Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Review

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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a Silent Hill game released on the Wii, PSP and PS2 game consoles. It’s labeled as a re-imagining of the original Silent Hill game, but I want to be really clear on one thing. The game is nothing like the original Silent Hill game. In fact, it plays nothing like a Silent Hill game at all! If you changed the name of the game and characters, you wouldn’t be the wiser that it was somehow connected to the Silent Hill Franchise.

Now, just because the game is different, doesn’t mean it sucks though! In fact, I found the game to be quite enjoyable! Right up until the end, which was a huge letdown! However, every minute leading up to that letdown was great experience, and one that I don’t regret.

Now, at first I was disappointed. I was hoping for basically a remake of Silent Hill, since I have been wanting to play it again, but utterly detest the original Playstation. So, when I began playing and saw, that aside from some of the names, it had nothing to do with the original game, I felt a tinge of disappointment.

After awhile though, that all Changed. I began looking at the game as a standalone title, and not tossing it into the Silent hill pot, and found myself enjoying it on its own merits.

One of the features of this game, is that there is absolutely no combat! So, if you are expecting your typical “shoot at things that make you jump” type of Survival Horror, you should probably look elsewhere. What this has instead of combat however, is much more unique and interesting! It has “Creature Chase” sequences. When the world will freeze over, and the monsters will come out. The game then switches to a frantic chase game. You have to run from the monsters until you reach a safe area/puzzle room.

So, is it good or bad? Well, as I said, it’s nothing like Silent Hill, so if that’s all you are craving, then steer far away from this game! If however you want a survival horror game that’s different, I highly suggest you check this out!

So, if it’s not like Silent Hill, then what is it like you ask? I suppose the closest game I can think of, would be similar to Alan Wake, except good! It’s basically what Alan Wake should have been! The similarities are too numberous to count. Sure, I have always said Alan Wake reminded me slightly of Silent Hill, however Alan Wake and Shattered Memories have more than just small similarities, at least in my opinion.

The part of Shattered Memories that stands out most for me, is a scene where you are asked to color in a picture of a house. The idea of coloring isn’t very outstanding, true. However the results of that coloring session is! After you Color in the picture, the scene shifts to a house. The house is colored however you colored it in the photo! Right down to the color of the mailbox, and the color you choose for the husband and wifes clothes.

In terms of graphics, this game is amazing! Sure, it may not be able to stand up to Alan Wake, or the God of War games, but keep in mind, this game is on the Wii, PSP and PS2! These aren’t exactly systems known for the best of graphics! In fact, the PS2 is a last gen console! You can hardly expect it to live up to current gen console standards. So, taking into consideration that game consoles limitations, the games graphics are amazing!

6 things Ruining Video Games for me

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Video Games have been around for a long time. Since I have been old enough to retain memories, I have been playing video games. It’s something that I love doing, and has helped me and many others on so many different levels. However, recently the video game industry has been slowly pushing me away, with new trends. Ideas to make more and more money, and to slap the consumer/gamer in the face. Trends such as —

DLC Rip-Offs
This is probably the thing the video game industry has been doing that pisses me off the most! They take a newly finished and fully completed game. Look at it, decide it kicks so much ass, that they will just chop out parts of the game, sell the now partial game for full retail price, and then announce the rest of the game, that you already paid for, can be purchased as DLC!

 basically, they charge you an extra 5 bucks or so, in order to play an “Extra” level. Usually these “DLCs” clearly were ripped from the game, because they are mentioned in the game. Take for instance LA Noir, it mentions in your journal at one point, that you are investigating your third case in your current dept, despite the fact, that it’s only your second case. Why? because the DLC with the case before it, wasn’t released yet.

The worst offender is Alan Wake, which is a game, without a fucking ending! Apparently, they were going to sell extra “chapters” which presumably would finish the story, however not all the planned chapters came out, because nobody was willing to give them the ransom money they demanded to see the rest of the story. So, people who bought the game and played through it, pretty much are fucked since it’s a game without a fucking ending.

Not all DLC is bad though! Take GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption and — Well, im sure there’s another one that I just can’t think of off-hand. These games actually make DLC that I am more than happy to buy. They sell you a complete game! It’s long, and complete without missing missions and plot holes that leave you scratching your head. Then they release DLC that tells ANOTHER story. Almost like expansion packs! In fact, I would go so far as to call them expansion packs! These are good DLC items! I applaud Rockstar for this behavior. Not so much for the LA Noir DLC though. You guys are slacking there in my opinion.

Console Exclusive DLC
When a game is released on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360, many times one of the consoles will end up getting a console exclusive DLC; usually in the form of a mission, level, case or something along those lines.

Now, this doesn’t really have any particular effect on me personally, since if one system has an exclusive mission or whatever, I will just buy it for that console. However, not everyone has that option. Which is what pisses me off. The people who buy the game on the PS3 or X360 pay almost the exact same amount as each other. So, why the hell don’t they get the same fucking content as the other console players?

