Got Downpour? Want to share impressions? Post them here!

[mjm800]

One thing I really like.

When running from the thing in the other-world they kept the option to tip over objects to slow the entity down. I enjoyed that aspect from Shattered Memories I was happy to see it in this game.

[TomWaltz]

All,

I know we're not going to be able to please everyone with this game, and I totally understand that, but I wanted to take a moment just to say that you guys are really making me smile with your fair, honest, and (yes!) mostly positive reactions to the game so far. I'm sure I speak for Devin, Tomm, Brian and the rest of the development gang, as well.

It was a long, arduous trek to bring this game to life (especially for the producers and developers) and it's so damn awesome to know so many of you are appreciating the many combined efforts (love, blood, sweat and tears) that went into making it.

So, from me -- from all of us -- thanks!

Now... keep playing!

Tom W.

[Yuki]

After reading these impressions, and Tom's thanks, I REALLY wish I had money for the game!

[Number 7]

Did anyone else get nauseous while playing through the first Otherworld sequence? Apart from my plasma TV's bad motion blur, there's the whole pulsing, throbbing picture aspect that's supposed to make you feel disoriented but I actually started feeling sick and almost stopped playing. I can imagine it would be worse if I were playing with 3d turned on.

I thought the opening shower tutorial was incredibly creepy. At first I thought Murphy was about to get raped and was getting very uncomfortable turning the showers on.

So far the only frustrating thing are the frame rate hiccups which are plenty and are really killing the immersion for me. Another is that I haven't found any of the side quests yet and I've already left the diner/motel area.

By the way, was anyone else happy to hear Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's voice as you were leaving the prison (I've avoided listening to the soundtrack before playing the game so I didn't know about this). I'm glad she got to be apart of this game.

[delusion]

I'm not going to buy this game, but I've been watching walkthrough videos. My impressions:
I don't get Silent Hill vibe at all from this, it would have been better if they just named it "Downpour" or something.
The otherworld is way too large, unrealistic, too action-oriented and not scary at all. It doesn't feel like something a twisted mind would create. I miss that "sick in the head" feel from the original games. And that red chasing void thing is stupid. Who the hell came up with that?
The monsters are just ludicrous, especially the prisoners, dolls and the "weeping bats"
The music is ok in some parts, but it's kind of bland most of the time. Not impressed by the environments either, looks like Homecoming, same bluish tones and boring places. Some of the indoor areas are nicely detailed though. And the combat looks fine for this type of game. But the story is very tedious, I couldn't care less for any of the characters. So far I'm not surprised IGN gave this 4,5/10

[Calamity]

And that red chasing void thing is stupid. Who the hell came up with that?

And that red chasing void thing is stupid.

Now I haven't played the game myself yet so I haven't seen it in action but, Borley Mansion red cloud of death would like a word with you...

[delusion]

^ Play or watch the game and you'll know. That Borley Mansion's creepy scene has been done completely differently and it's just one part.

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

Downpour's all the otherworld sequences are mostly running away from that annoying thing.

[fudgestix]

Did anyone else get nauseous while playing through the first Otherworld sequence? Apart from my plasma TV's bad motion blur, there's the whole pulsing, throbbing picture aspect that's supposed to make you feel disoriented but I actually started feeling sick and almost stopped playing. I can imagine it would be worse if I were playing with 3d turned on.

This has made me worried. I'm terrible for motion sickness in games. Is it just something you experienced in that part only?

[Number 7]

I haven't played any of the other Otherworld parts of the game yet so I can't say but I'll let you know when I do. Right now I'm waiting for it to get dark outside before I play again.

[dawnclover]

Did anyone else get nauseous while playing through the first Otherworld sequence? Apart from my plasma TV's bad motion blur, there's the whole pulsing, throbbing picture aspect that's supposed to make you feel disoriented but I actually started feeling sick and almost stopped playing. I can imagine it would be worse if I were playing with 3d turned on.

This has made me worried. I'm terrible for motion sickness in games. Is it just something you experienced in that part only?

I get a lot of motion sickness, but this game gave me none yet (experienced 2 otherworlds).

Anyway, now that I have the

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

UV Flashlight

, I decided to re-explore some of the other areas I've been to. And I found a bug! Made a quick video of it (no spoilers):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raAkxZlVgUM

I broke the wood planks on my first time there, came back, find them up, think "this is weird", start trying to chop them down and... well, you can see the rest in the video lol.

Really enjoying the game so far!

[Arachnid1]

This games been damn near perfect so far. The atmosphere is great, the puzzles are nice, and the story so far is pretty interesting. I don't like the monster designs at all, but I can get over it thanks to everything else being almost perfect. This game is the perfect blueprint for future Silent Hill games. It just needs a bit of tweaking. Better monsters (this is IMO a very important part of silent hill), no void chasing you through the otherworld (it's not very scary or intense, just annoying) and tweaked combat (it doesn't need to be homecoming great, but the combat right now pretty much relies on luck).

Also, Murphy is already one of my favorite protagonists in the series. Him and Alex are my top two because of their human reactions. They shit bricks when they see a monster and pretty much go 'WTF?' when the otherworld transitions happen. All the characters in general is this game and homecoming have been pretty compelling. All in all, keep it up! Just make a few tweaks for the next Silent Hill game.

