An Improvement to the Series
posted by starlessbird (VANCOUVER, WA) Apr 25, 2012
Member since Apr 2012
3
out of
6
gamers (50%) found this review helpful
From the get go, the game is a rental at best until it hits at least $30. For a Silent Hill game, it isn't great, but it is a step in the right direction and an imporvement over Homecoming.
Graphics are outdated, but not distracting. I played on the PS3 and oh boy were there some problems with framerate. And it isn't a choice of loading screen or slight dip in framerate, because there were loading screens too and half my drops in framerate were during combat scenes or if I turned around too fast (my PS3 is fine). While the outdated graphics were fine, the very obvious stuttering framerate did more to pull me out of the game and distract me than anything else. The blood splatter on the camera was annoying as well.
As far as story and characters go, Downpour did fairly well. The endings were a bit lackluster.
Some things got old fast though. When you open a door and walk into a room, it will eventually close behind you with a loud bang. This is scary twice. Then it gets annoying. There are quite a few gimmics like this. I loved the other sounds in the game though. I quite enjoyed the soundtrack. The monsters however, were lacking and looked pretty generic.
The combat mechanics were frustrating. I like that you had to swing hard and heavy. It means that the emphasis was no longer on combat, like it was in Homecoming. The idea is to run away more than fight. But I found a lot of places where that didn't work. I didn't like the free roam in Silent Hill because half the time I would go somewhere and get into a dead end, then monsters would endlessly spawn behind me. So naturally you get blocked in a corner and get murdered because even blocking staggers you.
The Good:
-Interesting story and character
-Some brilliant moments
-Interesting take on the town
-Great sounds/soundtrack
The Bad:
-The graphics/framerate
-A few bits that get old fast
-Monsters were dull
-The fight or flight/combat mechanics felt unfair
Not great, but an improvement.
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