, which IMO indicates a poorly designed puzzle, but some of them were pretty good. Problem is, the puzzles in previous entries were so amazing that nothing to come after could surpass them.
This is easily the hardest Silent Hill game yet thanks to infrequent save points that are dispersed fairly poorly, very powerful enemies that are in fact tougher then Alex, and very sparse ammo and health items. (The way SURVIVAL Horror should be, honestly. So i'm not complaining about this)
Technical:
The art design is as well done as ever. The monsters, particularly boss monsters, are some of the best designed of any of the games. They show a lot of creativity. The graphics of the game however, are not as well done. They certainly aren't the best that this gen of consoles is capable of delivering, but they aren't bad by any means. Alex's animations for everything from swinging an axe and firing a shotgun to hoping a broken out window looked particularly realistic and believe-able. His running animation is also the best in the series. Most of Silent Hills protagonists run like they'd just been hit in the legs with a hammer. (SORRY HEATHER, JAMES, AND HARRY!) My biggest complaint in the graphics/animations department is the animation of the characters jaws. Somebody got lazy while doing these. It seems they move out and ever so slightly up rather just up like a human. And, some of the characters hands look ugly.
Music design however, is exceptional. Another excellent outing by Akira Yamaoka. Sound effects and atmosphere noise are all top notch, adding to the already immense creep out factor. Playing this game on my 7.1 Sony Surround Sound system was amazing.
Conclusion:
Silent Hill: Homecoming was a huge departure for the franchise. Bringing an all new persepctive, dramatically re-tooled combat system, and a next gen face lift, it tried to hack its way into our hearts. It managed to in my opinion. The flaws many people have expressed with the game such as glitches and control issues never really seemed to rear their ugly head on my 3 play-throughs. Its got some replay value, offering unlockable and hidden weapons, costumes, and multiple endings.
Overall, I think its a success. My opinion of it has fallen a bit since my first play-through (i had given it a 9.0) but I still think its a must play game for fans of the survival horror genre.
