While Fahey only went rods and cones on with Silent Hill: Homecoming at E3, I got to spend a few minutes with the Double Helix developed horror game, most of which was spent wrapping my head around the game’s new control scheme. After some initial fumbling, which led protagonist Alex Shepherd bumping into walls and ambling backwards unintentionally, I got it.
It’s not like Silent Hill has ever had an exemplary control set up. Homecoming at least gets some credit for making the experience feel a bit more intuitive, once one breaks old Silent Hill habits and allows for easier access to your inventory. After some grumbling — and a confused search for a quick turn button — it felt like a change for the best.
No longer will we have to anxiously await Silent Hill 5 at some unknown date in the future! Now we can anxiously await Silent Hill: Homecoming, due out at the end of September for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, to help usher in the hectic fall gaming season. The latest installment of the now venerable series features shiny new graphics, an enhanced combat system, an all new protagonist in one Alex Shepard, returning home to solve the mystery of his missing brother, and not a bloodbath at the Homecoming Dance as I had hoped for. Oh well, there’s always Prom Night.
As someone who has as-of-yet not visited Japan, I still imagine it is a place where cutting-edge game development technology is lurking around every corner – stuff so far beyond what we have in the U.S. that we look like cavemen in comparison. Apparently my imagination is a little bit off, as according to Konami sound director Akira Yamaoka, Japan is falling behind. In an interview with Gamasutra (originally printed in expurgated form in Game Developer Magazine), Yamaoka touches on the differences he’s noticed while working with California’s The Collective on Silent Hill 5.
There’s a huge gap, actually. They’re very advanced. I’m Japanese, and I think this is not just with Silent Hill but with the whole of the industry — I look at what American developers are doing and I think wow… Japan is in trouble.”
Later he explains why he thinks his country is falling behind on the game development front, explaining that the nature of the publisher / developer relationship in Japan as well as low salaries contribute to games that need to be created fast and cheap, stifling innovation in the industry – much like we’ve feared would happen here for years. So you’ve got pressure on these people to perform like they did when they were 20, and it’s just not possible. I look at a game magazine, and I see interviews with the “important creators,” like Mr. Sakaguchi. He’s a great game creator, but he’s not young. And I don’t see many young game creators in Japan. Then I look at the west, and I see all these young guys coming up so fast, it’s just amazing.
He raises a very good point, doesn’t he? Think of our favorite Japanese developers. Miyamoto. Sakaguchi. Kojima. Not exactly Spring chickens.
Not much more to add, really. Gameplay footage of the upcoming Silent Hill 5 for PS3 and 360. Well, guess we could run through the Silent Hill checklist, just to pass the time while it’s buffering. Rust? Check. Busted-up old bathrooms? Check. Copious use of flashlights? Check. Guess everything’s in order, then! More »
The folks at 1Up get a first look at Silent Hill 5 and man does it look great. From what I can see in the clips of the game shown throughout this piece, it’s everything you are going to want from Silent Hill on a next gen platform. The scenes of Silent Hill changing to evil Silent Hill are delivered as promised, in real time while you are actually playing the game and draws directly from the method used in the Silent Hill movie. While it may have had it’s faults, the film version did have a lot of interesting ways of treating the environment which translates quite nicely into the video game format. It’s also nice to see that they are going back to the elements that made SH 2 the best in the series and steering away from the sometimes clunky mechanics of SH 4. If you are a Silent Hill fan, you’re going to love this clip. What are you waiting for? Press play! More »
There’s been a dry spell. After bam-bam-bam four Silent Hill games in five years, fans have had to wait for the fifth entry in the series. The next issue (out September 4th) of game mag EGM has details about the still-in-development Silent Hill 5. The game is populated with new characters, but takes place in the same world. The game follows a young war vet who believes his brother is in danger and returns home. According to EGM, the game’s combat system is getting reworked, but it will not be an action game. While originally developed in Japan, American studio The Collective is bringing the new title to life. Series composer Akira Yamaoka finds the switcheroo ironic as SH was Konami’s stab “at making classic American horror through a Japanese filter,” but with Silent Hill 5 “it’s an American take on a Japanese-filter American horror.” Woah. Heavy. I think I need to lie down, take a break. Back in five! SH5 Details [1Up] More »
