OK, I'm back in. I just played through the level where you are first introduced to the new enemy type: the Flood. The Flood appear to be mutated humans and parasites who are much less intelligent than the aliens from the Covenant, but at the same time, twice as strong and fast.
The level where you're introduced to them is absolutely fantastic. It changed the pace absolutely perfectly. The first half of the level is designed to terrify the player. All you see is the carcasses of Covenant scrubs, as well as Earth marines, scattered around the indoor compound. A droning musical score sets the tone of absolute dread as you make your way through the "too quiet" level. Finally, in the deepest section of the building, you meet the Flood and are forced to fight your way back out.
The pacing in this level was as good as it gets. It wasn't too hard (didn't die once!) there was a lot of plot exposition, you get a couple new weapons, and you're introduced to a new enemy.
So just as I was about to give up on this whole game out of boredom and frustration, the designers almost telepathically answered me with this level. But guess what the next level is?
So I guess I was completely wrong about the length of this game. I've played for about 8 hours now and I just started the 5th mission out of 10. I'm guessing the total time ends up being closer to 15-18 hours, which is unheard of for an FPS these days. Honestly, I think that's too long. People often complain about the brevity of single player campaigns in modern FPS games, but I think the genre lends itself to being on the shorter side. Like, I'm already bored with Halo to be perfectly frank. Yeah, they mix it up and bring you to different locales, but all I'm doing is shooting at the same 4 enemy types in front of different window dressing. Maybe it's just my gaming personality, but I think this is why I never finished this game to begin with, it's too damn long.
Now with the threat of "The Library" that everyone keeps telling me about, I am more hesitant to keep going. I get more frustrated playing FPS games than any other genre when I have to repeat a section over and over - like last night.
There is a section right at the end of the "snow world" stage where you leave a building that opens into a big snowfield. There are a couple hunters roaming around and then there's those damn flying machines and one of those tanks that hurls massive energy balls. You have to drop down to this area where there is a rocket launcher if you want to stand any chance at all against everything. So if you come through to doors quietly, you can melee one of those "OHH ROLL THE DICE" enemies before he jumps on a ghost. Then you jump on the ghost, ride it over to the rocket launcher area, climb out, take out the two flying things, take out the tank, take out the two hunters, take out the gun turret, all while managing other little dudes trying to kill you. This whole process took me about 7 or 8 minutes when I did it perfectly, but the trial and error before that made me want to eat tin foil. Having to do each step over and over again got old REAL quick.
I'm afraid The Library may force me to give up on this game...I await it's stupid difficulty.
So I've probably put about 4-5 hours into this game so far. Since this game was the flagship launch title for the original Xbox I have been trying to play it from the mindset of someone who had just bought the system and the game. Someone who had made the decision to buy an Xbox rather than a PS2 or a Gamecube. I thought, "If I had made that decision, would I be happy based on playing this game." And the answer is a resounding yes.
The music, the graphics, the cinematic storytelling all lend themselves to the feeling that you have just purchased a system that can kick some serious ass. And barring some flat textures and the lip syncing working more like marionettes than humans, the game still holds up today, nine years after it's release.
I was talking with a friend a lunch today and I said it's remarkable that I didn't even have to think twice about the controls. I jumped right in and it was just as if I was playing a game that was released yesterday. It really speaks to the FPS control blueprint the Bungie team laid out that it's just as easy to play the first Halo as it is to play Modern Warfare 2.
So I just turned off the power on that island thing so I could access that door. Does anyone remember how much longer is left in the game after that?
Halo. The game that brought first person shooters to the masses, and revolutionized the use of the right analog stick is one that I have never beaten. I will tell you all right now - FPS's are probably my least competent genre. I am flat out terrible at all of them, and I play very few. I had both Modern Warfare games just cuz everyone else had them, but I don't have the time to dedicate to be good enough to where I'm not getting destroyed every round. Eventually, I would trade in almost every FPS I had, and barring a few exceptions (XIII, Bioshock, Portal) I generally stay away from them unless there is something really compelling about it.
