People tend to think that Team Silent is just like Kojima Productions. There's a heart to it, the one man or several in charge, and when they leave...it's done and gone. There is no equal. Well that's just not true with TS. The original team doesn't need to come back for the franchise's revitalization. The core of Silent Hill left right after the first, passing the torch to someone who merely helped with the technical aspects of the first's script. He absorbed the script still yet and went on to create 2 and 3 with Jeremy Baustein's help. After this yet, Silent Hill 4 marked when the story and direction was to be passed down again, to Silent Hill 2's drama director. As before, the torch was passed to one who was involved in simply helping the vision along. These directors and writers kept to the same fashion under two torch passes thus far.
Why did this end so abruptly?
Chances are is that the rumor that Konami wanted another feel for the franchise is still correct. Why else would they hand it over to new developers that aren't as experience, just because they recreated a scene or two from the film? Anyone could do that! No one knows for sure, but it's a horrid decision regardless. It's this direction that should make us angrier with Konami. They broke a "chain letter", a controlled environment at which knowledge is passed down correctly to the next in line.
Of course, Climax did go to Team Silent, but the difference here is that they weren't truly supervised or at all directed by Team Silent and it shows with Origins concept: take a single event, Alessa's splitting, and somehow craft an entire SH2 out of it. Couldn't they have made a simpler side game, to which there are many of on the PSP, and set the focus on Alessa's 7 year experience from her on own perspective, with puzzles and adventuring? Cage of Cradle shows that TS would never bring themselves to do this, to tweak a single event that isn't expandable, just to make a new game. That would be desperation. You can't compare SH:0 and SH4 because the latter didn't have to tweak anything. SH4 is a twist on a smaller happening that can actually be elaborated upon. If they were trying to do something new, which they weren't, Origins would've fit in, regardless of who its makers were. There are already too many errors that never appeared in the non-TS made SH1 novelization and, because only a year separate the two materials, its a manner of said creators having too much fandom themselves, selfishness, and more currently, infamy.
The culprit of ruining these new ideas is their general execution. They lacks the first 4's naturalistic approach. We've seen how Silent Hill's works through too many different people, so you can't say its the person's psyche and therefore everything goes. There's a core character too. The town is never blatant when it comes to delusions. It doesn't just up and recreates a duplication verbatim. Its more abstract with imagery to represent such themes, ideas or mental states.
Had Alessa's world been literally set ablaze, everything would be blacken to a crisp or turned to ash, yet this is not what we see at all. Her world was more or less about what her body itself looked like as a result of the fire, thus allowing TS use time or environmental degradation to the correct pallets to recreate her pain. This is quite why these new otherworlds are simply knockoffs that add nothing to the story. The otherworld is an environmental class delusion, no more. It is not a constant nor as primitive as a "Raw Shock" from SH:SM. HomeComing itself required a damp and soggy nightmare if going by the rules of SH2. Because James suppressed his guilt, his delusions' catalyst was distinctively Mary's death and his last moment with her, thus taking on an sickly look which resembled her own illness with small reminders of the fateful day itself. Eddies nightmare resembled his tormentor's words and his own reaction to them whereas Angela's was a depiction of what she felt about herself, that she deserved what her father did to her anyhow.
So, say they have an idea that perhaps Team Silent could also think of, however, the execution of it is of another franchise's. You know, there are other games and stories that deal a hand in this department. Also, Silent Hill's execution is not limited to Team Silent and is seen throughout the web as well, primarily outside of psychological horror. Even with that be, it's true that DownPour's presentation is hit or miss and among a tradition that many "horror" games follow. You cannot up and say that Silent Hill Downpour isn't meant to be scary. The Silent Hill series IS supposed to be scary, just not like that. It's not formulaic and more set to a core character (e.g. the DJ and his station would never be resolved as it simply degrades to its latter self as you go along). DownPour as it indeed gives too many of the wrong signals by trying a bit too with sudden events. They're the types of events seen in Resident Evil 4-6 which, if aren't scary, come off as making the game exciting. Many of these events exist in Uncharted games and don't fit being Silent Hill's main style of ambient events.
