Downpour is not the perfect sequel the Silent Hill series deserve, however it is a hell lot better than what I expected.

User Rating: 7.5 | Silent Hill: Downpour X360
By Distortion_Lane | Review Date:
The game starts of strong, with an intro unlike anything the series has ever seen. I was impressed right of the bat. Following a pretty hardcore bus crash, Murphy, who is miraculously alive, now gets a chance for his freedom after an unspecified amount of time being incarcerated. Things get whacky from here on in as you explore a nearby motel. A jukebox plays silent hill 1 theme, flickering lights in the girls washroom (David Lynch anyone?), and a gas leak turns into some surreal Alice in Wonderland mix of surrealism. First time you get a taste of the combat may leave you with a bitter taste. However after a few fights you should get the hang of how it works and be able to defeat your foes without getting brutally beaten first. The first couple of hours are quite linear and serve more as an extended tutorial. An atmospheric one at that.

The graphics look quite good with attention to detail to character models and environment alike. Lighting looks fantastic and the only thing out of place are the sun rays shining through the fog. The biggest issue here are the frame rate drops and stuttering, which occurs far more in the town proper. Enemy design is very unimaginative and limited, and character animation is stiff and unnatural, yet the game still looks great due to excellent environmental design. Art direction is quite different this time around which leads to the game not entirely feeling like a silent hill game, but at least this is something new and doesn't recycle every old idea the series has.

OVERVIEW:

Gameplay (7/10)
+Great sense of exploration
+Absolutely amazing side quests
+Decent puzzles, need to be a lot harder though
+Sweet atmosphere
+Very unique and interesting otherworld sections (not the last one...)
+Organized journal system
+Easter eggs pay homage to previous titles
-Lackluster combat
-Weapons break... Seriously? Fire axes and lead pipes are apparently really brittle
-Last part of the game
-Why the **** would they go for an autosave system? Bring save points back!
-Story is decent but ultimately unsatisfying
+Murphy is a great character though

Graphics (8/10)
+Great art design
+Exceptional lighting
+Very detailed
-Sttttuutttering
-Poor monster design
-Low variety of enemies

Sound (8/10)
+Great soundtrack, although the first few songs are a lot better than anything else that come later in the game
+Decent voice acting, especially Murphy
+Good ambient sound
-Poor quality voice recording, weird reverb as if they used cheap equipment
-Game could sound crisper, and would they stop reusing the same sound for item pickups...

Value (8/10)
+The longest silent hill game ever
+Side quests add to the replay ability
-Very few unlockables, and mostly in form of artwork
-No special weapons as far as I know, there are exclusives which you can get from lockers

If you are a silent hill fan then you owe it to yourself to check this one out. If you have never played any of the previous games, this one will not change your mind about the series.

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