- Harry has crashed on the side of the road while in a snowstorm.
- Harry’s daughter is missing, and he sets off into Silent Hill to find her
- game kicks off with in a psychiatrist’s office where we hear of a new patient arriving. After that exchange, we see Harry fall from his car into the snow just after his crash. We then flash back to the office with the psychiatrist talking to this new patient
- camera is first person during the office segment. You can look around while the psychiatrist talks
- you must fill out a psychiatric profile
- when asked questions by the psychiatrist, you can wave your Wiimote up and down/left to right to answer
- after this exchange you flash back to the accident with Harry calling for his daughter
- almost every decision you make impacts the game. For example, if you first choose to look at your map or a girlie calendar on the wall, the game makes note of this decision
- an example of early changes: as you fill out your profile, the game will present you with different situations. When walking through town, you might see an open bar or an open diner. These things change as you make more and more choices
- minus button to bring up your phone, which houses all sorts of important information
- use phone to dial, take pics, text, check voicemail, browse phonebook, changes options and settings (whose viewer shows a slowed framerate a la iPhone) to take and store pictures, check text messages and voice mail, look through your phone book, and access game options and settings
- take pictures of the environment to reveal new details: take a picture of a swingset with no one around it, look at the pic to see your daughter sitting on the swing
- pictures can cue voicemails and other occurrences
- game world changes from Silent Hill to evil Silent Hill right before your eyes
- no longer a hellish look…things are more ‘icy’
- static on your phone still clues you in as it did in past games
- stunning flashlight effects
- Nunchuk to walk, hold Z to run, C for 180-turn, A for actions, B-trigger plus A to pick items up, D-pad for phone, D-pad down to view behind you
- intelligent enemies will hunt you down, talk to other enemies to find you, open doors and climb fences
- one again, no weapons
- Harry talks to himself throughout the game to rehash info
- no load times
- camera filter returns from previous games
- flashlight will even light up snowflakes
- Wii is the lead platform
http://wii.ign.com/articles/971/971316p1.html
April 9, 2009 - All sorts of thoughts are racing through my head as I sit in a demo room at Konami's Manhattan Beach, California office is mid-March while waiting for company representatives to boot up the Wii action-horror game Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. I think, this title came out of nowhere -- a real surprise. Does that mean I should be worried? And then, well, it is developed by Climax, the same studio which did Origins for PSP and more recently the good-looking Overlord: Dark Legend for Wii. These guys seem to know what they're doing and they have demonstrated a certain respect for Nintendo's console, something of a rarity for a third-party. Hopefully they don't eff this one up because if it's an on-rails shooter, I don't think I'm going to be able to fake enthusiasm. Forty-five minutes later, I'm calling my editor, Mark Bozon on my cell phone. "Man, you're going to hate me," I say. "I just saw what could be the most impressive third-party game on Wii." There's nothing better than being unexpectedly blown away.
Bear in mind, I spent about 15 minutes with the game and my experience was eyes-on, not hands-on. Still I've been doing this for long enough to spot a quality project when I see one and Shattered Memories has incredible written all over it. The specifics will follow, but here are the footnotes: absolutely outstanding technology, superbly implemented controls, extremely moody atmosphere and smart design. Rarely do I walk away from a demo without any negatives, but the only thing I could come up with as I relayed my experience to Bozon on the phone was so trivial that that it was barely worth mentioning.
You're going to read this a lot -- in previews, interviews, whatever -- but while Shattered Memories is based on the characters and events that powered the original game, it is not so much a remake as it is a re-imagining. You play as Harry Mason, crashed on the side of the road in the middle of a snowstorm. He wakes to find his daughter gone and proceeds to look for her throughout the eerie town of Silent Hill. If you played the PlayStation game, this probably all sounds familiar, but rest assured that the plot diverges quickly. Take, for example, the very presentation of this initial setup, which is already different.
The game opens on a psychiatrist's office. A man, presumably the physician, pours a glass of alcohol. It's snowing outside. As he sips, the phone rings. "A new patient is here -- they're here early," a voice says on the line. "That's fine. We can start now," replies the psychiatrist. Then, abruptly, the scene changes to Harry as he falls from his wrecked car to the snowy pavement below and loses his glasses.
Back in the office. "I'm glad you came. Just turning up shows your commitment to the process," says the psychiatrist. "I've read your notes. The other therapist didn't work out for you. This will be different. No notes. No drugs. No theories. We go back from the start. Understand what happened."
This is not a cut-scene. You're able to look around in first-person view while he talks. The office and therapist come to life with realistic detail, the latter donning fluid animations. "Take a look at this short form," the therapist says and hands you a paper. This is where Shattered Dreams really separates itself from any Silent Hill game prior. Labeled Garner Sobel Personality Inventory Form, the paper contains a series of true or false statements that must be filled out via the Wii remote -- just point and click to check the boxes. Two examples: Having a drink helps me relax. I always listen to other people's feelings. The moment you make selections, the game begins your profile and it continues watching and evaluating you as you play.
"You've been unfaithful. Is that true?" he asks. You can answer simply by pointing at the screen and moving up and down or left and right with the Wii remote, in effect nodding yes or no.
The scene changes to the wreck again. "Cheryl! Cheryl! Sweetie?" Harry cries out, but there's no answer. He picks up a flashlight. There are snow particles swirling around in the background, which looks fantastic.
Armed with the flashlight, you take control and everything you do is being monitored, considered. Based on your actions, the game itself changes on the fly. The design of the world. The characters. How they treat you. Everything. When Harry inevitably walks into a deserted office setting and looks around, the game will be analyzing your decisions. If you immediately look for a map, it'll think you're practical. If you look at a girlie picture instead, not so much. Either way, these decisions will incite changes, possibly even some with consequences.
Here's an example. As Harry explores the town, he will soon see through the snow some kind of open establishment. Based on the choices he's made previously -- both in the profile and presumably along the way in his snowy travels -- something will have changed. In some cases, he'll see an open diner. In others, an open bar. As I watched, it was the latter. Harry walks inside, confused, and chats with a bartender.
"I knew this weather couldn't keep everybody away," she says. "Name your poison." He explains that he's there looking for his daughter, shows her a picture and she tells him where she could be hiding on such a snowy evening. "Oh, shit. I'd offer to call for help, but the phones are all out because of the storm," she adds. Harry, meanwhile, is clearly still out of it. He notices to his astonishment that his own ID indicates he lives in Silent Hill. "That accident of yours -- you take a knock to the head?" the bartender asks. A few minutes later, Harry finds himself trekking through the snow again. "Shit -- I should have known where I am," he says. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He decides to go back the way he came and looks to his cell phone for guidance.
