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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Silent Hill: Downpour - IGN review...the score is...

theprof00 on 12 March 2012
Zim said:
It really is kinda crazy to think that Silent Hill games used to be some of the best around. 1 and 2 were both staggering for the time and 3 was still pretty fantastic from what I hear.

I do wonder if Konami even really care about the series anymore or are simply happy to throw the game to new developers constantly and happy that it will sell to the loyal fans.

Gotta say as well that graphically the game is pretty shocking for what is an entry into a major franchise. Sometimes it looks okay but at other times it looks a bit like an Xbox game simply put in HD. Specifically the scenes with fog, comparing them to the fog in Alan Wake makes them look awful.

Well, see, the fog was always meant to allow the devs to make a really good looking area by removing the drawdistance. So long as they didn't have to show the length of the street, the game would look really great for its time and run really well.

At the same time, it leant a mystery to the game that was great for atmosphere.

The move to the newer games is two-fold.

One, they lost a lot of the fog. This results in the atmosphere being 'not quite as claustrophobically scary, as well as it forces the devs to lower the graphic level so that the game can appear capable of rendering larger areas.

Two, the developers are too modern, and too task oriented. What I mean by this, is that fog was a very 'creative' way of dealing with the hardware bottlenecks. They couldn't render a whole city, so they introduced a fog that allowed them to circumvent it altogether while at the same time contributing to atmosphere. This is the kind of creativity that provided for really interesting monster development; monsters that really fit the main character. SH2's narrative revolved around a guy with sexual problems, thereby all the monsters were sexy nurses, and pyramid head is a sure phallic symbol, etc etc etc.

Put together, you can just see how fog is a symbol for talent. As time has gone on in SH, there has been less and less fog. SH is now only a self reference to itself and nothing more. Sexy nurses show up now simply because people like sexy nurses...nothing to do with the character.



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Panama on 12 March 2012

Sub-par combat? So it stays true to the first few entries of the series, that's good to see.

Honestly though IGN can be rather...random. Their God Hand review comes to mind. It's no 10/10 game, but with combat that damn good it's no 3/10 either.



PullusPardus on 12 March 2012

Looks like Konami didn't bribe the shit out of IGN like EA did,

5.5 Presentation
The story in Silent Hill Downpour Mass Effect 3 isn’t half bad, and watching Murphy’s The Prothen's past unfold is one of the more compelling elements in the game, but the half-baked inclusion of choice options feels tacked on.
4.0 Graphics
Some Most cool Generic design ideas that ultimately fall apart under technical issues and drab, boring visuals. Polish problems like framerate stutters and freezing can have a detrimental effect on the gameplay.
6.5 Sound
The music effects are fairly sparse aside from some creepy Inceptiion rip off sound effects here and there to set the mood, and the Korn theme song Dubstep Earrape likely isn’t for everyone. The voice work is hit and miss, they just added MOAR GENERIC VOICE ACTORS! (Chobot)
4.0 Gameplay
A heavy reliance on sub-par combat and dull exploration elements make this one a frustrating bore to play.
11.9 Lasting Appeal
Downpour Mass Effect isn’t terribly long, because most of the game is cut to DLC but completing the extra Boring ass side missions will extend the experience. Unfortunately, that experience is still deeply flawed, but who cares they gave us good chunk of money , GOTY!!


Dr.Grass on 12 March 2012
PullusPardus said:

Looks like Konami didn't bride the shit out of IGN like EA did,

5.5 Presentation
The story in Silent Hill Downpour Mass Effect 3 isn’t half bad, and watching Murphy’s The Prothen's past unfold is one of the more compelling elements in the game, but the half-baked inclusion of choice options feels tacked on.
4.0 Graphics
Some Most cool Generic design ideas that ultimately fall apart under technical issues and drab, boring visuals. Polish problems like framerate stutters and freezing can have a detrimental effect on the gameplay.
6.5 Sound
The music effects are fairly sparse aside from some creepy Inceptiion rip off sound effects here and there to set the mood, and the Korn theme song Dubstep Earrape likely isn’t for everyone. The voice work is hit and miss, they just added MOAR GENERIC VOICE ACTORS! (Chobot)
4.0 Gameplay
A heavy reliance on sub-par combat and dull exploration elements make this one a frustrating bore to play.
11.9 Lasting Appeal
Downpour Mass Effect isn’t terribly long, because most of the game is cut to DLC but completing the extra Boring ass side missions will extend the experience. Unfortunately, that experience is still deeply flawed, but who cares they gave us good chunk of money , GOTY!!

