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    Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

    Game » consists of 10 releases. Released Dec 08, 2009

    An icy re-imagining of the classic Silent Hill, which trades weapons for frantic chase sequences as the player tries desperately to flee pursuing enemies. It takes on more of an adventure game format than traditional survival-horror.

    heroicdrinkingsong's Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii) review

    Avatar image for heroicdrinkingsong

    So sad, So sad

    Allow me to preface this commentary by mentioning two basic facts;
     
    1.  I've never finished a silent hill game.  The clunky combat and acward controls always turned me off even as the atmospher and story really drew me.
     
    2.  I really, really, really, want to love Shattered Memories.  It seems to take everything I wanted to love about previous games (spooky atmosphier, creepy visuals, convoluted story) and exiced the bits I hated (cluncky combat)
     
    With thise two caviets I'll now say that SM is one of the most disappointing games I've played this year.  Not because It's terrible, but because it's mediocre and I really wanted greatness.  The idea of running from enemies instead of engaging in combat makes so much sense I'm suprised it took this long for the concept to be used.  After all if you where in an abandoned town that sudennly turned snowy and monster filled would you really pick up a pipe and charge?  I wouldn't.  I'd run my ass off.  And so does Harry Mason. 
     
     The problem is that escaping is more of a chore than it really should be.  Flailing around with the wiimote everytime you get grabbed becomes tiresome and downright frustrating when theres more than one enemy on you.  And fleeing is difficult since the nonlinear enviroment's have a tendency to look all the same, and bringing up your map reduces you to walking speed only.  All of this results in a lot of running in circles and dying until you've figured out the exact path the game wants you to take.  
     
    Then theres the other 80% of the game.  That time is spent in the mundane world of Silent Hill and at that point theres no danger of attack at all which leaves you with plenty of time to explore but no sense of dread or fear.  And since the shift to the icy world is bookended with cutscense you know ahead of time when the "scary stuff" is coming.
     
    It's too bad because the whole concept behind the game seems very sound.  There's just not enough thrills or chills to make it anything to scream about.

    2 Comments

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    ttocs

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    Edited By ttocs

    I can respect the fact that you didn't like the no threat part of the game.  That's an honest opinion that I agree with.  When the world isn't encased in ice, you really have nothing to fear besides the music or scary cell phone calls, but your logic for the running sequences is flawed in my opinion.  The Wii is used in this game as a tool to mimic reality.  If a monster jumps on you, what would you do?  You'd flail around shoving your arms in that direction.  If you were being chased by monsters in a strange place with no idea where to go, what would you do?  You'd probably run around for a while to see if you could get away, then plan your escape when you've made some distance, which is what you do in the game.  I would run by my self for a while to see if I got where I needed to go.  When I was in the clear, I'd bring up the map.  Of course you can't run while looking at a map, the thing would be all over the screen.  He slows to a walk because he needs to focus on the screen.  Try running full speed while reading a text message...it's not happening.
     
    So, I think you're score is a little low for what you found at fault.  If you backed it up with more facts about gameplay, maybe...but those two things don't warrant a 3/5...but it's your review.

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    padrino

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    Edited By padrino

    Running away from enemies as a game mechanic has been used in a number of other horror games; Haunting Ground, Clock Tower, Penumbra, etc.  Fatal Frame (my fav) did this as well but you could argue that the camera was used so you did not have to run away.
     
    Running away is done well in Shattered Memories but it does get a bit stale. I certainly agree its the week link in this game. But the adventure part is done very well and makes this game worth playing. So maybe not a 5/5 but a good game. And it deserves a lot of credit for the risks it took and the surprises in its presentation. Some really cool and creepy moments. 
     
    I also thing running away can be a bit lost/disoriented and this can be more frustrating than is should have been. A number of times I ran for a while and finally got to bring up the map and realized I got all turned around and I was back where I started :) Of course I have no sense of direction in real life so others may not have this problem. 
     
    It sounds like you did not like the main part (adventure) of the game as much as other. Those who rate it higher enjoy the adventure bits much more and forgive some of the negatives.

    Other reviews for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

      Shattered Memories: A Spectacle for the Wii 0

      Silent Hill: Shattered Memories(Wii) by pepsiman on December 20, 2009

      In its own idiosyncratic ways, I see Silent Hill: Shattered Memories as doing something similar for its respective series like what Resident Evil 4 did nearly six years ago as well. I'm doubtful that it'll trigger as widespread of a revolution outside its franchise as the GameCube action-horror game managed, but just look at a screenshot or watch a video and it becomes pretty apparent that it's taking the series in a direction that's certainly new for it, but not without also being prone to trig...

      25 out of 25 found this review helpful.

      Fond Memories of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 0

      Silent Hill: Shattered Memories(Wii) by beautifulspacecowboy on July 19, 2010

      Silent Hill: Shattered Memories succeeds as a reboot of the Silent Hill franchise while still keeping the tone and atmosphere of previous games in the franchise. In this outing, the Wii offers the player a unique way of interacting with the city of Silent Hill that makes the motion controls feel integral and not just tacked on; I would go so far as to say that playing this on the PS2 or PSP would be doing the game and the player a great disservice. However, controls are not the only driving forc...

      2 out of 2 found this review helpful.
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