Product Description

Silent Hill Homecoming is the latest entry into the Silent Hill franchise. The story follows Alex Shepher, returning to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother. From Shepherds Glen to the foggy streets of Silent Hill, Alex must face the darkest of horrors in order to find his brother. Struggling with his own grip on reality, Alex must unravel the mystery behind his nightmares, discover the truth behind his brother's and fathers disappearances, and confront the evil that has taken hold of his own flesh and blood.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #999 in Video Games
• Brand: Konami
• Model: 30071
• Published on: 2008-10
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .53" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .33 pounds

Features

• Enter the next chapter of Silent Hill and learn the town history
• first silent hill game on XBX360
• All new next gen graphics bring silent hill to life like never before
• solve treacherous and deadly puzzles to learn dark secrets
• features an all new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka

Amazon.com Product Description
Silent Hill: Homecoming marks the debut of the renowned psychological horror series on next-generation consoles. Building upon the series' trademark foundations of atmosphere, adventure and storytelling, it introduces a frightening new and standalone gameplay experience destined to haunt the dreams of both first-time players and those with some experience wandering the famously fog-shrouded streets of the town of Silent Hill and its new sinister sister city Shepherd's Glen.

Survive Shepherd's nightmare

Explore Silent Hill as Alex Shepherd. View larger.

Battle frightening enemies. View larger.

And the unexpectedly frightening. View larger.

Use tools and your wits to puzzle-solve. View larger.

The Story of a Grim Homecoming
Homecoming's story follows the nightmare turned real life of Alex Shepherd, a war veteran returning to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his kid brother, Josh. From Shepherd's Glen to the foggy streets of dreaded Silent Hill, Alex must face the darkest of horrors in order to find his brother. Struggling with his own grip on reality, it's here that Alex must unravel the mystery behind his nightmares, discover the truth behind his brother's disappearance, and confront the evil that takes hold of his own flesh and blood in the process.

Improved Gameplay
Firmly steeped in the Survival-Horror genre its series has been pivotal in establishing, action in Homecoming remains based on exploration of the terrors residing in the communities surrounding Toluca lake and puzzle-solving skill as a means of surviving them. But to its credit game developer Double Helix refuses to rest on past laurels, choosing instead to include new more accessible gameplay in the hopes of gaining a new audience for Homecoming. Examples of this gameplay include:

Next-Gen Visual and Spatial Features - Every sequel seeks reinvent the namesake game in their series. Homecoming does this in three ways, by adding the ability to toggle between a traditional third-person view and an action-oriented first-person view; by adding fully 3-D physics to the game, creating a realistic range of motion for any and all objects impacted by the player; and by adding transitions or "Hell States" that alter the game's physical landscape at points in the game both in real-time and via cinematics. All three actively change the way players see themselves and in the process create a whole new game experience.

An Enhanced Combat System - Adding to the standard knives, axes, pipes and other melee weapons that made up the arsenal of previous Silent Hill games, Homecoming adds a wide variety of guns and explosives. Fitting with the military back-story of protagonist Alex Shephard, these weapons can be wielded in attacks weighted as weak or strong and can be strung together in combos to stun or incapacitate opponents, who can then be taken out with powerful finishing moves. With practice players can even perform evasive ducks and rolls and follow these up with counterattacks. But remember that enemy AI has also been significantly improved to compensate for your higher degree of combat prowess, and that it's not uncommon to battle multiple monsters simultaneously.

Key Features:

• Enter the next chapter of Silent Hill as you delve deeper in the tormented history of the town and learn of the evil that surrounds Toluca Lake.
• Silent Hill: Homecoming is the 1st Silent Hill game designed for Xbox 360.
• From the murky fog to the ominous shadows, all-new next-gen graphics bring Silent Hill to life like never before.
• Survive the denizens of Silent Hill with an all-new enhanced combat system that gives you a wide array of attacks and counters.
• Solve the treacherous and deadly puzzles of Silent Hill to discover its darkest secrets.
• Silent Hill: Homecoming will feature an all-new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka.

