I think Heather can best sum up my thoughts about Silent Hill: Origins:

"I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole."

Although it may look like crap right now, I looked for a release date on IGN and it just said "TBA 2007". That means that they have a year (or a bit less) to improve it, so I guess it's still too early to condemn the game.
Although I have to agree, the HUD it's too big for it's own good. I can't even imagine how bad it'll look on a PSP screen And the monster reminded me a bit to the Bandersnatch in Code Veronica (the monster with the long arm).

I was going to say the same thing. It basically is a blue Bandersnatch. I guess they felt the need to rip off monster designs this time around. This game doesn't look that great. Hopefully it turns out better than it looks, and it will do the series at least some justice, though it is doubtful. I won't end up playing it either way.

Does anyone remember when the Silent Hill Franchise was good? Once upon a time, it was one of the most powerful franchises out there, in league with MGS, Halo...even Final Fantasy.

"Oh, cruel and vengeful god, why did thou abandon such a holy franchise, and within it's hollow carcass the devil did enter and lay it's putrid eggs, and they did hatch, and all that was good was cast out in sin, and replaced by your wicked wishes."

It's still a good franchise. It just needs a kick in it's unholy ass to get it back up again.

But, if you're really disappointed...when in doubt, always place the blame on Walter.

Franchise get weaker only due to some peoplebeing overly critical, Silent Hill owned silent hill 2, but silent hill 2 owned silent hill3 and well 3 owned 4.

So in fact the series did get worse as the best was always the game before, but in terms of playing the games they got better to play, they got better graphics, more monsters, more scary in some circumstances.

But still Silent Hill like Resi needs to revive itself.

I don't know about that. I tend to see the first three games as equal in their own way.
For me, SH2 was eerie and unsettling, but it was lacking in serious scares. SH3 was far more terrifying. In some cases, it was even scarier than SH1. But since SH1 was the first, it's bound to be remembered as scarier, since it introduced the themes in the series.

SH3 has as much character development as SH1, which is to say the characters could have used more story development. That's why SH2 has a better story. It's not because of the different way the nightmare manifests. It's because the characters seem more complex and captivating than in the other 2 games. Personally, I think Heather/Alessa is the most complex character in the entire series. But presentation is everything, and SH2 gave us one hell of a presentation. It's almost impossible not to get immersed in James' tragic story.

In terms of voice acting, both SH2 and SH3 are superior to SH1. Some lines may be iffy occasionally, but the quality of the voice acting itself remains consistent. It depends on how you like your voice acting, since there are people who actually think MGS1 had terrible voice acting. You can't please everyone.

When it comes to the soundtrack, SH2 rules the series. There's a lot more music than ambience and I think that's a very good thing in this case. The music really lends power to the scenes telling James' story. However, the other two still have some great themes, and they definitely have excellent ambience.

Gameplay is still important though, I think all three games pull it off fairly. There are lots of great puzzles scattered throughout all three entries, and even though this isn't an action series, I think it's still fun to throw caution to the wind and fight the hideous enemies. Although, it's a lot more fun in SH1 and SH3 than in the second game. The second game is far too easy, even on hard. It's also lacking a large variety of weapons, unlike the other two.

Overall, I think each of the three games has its own strengths and weaknesses that help it measure up to the others. SH4 on the other hand...

What a mess.

It looks like that monster (an unused Resident Evil tyrant? ) has been edited in to the image, seeing as it's almost 2d and just doesn't fit at all. It changes height considerably between the two images aswell.

The possibility has occured to me that this monster, as well as the HUD, could just be place markers, if you know what i mean. Monsters that are just put in as markers instead of the actual thing because it's not finished yet. GOD OF WAR did just that with some rather funny creations.
*shrugs*
That's only because i can't believe how terrible it looks.

That is a good point.

But don't mind me, I've been in too many Crypto forums and now I keep trying debunk every picture I see.

Ive always been scared playing the Silent Hill series. Ive played them all. I remember the 4th the best as it was the most recent one I played. After playing the game for a few hours I always get nightmares.

I have to say the part that began to annoy me was how, after a number of uses, the weapon degraded to a state at which you could no longer use it. I think The Room was the one that included that...

Yep, the golf clubs. And if that weren't enough, the zombie monkeys can steal them and use them against you.

I hate those goddamn monkeys... *calls on Pyramid Head to tear the monkies apart*

Die zombie monkeys! DIE!!!