I am sure it is due to the console company paying extra for the right to those exclusive bonus items, but in the end it fucks the games fans over who didn’t get it on the console with the exclusive. It may not be favoritism, but it sure as hell seems like it sometimes.

Game Passes
When a game comes out, they sometimes also sell in the console DLC store, Passes. There’s two kinds of passes as far as I can tell. One is a good kind, the other pisses me off to no end. The good kind? It gives you access to all the DLC released for that game at a discounted price. So, if you know you want to get all the DLC for a particular game(IE; L.A. Noir), then buying that pass is a good idea.

The bad kind of pass is when a game with Online competitive play is released. They will cap your online level advancements to some ridiculously low-level, and then sell a “Pass” that will allow you to advance beyond that level. If you chose not to buy the pass, you can of course continue playing online, but you will be a really low-level, and not end up with access to all the advanced perks that everyone else is using to kick your ass, because yes, even if you can’t advance in levels, you will still play against people who bought the pass and can gain more levels.

Granted, occasionally, this pass is available for free, if you buy the game new, and before the code in the box expires. otherwise, you are pretty much fucked!

Lack of Originality
Come on people! Enough with the sequels. I know you want to play it safe, but release some new fucking titles already! It works sometimes you know! If it didn’t we would all be playing Mario Brothers 26 right now. Sure, sometimes you get a stinker like Alan Wake, but other times you get a masterpiece like Heavy Rain.

Don’t get me wrong! I fucking love sequels, I am hoping and pleading for a Red Dead Redemption sequel, or a new Splinter Cell game. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to experience the thrill of a new adventure with a new character! After all, there’s only so many sequels a man can take!

Cookie Cutter Games
Sure, I could have fit this into the Lack of Originality category. I simply decided not to. The reason? That’s simple! See, to me, it’s a big enough annoyance, to warrant its own category.

So, what do I mean by Cookie Cutter exactly? Games that are way too similar. Games like rhythm Games(See below), Matching block puzzle games, shooting bubble puzzle games and so on! However, the worst offender I believe is todays current First Person Shooters. The majority of them take place in modern settings, and located in the middle east. So, the backgrounds pretty much all look-alike, sure some might have varying stages of realism, but at a glance they are all pretty much identical. There’s also the first person view, but that totally doesn’t count, because it’s a first person shooter. What does count however is the lack of healthbar that they all seem to have adopted. Instead of health, most FPS games just get redder and redder around the edges of the screen to show how much damage you have, and then you hide for a bit, and you are good to go.

Yes, the red edges health meter was cool when I first saw it. After a few million dozen times, it started getting old. Just because something worked for one company, doesn’t mean every single FPS from that point forward needs to adopt the same health meter. Come up with your own shit! Make the game your own, instead of a Modern Warfare carbon copy! Sure, it might not sell as well, but at least you will be your own game and not a “Modern Warfare Clone”.

While FPS titles maybe the worst offenders, they are far from the only offender. Take a look at MMORPGs. a good majority of them are identical to World Of Warcraft. Why? Probably because WoW is so insanely popular, that it would be a safe bet, that if yer playing their game, that you also are playing World of Warcraft, and maybe this is their way of making you feel at home. I don’t know, but it’s annoying. If I wanted to play WoW, I would be playing WoW, not some copycat that charges the same amount. Basically, if I am looking for an MMORPG and NOT going to Wow, Which most likely I have heard of, since it is clearly the most popular MMORPG out at the time of this writing, then there is a good chance that I want something different from what WoW provides!

Rhythm Games and their add-ons.
The rhythm game genre, is the only game genre I detest. I am not a huge fan of sport games, but will occasionally play them. I will never play a rhythm game. Does this make the genre horrible? Well, it kind of does, at least for me. I am fully aware that many people love this particular genre. For me, it just makes no sense. I don’t see where the enjoyment of pushing buttons to the beat of a song becomes interesting. I used to tap my pencil to the rhythm of songs in school, and I never thought to myself that this is so fucking exciting, it should be a video game.

My hatred for the genre is beside the point. What bugs me is the massive amounts of this genre that’s out there. Seriously, how many fucking rhythm games do you need? It get’s worse too! Everyone of those fucking rhythm games, releases an busload of DLC that consists of new songs to tap to the beat of. Since this shit is easy as fuck to produce, they go ape-shit and just start cranking out DLC like it was going out of style.

It eventually gets to the point, that I don’t even bother checking the “What’s new?” in the online console store, because I know it will be jammed with millions of rhythm DLC titles.

Most likely there’s more that is making the video game industry seem less interesting to me, but off-hand I can’t think of any. I’ll get back to ya!

UPDATE: I thought of some more, and have updated this list from 4, to 6 things ruining video games for me!

