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^ I got that one too. I was actually taking a drink of my pop when it came up so it legitimately jolted me for a second.
Edit: Played a lot tonight. Still not going to give away spoilers, but... damn, I'm so glad that some nobody Czech development studio learned so much from studying the older games. They really seem like they paid attention to what makes a game atmospheric and tense. Definitely a game that has been putting me on edge, I'm really pleasantly surprised.
Edit edit: Oh yeah, might as well absolutely praise the puzzle design. The highlight of the puzzles was definitely when... well I know it's a spoiler thread, but even so, definitely when Spoiler:
Murphy is putting on the Hansel and Gretel show, and just... out of nowhere, the entire thing comes to life in a huge thunderstorm. Then when you go in the cabin and do that puzzle, then leave, the cabin just flops down like it's a normal standee.
Seriously though, who listens to them anymore anyways? XD Every other reviewer is going for 7 or 7.5/10. Me personally? 9/10. The combat just needs a little more tweaking, but other than that I really can't find major flaws in the game.
The survival horror fan in me wants to give this a 8-9/10 as well. I was shaken up by the idea that Homecoming was rated higher than Downpour, but clearly whoever wrote that Downpour review either forgot or has never played a traditional survival horror title before, let alone from Silent Hill 2 and 3 which the reviewer ironically praises as the 'glory days'.
Just got home from work. Picked up Downpour on the way while I paid off the rest of ORC. Putting it in now, shit is about to get real.
"One can only match, move by move, the machinations of fate... and thus defy the tyrannous stars." Resident Evil/Castlevania/Silent Hill/Onimusha/Tekken/Dark Souls
I'm in the caves, killed one of the cave monsters and ran from the rest. Tough bastards.
Dying, no med kits left.
Stopping for tonight.
"One can only match, move by move, the machinations of fate... and thus defy the tyrannous stars." Resident Evil/Castlevania/Silent Hill/Onimusha/Tekken/Dark Souls
Well, I just beat the game and I'm not sure which of the six endings I got, but it was a positive one at least.
This game is by and large, one of the best in the series. I'm absolutely stunned at how well Vatra Games did. While I don't like comparing SH games to the "golden trio", I will honestly say that this game holds up incredibly well against them, and is the best since then. To think that some company that had only one game on their record, a download-only arcade-style action shooter, is able to come up with this, blows my mind.
If they work on more SH games, and can consistently keep them as good as they made this, I have no issue labeling them as the second coming of Team Silent.
Good luck getting lost for forty minutes at a time.
THIS. XD I picked it up before work today and got started after work. Maybe it's because I'm running a fever, maybe it's the Nyquil making me sleepy, but I keep getting lost. xD
Anyway, my no-spoiler review for Downpour that... just so happens to be going into spoiler tags because it's a wall o' text.
Spoiler:
I just finished this game tonight, and I'll just say it now: Vatra Games, the totally unknown Czech development studio that's only ever made one downloadable action title, is the first and only serious threat in terms of quality to the original Team Silent for the series. They've completely outdone themselves with this eigth installment in the franchise. I was honestly not expecting much from a company that had nothing more going for it than "Rush'n Attack: Ex-Patriot", but I've been proven absolutely wrong (and I'm very, very glad for that).
Story: Without getting into spoilers, the game starts with protagonist Murphy Pendleton in Ryall Prison. After a short tutorial sequence, Murphy is put on a prison transport bus to be transferred to another facility. As luck (or fate) would have it, the bus ends up crashing and throwing everything into disarray, which Murphy then uses to escape. The player must guide Mr. Pendleton through the town in order to escape, but of course, things never turn out so easily...
Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that Vatra Games has crafted a haunting, deeply disturbing tale rivaling that of the series favorite Silent Hill 2. The game knows how to expertly hook the player, throwing crumbs for story hints, and forcing the player deeper into the rabbit hole, with six possible endings to uncover depending on how the game is played. A fantastic job.
And yes, there is a UFO ending, of course.
Gameplay: The game plays like a lovechild between the old-school and new-school games in the series while even adding its own major ideas into the game. And yet, it fits so naturally with the way it's exectured that you can't help but congratulate Vatra on a job well-done. First, even before you start the game, you see that the infamous split between combat difficulty and puzzle difficulty has returned. The game is over-the-shoulder, but when enemies are nearby it zooms out more like the older games. Combat is simple, and while it gets the job done, it can be somewhat tedious at times. You attack with X on the 360/Square on the PS3, and block with Y/Triangle. You can hold the attack button to charge your hit. Like any SH game, if you don't finish the enemy off once they're on the ground, they'll get back up.