I think it was in here i mentioned the WII was gonna retail at 175. I wanted to correct that, the final official release date and price have been set, and it's Nov 18th at 250$.

Yes, I played 1-4, I'm currently playing number 4. I've beaten only number 2 though. The first one for Playstation froze up on me and I didn't feel like investing another two hours to get back at my last save point.

As for 3, Konami sucks at making ports to pc. The game cannot run no matter what, poor coding while I have 2 gigs of ram and two NVidais with SLI technology and still can't run it. Poor coding, so I never really played it, uninstalled it.

Silent Hill 4 runs fine on my computer now and I'm currently playing it with the resolution maxed out.

The 18th? The same day as the North American PS3 release? Gonna be a fierce competiton...Thanks for posting that, though. $250 still ain't too bad.

Meh, i tell you right now i'm fairly confident consider the, what, 400$ difference in systems, that the WII will sell a hell of alot better than the PS3 on release.

Just saw the title.

Meant to be Cybil from the movie, I guess?


I just got round to playing Silent Hill 2 again yesterday for the first time in ages, and I actually jumped for the first time since playing Silent Hill 1 when I was like 9. I had surround sound with the volume on max while I sat in the house alone in the dark. Got to the part in Born From a Wish where you walk up the stairs to the attic and you hear the ghostly voices shouting. I completely forgot that that happened, so I thought someone was behind me and almost fell from my chair.

At least no one saw me.

No, it's Alessas line when Rose meets up with her in the burned Hotel room. Remember? She holds out her arms, tilts her head slight and says 'Look at me. I'm burning.' And it's just about the worlds worst delivered line in all movie cinema.

lol, I can just about remember it now. I need to try and pick up the DVD soon.

I'm suprised you'd forgotten that. Unless of course it's a repressed memory. That one line just about ruined the whole damned movie, so i block it out as much as possible.

And on that note, i think it's time for a title change. Hrmmm....

Heh, I think you're probably right.

So what's happening with the Silent Hill series? Origins is coming to the PSP, is that going to become Silent Hill 5, or is there still a seperate console game planned to be developed?

Well all the info on Silent Hill i've had in the last while has been from Origins, and i'm sure you can tell how interested i am in it from the terrible screens posted (very little).

I've still heard absolutely nothing about Silent Hill 5 unfortunately. Information is literally 0% other than it being rumoured to one day exist.

Almost reached second page.

If anyone's interested, I found some Silent Hill trading cards for sale(well, someone else spent their time doing that, I just stole the links...), I had no idea that there were any before, probably because they were only released in Japan.

Click
Click
Click again


Also I'm hearing that Silent Hill: Origins isn't even being made by TeamSilent, that would explain it's poor standard.

Heh, interesting. Kinda lame though.
Not a trading card guy. *shrugs*

I'm sure i already mentioned the game isn't being made by the team. It is however being written by TeamSilent, at very least.

Pyramid head looks kinda weird. How does he see with that thing?
Is this the so-called "Ape demon"?

Gordon Freeman copycat!

Not really, you get a metal pipe, not a crowbar.



Wierd? He kicks ass. [url=http://www.d6a.net/myspace/Pyramid Head Small.jpg]Click[/url].

I'd be more concerned about how he became an apparent omniscient God.

Pyramid Head knows all and sees all. He walks here and there they say, hooded and cloaked. Not with ten thousand men could you defeat him. It is folly.

......

Sorry. LOTR flashback there.

D'oh!!!

Bah. Gordon Freeman could kick his ass. Twice. With his hands behind his back.
FREEMAN FOREVER!

Here's a small interview I just came across, it's quite roughly translated.



Source

Just so everyone knows, the second Silent Hill movie has been confirmed. I posted an article about it in the movies forum. Check it out.

Why do your topics always get so many freaking replies?

I'm still looking forward to playing to SH, haven't been able to find someone who sells it.

Because my topics are awesome.

Come to think of it I never played SH 2 or 3.

You are a bad man.

I know

Ima get SH2 on Xbox soon tho....

Hey guys... been awhile since I last posted, don't you think?