Exceptional Replay Value
Although Alex Shepherd is the only playable character in Silent Hill: Homecoming there are many other important characters--some returning from earlier games in the series--that can have a dramatic impact on the game. When interacting with these, players are given a choice in how to proceed via dialog trees. Will you take the short route letting only the search for your brother guide you or will you explore the nooks and crannies that make up the mystery of Silent Hill hidden in the small talk you share with non-playable characters? The choice is yours, with different paths providing for possible alternate endings each time you delve into the game.

A Frighteningly Masterful Soundtrack
All games in the Survival-Horror genre seek to create tension and unease through sound and Homecoming does this masterfully through the compositions and sound engineering of Akira Yamaoka. Having scored the music and effects for dozens of video game titles, including all of the previous games in the Silent Hill series, Yamaoka is considered a master at using sound to illicit a response.

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Customer Reviews

"Welcome Home..."
Waking up in a Gurney.. being wheeled down a dark and delapitated hall by what appears to be a doctor. Turning to your right and your left, only to witness viscious acts of mutilation. Where are you? Is is any of this real? You are wheeled to a stop, you unfasten your straps and proceed to step forward. You open the door, and see a trail of blood. Creaks and echos can be heard all around you, and your truly scared. You take the first step into the darkness... Welcome to Silent Hill.

That, is how you start an intro. Apparently Bon Jovi was right, who says you can't go home?
First of all, dont listen to those Nay-Sayers (I.e. IGN) who say this game is bad (IGN obviously played the game for about 5 minutes, and remmembered that to get even more of a bad reputation, they would have to make up a bunch of fake facts.) This game is NOT as good as Silent Hill 2 (Although it certainly is VERY good). It never will be, but if you go into this game with lowered expectations, you will have a magnificent good time.
One thing Double Helix (American Developers) did manage to keep is the moody feel, and the constant psychological dread that all gamers have come to know, love, hate, and get sick from. This game is chock full of it, Which is a great thing!
Now, its time to de-bunk some lies that IGN may have told you: (NOTE: You may skip this if you want to hear about the story, this is just to clear the air of incesant lies that IGN tells oh so well)
1. "The game is not scary" Straight off the bat, that is total BS.
Within the first 5 minutes of the game, I already jumped back in my seat.
2. "Alex is to well Handled" Well, this may be true, but he is a soldier after all...
3. "The Flashlight is basically impossible to use" Wrong, The Flashlight is very realistic. True, it is a little weak, but it works best when its pointed at the mid-waist to ground level. Again, just like a real flashlight.
Now then: The story. (Note: Contains some minimal spoilers, nothing big) You are Alex Shepard. The war has taken a toll on your psyche, and you begin to have some very strange dreams about your brother. This is when you return to Sheppards Glen (Via A Silent Hill Origins reference) and learn that he has gone missing. Its Suprisingly Very good. In Typical Silent Hill fashion, nobody seems to right. You will begin to see what tore The Shepards apart. It draws the player in and never lets go. I felt utter disgust as I listened to a tape recorder of Adam Shepard Bad-mouthing Alex to his own brother! I felt Dread as I saw Joshua flee from Alex for no apparent reason. And I felt agony as I gazed upon a deformed remain of something un-human slither toward me, the image will stay burned in everyone's mind forever.
Many imporvements have been added such as an aiming system, Full control camera angle, and an upgraded fighting system. This doesent hinder the game in any way, it only makes it more enjoyable.

