Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

The Silent Hill franchise has gathered a cult following over the last decade from the series take on psychological and survival horror games, the newer instalments have been meet with oh hum reviews. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the first instalment of the Silent Hill franchise on a Nintendo console and a re-imagining of the first game in the series. This being my only gaming experience with the franchise (I have seen the movie, one of my favourite video game based movies), Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the best horror game I've played since Resident Evil 4. During the game there's 2 different perspectives: the first is a psychological therapy session with a pretty blunt psychologist which has you fill out a few.. tests. The other part of the game has you in control of Harry Mason who wakes up from a car crash and is searching for his daughter during a cold winter's night in Silent Hill. Harry's mission takes him all over the town while the tests from the therapy session alter the town in slight ways. The therapy sessions are short, so you spend most of your time as Harry. Shattered Memories plays a lot like an adventure game (such as Hotel Dusk or Myst), you go around the town and search for keys when you hit a locked door. Thankfully the keys are never far to find, no expansive backtracking like in Metroid games. During times in the game the world shifts from normal to a frozen nightmare with creatures that look like meat skeletons that will chase you down. Harry's only option is to run and this creates some of the most intense chases I've played in recent times. Climax Studios, developer of the game, clearly made this game for the Wii. While a PS2 and PSP version are available the Wii version seems to be tailored made for the flash light controls. Controls in general are extremely well done. Climax clearly learnt a lot from their previous Wii title Overlord: Dark Legend and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories controls better, looks better and sounds better. That being said, the game has a few faults to it. The game is very liner, only one way to go. During the chase sequences you will end up running in circles a couple of times because it's too dangerous to stop, whip out your in game phone and check the map to see the next goal. Minor really, but the game does an amazing job at crafting a wonderful and creepy experience and will have you excited all the way to the end credits when your psychological evaluation is given..

I see some people didn't get what "reimagining" means, it's not a remake or remaster. It's a different game with same concept of "father looking for daughter" like the first game. Climax come from combat to more exploring, from bloody, rusty like in hell locations to deadly cold ice, and they did it great!

Plot is great as well, game only have some lack of hardinteresting puzzels. But anyway, I liked this game. Graphics for PS2 is fascinating.

Hope to see more reimagining of the series in the future, something like Kojima tried to do with Silent Hills and P.T. teaser. All I have is only "hope"...

Harry Mason, a caring father of his daughter Cheryl finds out she's missing after they survive a car crash one snowy night. Play as Harry Mason as you try to find your daughter and discover the secrets of the eerie town, Silent Hill.

Those who are eager to play this game, you guys must have a WII, cause gaming experience is best only on the WII. Neither the PS2 (gameplay isn't good), nor the PSP (graphics are horrible).

The game has 3 forms of gameplay.

1. Exploring... which all die-hard fans of Silent Hill are aware of. Look for clues of Cheryl's whereabouts.

2. Nightmare... In between the game, pink and ugly monsters will start chasing you as the town suddenly freezes (Why you ask? Find out yourself).

3. Dr.K ... In some moments, you are transferred to Dr. Kauffman's office. Try to answer his questions correctly for a smooth experience.

Overall this game is a go!!

Ah. "Silent Hill." A media franchise that began as a very frightening and highly regarded survival-horror video game series, before branching off into films, comics and other mediums. It's usually accepted that the first few entries in the series are modern classics of horror gaming. (Although even there, there is some controversy, as some fans feel the series peaked with its third entry, while others feel the fourth game was just as good as the previous games. I fall into the latter, and love the fourth game, but I digress.) However, starting at the fifth game, many fans have noted a fairly consistent de-evolution in the series, and found that the games have subsequently dropped in quality with each new release.

That being said, there is an odd enigma amongst the recent titles in the series. A game, that unlike the others, isn't a sequel, but rather a drastically different and new re-imagining of the original game. (1999's "Silent Hill") That game- "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories", released on the Nintendo Wii on the franchise's 10th anniversary.

And it is a game that thankfully broke the mold of recent releases, by actually being pretty darned good in its execution- happily telling a dramatic tale that honors the original, while introducing some intriguing new gameplay ideas into the series. Is it perfect? No, far from it. But it is a good entry into the overall series? Yes, most definitely!