[SGTCOOL]

Combat is not nearly as bad as everyone makes out. And one thing I've noticed from EVERY video is that nobody is holding the left trigger to actually target the "Monsters" (Muscly men in sweatpants). In all of the video reviews the player is always just tapping the attack button. Holding left trigger (Or L2 likely on the ps3) will make combat far less frustrating I discovered. Other than that I can't compliment too much else. And putting pictures around randomly of

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

Samael, Alessa and the house from Homecoming

don't make me all giddy. It feels more like pandering.

[SGTCOOL]

I am in all seriousness jealous that people like this game. I want nothing more to enjoy it, but I just can't. And I'm probably going to sell it as soon as I trudge all the way through the campaign. Never sold a silent hill game before...

[branj70]

If you truly hate it that much, then your playing the game for all the wrong reasons. What did you expect? My only beef is the lack of a siren (which isn't that big of a deal), the stupid cop cars, & the freezing when walking through some doors and when it autosaves.

The otherworld is nicely done, especially in the Centenial building where everything is upside down. But thats as far as I've gotten so it's probably better farther in. The town itself is much better than in any game yet, the lack of many locked doors, the sounds are amazing as well as the 'downpours' with the thunder and lightning, and more to do in the town aside from the main campaign.

I'm going to have to agree with Nillin, although my absolute favorite is 3 because of how you never really expect the otherworld transitions, it kept you on edge.

[SilentMadness]

What's up everyone??

Yeah, it's been about three years since I last posted, but I have been lurking from time to time. I finally got a PS3 2 months ago, and I was able to pre-order this game. I've gotten to as far as entering Silent Hill and I thought I would post my thoughts on it (though I wasn't sure if I would post it on here or the review thread.)

So far I quite liked the direction they took this time around, they certainly got the old-school feel that they were going for in exploration and vague directions. I'll try my best to give a score, though I'm never good at reviewing things. Mind you I haven't finished the game yet but I think I've gotten a good enough hours to get the feel of the game.

pros:
_good music and sound effects to keep you on your toes (those good ol' jump scares that involves sound instead of monsters jumping out at you, at least not overdoing it)
_exploration! And tons of it! At the beginning, it may be linear but it also gives you a chance to get the feel for the game before setting you free in Silent Hill. Speaking of which...
_the atmosphere. It might be different then what I'm used to from the previous games, but it works well. Adding the ambient music (which does tend to get repetitive). and I am sucked in like a kid in a candy store. I've love looking at abandoned places, imagining the life that once was, and I get the same feeling here. I think it took me almost an hour just going through the diner and the tram station.
_Story: While I haven't finished the game, it does keep me intrigued on what will happen next with an interesting protagonist that grows on you. The supporting cast (what little you see from them) not so much, but that could be intended.

cons:
_very vague directions. I'm talking more about after you reach Silent Hill where you will be spending the most time on, trying to find any kind of goal besides "exit silent hill" I've must have gone by the same street 3 or 4 times before I found a couple paintings, and 2 side quest, one I'm not even sure if its just a side quest or to move the story along.
_technical issues, considering the frequent lags and chugging every time you move the camera. While it doesn't hinder the game as much, it still does get distracting and disoriented
_monster design. yeah, its been said a lot already, but the monster design really isn't innovated. I mean I can kind of get why they are humanoid creatures with the theme of murphy's troubled past but they just come out kind of blah. Not good, not bad, but just....plain.
controls (mainly combat). This is more on the neutral side. It really isn't as frustrating as it seems to be especially on easy (shut up, I go for the story first playthroughs) and its definitely a lot more manageable than people playing on normal. And while he's supposed to be an average joe, i think there is no reason to make the player suffer through frustrations of bad aiming and sucky blocking just because the protagonist was never experienced in battle before. But like I said, it's not too bad.

All in all, a promising start in a series that was heading toward decline and I think Vatra has shown honorable appreciation to this game keeping in the formula that makes Silent Hill so special while trying out new things. How well the new stuff works is up to the players. I'm going along with the other reviews (excluding IGN) and say this game deserves a 7.5/10
Not bad at all

[DarkLord]

Love it.

Just simply love it.

Not as good as one, but its my close second, tied almost with the door. I enjoy all the monster designs except the prison monsters, ive only fought what i assume is a prison brawler, but still, they all three look the same. Otherworld scenes are fun as shit too, the bats motha truckas have scared me plenty.

This games also one of the only ones to make me jump, and way more than just a few times, then again i just may be a chicken shit.

Of course frame rate drops are a problem, like all of us have read a few times, but the deeper i have gotten, the less i seem to notice, even if it occurs anymore.

Overall, im glad to have a good sh game again

[Talolili]

I'm a little disappointed so far with the game. The combat system isn't that great in my opinion at all and I don't like the fact that you can't save on your own. At least I'm liking the characters and the music though.

[The SH Champion]

I loathe the combat system. The otherworld is not good at all: the void thing isn't hard to escape from and it lacks the feel that the first four managed to properly get. I'm not too happy yet.

[Axel_98]

Ran across my first bug. invisible turnie thing.

[soam108]

I loathe the combat system. The otherworld is not good at all: the void thing isn't hard to escape from and it lacks the feel that the first four managed to properly get. I'm not too happy yet.

The 2nd otherworld section is way better than the first and the red chasing thing is only part of it.