Here's an example: the flickering mine light scene. In DownPour, you see it a mile a way. The dummies gradually get closer with almost every flicker. This simply issues a general dread over the scene, one comparable to having that garden gnome getting closer every time you look back at it. Now imagine Team Silent had crafted the scene. Perhaps we're in the room where the one dummy "loses her head" in SH3. So, imagine your own light begins flickering and, here and there, you'd see few minor changes in the flashes of light. Here in this scene, it wouldn't be any difference. Perhaps one or more of them would come close to you, but it wouldn't be as easy as them moving gradually closer. That's simply like having Jason Vorhees walk toward you under a strobe light. It's not the right type of fear. It's likely that this "one" dummy would sit right next to you in the car and stare at you in a couple of flashes. It's even so that the rest would portray a horrific scene or crime as an "echo" of the past, as seen thoughout the series now and again. It's clear that Team Silent's execution was about naturalism and vagueness, even down to their horror's presentation.
What takes the cake in showing their understanding of Silent Hill is what is called a "Full Circle".
The series sets up that the town had been twisted and grew attached to such nature. Does that at all sound like a town trying to resolve anyone's sins? No, and as such, James was able to leave the town, regardless of a sinful resolve (and Maria was sick for being an opposite Mary, regardless of the outcome). It's you and the catalyst itself that wont let go. "Full Circle" is a total change of character for the town itself and is part of the "SH2 complex". This complex makes the series rather about those who committed honest to god, law breaking crimes whereas the town would also call to those who committed crimes against the positive side of human nature. Forgetting Silent Hill 1, 3 and 4 is dreadfull, as you then forget that much is possible for a protagonist of choice. Alessa, Heather and Walter never had any real guilt, and never needed to. Bottom line, we aren't visiting Silent Hill by character anymore, but a pit of purgatory that you'd see in any other horror franchise.
"Full Circle" may seem ominous at first, but its later revealed to be rather a godsend which allows the person to die as many times as they like. Murphy gets shot, taken to the otherworld and still got to leave town. In SH1-4, it's more or less that: if you die its over. Who knows what happens. It's best left unseen, but we know its something close to real death. At best, you might roam as a disembodied thought, but that's it.
So, this is just one reason why Silent Hill is going down hill. Much is possible and it begs mention of internet horror and/or atmospheric freeware psychological horror adventure games that we'll see at rare intervals, such as "The Mannequin" or other (and i'm speaking on behalf of their nature alone). The net and these games share the same essence and should be Tom's/their influence for the series's continuation. As most psychological horror games or stories, just about anything is possible.
This is why Silent Hill is important. Most psychological horror games end like Jacob's Ladder or don't have a firm anthology establishment within their mythology rulebook. They end right then and there, having anyone making a game of such magnitude need to create new rules and logic for every title, taking years to do so. Silent Hill does have this anthology style template available already, like Final Fantasy or The Elder's Scrolls, and is a nice playground for anyone new to make what they want, to express themselves, without it being the same story all over again. You may say that there are others out there, but so far, they have only been indie made originals which don't come around as often as a professional game would. Most of those games are rare and take double the time to craft under the people behind them. This could be due to the lack of professionalism, but its also because, like Silent Hill 1, it takes years when you actually have to establish the mythology first.
What got us into any of it to begin with? It was Silent Hill and it's execution. Maybe not for everyone, but for a lot of those within the gaming universe, its true. Just remember that, like Resident Evil, Silent Hill is said to have revolutionized what we think about horror games on an atmospheric level. It's the same feeling you get when you're in an abandoned, eaten out facility with nothing but your night vision enabled camera and a low level light. Its just like playing "SCP-087" or "SCP-087-B". You actually feel that you're there, the truth to real horror. That's when the fear and dread truly come out.
With other games, we know better, and it comes crashing down. This can be due to graphics not being oddly primitive (SH1/SCP-087-B/creepy SNES/NES games) or photo-realistic enough to be taken seriously (SH2-4/Amnesia vs the first blocky and badly lit "The Suffering" title), or simply, the environment and story just isn't enough to pull the player into it as another reality itself. When we get "scared" here, it becomes a jolt that can be experienced in any Call of Duty, when a soldier pops out of our left eye and begins suffocating us to death, only for us to push him off. After just a bit, we remove that jolt and "man up".
