If they are trying to save the silent hill franchise this isn't the answer.
User Rating: 7 | Silent Hill: Downpour X360
Have you ever played a game that took you weeks, maybe even months to beat, not because it had oodles of gameplay or because you were hooked on the game and just played it over and over again, but because you found yourself frequently loosing interest. Well I have, and silent hill downpour just happens to be one of those games. Admittedly I do have a life outside of gaming(job, house work, wife, other hobbies, etc.), and sometimes if a game doesn't spike my interest I forget to come back and fool with it. Downpour isn't a terrible game, nor is it a great game. Because of various performance flaws and mediocre combat I had trouble getting into this game. I applaud the fact that they crafted a world that is more expansive than past outings. They also threw in a variety of side missions that were interesting as well. This game more than its forebears rewarded and encouraged some exploration. Each side mission was unique and presented its own mini-story. And speaking of story the main tale was one of the better ones in the series. You play as Murphy Pendleton, a convict fresh off a bus crash. Pendleton has a checkered past; he lost a son, went to prison, sought revenge, did some dirty work, etc. The story is rich and explains itself fairly well for a change. Downpour has reasonably diverse settings to traverse and the campaign length is solid. Sadly you don't spend a lot of time in otherworld and when you do too much of that time is spent scrambling for your life from a miniature roving black hole. As always the visuals are creepy hazy type business and everything looks pretty good. The controls are responsive and simple to learn. Everything feels like classic survival horror fare. There are the requisite item fetches and puzzles to solve as well. The combat is weighty and precise. Its also predictable and very one note. The enemy variety is ok, but there is a shortage of good boss encounters. The music does a fine job of setting the atmosphere. Downpour's most glaring and brutal flaw is the framerate. Yikes, this is some of the worst framerate slow down I have seen in a long time. It was so bad at times that it made gameplay difficult.
Analysis: The silent hill series improved in story and exploration elements. It moved laterally in other areas. But the game performance was rough.