However, this game does have some faults to it. The way they ration Ammo and in particular, Health Drinks, needs some work. Allow me to elaborate. In typical "End Game" fashion, you expect a final boss and very limited supplies to make it more challenging, and thus, more rewarding. But this happens more towards the middle of the game, and by the time you reach the end, you're already crammed to the max with Health Drinks and Ammo, well you get the idea..
But in short: This is a must buy for a newcomer of the series, or someone who has been with it since SH1. It will give you that same gut-wrenching feeling the series does so well. Akira Yamaoka's moody beats help play the mood out all to well. With some work and some patience, this can be a very easy game to love. It won't take you long to become immersed in the fog. Man! It feels great to be home!

Decent, but Silent Hill can do better
Granted, I haven't played through the game completely, but there are some serious weaknesses that should've been addressed. Balancing this are also some vast, vast improvements over previous incarnations.

SH 5 follows Alex Shepard, as he traverses Sheperds Hill, his hometown, and then Silent Hill, searching for his little brother, who seemed to be in trouble in a dream he had. His father has also vanished and his mother is a near catatonic wreck. The story actually bears quite a few similarities to the movie, in the way the main character keeps chasing his brother, only to lose him at the last moment. Sheperds Hill tries to appear normal, but is overrun with smoke breathing zombies and skinless hounds, not to mention the canonical roads that vanish.

The character attempts to be intelligent, planning to find his brother and get the hell out of town, rather than "figure this out," but is bogged down by the limitations of a classical adventure game. He has to break through boarded doors with a fire ax, rather than a hammer that has to be found somewhere among the 436 tool boxes scattered throughout town. The few other players in town taht retain their wits can't bring themselves to flee the godforsaken place, and I hope sincerly that its explained at least to some degree.

Significant Improvements: The combat system is a lot more fluid and beliavable. You can dodge and duck out of the way, and you now have a targeting cursor. Enemies has identifiable weakness and strength to certain weapons, and you can use the terrain to somewhat of an advantage, though most veterans still use the time honored tradition of run the heck away.

Enemies no longer respawn, or spawn far less frequently, and there are fewer corridors of death where you can get boxed in and not be able to fight your way out.

God bless them, but pick up items now glow with a glossy sheen, not a flare in the darkness, but you can now see interactive items, rather than relying on your character turning his head.

Same Ol, Same Ol: Searching for that one piece of inventory, and being unable to kick open or shoulder through a door. One of the few things Condemned nailed perfectly.

Drawbacks: Not enough scary. There are quite a few jumps, and some creepy points, but not enough punch like there was in SH 1 and 2. The writers seem to think that darker=scarier. WRONG. However, they've applied lessons learned, so I can forgive them this.

Overall: Decent though not impressive graphics, a significantly improved h2h combat system, good voice acting, attempts at intelligent main character behavior, and a above average story thats been fleshed out more make this a rent-to-own, though I would rent initially unless you're an achivement or ending hound like myself. Definitely turn the brightness all the way up though, else you'll be walking into walls and corners constantly.

Good if you can weather some frustration
Homecoming is only the third Silent Hill game I've sampled. I know a lot of people hated "the room," but I fell in love with that one immediately. To me, it was as creepy as it was curious; every time I returned to the room, I'd scour it from top to bottom, looking for further clues to help me unravel the story. I really felt a serious need to get out, but then again, I wasn't sure if I'd still want out once I had escaped... Hate it or love it, you have to give props to the room for being original.

And then there's Homecoming. It's a bit of an odd dog, honestly. It incorporates enough atmosphere from the previous titles to make it feel 'silent hilly,' but it fails to add anything new. There's nothing novel about it. Sure, it looks good, and combat controls received a serious face-lift, but overall, it feels soulless compared to previous Silent Hill titles.

I may just be getting jaded in my old age, but the bad-guys don't seem all that creepy. The dogs don't have any skin on them. That's pretty standard survival-horror fare, anymore. There are big shambling guys that have blades where their head should be. Not sure how they can see me, but they always know exactly where I am. Then there's the weird smoker zombie that is impossible to land a full combo on because there's no way to avoid the constant stream of smoke that's pouring out of him. Oh, and then there are four-legged spider guys that have blades for feet. After you get to know them they aren't too bad, really. They're actually quite civil when fighting; they each patiently wait their turn to be bludgeoned to death with your lead pipe.