That being said, I am very excited to play through the first Halo. It's just old enough to make me a little nostalgic, but still part of the modern era of game design. Although if I remember correctly, the game opens with the now outdated "move the sticks in this direction so you can see what they do". Game designers now assume you know that the left stick moves and the right stick looks around - but that is thanks to Halo, and partially Goldeneye.
So from most reports, Halo is between 6-8 hours for the campaign. I will be playing on Normal - not Legendary or Balls Out or Rape Me Plenty or anything like that. Normal is fine for me.
Also, I must make mention of Chad Warden - who refers to this game as Gaylo. You can watch his idiotic "PS Tiple" fanboy rant here. Watch it to see how he thinks that if a game doesn't have 50 Cent or Fat Joe in their trailer, those games are in fact, "gay shit". And how "true niggas" don't play Halo. But who does play Halo? "Gay niggas." I suppose I'm not a "true nigga" but, in fact, a "gay nigga".
Alright, let's hit it. Halo: Combat Evolved for XBOX.
In 1999 the survival horror genre of video games was just starting to get its footing in the marketplace. Carried by Capcom's popular Resident Evil franchise, the market quickly opened up a nice big slot for games that were designed to scare the hell out of you. Konami decided to jump into the fray with their first attempt at a game in this fledgling genre - Silent Hill. Attempting to differentiate itself a bit from the Resident Evil series, Konami employed a much more cerebral type of horror in Silent Hill. Where Resident Evil would have zombies bursting through doors, Silent Hill would have shadows of enemies and "did I just see that" moments; where Resident Evil would have lots of firepower with characters trained in combat, Silent Hill would have underpowered, normal characters with very little in the way of weapons. Clearly Konami was doing everything they could to distinguish Silent Hill from the competition, but was it successful?
Story
As I mentioned before, the story in Silent Hill is by far the game's greatest asset. It deals with horror and scares in my favorite way - the horror of the mind. Movies like the Shining, Jacob's Ladder and the more recent 1408 use these same types of scares. To get an idea of what it's like to play Silent Hill, watch the scene from the Shining where Jack is in the bar talking to Lloyd. The camera cuts back and you see Jack sitting at the bar by himself, but to him, the liquor in his cup, the man behind the bar and people around him are as real as the stool he's sitting on.
Silent Hill focuses on Harry Mason's search for his daughter, Cheryl. He and Cheryl are on their way to take some time off in Silent Hill when they get in an accident. Harry wakes up behind the wheel and finds his daughter missing. This is Harry's motivation to continue through the horrors awaiting him in the accursed town. As if through an IV drip, you slowly learn little details about the town and the 3 or 4 actual people you meet, but many of the stories conflict with each other - leaving you to wonder "Is what I'm seeing real?"
The locales you visit, including the town itself, shift from a fairly creepy, fog laden environment to a hellish, pitch black nightmare. After every "nightmare" sequence, Harry suddenly wakes up and you're left scratching your head as to what is reality and what is in his imagination. From a design perspective, this works so well. You are controlling Harry and seeing everything he's seeing so you begin to wonder yourself about the things you see on the screen. Are they real? Are you imagining things? And in the end, many details are left hanging, leaving it open to interpretation - which is an excellent tactic when you have a story such as this. For me, one of the true marks of any good piece of horror media is this - are you still scared after you're done watching, reading, playing? With Silent Hill, the answer is a resounding yes.
"MOMMY!! Can we go to the...um...nevermind..."
One of the other things that the developers did so tactfully was to make the town itself feel alive, as if it was a character in and of itself. Similar to LOST when the characters would refer to "The Island" as if it was someone they knew, characters in this game refer to "The Town" in the same way, but unlike The Island, the town of Silent Hill actually feels alive as you play through it. There was a specific scene toward the end of the game where you're in the "nightmare" version of a theme park. The ground is made of rusted chain link fence, walls are made of flesh, there is a siren blaring in the distance, and then right in front of you is a perfectly clean and operating merry go round. It stands in such sharp contrast to the rest of your environment that you feel like the town is actually taunting you - trying to make you feel like you're slowly losing your mind.
Gameplay
Ninety-five percent of the time, if a game isn't fun to play, it doesn't matter how great anything else is, the game is a lost cause. Silent Hill is not fun to play, but in this rare case, it actually adds to the overall experience.