Dunno why, but I really like this.



theprof00 on 12 March 2012
PullusPardus said:

Looks like Konami didn't bribe the shit out of IGN like EA did,

5.5 Presentation
The story in Silent Hill Downpour Mass Effect 3 isn’t half bad, and watching Murphy’s The Prothen's past unfold is one of the more compelling elements in the game, but the half-baked inclusion of choice options feels tacked on.
4.0 Graphics
Some Most cool Generic design ideas that ultimately fall apart under technical issues and drab, boring visuals. Polish problems like framerate stutters and freezing can have a detrimental effect on the gameplay.
6.5 Sound
The music effects are fairly sparse aside from some creepy Inceptiion rip off sound effects here and there to set the mood, and the Korn theme song Dubstep Earrape likely isn’t for everyone. The voice work is hit and miss, they just added MOAR GENERIC VOICE ACTORS! (Chobot)
4.0 Gameplay
A heavy reliance on sub-par combat and dull exploration elements make this one a frustrating bore to play.
11.9 Lasting Appeal
Downpour Mass Effect isn’t terribly long, because most of the game is cut to DLC but completing the extra Boring ass side missions will extend the experience. Unfortunately, that experience is still deeply flawed, but who cares they gave us good chunk of money , GOTY!!

I remember playing ME 2, and was like, why the hell do people like this game. How boring and serious and just bland.

What's funny is that most of its fans probably hated Heavy Rain, but ME2 the movie/the game is more akin to a studio flexing its ability to make things look like movie settings (the bar scene) but devoid of anything really engaging... It's like Bioware's end goal was to get Hollywood jobs, not make a good game.

/end rant



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hatmoza on 12 March 2012
Troll_Whisperer said:
I was considering buying this. I thought Homecoming was OK (not as good as previous ones but still fun).

I'll have to read a few reviews, but if Downpour's as bad as it seems I'll have to forget about enjoying a good Silent Hill...


The HD collection will remedy that for me since 2 is the only SH I never played. Word on the street it's the best SH.



I am the black sheep     "of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong."-Robert Anton Wilson

PullusPardus on 12 March 2012
theprof00 said:
PullusPardus said:

Looks like Konami didn't bribe the shit out of IGN like EA did,

5.5 Presentation
The story in Silent Hill Downpour Mass Effect 3 isn’t half bad, and watching Murphy’s The Prothen's past unfold is one of the more compelling elements in the game, but the half-baked inclusion of choice options feels tacked on.
4.0 Graphics
Some Most cool Generic design ideas that ultimately fall apart under technical issues and drab, boring visuals. Polish problems like framerate stutters and freezing can have a detrimental effect on the gameplay.
6.5 Sound
The music effects are fairly sparse aside from some creepy Inceptiion rip off sound effects here and there to set the mood, and the Korn theme song Dubstep Earrape likely isn’t for everyone. The voice work is hit and miss, they just added MOAR GENERIC VOICE ACTORS! (Chobot)
4.0 Gameplay
A heavy reliance on sub-par combat and dull exploration elements make this one a frustrating bore to play.
11.9 Lasting Appeal
Downpour Mass Effect isn’t terribly long, because most of the game is cut to DLC but completing the extra Boring ass side missions will extend the experience. Unfortunately, that experience is still deeply flawed, but who cares they gave us good chunk of money , GOTY!!

I remember playing ME 2, and was like, why the hell do people like this game. How boring and serious and just bland.

What's funny is that most of its fans probably hated Heavy Rain, but ME2 the movie/the game is more akin to a studio flexing its ability to make things look like movie settings (the bar scene) but devoid of anything really engaging... It's like Bioware's end goal was to get Hollywood jobs, not make a good game.

/end rant


Well people liked the series like myself liked it because the first game was an RPG, it was immersive and felt great to just explore and immerse yourself in, but then it turned into a space shooter with missions and all that generic crap.