The player assumes the role of Harry Mason, a father who crashes his car on the outskirts of Silent Hill- a quiet little town where he lives. His daughter Cheryl, who was in the passenger seat, has vanished from the wrecked car, and Harry is forced to try and locate her within the town. However, something is wrong- save for a few strange characters, the town has become almost completely abandoned, and is being covered in snow by a horrific storm. And seemingly at random, the world changes into a Hellish frozen wasteland populated by monsters that Harry must flee from to survive. All the while, the game occasionally cuts back to a psychiatrist's office, where the character (who is recollecting the events) must answer questions that will impact the game in varying ways through psychological profiling.

While the bulk of the story may sound familiar, with only some changes, players should be aware that this is a radical departure from the original game. While it is true to the tone and intent of the original, and features many returning characters, everything has been re-imagined. Harry is more fleshed out and vulnerable. Dhalia is now a younger woman who may or may not be involved with Harry. Cybil is much more proactive in the story. And the entire aesthetic and gameplay is altered to tell this new tale. (Particularly evident during the psychological therapy sessions, which are unlike anything in the series before. And the fact that there is no combat system, and characters are forced to flee creatures rather than fight.) That being said, fans of the series should find much to like about this game, even though it is different, and the changes don't feel insulting at all to the canon. Rather, they feel fresh and interesting, and honor the original game. To be honest, the storyline, characters and new ideas almost lead to a flawless entry in the series, and I would say this is easily the best the franchise has offered since the fourth game.

However, this game cannot be called flawless due to a few big issues holding it back. First and foremost is the controls. When it works, the game controls beautifully. It makes great use of the Wii's motion- controller, and feels fluid and intuitive. But that's when it works. When it doesn't work, the game is a mess. Particularly during sequences where Harry has to flee from monsters, the controls become nightmarish- it's very easy to have your motion-control cursor (which controls the direction you look and move) stuck on the side of the screen, causing you to run into walls and become stuck. And at other times, it's just too "jittery" to do fine control work, which this game often requires. The controls themselves bring this game down a point.

The other main issues involve the pacing, length and over-simplified nature of the game. The game is definitely very hasty and overly short. And that is a big problem. My first playthrough only took about five hours, and my second playthrough (which I am currently in the process of) seems like it may come in under 2 hours. (Granted, I am rushing through the game) It is by far the shortest entry in the series, which hurts it- it feels like it needs more time to develop. And the game is often very overtly simple, thus losing the puzzling quality of previous entries, and the sense of problem-solving that other games in the series have. Puzzles are not only simple, they are so simple, they seem as though they were made for children. If you find a locked door, chances are the key is in the cupboard next to the door- that sort of thing. There's no real thought to be put into the game, and it does hurt the experience somewhat.

However, those issues being said, this is still a good game and a strong entry in the series. It's creepy, fun, fascinating and it introduces some cool new elements to the gameplay, all while honoring the series and particularly the original game. Despite its flaws, those aspects alone make it worth buying.

I give "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories" a good 7 out of 10. Fans of the series need to check this out!

After the mediocre Silent Hill: Origins, Climax got the rights to develop a new part of the series again when Konami realized that the developers from the previous game Silent Hill: Homecoming were much more incompetent. And to say that I like this game much more is to say nothing. Honestly, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories broke my heart. But it is also worth noting that if you abstract from all the previous parts, and perceive this game as a self-sufficient interpretation of the first game without any nonsense with occultists, and with the desire to dive into the psychological depth of its characters, as the second part did, then everything you see in it you will really like. And even if to be much more honest, and do not treat this game as "Silent Hill" lacking the intensity of horror, because of which we mainly loved this series, then you will like it as I did. This game is not scary, and running from banal monsters sometimes tires, which is stressful, but I repeat... Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a cold from the beginning, and warm at the end drama that makes you think about many aspects of our life, when you are literally in a psychotherapist's sessions. And also a huge thank you to the developers, who again made me feel guilty before Lisa.