The game uses the Origins-style "find a weapon, but it's breakable" system, however it refines it. Now, you can carry a whopping maximum of one melee weapon and one firearm at a time (or two firearms). However, unlike Origins, when you pick up a melee weapon it won't just shatter after two hits with the exception being a glass bottle (but that makes sense). The enemy variety isn't incredibly vast, with maybe 5 enemy types and some variations, but you never really notice unless you're really paying attention to stuff like that.
Now, I'm sure people are wondering how the Otherworld does in this game. It forgoes the Shattered Memories "frozen hell" for a more traditional, industrial-style Otherworld. However, it does still pull from Shattered Memories in that much of the Overworld is spent either solving puzzles or running from the Void. The Void is just what it sounds like: a vortex that appears from time to time that can't be stopped, and Murphy must run from it through winding pathways or risk being torn apart by it. As you run, you can throw down obstacles to slow the Void. These moments, much like Shattered Memories' version of the chase scene, are heartpounding and absolutely thrilling. You have to constantly pay attention to where you're going and make quick decisions in a panic in order to stay alive. These moments serve to keep you on edge constantly.
Now, what the game prides itself on is exploration. Upon reaching the never-before-explored southeastern portion of Silent Hill, Murphy is more or less given a general direction, then from there he's on his own to explore the town. While the town is shrouded in intense fog as in previous titles, what sets this one apart is the rain dynamic. It's completely randomized, but at times it will start to storm in the town. When it starts to rain, more enemies come out and they are far more aggressive than normal. This helps to encourage running away as opposed to fighting, much like the original trilogy. The game mentions that you should always seek shelter until the rain subsides, and this portion of Silent Hill is more open than any of the other titles; you can enter many of the buildings, and much of the time, you'll accidentally stumble onto sidequests because of it.
That's the big addition Vatra threw in to spice the game up with their own flavor: sidequests. Sure, we had one or two in the original trilogy, but this game is laden with them all around town, just waiting to be uncovered. They're completely optional, but in my opinion they add a lot to the gameplay, and extend the game's replayability quite possibly far beyond any previous game in the series. I only accidentally found one or two on this first playthrough, but they were downright bonechilling. Which leads me to my next point...
Scare/Creep Factor: It's a Silent Hill game. If it isn't scary, it doesn't deserve the name, right? Now, ever since Silent Hill 4, it has been argued that the series has been declining, and the most affected place was the scare factor. People said it just wasn't there like it used to be. Thankfully, Vatra has decided that this trend simply would not do. Instead, it seems like they've scrutinized everything in the series that would work effectively with all sorts of scares. It has pop-out scares, psychological scares, and much of the time it's dripping with atmosphere in a dark building.
Vatra Games nailed the feeling of Silent Hills 1-3 perfectly with the complete sense of embracing the random and downright strange nature of the town, such as the infamous Mirror Room in SH3, or the completely impossible architecture found throughout the Otherworlds of the previous titles. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that one of the highlights for me in regards to this in Downpour is a certain puzzle in the orphanage; it came completely out of left field and it reminded me that Vatra understood just as well as Team Silent how to make something stunningly bizarre and yet make so much sense given the insane nature of the town.
Also, as an added little touch, during loading screens where it usually gives tutorials, a random, creepy message will pop up from time to time. I've gotten such lovely ones as "STOP DOING THAT.", "They never loved you.", "Are you sure you're alone?", and "They're in the room, you just can't see them.", among others.
Also contributing to the creepiness of the game is the...
Music: I saved this for last on purpose. Everyone knows that Akira Yamaoka is no longer here, and I know that people are going to automatically dock points for that. I'm here to say that those people aren't being remotely fair to the game in that regard. Daniel Licht, composer for the serial killer drama/thriller Dexter, comes on strong in his premiere video game performance. He takes a different route to the music that Akira Yamaoka does, but don't let that put you off; he still ends up with a creepy, dark, industrial sound, but he does so with his own unique touch. This game shows that Daniel Licht is a worthy successor to the godly Akira, and I can't wait to hear his work for other entries in the series if he chooses to continue working with Konami.
Also, Daniel Licht worked with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who provided vocals for two of the songs, so for those who were worried about that, rest easy. Mary is, according to Daniel, "an essential component to the score".
Bottom Line: This is my favorite game since the original trilogy. 4 was pretty good, I liked Homecoming, I thought Origins was decent, and I liked Shattered Memories. However, Downpour is the first in the series since Silent Hill 3 where the experience literally left me afraid once I turned off the game and looked around in my pitch-black basement. Vatra Games has proven themselves in the world of survival horror, and if they can keep up what they've done here with this title, I've no doubt that people will call them the second coming of Team Silent.
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