Can Double Helix meet high expectations, and especially, where are they going with the series? Read on to see.
It was a big surprise when two years ago Konami announced that a American developer is going to work on next game and not their own Team Silent. Double Helix has been given an opportunity to show what they can.
Never heard of Double Helix? They are the guys that made The Golden Compass, Matrix, DaVinci Code and Indiana Jones games. Many more of course, but these are the only ones worth mentioning.
So, in Silent Hill you play as Alex Shepherd, young soldier who, like all main characters from Silent Hill games, is troubled with difficult past. What exactly happened will become clear during the game, but I'll tell you that he's having some scary dreams about his little brother, Joshua.
Just after finishing his mission in a foreign country, Alex visits his birth city, Shepherd's Glen. Shepherd's Glen looks totally abandoned. Most of shops have been closed, cars have been broken in to or destroyed and the complete village is surrounded by a dense fog. In his parent's house waits more bad news: Joshua is missing, his mother is sitting in basement,just staring. Alex promises his mother that he'll find Joshua, but soon he realizes that Joshua's disappearance was not the only one. After he sees some detection notes which are hanging in the village, it becomes clear that one after the other inhabitant has disappeared. Before he even knows it, is Alex surrounded with mystery and it's on him to find out what is Shepherd's Glen secret ones and for all.
TAKE THIS!
Silent Hill: Homecoming is nothing different than its predecessors when it comes to gameplay. It's pretty clear that Double Helix didn't decide to take the series in the new direction. That means, discover a lot, crack some puzzles and kill some creepy monsters. You shouldn't expect much of discovering new location, because most inside locations have many hallways and doors from which only a couple can actually open. And they lead to MORE doors and hallways. Luckily, there are number of outside locations which are not that linear, but it's still a shame that gameplay comes down to opening door after door after door. The puzzles are different in quality. Some are just too simple, but luckily there is a number of (relatively) complex puzzles and some what enjoyable adventure(ish) puzzles where you have to combine stuff to get the whole picture.
One of the better gameplay aspects of Homecoming is the combat. Alex can use different weapons, from knifes to pipes, to chopping Axe to guns, and can carry out as well as light as heavy attacks with every weapon.
Heavy attacks can sometimes cause extra damage. There is also a special block-move, with which you can block or dodge enemy attacks.
CREEPS
The most important aspect of Silent Hill is by far the horror. Silent Hill: Homecoming know to give you a couple of small scares during the game, but most of the time it's really weak. Lot's of sudden enemy 'jump-outs' and creepy sounds are just not enough.
The scary bits that you don't see coming are fun, but it's still a shame that horror is too weak, while earlier Silent Hill games where famous for their subtle, psychological horror.
ALL IN ALL
All in all is Silent Hill exactly what you want we expected: a good, but not great survival-horror game which follows the same path as its predecessors. For people that don't know Silent Hill jet and want to know that makes it so special, is Silent Hill Homecoming maybe not the best example, but all in all it's a good survival-horror game.
SCORE
TOTAL : 6.5
GAMEPLAY: 7/10
GRAPHICS: 6/10
SOUND : 7/10
+ Positive = Good sound effects,Strong combat
- Negative = Too much repetition, weak story, bad voice acting.
SPECS
Minimum specs : PIV 2.8 GHz, 1GB, 256 MB 3D card
Recommended specs : Core 2 Duo 2,4 GHz, 2GB, GeForce 8800