This may contain spoilers. Shattered Memories begins just as the first one did. Harry Mason, a writer is driving with his daughter through Silent Hill, swerves off the road and crashes. Harry awakes a period of time later to discover that his daughter is missing, and goes looking for her. But what makes Shattered Memories special? Remember, this is a revision, not a remake, and it's core follows emphasis on Silent Hill 2 and 4.
The graphics: The graphics are the best you could ask for on the Wii. Sure, they wouldn't be mind boggling on the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3, but they really are beautiful on the Wii. The lighting effects, especially. All the character models in the game are highly detailed and animate beautifully. The environments are well detailed and begging to be examined. When walking through the streets of the town, the snow reflects off your flashlight and the shadows that come off objects are realistically realized and convincing. It's probably one of the best looking Wii game out there.
Sound: Series Mozart Akiria Yamaoka returns (and sadly as it looks like, for the last time, as Yamaoka has left Konami, or at least that's what rumors are saying) and produces yet another bizarre, eerie, thrilling, melancholy and emotional soundtrack. The use of the Wiimote adds much immersion with your cell phone. This was another thing that was complained about in the game by fans, who felt like the addition of the cell phone would eliminate your sense of isolation in the town. To me, if anything, it just adds to the isolation. You see several phone numbers posted everywhere throughout the game, of which you try to call without answer. It really gives you the feeling that you are alone in the town. You can call other characters you have met in the town, but all of them act and respond like they are not seeing and acting upon the same things you are. Your Wiimote emits static, voices come out of it during phone conversations and occasionally it feels like there's somebody in the room actually talking to you. The footsteps, ambiance and sound effects are all very well done.
Gameplay: Gameplay is a key aspect in Silent Hill. This is something that didn't succeed in Homecoming, but works well in Shattered Memories. You still have a sense of exploration and isolation. The beginning and middle of Shattered Memories' Otherworlds consist of simply running away from your enemies until you get to a checkpoint, occasionally having to do puzzles while evading them. It got a bit redundant and disappointing as I progressed through the game, but once I reached just past the middle point, the Otherworld became wholly unpredictable and mind-boggling. Here after the middle point, that line does not become visible any more. If the idea of the "Ice World" turns you off, don't let it. Remember that the Otherworld is what the main character's make it out to be. There's a reason why it's an ice world. It's just a matter of you playing and discovering why. Also, the monsters in the game are simply a canvas in the beginning of the game, to be painted on and molded as you continue your therapy sessions with Dr. Kaufman, taking different appearances depending on your questions and answers you give to your psychiatrist. These psychological tests are brilliantly crafted and affect the game in several different ways, begging you to replay it again and again just to see how it will affect the game.
Overall: Silent Hill Shattered Memories is worthy of your time, if your a fan or not. It is not the bland games that were Origins and Homecoming, it is complicated, full of symbolism in it's characters and psychology, and deeply emotional. The story does not insult the player's intelligence, not spelling everything out for you but instead presenting things to you to figure it out on your own. All the answers are there, it's just a matter of you reading between the lines, a requirement in all Silent Hill games. The twist in Homecoming was bland and predictable, the twist at the end of Shattered Memories is complex, deep and actually gave me a bit of a choke-up. It's what made it a winner in my book. The Silent Hill series has always been known to envoy some sort of emotion in the player. Shattered Memories does not fail. It is confusing, will keep you playing until the very end, at in the end, all the answers are given to you in subtle, creative ways to make it all peace together in a beautiful and compelling way.
Cons: Any cons that I can think of would only be nitpicking. Suck as the slight pause between going through doors in the chase sequences. Running through the Otherworld before the end sequences became a bit redundant and repetitive, but this quickly changed towards the end as the game began to toy around with my head and mixing up the Otherworld into a confusing and tense labyrinth in a search for answers, then the worlds became very special. Another complaint is that since you know that the monsters only appear during the Otherworld chase sequences, it looses that sense of tension. This is fixed towards the end.