It's inception that we simply play a game within the horror genre, and just due to the namesake of that very genre, we act upon it over letting the game do it's own job. This is what I see. I play a lot of those other horror games myself, and sorry to say, most of them can be made a joke. Yes, as Silent Hill went along, much of that became oddity and interest of the environment, yet dread was still there, even in SH4. I still like any horror game for means of interest and their adventuring, but they don't at all go beyond any of that but for "raw shocks" here and there. It was only SH, SCP-087-B and games of the likes which "got me going" in any fashion, and yet, it was only due to a constant dread over instantly fearing something I KNOW will NOT kill me personally.
Whoopidy Doo Da, a monster with fangs!
And just like that, Shattered Memories was born. This game is a nightmare to those who wanted to experience Silent Hill as a traditional action-less adventure horror game, a complete nightmare. It could have been better and more to character. See, if you took away Resident Evil 4's and 5's weaponry, you'd get what you see in SH:SM. As is, just discard your weapons and you will see that the game play IS too reminiscent of SH:SM's. There is no point to hide in buildings in RE4/5 and you simply run the entire length of time when actually being persued by anything. However, because it is a "re-imagining" with "no comparison able" to those smug peoples' hearts, nothing is done about its character and all is accepted as if its being diverse to do so (ize rasist againtz new siwent hulls), which is wrong when a sequel gives you anything and the very game could well take over a diverse franchise and un-diversify it.
How's about this for a comparison and exemple of the prior statements! Echos: They existed throughout the series already, as physical metaphors, faint ghostly images or other, but now they exist ONLY as apparitions caught by a ghost hunter with a ghost hunting phone. Shadow and transparency, that's all....wow! Why not any giant roaches re-imagined to crawl around the ceilings and walls? And I don't mean to duplicate The Mummy here like the film does.
Granted, Shattered Memories could have been a new game series altogether. Like those franchises, Shattered Memories CANNOT deliver for people like me after what has been previously. I'm more into "Echo Night"-style adventure horror games with their ambiance, story and dread, plus psychological elements. Even as of DownPour, the adventuring is done mostly in the normal state of the world, which is a problem. The pace of the original games were well done, but here, you stay in an empty static environment for too long, either fending off hoards of monsters or just nothing special as of SH:SM, whereas the other world isn't much of a stay when it even occurs. This means you have far too many visits, ones that are short, or you simply trail off into several rare and decently long visits. And yet, all you do is a puzzle, run, do another puzzle, run some more, and lastly, it just ends.
The other world has been made a joke, but I will say this, DownPour is an exception. This is because, whereas SH:SM has no fuel for a constant chaotic other world state, DownPour makes some sense in its own right. Murphy is likely more so tense after the crash that sent him running from the law, and due to having more to the otherworld here, there is enough of a break between the chase and calmer moments of solitude. So if anything, it will depend on what they do next for DownPour's chases to redeem them self from merely being apart of the newfangled chase fad of Silent Hill: Shattered Memores. Mostly, this chase fit a child's otherworld and not a collected individual's, a child who cannot fend for his or her self from any of the nightmare's inhabitants. Any adult would find it a need to, after easily pushing so many monsters off him, to best them in smaller combat with a random lead pipe.
But then, look at Silent Hill: Play Novel. This game IS Heavy Rain and the basis of any Silent Hill game trying to go purely adventure horror. Most people shove Play Novel off, but when you look at it, its interesting to see this as the true remake of Silent Hill on PSX, and not Shattered Memories. Just look at what the head writer of Silent Hill said about the film! Not being the direction he would expand the story into for the mainstream movie audience, its clearly out of his intent's range. That is what you maintain, the story's main idea, the intent and core character, removing the saturated fat that is exclusive to the formats from the topic and have it streamed into a summery or treatment, a basic timeline of events.
