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The human characters however, are less than average with a limited amount of facial movement to articulate their feelings, their delivery could have been better. This is in part because the developer, Double Helix, decided to revamp the fighting system in order to defeat monsters rather than running away. I won't ruin the rest for you, but suffice to say that there are some twists, turns and decisions that will lead Alex on several realizations, and some dramatic moments involving his family and the town's connection to silent hill. The fighting system itself is well implemented,there are fast/slow attacks, a dodge button and the ability to circle around which greatly help you take down everything the game throws at you.
Fans of the movie Jacob's Ladder will no doubt recognize some similarities. With this said however, some players may find it difficult to get used to fighting since some of the timing requirements to doge or counterattack enemies can at times be tricky. In the graphical department Homecoming is a mixed bag the environments and monsters look crisp and clean,but may not up to par with some current generation games. Having played Silent Hill 2, 3, and some of 4 I would have to say that Homecoming is the least scariest. I would however advise that you do not pay full price. The whole premise of Homecoming involves Alex Sheppard, a former soldier, coming back to his hometown of Sheppard's Glen in search of his brother.
With regards to symbolism, the Silent Hill games have always been choked full. Although some of the symbolism in this reviewer's opinion is not as prominent as other games, it is there if you look hard enough.
My copy was purchased for $29.99 which I felt was appropriate given the length and the time spent with it, but paying $59.99 for a copy might lead some to feel like they were burned. This results in a game that may not be as disturbing due to the fact that monsters can be seen in great clarity.
Overall Silent Hill: Homecoming is a good game, that I would recommend for series veterans, and someone looking for a creepy adventure. The exception to this is Alex, but even he could have been done better.
As far as the story goes, I rank it as less than average compared to the others I have played. It sports five different endings warranting some replayability.
Happy Gaming
Also, as another reviewer mentioned, each enemy has it's own weaknesses that can be taken advantage of to make short work of them. Each enemy was given it's own introduction, and the first encounters seemed almost like mini boss fights. I was blown away when I started playing this; the graphics were amazing, the worlds were beautiful (and creepy), the characters were well narrated, the fights were challenging, and I would actually get scared during parts of the game. The game settings are for Normal and Hard, with the normal mode feeling more hard than normal. The plot ended up feeling very "Americanized"; a large amount of the mystery was stripped out of it, and it ended up feeling more like a sequel to the movie rather than the other games. But, most importantly, I found this game to be fun--and challenging--to play.**Warning to novice players: There is no easy mode for this game.
You were struggling and striving to survive, just as you should in a survival game. It made the game very intense. However, it was all down hill after the defeat of the second boss. As another reviewer mentioned: in the second half of the game they bombard you with supplies. To start off: The first half of this game deserves 5 stars. Also, the second half starts to take on more a cheesy "we ripped this off the Silent Hill movie" feel. By the second half the game starts to deviate from it's roots in the other Silent Hill games and head more in the direction the movie did.
It seems funny in retrospect; during the second level I kept thinking there was no way the designers were going to be able to top it and it seems they realized the same thing and didn't even try.Don't get me wrong, it's still a fun game and I recommend it to fans of the series. The fighting system is greatly improved and more involved, you now have the added bonus of dodging and combo attacks that will have to be used if you want to make any progress in the game. Having an overstock of supplies takes the anxiety out of your encounters, which is half of what causes a horror game to actually be frightening. Then there were the bosses: the first two were RIDICULOUSLY hard. This all works to make fighting feel much more realistic than it has in previous games.
By that time you should have discovered ways to make short work of most of the creatures you encounter, so you find yourself overstocked. The last two bosses are rather easy (in comparison to the first two), making it almost seem like the designers got the beginning of the game switched up with the end. Once again, the worlds do look amazing, and if you're anything like me you'll find yourself spending quite a bit of time just looking at details in the graphics. People who are not used to survival games--or who can't get used to the new fighting system (dodging and combos)--are going to find this game to be very frustrating.
Frankly, I gave up on it. There is very little ammo provided and the enemies can drain half your health in one shot.
It does not blow in the sense that it is a bad game. This game has a very promising story, however I have no clue what happens, since I keep dying.
I am an avid video game player, and I have a great deal of trouble with these enemies. On the contrary, I thought that the story line was compelling.
However the enemies may be a tad too much. This is a story centered game, not a hack and slash, it shouldn't take this much effort to kill these enemies.
I would have liked to find out what happens in the story, but I could not contend with the enemies.
This game is so boooooooring, even the music is boring. At first it was okay, then, about thirty minutes into the game I had no idea what to do next. I literally spent hours running around trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do but I decided to stop wasting my time. Its unrealistic like why does every single door in the world have a broken lock. makes no sense, ripoff.
Silent Hill Homecomings was hands down great in the graphics department. This game dragged a bit in the pacing of the plot. The bosses were fairly easy to beat once you figured out the timing of their attacks. Several times I found myself laughing at the game's attempt to scare you with fake shrills and sound effects. While this game is not as great as the 1st Silent Hill and Silent Hill Origins for the PSP, it's worth playing. The story is short and the soundtrack is hot.
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