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While the new game borrows key plot and setting elements from the original PlayStation game, this re-imagining begins with a visit to a psychiatrist, who asks the player to answer a series of questions. From here on in, their every movement, reaction and response is monitored and the game tailored accordingly.
For instance, if a player dashes from location to location, the game will present different reactions from people and situations than if a more considered approach is adopted. Characters may appear more hostile, for example, and less willing to help with the games ongoing mystery of the heros missing daughter. Similarly, if the player comes across as overtly flirtatious or, at the other end of the scale, stand-offish and reserved, those they meet will dress differently, and also adjust their behavior.
This means that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a game that will be different for everyone who plays it. At its heart, the mystery of main character, Harry Masons missing daughter Cheryl remains, but the game is centered on the notion of family relations, and subtle plot elements and situations in the game outline a series of circumstances related to Harrys plight.
During the game, an all-new bespoke Wii control system allows the user to fully interact with their surroundings, and explore the sprawling town of Silent Hill. A mobile phone doubles as a GPS unit, and can also be used to stay in touch with those you come to meet, and receive mysterious messages related to Cheryls disappearance. For the first time ever in the series history, Silent Hill is presented as a genuine location, inhabited by believable characters each driven by the evil undertones they live within.
Buy Silent Hill Shattered Memories on Nintendo WII
Rating Info: 15
Average Rating:
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This game has had a mixed reception but for me it is one of the best games in the series and one of the finest adventures available on the Wii. The nightmare sequences have divided reviewers and players alike but I thought that they captured the feeling of panic and desperation perfectly. Another criticism levelled at the game is the perceived lack of variety of the monsters. To understand the nature of the monsters you have to play it all the way through. For me, being chased was scary, what was chasing me was largely immaterial! The true emphasis in the game is on story and exploration. You can blast through the game in a matter of hours but by doing so you'll miss the immense amount of detail that has gone into this game. Go into the diner and you can read the menus. See a phone number on a bill board and you can phone it. The town feels like a town rather than a collection of locked doors. If a character offers to drive you somewhere then you actually get in the car with them and they'll talk to you. It adds to that immersive sense that you wouldn't get if it was done as a simple cutscene and then cut to location. The game is short by modern standards but I think people are missing the point. The game length is just right to tell the story. Any more would be padding and detract from the atmosphere of the game. What makes the game is the replay value. Contrary to what some reviewers have said your choices do matter. Your answers to the tests, how you interact with characters and even what you look at and who you phone will have an impact on your game and ending. You can only really appreciate this on a second playthrough. I've met different characters and faced different puzzles. Harry's reactions have changed and even the messages I receive have changed in character and tone. Highly recommended for fans of atmospheric games. It's more a psychological thriller than a standard horror game. It's unsettling rather than scary but it will get under your skin far more than any set of cheap scares could.