But no, because it is a re-imagining, suddenly, that isn't the idea at all then! Because re-imagining doesn't imply of an overhauled remake at all! Sarcasm intended. Thus, Twin Perfect is very accurate here. The same can be said for other reviewers who stated that it isn't even a re-imagining, as it isn't. A re-imagining would be more equivalent to the Ultimate Spider-Man line versus the original Amazing Spider-Man run. Re-imagine does not mean to make a 4099A.D. out of it, especially when, unlike a comic or toy-line, alternate universes don't come with option, quite like film. This is why DBE was hated out of Dragon Ball's collected interest. It is a childish lie that it needed any change for the original's power. A fantasy themed martial arts style tournament film such as Karate Kid combined with a touch of The Never Ending Story's (as in a child takes on a massive baddy) or other epic fantasy thrillers, complete with multicultural attires and architectures, all of which has been proven to look right on camera already individually. Because the makers say it was required, its too late to defend it as a "take". Its not like they dropped the adaptation motif behind the film like the creator of Dragon Ball himself.
And BTW, people actually think SH:SM is the original's protection from...the core of the game being one of many versions or platform releases? What fanboyism... What nostalgia whoring and pop culture ignorance. Silent Hill could very well be ported to any platform, if it were not for Saturn's demise from the mainstream developer outlook and the N64's storage capacity. PSX was simply THE console to make it on, in terms of popularity and ability, that's it. Too old? Why is Re-Armed any different? Remember, we aren't talking about the letter at all, and with customization, that thing the elitism of this generation has proven to hate, with personal preference being weakness, they could very well use "Self Cam" as the over the shoulder option with all the same cinematic camera interfaces RE and SH has come to know, complete with better mechanics seen in the remaining Team Silent made Silent Hill games. Just think of Tomb Raider Anniversary and you'll know what I mean.
So, lets look at that map here in SH:SM.
Look familiar? No? Here, look at this and maybe it will refresh your memory.
And of course, Tomb Raider Anniversary is the best example thus far, of re-imagining the original's environments with everything still characteristically intact. Anyone who looks at the map above can really sense the Resident Evil NGC remake in it all. The new rooms, paths, story content from SH:PN, items, motion control interactivity and all. If this were made by those who ported Play Novel, it would very well turn out similarly to the prior mentioned remakes. It wouldn't be a whoring of the game as those simply in defense of one form of it state, to the elite, but rather a showing that the letter can take change and we wont mind playing any version of it. Plus, think of new players as well. Everyone thinks of themselves, but really, stuff like this affects more the person who hadn't played the original, and DOES want to. I've seen numerous accounts of this, of people WANTING to play the first after all this time of playing the most recent ones.
Now imagine if you will, a 3-D version of Play Novel, with the same exploration of SH1 on PSX and all the path branches of beforehand, even new ones. The game can still take the path of removing action, but now for the good of the overall experience. It then begins to resemble "SCP-087" or "LSD: The Dream Emulator" doesn't it. Ever so often, before the influence of Alessa grows nearer to the middle and end of the game, you might begin to see a dog or two on the street under the foggy state of the world. A flyer would simply fly by at a rare and very random interval, making it more an event similar to the police car discussed earlier. Imagine giant roaches running from your light as they should, with a rare instance of one flying at you without warning. Imagine an expanded otherworld cafeteria/hall in the school where the roaches can first make their appearance (the school's hall is indeed the first place they're seen in the game). You see that this is the depth that such an expansion would have upon the game, and yet, Shattered Memories becomes repetition and bare of diversity. Its a comparison of Marvel Versus Capcom 2's roster versus Marvel Versus Capcom 3's.
This leads me to Origins.
Now think about this, as Silent Hill was to be remade much before Shattered Memories, yet this became Origins itself. In the end, they didn't want to just "rehash" historical details. And yet they did just that... It's more a needless glorifying of those events through another's eyes. And why is that ridiculous from a narration standpoint? Anything new wasn't cohesive at all or was simply for the length of the game. As of then, it would prove more worthwhile to add those regions just below Alchemilla hospital to SH1, complete with a slight expansion to the game's length, secondary objectives to do with Alessa's past and more items. Even dumber, quite literally, is that they added another mental hospital over an education facility. Seriously. People in Silent Hill get an elementary school education and move on with their hillbilly lives? That unneeded sanitarium could very well be Silent Hill's missing middle and/or high school. No current Silent Hill title to date has shown us such facility to speak of.
