hamzik said:

All impressions indicate that I will like this game a lot. Thanks for the tips.

 Just to let you know, most people hang out daily on the news page. Its updated everyday and there is a large comments section where most of the activity is on the site.

angrymonkey said:

gamingeek said:

I dont remember calling the club. I like the differences when you call the whores name scrawled on the wall. Nice.

I could have sworn the first time I called that number it was a pissed off harassed teenager. Did you ever get that version?

 That was second time through. The first time it was a prostitute wanting to know why the creepy guy wouldn't answer. 

BTW I cant figure out what the poster with the cheerleaders and numbers on the abdomen is about. I cant dial these numbers?

angrymonkey said:

I never thought about that one and I was just there too. I don't think it's phone number related.

 It's a weird one because the faces are all covered up, seemingly random numbers are scrawled on the abdomen and then Harry says "number 3 everytime"

hamzik said:

Just spent over an hour with the game and I really like the unsettling atmosphere. Even though there are no monsters behind every corner and I know when they will appear I am still on edge when exploring the desolate streets of a Silent Hill covered in snow. The flashlight and the phone and the great motion controls in general really add to the immersion and make me feel like I'm in the game. So does the profiling and the therapy sessions. I like it. If I could just find a way out of the woods now...

I got stuck in the woods first time through. Just head south to the collection of 3 buildings at the bottom of your map. Then head to the right hand building and work your way through.

hamzik said:

Holy crap! Just finsihed the game after 6 hours of playtime and once again, holy crap! I did not see that coming. What an unexpected and emotional ending. This is without a doubt one of the finest games on Wii. As horror games go this is a masterpiece. I am blown away.  

  Glad you liked it and it didn't come back to bite me on the ass. 

Now you need to try the repeat playthroughs, answering psychological questions differently. 

Okay I finished the game. The story was pretty awesome, it kept me playing and playing. The ending was awesome too. Really an unnerving psychological triller this is, not the cheap stuff from the RE series. 

The chase scenes were the weakest point. Sometimes I felt I was running around like a headless chicken, it would be not as bad if the map was worth a damn. The puzzles in the nightmare are awesome though

Really sad that most people have no will of their own and they will ignore this game, because some marketing guy tells them to buy another game. Free will my ass. Will replay it more times, but first I will play NHM2. 

Dvader said:

angrymonkey said:

Finished my playthrough, thought I would bump this. A little bit of promo for a good niche game.

First off, length wise no one could have done more than I did. I looked and read everything and called all the phone numbers. I also walked a lot when I could have run everywhere just cause I thought it enhanced the atmosphere. Also a couple of the early creature runs I had to play for a bit before I got through them - especially the second or third one since it was so long and I had trouble shaking off a creature here and there. It took me about 14 hours. I would think a second playthrough would take me maybe 4. I know a lot of people say its around 6 hours - which is totally doable. I just took it real slow.

There is only one maybe two puzzles that would give anyone any trouble and mostly just for not being observant. The puzzles are not difficult by any stretch. I didn't think they were bad, but they are at most minor hurdles or just quick distractions. Not something to look forward to if you want tough puzzles. They are usually connected to the story or environment except for one I can think of which seemed too much like just an arbitrary puzzle thrown at you that you need to  solve to continue.

The chases were good. They didn't really bother me except for some trouble tossing creatures in one direction - still don't know if that's my fault or not. They are the only source of tension in the game. Once you realize they aren't in the real world, you aren't jumpy or apprehensive. But I wouldn't want creatures breaking through after you into the real world - maybe if they just tried to make the real world scarier or more threatening. They try to do this with messages and things you see, which are effective - I'm not actually sure how they could solve this problem.

Story is very good. Makes me think of the quality of old style adventure games. I tried not to figure out the story too much but I had a couple of ideas which were sort of right and sort of not. I definitely didn't finish it and groan or go - "I knew it!". It's not a long epic story like the longest journey or grim fandango - it's more like a short story. In fact, if anyone would have made a Twilight Zone game, this would have been the perfect one.(thinking of the original b+w shows). Huge reliance on the story and characters, not so much for action or effects. The protagonist is confused and powerless in many of the stories. And endings that made you go  - oh, ok.  I don't want to make out too much out of it like it's some amazing story, or a great twisty turny narrative - but it's good. I think it works and I like that it's understated.

Some critiques about things that should have been done to make it more of a silent hill game seem off the mark to me now that I've finished it. This isn't a game that is trying to be like other silent hills - it has a different tone. Combat and more grotesque horrors would make it more action horror oriented and would I think compromise the feelings of sadness and loss that is in the story. Of course that is looking back - playing it at the time and expecting a silent hill story I can see why people would be frustrated at the way everything unfolds. But looking at it now, I think it works pretty well. This game would probably have been received better critically if it didn't have the silent hill name but I doubt it would have gotten any of the attention. Would have been the cult game that nobody played.

I think the wii controls helped the experience as well. A little bit for immersion and also for injecting a bit of novelty and play in the experience. Otherwise manipulating objects would be more tedious and puzzles even less interesting.

I also liked that there are no standard game elements - no health meters, no med packs, no boss fights, no scrounging through the environment for loot and weapons and not really an inventory either. Again, it's more like the old point and click  games  except those would have you hauling around a lot of shit to solve more complicated puzzles. That's one thing I think they could have done without wrecking the tone, but too much of that and it turns into a puzzle game.

I like the approach they took with this. Fairly gutsy in the economic uncertainty and safe sequel environment we're in now- I don't think it would have flown on the other consoles. I think on the wii they were unsure enough of the audience that it got approved. Plus the recent SH games not doing so well must have contributed. I'd say play it if you can get past any silent hill expectations and don't mind the no combat and are ok with  a creepy mystery/suspense story rather than a full blown freak out horror story. Definitely if you have a love of point and click adventure games.

Sounds like I would be disappointed. Did you play SH1? How is it comparable.

Damn I should listen to myself more often.