Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

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 force behind Shattered Memories. 
 
The story follows Harry Mason as he looks for his daughter Cheryl after a car crash. That is standard fair, but the game becomes interesting when it starts to profile you through scenes that cut away from Harry in Silent Hill to scenes in a therapist's office where the doctor is asking questions and having the player complete small tasks that range from coloring to choosing who is dead and who is asleep based on pictures alone. The psychoanalysis continues in the game itself as it observes how you play. As it builds your profile, the game world and its inhabitants will change. To truly get a feel for how you affect the game,  you will need to play it a couple of times, and clocking in at around eight hours, Shattered Memories is a game you can do this with. 
 
Combat in the game is non-existent. This is solved through intense chase sequences that will have your heart pounding as you try to escape the strange creatures that are perusing you through the different icy environments.  It is nice to see a game brave enough to remove combat completely from the equation, especially because I often found it cumbersome in previous Silent Hill outings.
 
If you enjoy a good story, creepy atmosphere, a fantastic score, and unique gameplay, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is worth a look.