Had this retelling been a pure remake and not a "re-imagining" to fit the film nor a prequel to "fill a void" that wasn't there, the newbies at Climax would have less room to screw up. Being their first Silent Hill title, they'd know not to stray outside the box at first, using the guidelines of SH1-4 and Team Silent. The team itself would require less contact and would more likely share interest for keeping it correct just enough. Thus, a port of the original game would ensue on the PSP and later PS2, with similar intent and accuracy as to the GBA title. It would simply be an updated version of Play Novel with freer mechanics and ideas, had they played it smart.
Of course, in their comments regarding the change of plans, they speak only for the constant player of the game. Even to this day! Most of us shelved SH1 for quite some time and moved on to recent titles, only brushing it off for rarer intervals. People like this would find a remake as refreshing or interesting to the least, just as we did with Tomb Raider, Zero Mission or Re-Armed. They, right then and there, express the common ignorance of remake intolerance. They will dig into the topic as though we are a child with chores to do first or a people with all the same preference.
It was a horrid idea in the end. Much of Origin's storyline is good for a sequel, and actually doesn't follow much into a "SH2 complex", much unlike Homecoming. Twin Perfect may not know this, but only the bad ending can truly portray the "SH2 complex". Travis is NOT suffering from an amnesia or guilty of a crime. He simply moved on with his life or had therapy helping him get over his past. Had this been a sequel, it would be made perfect with the mythology, the town trapping him inside to absorb what little darkness left he had from his past. Instead, it tries to ravel it up in the first game's plot and makes little to no sense for it, for various reasons. The first problem is that Travis's otherworld IS indeed the first ever materialized, not Alessa's. This is a bit too far fetched considering that Alessa's otherworld would need to come first. According to "The Book of Lost Memories", SH2 can only occur after SH1's last major transition, and regardless, it never submitted to feeding off others' dark hearts until after it's first experience with massive materialization and Vincent gave focus to that power again.
In summery, Alessa's story is an afterthought and simply uses a new character's viewpoint for the sake of getting a full "Silent Hill experience" out of it. However, Silent Hill's past can only be given light as subtext in a non-interactive form. If it ever had to be a game, a simple Play Novel-style pick a path adventure game is really it's only candidate; or maybe even a game which plays like Echo Night where you play through Alessa's suffering and past. Origins is close to an unprofessional fan-fic on the origins of the story for shoving in a character and complicating matters to no end. It's barely about the events of SH1 and by the time we're finishing Travis's storyline, we jolt right into realizing that SH1 and Alessa is still apart of the game at all.
It just didn't work. As the story of Travis could have held more interest being it's own thing, with more time spent on it to ensure that fact, it fits too well a sequel in the end. Its a much better storyline than that of Homecoming and much more original. Origins storyline more fits a story of a "mostly cured" Brookhaven patient that revisited the town and enters the realms of insanity better than most sequels have to date. I guess those Team Silent notes payed off. Too bad it was wasted and a lost cause. It had its moments, but that's it. Homecoming is oppositely THE worst Silent Hill sequel of all time, as it destroys much of Silent Hill's motif, borrowing too closely from SH2 for any of it's "psychological aspects", and lastly, is too film inspired.
In closing, these games are trying to scrape at even Play Novel's level, a smaller GBA port, and are failing bad. Play Novel is the ultimatum in not having Team Silent directly develop a Silent Hill game. So far, it is the best adventure game experience out of all the three. The other two being SH:SM and SH:D, one can only view this by imagining Play Novel as a full fledged 3-D experience with all the same environmental exploration present. It indeed IS the future of Silent Hill gaming. It's sad that future SH games need to look at a simple GBA cart with several MBs of space in order to even get ahead on the ideas present.
SilenceoftheHills