DCUO release pushed back

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As many of you know, I have been eagerly looking forward to the upcoming release of DC Universe Online, a Super-hero MMORPG from Sony Online Entertainment, that was scheduled to be released early next month. In fact, I went and subscribed to Champions Online to hold me over until that release date.

However, today my hopes, dreams and wishes were shattered! How so you ask? Well, SOE announced that the release date should be pushed back. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that releasing the game closer to Christmas would be the better choice anyway, that it would increase their sales, and in the long run benefit the gamers, since more people will have the game as christmas presents, and normally I would agree with you, but it’s not pushed back as a christmas release.

You see, the game has been pushed way back! The release date now, is March 31st, 2011! For those keeping track, that’s a long pushback, and a long wait. Long pushbacks make Shaide really unhappy. On the bright side, I suppose I still have Champions Online to keep me company for all those months that I now have to wait. Hopefully, the game will keep me interested until the end of march.

I suppose what worries me most, is when games start getting pushed back, they have a tendency to keep getting pushed back for years on end! Let’s not forget the Alan Wake and Splinter Cell: Conviction fiascos! I am really hoping however that this time the game will be released in March. Only time will tell however. Only time will tell.

Related Articles

• DC Universe Online Pushed To 2011 (multiplayerblog.mtv.com)
• DC Universe Online Delayed Into 2011, PS3 Collector’s Edition Announced (g4tv.com)
• “Sony Delays ‘DC Universe Online’” and related posts (forevergeek.com)

Alan Wake: First Impressions

Since I recently finished playing Red Dead Redemption, I decided to pop in Alan Wake and give it a play through. I am nowhere near finished with it, so this is just my first impressions of the game.

At first glance the game is gorgeous, with graphics are gorgeous and the acting isn’t half bad! The basic idea of the game is that you play Alan Wake, a writer who happens to be on vacation. During this vacation his wife is kidnapped and to top it off, monsters are popping up, that seems to be based on a manuscript that he doesn’t even remember writing!

The game is basically a survival horror game and is heavily inspired by television shows. You know, those serial shows that are all over the place right now, especially on the CW on ABC? So, yea! It’s like you are playing one of those. The game is even split up into episodes, complete with the “Previously on Alan Wake” at the beginning of each episode.

The graphics are superb, the acting is good, the idea is top notch! Hell, I even like the game being split into episodes! So, perfect game right? Wrong! As great as all these aspects are the game is just poorly executed! The controls are bad, the game can be almost frustrating enough to make you want to yank your hair out by the roots.

I really want to like this game! From what I have played so far, other that poor execution and bad controls the game is delight to play. I have even found myself screaming like a little sissy girl on a few occasions.

Perhaps everything will work it’s self out in the end, As I said I am not very far into the game. Only episode 3 as a matter of fact, and while I am unsure of how many episodes exist in the game, I am fairly certain it’s more than 3!

Red Dead Redemption Vs. Alan Wake

There’s currently two big name titles out on your Xbox 360 console fighting for your gaming dollar. Those two games of course are Red Dead Redemption and Alan Wake. If you are into gaming, I’m sure you have heard of them. The choice, the choice, the choices. Which one to get? Is it right for you?

The first thing to realise is that these are two VASTLY different games. I don’t mean because of the era that the games take place, but also their genre! This means you will need to actually do a little searching and looking into the game titles and make an educated decision.

As for me, well I am horrible at choices, and ended up doing something I shouldn’t have done, because I told myself not to do that ever again. What I did, was order BOTH game titles. Neither has arrived, but are both in transit. This means, within a few days I will be stuck with my next choice, which to play first!

Stay tuned to my blog for my first impressions on the games, and later on more detailed reviews.

Xbox 360 Droolage

I am an Xbox 360 owner. I am not interested in owning a Wii or even a PS3(Although there are a few exclusive ps3 titles that DO look to be interesting). I am quite happy with my 360 game system. Everything from the games right down the the EXTREMELY affordable Xbox Live service.

However, there’s some things coming this way for 360 owners that has me drooling. So, I decided I would share with you the things im looking forward to most.

Twitter – Yea, Twitter is getting intergrated with the xbox live service. So, you can send and recieve twitter posts right from the comfort of your living room couch.

Facebook – Yea, apparently Facebook is getting added to the Xbox Live service too…How cool right?

Combine those with the already available netflix addon, yer pretty much good to go! The only other things I would like to see, is a Gmail addon and maybe a basic browser without java/cookies/flash kinda thang.

Splintercell: Conviction – Newest Splinter cell game! Was due out way back in ’07 but according to the folks at ubisoft this time it REALLY will make it by this coming christmas.

Alan Wake – I don’t know a whole lot about this game, but it looks pretty damn sweet and made by the brainiacs who did Max Paine. Nuff said!

Ghostbusters – C’mon! It’s Ghostbusters! What’s not to drool about? Plus from what I hear its got the whole original cast doing the voices. if that doesn’t make you jizz in your pants, then you CLEARLY are not geek enough to hang with me.