I was wondering if anyone has or could make a photo of Robbie the Rabbit without blood on his lips? I can't seem to find any anywhere. I am trying to incorporate Robbie in the History of Silent Hill story I'm doing, making a connection between the former people who played the Rabbit throughout the years with some of the mental patients at the hospital. The first Robbie perhaps died of an unknown illness (much like Harry's wife and others in the series) and was named Albert Lords (or another on the Grim Reaper's List in Silent Hill 1). A second Robbie could have tried to commit suicide (possibly Jack Davis?), and the third could have been a pedophile who became obsessed with the children he met at the Amusement Park, and was placed into Brookhaven for rapping/killing a girl in the Amusement Park bathroom (sounds a lot like Colin from the movie, but I am aiming more towards Stanley Coleman and his obsession with Heather/Alessa, and the bathroom is referencing the scenes on the Art of Silent Hill DVD of Robbie in a bathroom). What do you guys think?

Also, does anybody know anything about Saint Nicholas that is in a painting along with Saint Jennifer and Saint Alessa in Silent Hill 3? He is the "Doctor of God," and if there isn't any information about him, then I want to try to think of a subplot that mentions him in the story.

For those interested, I have finished the first draft of the History of Silent Hill with 87 pages, covering everything from when the natives were driven from the Place of the Silence Spirits, to the birth of The Order, to the two brothers (Pyramid Heads) as executioners in the Civil War, to the distribution of PTV (White Claudia). All of this, including the main plot of all four games, is written as if one were writing it for the town's historical society. For example, I don't go into all the things that happen to James during Silent Hill 2, but cover the fact that he was mentally unstable with guilt for killing his wife, and so he takes her body and drives himself in Toluca Lake, but the body nor the car are ever found. With help, I hope to expand this story so that it includes many of the secondary characters that are briefly mentioned in the games, as well as develop the unknown pasts of main characters (especially Vincent, Alessa, Claudia, Angela and Laura).

Here's an image of Robbie without blood:

Click

Yay, my second favourite topic ressurected. Thanks!


Now i'd like to mention, my thoughts on the history of Silent Hill differ it seems quite greatly from your own.
Which of course is completely expected since the only 'true' canon History of Silent Hill is the Book of Lost Memories, which does detail much of the History of Silent Hill as given in the first three games and is an absolutely marvelous read if you have not read it yet. There is no translated print version, but the translated scanned pages can be found relatively easily on the web.
I enjoy that there are so many differing opinions however, so don't let my thoughts on that deter you. Your opinion is just as correct as mine, or anyone elses, since as long as you incorporate the facts, the rest is up to interpretation.


I think you're looking too deep into the whole Robbie the Rabbit thing. Although I do like the idea of your sort of 'curse' on the Rabbit suit fiction that you have going on.
In my opinion, the 'Robbies' simply appeared in SH3 because it's an amusement park, and they were simply mascots of the park that Alessa may have remembered from a trip to the park in her childhood. Their appearance however is a little incorrect in SH3, because it should be the same park as seen in SH1, but the Rabbits do not appear in SH1. In SH1 the park was a manifestation of Alessas nightmare, in most basic form, and of course we all know this. In the third game, since Heather IS Alessa and the park is a manifestation of Heathers nightmares, or correspondingly Alessas, there should be no Rabbits. The only possible conclusion that makes sense is that in SH3 the 'nightmare' world is actually a manifestation of both Alessa AND Heathers nightmares, fears etc, and heather visited a different Amusement Park in her youth, to which she manifested the mascots into the nightmare illusion of Silent Hills Lakeside Amusement Park. Therefore they might not even have anything to do with Silent Hill at all.

However, in argument to this, we are all aware that Eileen owns her very own Robbie the Rabbit doll (or costume?) which sits beside her bed in SH4. Why anyone would have such a creepy thing beside their bed is beyond me. We are supposed to assume that she bought/won the doll/costume in the Lakeside Amusement in Silent Hill. So.. where were they in the first game? Hrmmm. It's also logical to assume that the only reason Robbie appeared in SH4 was to connect the games a little more, and because 'Robbie' gained fan status and of course, a fan given name. Robbie.




Phew. I do go on when i start thinking about Silent Hill don't I.




I think I might know ONE thing about Saint Nicholas.
If my aging mind recalls correctly, and it might not so feel free to correct me, i believe a painting appears in SH1 in the Hospital, which names a man called Nicholas as the director of the hospital. 'Doctor of God' can only mean that Saint Nicholas was a man who assisted Alessa at some point while she was in the Hospital pregnant with the thing that The Order considered to be God. We do know that more people than Dahlia, Kaufmann, Lisa etc knew about Alessas imprisonment in the basement of the Hospital, because when Harry enters the room where Alessa was kept we see the Ghosly flashback in which Dahlia and Kaufmann are standing over Alessas bed discussing the power of God, and there are two other figures present. These may have been just members of the Order, or one of them may have been Doctor Nicholas.