The truly disappointing aspect of Homecoming is the fact that Silent Hill's no longer an emotional/psychological thriller. It's digressed into more of a "boo! scared you!" experience. And even the cheap scares get to be predictable after a fashion. Oh...I'm entering knee-deep water...I wonder what on earth is going to happen next/again?

I remember the first time I ever saw pyramid head. The game switched to a cut-scene and he was... doing weird things to/with a zombie nurse. It was perverse, grotesque, and...disturbing. Yeah! That's exactly what it was. Disturbing! What the hell is that guy? What the hell is it doing? Somehow I knew to run away. I didn't want to fight it, I just wanted to be away from it!

You don't get that in Homecoming. You get dogs with no skin that never stop spawning and a dumb brother you're willing to chase straight through the gates of hell. Look, I have a brother in real life. I love him and all, but if I ever saw him run into a haunted hospital with crazy zombie nurses wielding knives, I'd probably consider heading back home and catching jeopardy. Maybe that's just me.

Homecoming relies heavily on darkness to build tension. I've seen this work well in other scary games, but unfortunately, there's *so much* dark in homecoming that it stops being scary and just gets irritating. When you realize there's no light to run toward, you just kinda stop running, you know? The same goes for combat in the game. When you realize there's no way to escape it, it loses its frantic edge and just turns into a chore.

Lastly, there were several times were I got stuck in the game because I couldn't figure out how or where to proceed. Most times this happened it was due to my own lack of attention to detail. However, at one particular section of the game the only way to further the storyline is by opening a door that looks just like the walls surrounding it. Because I didn't realize the wall was a door, I went back outside and died about ten times fighting endless hordes of re-spawning skinless zombie dogs. I was only able to get back on track with the help from an online game walkthru.

Looking back at my review, it doesn't seem like I have much good to say about Homecoming. As frustrating as the game is, I have to admit I do want to play through it. I think it's because I'm genuinely interested in the storyline and would like to know how it ends up. If you're a longtime Silent Hill fan, you really do need to play through Homecoming to get one of the more cohesive narratives in the series. It takes its sweet time unfolding, but the whole time you really find yourself wondering why everyone always treated Alex like garbage, why his mom's a lunatic, and why he's constantly chasing his stupid brother into certain death.

I bought Homecoming because I was in the mood for a good, scary game and yes, it has it's moments. I nearly came out of my seat a couple times to be honest. However, outside those "BOO!" scare moments, its pretty much devoid of emotional tension that was always characteristic in previous Silent Hill titles.


Complaints:

1. New / American development team relies on standard Hollywood horror staples -- to the detriment of the series.
2. The new combat mechanics, while improved, are irritating. Especially in cramped quarters or when facing off with more than one enemy at a time. If you miss one dodge, certain enemies can pummel half your life away.
3. There's no way to skip past some cut-scenes. If you have trouble beating a certain boss, be prepared to listen to the same lead-in schpiel over and over (and over).
4. Too much dark! When sound is your only indication that your face is being eaten by a bug, something's wrong.
5. Zombie Nurses. Again. And now with visible ass cheeks! What I'd like to know is who let them out of the hospital? Now they can turn up just about anywhere...

On the brighter side:
1. Graphics, music, and sound effects are all great.
2. The story is interesting if you don't mind dodging enough skinless dogs to actually get to it.
3. Locals are well done and apart from being too dark, they are very atmospheric, forlorn, and grotesque.
4. The puzzles are great, albeit a bit on the scarce side.
5. Boss battles are more challenging and, for the most part, fun.


As a game, I readily give Homecoming a 3/5. As a followup to the Silent Hill series, I'm afraid I'd only be able to award Homecoming with a 2/5... it has a lot to live up to and doesn't quite make the cut.