It's just telling of the questionable quality of games this generation. It's generally refreshing to go back to those games where well scripted pacing, puzzles, and just generally more methodical design choices.

I don't know if there is going to be another crash like the early 80's, but if this keeps up, even the little originality left will cease to exist.

On that note, I should really give it a try again. I'll even use a FAQ in case I get stuck... if that's even an issue in this one.

But I want to play stable versions of them :p But man, SH3 on PC was amazing. I never saw what SH4 looked like in person now that I think about it. Only just screenshots.

Oddly enough the point where you stopped it where I stopped for ages for the same reason. I eventually motivated myself to finish the game, and I did so with a fairly poor ending as I recall. I always intended to play it again, but it sat on the pile and there it has stayed since. So an HD edition would probably convince me to play it through one more time. Otherwise, especially given that I don't remember all that much about it anymore, one day I will play it again.

The storyline is one of the only reasons I ever bothered playing through any of the Silent Hill games. Gameplay wise they weren't that great, any of them. Combat was always piss poor, redundant, and an afterthought where running was almost always the better option save bosses.

Atmosphere was always nice and refreshing and the puzzles could be interesting and fun at times, but, it was overall the story that made me play through the games and what I enjoyed best about them. And SH4 has one of the best stories in the series in my opinion.

That's also why I enjoyed Homecoming. The storyline is what made it interesting, not the gameplay. Hell, spamming the 5 hit knife combo the ENTIRE game with it NEVER failing to kill all enemies and bosses with little threat to yourself is proof enough that combat and gameplay in SH games were never anything to write home about. And that's in Homecoming where combat is probably the 'best' of the series too.

I didn't have a problem with the atmosphere in Homecoming either. I thought it did itself decently and had tons of nods to itself. Honestly, i've played through all 5 console SH's and they all feel about the same to me.

Homecoming certainly lacked polish on the graphics. It's kinda weird how SH2 and 3 look better graphically than homecoming and even the new "SH8" does, but, regardless, it was the atmosphere and mainly the storyline that drives me through SH games and SH1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all had it in my opinion.

But, then again I'm not one of those fanboys who is biased about exactly 'what' SH has to entail or be about or do. The town is an entity now in of itself which uses people in different ways. Not everyone who enters the town is a guilty sinner, they may simply serve a role for a larger purpose. And the way each person experiences SH is completely different from another. So Henry and the room and the ghosts makes no less sense and is no less out of context with SH than Angela seeing nothing but Fire, Laura seeing absolutely nothing, Eddie seeing people, Heather and Harry seeing monsters, etc.

So I can enjoy each game in it's own right without comparing it to others and feeling it needs to live up to things set forth in a previous game. I'm all for innovation in 'how' each game presents the town in a new way to the protagonist. Monsters for Harry and Heather, personal sin for James, the room and ghosts for Henry, to encompassing an entire new town in it's shadow as well for Alex.

But, some fans are very specific in what they want and expect from a SH game, and if they don't get exactly that, they're unhappy with it. Like the ones who believe the town should solely be about people with personal sin. Or how Pyramid Head can only be tied to james, and tons of other ridiculous junk.

My inherent issue with Homecoming was nothing to do with the source material of what the town does or doesn't mean, or any inconsistency within. It's more to do with the fact the whole game is trying to be what's already come before it; the games, the movie. There is a whole lot of fan wankery in Homecoming (stuff like PH apperance, barb wire, peeling paint effect, etc) and the story line is attempting to have an impact on par with the original two games especially, combine this all together it was fairly predictable and just never reaches that peak or mystery that those ever did.

The final third redeems a lot of the earlier issues in Homecoming, but the first two acts are very devoid of emotional impact. Unlike Harry or James, I have no real reason to feel a lot of empathy towards Alex and his family until near the end, mostly because of the "conspiracy" overtones. I've said this in the other SH8 thread just now, but Homecoming's major problem was it wanted to be like the others so much that it felt tired.

There are some good things about Homecoming, but between the fluro monsters, even clunkier combat, and the weak story arc it's not surprising it's most peoples least fav and also why it's the worst seller in the series.

Well, even though PS1 games are nowhere half as fancy looking as PS2 or Xbox 360 games, I can't help but admit that I like them more. Games like Silent Hill, Clock Tower, Resident Evil, etc, are games I can go back to, despite their age. People always complained about them because of the tank controls, but I think they were amazing. It's not that I don't like any of these newer games, but I have never really enjoyed a lot of them in the same way as the old ones. Silent Hill is no exception.

I loved the first three Silent Hill games. If Silent Hill was just made into a trilogy, I'd have been happy with that. I don't know about being absolutely content, but I'd have been satisfied enough. Then 4 came out. OK, it was different, but it didn't really feel like a real Silent Hill game. To call home my point, they actually based the plot outwith Silent Hill itself, so I guess that gets that feeling out of the way.

Homecoming wasn't that bad. It just felt more action oriented than the usual, which was a let down. Origins actually felt like the Silent Hill games from 1999 to 2003 but it was kinda short. But not bad at all.

I've not played much of Shattered Memories. It to me doesn't seem like a Silent Hill game either. I don't know why. It just plays out differently from the others. I never really understood the whole "no combat" thing, either. It's like they were trying to be clever about it, because of all these third person shooters posing as horror games.

If I had to order them, it'd be SH3>SH4>SH:SM>SH2>SH1>SH5

SH3 is definitely my favorite by leagues and bounds, the rest are all pretty even though. Even if I did list SH5 as last, I still loved it a bit when I played through it.

The Room, Homecoming, Shattered Memories and now... Downpour.

Heres mine (dont hate me...)
SH2>SH4>SH1>SH3

yes i liked SH 4 mainly because it was more focused on... the survival aspect... and the story was pretty good...

I always liked RE more than Silent Hill, but Silent Hill has been a non mover at number 2 for me, just cos of how fucked up it is, lol...

XD