Silent Hill Homecoming Review

I approached this title not knowing how I would feel returning to the creepy town of Silent Hill or whether or not my stay there would be an enjoyable one (and no, Alex Shepherd brandishing a very large steel pipe does nothing for me)… There are so many aspects of this game I want to touch on, especially the changes made to combat, and will try my best to do so.

What you witness at the beginning is Alex being wheeled into the infamous Alchemilla Hospital. You break free and are now on what seems like a wild goose chase to find your missing brother Joshua. Nothing surprising here, because as we all know; looking for a lost loved one is what seems to be the catalyst for these games.

After a bit Alex returns to his hometown Shepherd’s Glen and it’s here he realises that the place isn’t quite in the same condition he remembered it to be. After some strange occurrences (trying to keep this spoiler-free) he winds up in the notorious dilapidated resort town that is Silent Hill.

Team Silent has handed over the responsibility to a US developer known as Double Helix. And yes there are subtle changes to the franchise, but trust me on this, they aren’t bad changes.

When I played Origins on my PSP I did nothing but whine about how old and stale the series has become and I’m so glad that Homecoming adds a few minor alterations while still capturing the same Silent Hill feel that we know and love.

The first thing you will notice is movement is slightly different. You move forward and back with the left analogue stick and turn left or right with the right stick. Whilst taking a moment or two to get used to, this is far more responsive and intuitive and I am definitely an advocate for it. The camera does a good job at staying behind Alex for majority of the time.

Combat has also been tweaked as well. When using melee weapons your left trigger readies you in position to strike and you press A for swift attacks and X for harder (but slower) strikes. When using a gun, you ready with left trigger then aim with your right analogue stick and fire with the right trigger. You can also move Alex during this time. While it does sound complicated at first, it is actually a major improvement.

Another main change is the addition of the ability to dodge attacks. This gets absolutely necessary later in the game (as there is never a plethora of ammo) and can be performed with the B button. If you then combine the B button with a direction, Alex will perform a dodge roll in that direction.

The sound in this game is phenomenal. Akira Yamaoka is back and at it again and the music and sound effects are as disturbing and horrific as ever. Definitely a strong point for maintaining such a ghastly atmosphere.

Another nice feature is when you use weapons on an enemy you can actually see the damage it does to them. For example if you dodge and sneak an axe swing into it’s skin from behind, the impact will leave a wound. Slash it a few times with your knife and you will see the result on your fiend’s flesh. It’s these little things that make you realise just how far gaming has come.

There are some really disturbing scenes. I remember walking into like a vault and seeing a topless man try to slash himself open with a blade only to be reprimanded by "something else" and having his wounds multiply and bleed profusely until he dies. This game has made me jump at sudden startling scares as well as made my skin crawl with some really sick and twisted moments.

Everything you could want in a Silent Hill game is here; grainy screen effect, bizarre and cold characters, desolate places to explore, creepy and exceptional monster design, and because this is the first installment on a next-generation console it looks absolutely remarkable.

If you do decide to venture into Silent Hill again, you won’t be disappointed; even Pyramid Head is here!

I give this amazingly disturbing game 8 purrrs out of 10.

I am known to add stuff to my reviews from time to time so what you are reading may not be all that I intend to write.

I’m glad you enjoyed the game, Purrr. 🙂 I definitely find this to be a more entertaining game than some of the other Silent Hills.

But I still do not understand why you’re not fascinated by Alex holding a steel pipe… I’d say he’s best steel pipe handler out of all the protagonists. 😀

It’s a shame that Akira did not release a more in depth soundtrack for the game. I liked a lot of the tracks that were not in the promotional soundtrack, and some of the remixes did not do it for me.

Trust me, Alex is beginning to grow on me (pun intended) 😉

I would like to say I don’t find your review very good.

You’re too liberal in your rating system, imo.

I would like to say I don’t find your review very good.

You’re too liberal in your rating system, imo.

Who cares? It’s his thoughts. If you didn’t find the review of any help to you, move on.

And those are mine.

If you didn’t find them helpful to you, move on.

I agree that the combat system is a big step up. I found myself getting clobbered at first, but through patience and determination, I got fairly decent and it was hella satisfying to be able to melee multiple enemies w/o taking damage by the end of the game.

When I first started playing, the storytelling seemed disjointed and confusing. While I was still (especially) confused at the end, I was able to think it through and see what they were trying to accomplish and what kind of story they were trying to tell. In fact, minute details in the environment and the puzzles actually end up tying into the overall narrative in clever and subtle ways.

The multiple endings are tied to decisions made in the game in meaningful ways, just as all of the endings in the series. I really don’t think the series gets enough credit for this, with most people wondering WHICH ENDING IS CANON.

Well, they ALL are, based on YOUR decisions. You can write the UFO endings off as a joke, but I think the way they tied the entries from the first 3 games together gets them a free pass to just include it in every entry just for their own sake. It’s funny and it’s camp and it pretty much opens the door for us to think of these tragic characters in goofy and endearing ways, in addition to their allegorical functions.

I’ve already said I won’t attach a numerical value because I’m way too biased, but I really loved it. The second 3 games in this series vary in large ways from the original trilogy, but I think everything new they have brought has been worthwhile and enjoyable. Having this full perspective, now, I can say I look forward to Shattered Memories without the apprehension I once had, because even though a lot is being changed, I know this series benefits and flourishes from innovation.

fanboy out~

i have this game and i had to say i was mostly disappointed at this one and i enjoy silent hill games since the 1st one of the series… and keep in mind i did try to keep a open mind on this game and but there are some games from time to time that will almost become unplayable… it’s not a bad game but not a good one ether… combat had to be the worse part of the whole game… i didn’t see the point on to this as it forces you to use the knife the most of the game and don’t get me started on the boss fight! but even they made this game too hard to begin with. the whole dodge button was pointless and so was the weak to strong attacks. the boss fights were bad in this game as they get in your face and didn’t leave you alone or give you space… story was not bad and the characters were likeable as they give me a reason to beat the game and see it to the end but then we go back to the bloody combat and many time i almost give up and stop playing but i would not be a true fan to the series if i did that so i kept at it… but guess what… i made it to the end boss and well barely no ammo or health items and i can’t go back to check for any more to help so once i got to the point when i fight the final boss and run out of ammo… well then i tried close range fight but guess what the boss will not let me close or long enough to do anything so i had to start over after 5 times… doing chap like that does not make a game any more fun as you had to do everything over… in the end it look and sounds like silent hill but does not play like one… orgins did a better job at that then homecoming did and i hate to say that as well… this was more of a disappoint then i was playing street fighter 4 which also had messed up the combat system as well…

well if you enjoy it then i good but for some like me this game mostly failed… i hope the next one would be a little bit better but then again who knows but i wish team silent get back at making the games that what i think… but don’t get me wrong there are some things i do like about this game as looks very nice and sounds are awesome but the story and combat takes this game down and keeps it down as many of the good stuff are not enjoy as much and this game felt too much work then having fun… but if you enjoy doing all that crazy combo stuff and ducking like there no tomorrow then this may be the game for you if not then you may not want to play it to begin with…

i give homecoming a 4 out of 10.

i felt a need to write this as i fond purr’s review was kinda one sided and i know some will not enjoy this game. so, i thought it would be better if there was two views instead of just one… i hope this is helpful to someone…

It took a while for me to enjoy this installment. But still, I think if it played like the first 4 I probably would’ve enjoyed it more because I didn’t get the same creepy feeling I used to.

But nonetheless, I still like it.