Silent Hill: Homecoming – PS3 – Preview 2

E3 2008 GameZone Previews

E3 2008 Preview

Before Silent Hill: Homecoming was
playable, its existence was shocking. No one was surprised that Konami wanted to
publish a sequel. What surprised us is that Konami decided not to develop this
Silent Hill title themselves, instead passing the torch to
Double Helix, an amalgamation of developers from The Collective and Shiny
Entertainment. Though I have nothing against the developer, the question that
kept running through my mind was why would Konami, who has previously developed
the console Silent Hill games in-house, outsource their prized material to
another party?

The reason is because Double Helix
showed that, if nothing else, they know how to make a Silent Hill game. They
nailed the graphics, enhanced the sound, offered similar scenarios and
reiterated the tried-and-true combat system without mucking it up. If you were
afraid the Silent Hill series was moving away from its roots, don’t be:
Homecoming is just like the previous releases.

It’s All In The Sound

Given the noise surrounding E3, even
a smaller and sometimes way-too-quiet show like this year’s event, Konami wanted
to be certain that we could hear all that the new Silent Hill had to offer.
Rather than crank the speakers and drown out players checking out the nearby
Rock Revolution kiosks (or Elebits — scary games might chase them away), Konami
drenched our ears in surround sound headphones. I’ve had this kind of gaming
experience before (one with sound being pumped into my ears), and this is by far
one of the most amazing. The variety and subtlety of every sound is
unbelievable. The music poured through at all times while other sound effects
were included whenever necessary. There was a scratchy sound that — and this is
going to sound very weird — actually made my ears itch. Maybe it was the
loudness of the headphones, or maybe these sound designers know exactly what
they’re doing.


Silent Hill: Homecoming PlayStation 3 screenshots

Footsteps, shattering glass, whining
monsters — these are the expected elements of a Silent Hill game. But in
Homecoming you aren’t limited to handful of sounds at one time. Throughout most
of the demo, you were hearing several things simultaneously. An occasional
voice, a baby crying, the sound of a blade slicing through flesh — it’s all
here and it’s all very engrossing. Not because we haven’t heard those sounds
before, and not because they’re particularly cool or interesting. But because of
the way they were implemented in this game, which could very well be its most
prominent feature when it’s released in September.

Still Dark. Still Creepy.

Homecoming may feature a new engine
but it doesn’t stray from the series’ past. The graphics are purposely grainy (a
slight grain — not the excessive overlay of Silent Hill 2), and the shadows are
extremely well done. One of the coolest things is that, when a shadow is placed
strategically in a level, it can make you walk right past the next place you’re
supposed to go. It sounds frustrating and doesn’t appear to be an intentional
feature (at least the Capcom reps didn’t think so), but it’s actually cool and
eerie.

The character models are very well
rendered, but the stiff animations of the previous games have not been enhanced.
The lead character, Alex Shepherd, moves just like the lead character of the
first game. An odd decision considering this is a next-gen title. Konami must
not be ready to move the series away from its past. Double Helix certainly
wasn’t.


Silent Hill: Homecoming PlayStation 3 screenshots

Bugs, big and small, are frequent
attackers in Homecoming, as are the demonic nurses who should never be allowed
to hold a scalpel. No boss battles were encountered (the demo crashed just
before the end, where a boss might have been waiting…), but there were plenty
of dank environments to explore. Many were from the Silent Hill line of
development: lots of hallways covered in red and brown textures, with a mix of
black and other dark hues to give it the most creepy appearance possible.

It’s hard to get scared in a bright
video game event like E3, but based on the demo Konami had on display, it
appears that Double Helix has done a solid job in creating a traditional Silent
Hill sequel. Look for it to creep into stores this September.


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