The Computer/Console Gaming Thread

[Doubledealer]

I own a XBOX360 and have bought every Nintendo console at launch, from the SNES to current, except the 3DS. After watching video reviews i suddenly have the urge to play Super Mario 3D Land and Zelda. Convince me to splash out and buy a 3DS or tell me they're not worth it.

I'm not a Nintendo fanboy by any means, but I do enjoy the odd games the company throws out (namely Wind Waker and Galaxy). My gf bought me a 3DS recently and yeah, the system is pretty darn awesome. SM3DL is okay, although the levels are extremely condensed and you're up against a time limit to finish them. It's very much designed to be "Mario on the go" which I guess is fair enough. Kid Icarus has apparently been in development since the dawn of time and is meant to be pretty good, having said that I haven't played it yet despite owning it. If you're a Resident Evil fan you'll have a ball with Revelations, it's a damn solid entry into the series and does a lot of things right. What sorta games you into?

MarioKart

Nuff said.

Does not compute.

[kurdt_the_goat]

If you get a 3DS, simply get Pullblox off the e-shop and you won't regret the entire system purchase. Better than anything else on the system and 1/5 of the price to boot.

[shokwave2]

If you get a 3DS, simply get Pullblox off the e-shop and you won't regret the entire system purchase. Better than anything else on the system and 1/5 of the price to boot.

Ah Pullblox, also known as Pushmo. Yeah i read the review of that the other day. Looks interesting. I guess i'll have to wait til Monday to buy the 3DS, damn Easter ruined my plans

[Doubledealer]

Time to write a novel guys...Apologies in advance.

Finished Silent Hill Downpour the other night. I wouldn't mind going back to complete the side-quests but seeing as the game never lets you save, and the load game screen only let's you pick from the last 5 auto-saves, that would mean starting the game from scratch to do so (and no, there's no new game +). Considering just how bad the first few hours of gameplay are, this is gonna take a whole heap of motivation just to even get back into Silent Hill (you start off on SH's outskirts in a place called The Devils Pit - or as I like to call it The Pits).

I have to say, I really enjoyed the story in Downpour. You won't be thinking about it for days after like other games in the series, but it's solid nonetheless. It's so rare for a game to present a mature storyline like this these days, so it certainly gets props in this department. The protagonist, Murphy Pendleton, is quite simply the best character we've had to play as (Walter Sullivan is the best SH character ever ) since James in Silent Hill 2. It's a shame then that almost everyone else you encounter throughout Silent Hill is completely superfluous. The black mailman...What was the point in him? The guy at The Devils Pit? What the point in him? etc. They add nothing! Why not throw in some characters that are there for their own reasons like SH2?? SH2 would be half the game it is today if not for Eddy, Angela and Laura!

A big problem I have with this game is that it doesn't feel like a horror game (let alone a Silent Hill game!). It feels more like an adventure game with some supernatural elements thrown in to make it "Silent Hill-y". In terms of vibe, it actually feels a lot more like Bioshock to me which is quite bizarre. Gone is the David Lynch style weirdness, the demonic imagery, the symbolism, the suspense, the dread. They've stripped everything right back and this is largely what makes Downpour such a letdown (and so boring to play).

A key part of the Silent Hill experience is the Nightmare world. This is another aspect that Downpour handles extremely poorly. It basically boils down to you running through some at times physics challenged (I refuse to compare it MC Escher as so many Silent Hill fans have as this implies it's actually good) areas while being chased by....Wait for it, a red mirror ball. Yes, you heard that right. What should have been the most interesting and most terrifying part of the game has been reduced to a chase scene reminiscent of those in Shattered Memories (not quite as bad as those mind you but that's not the point! ). **** this makes me mad, of all the things to screw up...Speaking of Shattered Memories, Downpour steals a number ideas from this game for eg. the slow opening of doors. Why they actually did this I don't know because, like in SH:SM, they never use it to great effect! Very, very odd.

The monsters are something that a lot of people are upset about, and rightly so. There are no metaphors behind their pathetic designs, their animations are atrocious, the AI is hilarious and they're about as scary as a Goomba from Mario. Utter, utter fail. The only good thing I can say about actually fighting these things is that you don't feel like you always have the upper hand in battle (although this is more to do with how broken the gameplay is than an intentional act on the developers part).

Rather than making a great Silent Hill experience, I believe the developer Vatra has spread themselves thin by adding side-quests at the detriment of everything else. I applaud the fact that they've made Silent Hill a place that can be properly explored for once, however, I think this has come at the cost of everything else. This could have worked if the game were in development for a hell of a lot longer, or perhaps done by a more experienced team, who knows. Being only Vatra's second game I think they've bitten off more than they could chew, and would have been much better off keeping the game more linear and focusing on what makes a Silent Hill game a Silent Hill game.