Get this game. You will not regret it. It may have a few flaws and may not be perfect, but I consider it my game of the year. After Origins and Homecoming, I began to believe that the Silent Hill series was a dying breed. Shattered Memories restored my faith. It's truly a brilliant game that cannot be missed, experienced and felt by anyone with an open enough mind to see it for what it is. A true Silent Hill game. 9/10.
The graphics: The graphics are the best you could ask for on the Wii. Sure, they wouldn't be mind boggling on the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3, but they really are beautiful on the Wii. The lighting effects, especially. All the character models in the game are highly detailed and animate beautifully. The environments are well detailed and begging to be examined. When walking through the streets of the town, the snow reflects off your flashlight and the shadows that come off objects are realistically realized and convincing. It's probably one of the best looking Wii game out there.
Sound: Series Mozart Akiria Yamaoka returns (and sadly as it looks like, for the last time, as Yamaoka has left Konami, or at least that's what rumors are saying) and produces yet another bizarre, eerie, thrilling, melancholy and emotional soundtrack. The use of the Wiimote adds much immersion with your cell phone. This was another thing that was complained about in the game by fans, who felt like the addition of the cell phone would eliminate your sense of isolation in the town. To me, if anything, it just adds to the isolation. You see several phone numbers posted everywhere throughout the game, of which you try to call without answer. It really gives you the feeling that you are alone in the town. You can call other characters you have met in the town, but all of them act and respond like they are not seeing and acting upon the same things you are. Your Wiimote emits static, voices come out of it during phone conversations and occasionally it feels like there's somebody in the room actually talking to you. The footsteps, ambiance and sound effects are all very well done.
Gameplay: Gameplay is a key aspect in Silent Hill. This is something that didn't succeed in Homecoming, but works well in Shattered Memories. You still have a sense of exploration and isolation. The beginning and middle of Shattered Memories' Otherworlds consist of simply running away from your enemies until you get to a checkpoint, occasionally having to do puzzles while evading them. It got a bit redundant and disappointing as I progressed through the game, but once I reached just past the middle point, the Otherworld became wholly unpredictable and mind-boggling. Here after the middle point, that line does not become visible any more. If the idea of the "Ice World" turns you off, don't let it. Remember that the Otherworld is what the main character's make it out to be. There's a reason why it's an ice world. It's just a matter of you playing and discovering why. Also, the monsters in the game are simply a canvas in the beginning of the game, to be painted on and molded as you continue your therapy sessions with Dr. Kaufman, taking different appearances depending on your questions and answers you give to your psychiatrist. These psychological tests are brilliantly crafted and affect the game in several different ways, begging you to replay it again and again just to see how it will affect the game.
Overall: Silent Hill Shattered Memories is worthy of your time, if your a fan or not. It is not the bland games that were Origins and Homecoming, it is complicated, full of symbolism in it's characters and psychology, and deeply emotional. The story does not insult the player's intelligence, not spelling everything out for you but instead presenting things to you to figure it out on your own. All the answers are there, it's just a matter of you reading between the lines, a requirement in all Silent Hill games. The twist in Homecoming was bland and predictable, the twist at the end of Shattered Memories is complex, deep and actually gave me a bit of a choke-up. It's what made it a winner in my book. The Silent Hill series has always been known to envoy some sort of emotion in the player. Shattered Memories does not fail. It is confusing, will keep you playing until the very end, at in the end, all the answers are given to you in subtle, creative ways to make it all peace together in a beautiful and compelling way.
Cons: Any cons that I can think of would only be nitpicking. Suck as the slight pause between going through doors in the chase sequences. Running through the Otherworld before the end sequences became a bit redundant and repetitive, but this quickly changed towards the end as the game began to toy around with my head and mixing up the Otherworld into a confusing and tense labyrinth in a search for answers, then the worlds became very special. Another complaint is that since you know that the monsters only appear during the Otherworld chase sequences, it looses that sense of tension. This is fixed towards the end.
Get this game. You will not regret it. It may have a few flaws and may not be perfect, but I consider it my game of the year. After Origins and Homecoming, I began to believe that the Silent Hill series was a dying breed. Shattered Memories restored my faith. It's truly a brilliant game that cannot be missed, experienced and felt by anyone with an open enough mind to see it for what it is. A true Silent Hill game. 9/10.