Hope this stuff helps in some way.



I like the idea of writing something on Stanley Coleman BTW. A very underused character who gave significance to the plot of SH3 but was greatly underestimated in his importance.

my god my freind has a mad craze about silent hill 3 she even fancys Heather Mason XD she keeps ranting about it (shes really really hyper ) you mention " heather mason" in a sentance you will automaclly hear "HEATHER MASON!!! WHERE!!!" witch makes me laugh my guts out and peractly kills me



btw: sorry for any spelling grammer etc

Thanks Raptor, the Robbie works great.

This is the first time you've commented on my history story Burnside, I was starting to think you didn't like it at all lol.

The thing about Robbie is that he has a good deal of fans, and connecting him some way into the twisted world of Silent Hill I think would make some people jump for joy (a lot like unearthing in detail about the Pyramid Heads). I believe looking at a lot of the things going on in the background of Silent Hill is just as interesting as the things in the foreground.

On other news, it seems that the only good thing about Silent Hill Origins is the soundtrack.

Yeah no kidding, Origins really looks horrid. I'm ignoring it completely.

I apologise i hadn't commented in the past, i just never had time too and by the time i did the post was already a couple weeks old and therefore needless to comment on. I had abit of spare time so wanted to make a few notes.

We don't know much about Saint Nicholas at all really, in the game there were only 2 or 3 references to him. One of them being at the painting where he's called the 'Doctor of God'. Like BurnSide said it sounds like he must have been treating Alessa.

But in the Book of Lost Memories (Page 105), it says



Which suggests that Saint Nicholas was around during the 19th century at the latest; which means he couldn't have been treating Alessa.

EDIT: I love your idea of filling in the different roles of Robbie. The character choices are great, Stanley Coleman especially. Giving the different characters some common ground, it works well.

Thanks, I'm glad that the fans are enjoying what I'm doing (unlike those stupid comic books...) Right now I'm trying to decide exactly what to do with Robbie and which characters will be connected with him... if Stanley doesn't fit into the bunny suit then he'll definately be covered somewhere in the history.

Thanks again on the things on Saint Nicholas. I already have a good story for Saint Jennifer and there's already enough goodness for Saint Alessa, so I am trying to see where Nicholas will fit in. I'm also working with Miriam K and Joseph Barkin and Coroner Seals. I have some ideas but not everything's concrete right now.

I doubt I will play Origins, at least not when it comes out. I would like to know how much information they reveal in the story (hopefully not too much because I don't want to change the things that I have written lol).

Does anybody know about Andy in the Silent Hill Play Novel? He supposedly was hiding in the back seat of the Jeep when Harry was driving Cheryl to Silent Hill. I don't think I'll include him in the story, because that's just too weird.

I'd completely forgotten about Andy.

We don't really have many facts about him either, all we know about his background for sure is that he lived next door to Cheryl and Harry, and he went to the same school as Cheryl.

One of the theories I remember reading about was that he had a crush on Cheryl, but was always too afraid to speak to her. This lead to him being dragged to Silent Hill on the day, after he sneaked in to the trunk of Harry's car in an attempt to finally talk to Cheryl (couldn't of picked a better day could he? ). Then he becomes seperated after the crash. I've also read that he meets with Alessa somewhere along the line.

Now at the end I believe there are two endings, (but with the Play Novel I really have no idea, it's so confusing and seems to contradict itself quite a few times). In one of them the road beneath Andy collapses, he falls in to the hole and the scenario ends here, presumably he died. Now with another scenario, he meets up with Cheryl. I've got no idea how, but they both end up falling in to the lake, only to be rescued by Cybil.

It's possible he survived falling in to the hole, and later met up with Cheryl in time for the next ending to take place, or vice versa. Maybe the two endings are completely unrelated, it's difficult to tell.

There have been quite a few crazy theories about what could have happened to him if he did survive, for example some people think that he is Stanley Coleman, I'm not sure how they came to that conclusion, probably only due to the fact that he met Alessa and has a crush on Cheryl, but it's interesting.

I have the rom version of the Play Novel on a Game Boy Advance Emulator on my computer... you have to look at a seperate page that has it translated to play it though.

Do you know which version you have?

As far as I know Andy appeared in an expansion that you could only download through a mobile phone service in Japan. They stopped running that service a while ago, so very few people have access to it now, if any do at all.

I'm not sure I didn't play it all the way through, but if you want I can tell you where to get it.