I can only recommend this to the most loyal, die-hard Silent Hill fans. If you can make it through the abysmal gameplay there are a few highlights (namely some of the puzzles and St Maria's Monastery) and a great story hiding behind all the garbage.

[shokwave2]

Did you enjoy Shattered Memories? I haven't played any other SH games but i found Shattered Memories had a great atmosphere, comparable to the old and scarier Resident Evil games. Especially if played at night with the lights off and with Surround Sound pumped up.

[Doubledealer]

Did you enjoy Shattered Memories? I haven't played any other SH games but i found Shattered Memories had a great atmosphere, comparable to the old and scarier Resident Evil games. Especially if played at night with the lights off and with Surround Sound pumped up.

Oh absolutely, despite its faults SH:SM remained enjoyable throughout and that twist ending...Amazing! I loved the psychological profiling too, and how you used the Wii-mote to answer calls! Very cool. There was a lot to like in SH:SM, a case of the pro's outweighing the cons I think.

I'm by no means someone who instantly hates on anything outside of the Team Silent games (SH1-4). I'll always be a Silent Hill fan and will always give the latest game a go, hoping for the best. Up until now, I've found all post SH4 Silent Hill games to be respectable, if not spectacular, additions to my favourite psychological horror game series. I understand that the Silent Hill formula is incredibly hard to recreate, and its brand of horror is something the Japanese are particularly good at.

Homecoming nailed the SH formula with its incredible boss battles (and one scene in particular), but other than those fleeting moments I feel we haven't quite reached the original lofty heights of the initial 4 games. If only they'd hand the series back to the Japanese...And get Takashi Miike to direct it. Maybe SH10 will see the re-uniting of Team Silent? >_>*

[Stompy]

It's a real pity that Team Silent have pretty much vanished, slowly fracturing since SH2. Until the handover to western developers hands and with only Yamaoka to keep some sort of spirit remaining. Downpour didn't even have Yamaoka. I've barely played anything after 4 and with only Shattered Memories offering an interesting take on the formula.

The biggest pity is that the technology now can produce such potentially great atmospherics, but all that can be ruined if directed poorly (see the poor direction in the awful Resident Evil 5 compared to the masterpiece Resident Evil 4).

Survival Horror is long gone with a very shooter/action majority of players out there, that slow plodding psychological experience is just not an option for developers.I'm trying to hold on for some hope but I doubt it will come.

Downpour will be a buy at sub $30 bargain bins.

[Doubledealer]

It's a real pity that Team Silent have pretty much vanished, slowly fracturing since SH2. Until the handover to western developers hands and with only Yamaoka to keep some sort of spirit remaining. Downpour didn't even have Yamaoka. I've barely played anything after 4 and with only Shattered Memories offering an interesting take on the formula.

The biggest pity is that the technology now can produce such potentially great atmospherics, but all that can be ruined if directed poorly (see the poor direction in the awful Resident Evil 5 compared to the masterpiece Resident Evil 4).

Survival Horror is long gone with a very shooter/action majority of players out there, that slow plodding psychological experience is just not an option for developers.I'm trying to hold on for some hope but I doubt it will come.

Downpour will be a buy at sub $30 bargain bins.

Did you play Homecoming all the way through Stomp? Sure, it nonsensically borrows some monster designs from the movie and the Hostel inspired moments leading up to the end are out of place....But overall I felt it was well worth playing through and looking back, I think it's quite underrated. And who can forget that soundtrack either? Here's my favourite Homecoming track

Kinda scares me as to what Konami are going to do next with this series though. Letting a totally noob developer whose only game is a Frogger title handle (and completely stuff up) an HD transfer of Silent Hill 2 and 3 is madness in its truest form. Book of Memories seems to be an evolution of this madness...

[SkyWarp91]

Speaking of Silent Hill I just bought the HD collection online for PS3 the other day and then found out the game has really bad framerate issues....

And the first game can be purchased on the PSN now.

Also, for Dark Souls fans it seems like the game is also coming out on PC with extra bosses.

Looks like it's time to venture back into the epic darkness this August...

[Doubledealer]

Speaking of Silent Hill I just bought the HD collection online for PS3 the other day and then found out the game has really bad framerate issues....

Hate to say it mate but that's only a fraction of its problems. If you want to experience the games the way they were meant to be played, and in HD, I'd go for the PC versions (which blow away this new release which came 10 years later...).