Silent Hill Homecoming vs. Alone in the Dark
Well, the thing about "Silent Hill Homecoming" is that...it's neither. "SH Homecoming" is neither flawed or glitchy (in any serious way), but it's also not a masterpiece. It's a workaday game that feels like a guilty pleasure from days gone by--with updated graphics and tweaked gameplay. But there is nothing innovative here (which the developers say was on purpose), and very little in the way of truly cinematic, breathtaking moments or gut-clenching story arcs. I can "get with" the developer's vibe of remaining true to the franchise. But in making that important decision, what players end up with is a game that makes you reminisce about days gone by (for the first few hours)....but soon after you realize that (perhaps) you've moved on from this kind of somewhat dated gaming experience. Honestly, it gets a tad dull.
So, here's where I am on this newest SH installment: Silent Hill--as it was oh so many years ago--was enough for us THEN, but it may not really be enough for some of us NOW. Now that we've experienced the gritty visceral horrors of the "Condemned" franchise, the glitchy cinematic huge-ness of "Alone in the Dark," the icy chill of Alma's grip in the "Fear" franchise, and the horribly complex characters and bloody-heart-chowing action in "The Darkness," maybe the cleavage-cleaving faceless nurses (or ol' faithful Red Pyramid) in SH just aren't enough for us any longer. Plainly put: There wasn't a single jump-outta-my-skin moment in "Homecoming" for me. And this is an unapologetic fanboy speaking here.
Maybe I've just become a jaded fanboy though. Oh well. I'm ready to be scared again. Bring on Dead Space.