Video Game Review: Disappointing ‘Silent Hill: Downpour’ Frustrates More Than Scares

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CHICAGO – I keep going back to “Silent Hill” even though I so rarely find the scares that made this one of the most beloved franchises in the history of games. There have been eight “Silent Hill” games (with a ninth in May for the Vita) in thirteen years and a hit movie (which I’ll defend to the death, and not just because I’m quoted on the DVD). With every new “SH” game, I hope to find the spark that made at least the first three games so influential and memorable.

HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0
Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0

“Silent Hill 2” and “Silent Hill 3” (both recently collected in one HD release, which we will review here soon) are amazing games. It started to go down a bit with “Silent Hill 4: The Room” and the series has struggled to find a critical hit for the PS3/360 generation. “Silent Hill: Origins” was a decent PSP game (that was later ported to the PS2) and that leaves just the disappointing “Silent Hill: Homecoming” and the Nintendo Wii game “Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.” Is “Silent Hill: Downpour” the long-awaited comeback title for this series? No, sadly, it is not.

Silent Hill: Downpour
Silent Hill: Downpour
Photo credit: Konami

“Downpour” has some interesting atmospheric qualities and a reasonably engaging story but the mechanics of the game, the actual gameplay, is remarkably frustrating, including a combat system that’s so inconsistent and annoying that it drains all actual horror from the title. When you see an enemy in the world of “Silent Hill,” it should send shivers up your spine. You should have that brief moment of panic wherein you decide whether to flee or fight. And if you choose to fight, you be scared as you do so. Combat in “Downpour” is so poorly designed, repetitive, and routine that it does nothing but puncture the atmosphere of the game by replacing fear with criticism. Enemies in the world of “Silent Hill” need to be memorable, not routine. Every time one of those screaming wenches popped up behind me in “Downpour,” I just thought “here we go again” instead of screaming like a little girl.

Silent Hill: Downpour
Silent Hill: Downpour
Photo credit: Konami

I’m getting ahead of myself. While the combat and controls in “Downpour” are decidedly problematic, some of the storytelling and atmosphere brings back memories of why this franchise is so beloved. Like most “SH” games, you play a lost character, someone who finds himself stuck in the titular city and tries to push his way through a waking nightmare. In this installment, you play Murphy Pendleton, a convict who walks away from a transport bus crash and, of course, stumbles into Silent Hill. He first wanders the outskirts of the city, trying to find signs of life and transport out of the area. Your first encounter with the other side of “Silent Hill” takes place in a diner filled with fire and screaming apparitions. The classic “RUN!” format of “Silent Hill,” in which the world seems to be collapsing in blood and flame and you need to just get away from it, returns.

Before long, you’re gaining access to a tram that takes you across a ravine and deeper into the city. Why exactly you’re moving deeper into the fog, lightning, and darkness is never completely clear. After the tram ride, you wander through some mines and “Downpour” reaches its highest atmospheric peaks. With only a flashlight or lighter to guide the way through most of it, this section of “Downpour” works, although even here the puzzle design feels uninspired. Still, the mines with their elevators and water-fueled power systems feature some inspired design. And they end with a bang as you ride a car through a hellish vision. And then you’re in Silent Hill, wandering a more open world than recent “SH” games and even making a few moral decisions along the way.

Silent Hill: Downpour
Silent Hill: Downpour
Photo credit: Konami

A few. The moral decisions — whether or not to save a suicidal man or taunt him, for example — do ultimately change the ending but feel half-developed and perfunctory. In a world where player choices can truly change an entire experience like “Mass Effect 3,” it’s almost silly to do it as slightly as it’s done here. If it’s not a major part of the game, if it’s not going to change the storyline until the end, don’t bother. As far as the rest of the storytelling goes, it’s not bad although I wished Murphy was more of an interesting protagonist. We never really get to know him. He’s a convict but not really a tough guy and his past only comes out as the game goes along. I liked Murphy but I felt like he was too often a straight man instead of a fully-realized character.

Part of my frustration with “Silent Hill: Downpour” is on a visual level. The monsters are not very effectively designed and it actually took me a minute to realize that the lightning flashes weren’t some sort of supernatural effect — that’s how unrealistic they look. And the city itself looks surprisingly flat. The human characters look great but everything is a bit disappointing, especially when things get hectic and frame rate issues kick in.

Despite my clear issues with “Downpour,” there are moments that work. As the rain falls and the lightning crashes while you take shelter in an abandoned building in Silent Hill, it’s hard not to have flashbacks to “SH 2 & 3.” And when you spin your lighter around in the mines only to have a giant creature fall from the ceiling, it’s difficult not to jump. “Silent Hill: Downpour” isn’t necessarily a bad game but the faulty combat and thin storytelling ultimately make it too frustrating to consider it a return to form for the franchise. It’s another “OK” game in the “Silent Hill” series, another game that isn’t bad enough to deflate the hope fans have that there will be another amazing “Silent Hill” title someday but this ain’t it.

“Silent Hill: Downpour” was developed by Vatra Games and released by Konami on March 13th, 2012. It is rated M (Mature). The version reviewed was for the Xbox 360 but the title is also available for the PS3.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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