Pitting someone against the horrors of their mind, is something no protagonist is prepared for - especially a single father who's never fired a gun in his life. Harry frequently misses shots, he swings melee weapons like his eight-year old daughter, and he can sustain very few hits before succumbing to death's sweet release. From the players perspective, this can be INCREDIBLY frustrating, but from the perspective of the overall experience, it fits in perfect harmony with the other elements of the game. You'll quickly learn to favor flight over fight when you starting burning through ammo and health packs. And when you know you're underpowered, it adds a whole extra layer of stress when you turn each corner - as opposed to having a flame thrower and mowing down rows of zombies. That's not scary. It's awesome, but it's not scary.
While some of these clumsy fighting mechanics were clearly intentional, there are others that were unintentional and ended up taking away from the experience.
The camera. In maybe the only instance where Silent Hill following the blueprint from Resident Evil, the designers implemented fixed camera angles to allow for "classicly creepy shots". Most times you are able to swing the camera behind Harry, but other than that you have very little control over it. This can get really annoying when you're being attacked by multiple enemies and you can't see any of them.
2D, or "tank" walking controls. I lied, this is something else they took from Resident Evil. If you're unfamiliar with this type of control set up, it means that pressing up on the d-pad is the only way to make your character walk forward. So if you're used to modern controls where if you want to make your character walk toward you, you would press down, or make him run to the right, pressing right - forget all of that before playing this game. Pressing and holding right on the d-pad will only make Harry spin in a circle - so if you want to make him walk right, you first have to hold right until he's in the direction you want him to face, and then press up to send him on his way. It's not so bad once you get used to it, but it can get really tiresome in tight corners where you have to be precise about where you're walking.
Chilton Memorial Hospital: Providing the most terrifying care anyone could ask for.
Outside of the combat there are puzzles. Some of them fall back on the "find strangely shaped key for strangely shaped hole" mechanic, but some are actual noodle scratchers. You're often given very cryptic clues and left to yourself to figure it out. Things like colors, astrological signs, music, and time all call on the players knowledge of things outside of the game. I often had to do a Google search on certain things, or I found myself with a pen and paper jotting down potential solutions to puzzles. The game certainly assumes it's audience is educated when it comes to puzzles and definitely doesn't pander to the masses. They respect your intelligence and let you figure it out on your own without spoon feeding you answers like so many other games.
Stuff I Liked:
The story is pitch perfect and the way the environment plays so nicely with it just makes for a much more enjoyable game.
The horror! THE HORROR! Seriously, once you get away from the worst voice acting this side of the Mississippi, this game will terrify you, even with it's dated visuals.
The puzzles are fantastic. When you figure them out you actually feel smart.
Stuff I Hated:
Clumsy controls can be frustrating at times.
One playthrough is relatively short at six hours, but there is incentive to play it again.
Just in case you didn't believe me about the voice acting:
In the end, the game is fantastic. The voice acting is just part of the legend of Silent Hill, and if they did an actual HD remake, I don't know if it would be the same without the campiness. In a way, the awkward voice talent kind of added to the suspense. As if these people aren't reacting to the events in a realistic way, almost like lobotomy patients working through a mystery. Likely that was not the intention, but like I said - all part of the legend.
I would definitely recommend this game to a friend. It's available on the PlayStation Network for download, so if you don't have it - pick it up.
Review in Ten Words or Less:
Solid experience. Scary as hell. Frustrating controls.
An all in all enjoyable experience. Barring the voice acting (so bad...) and the sometimes frustrating camera/walking controls, I was gripped throughout the length of the game. The concept of the story is superb and that was the carrot on the string for me to continue through to the end. I am definitely compelled to play through the entire game again with the offer of one of those 'New Game+' things where you get cool new weapons (Chainsaw!) and access to areas (Police Station!) that were previously inaccessible - but it will have to wait until I finish everything else...
I'll have my full review up in the next couple of days.
So I played up until the first save point a couple nights ago, which is only like 15-20 minutes into the game. But I was quite upset to find that the SD graphics from PS1 look ATROCIOUS on an HDTV. Now I'm not trying to be all elitist rich guy complaining about having an HDTV - believe me, I am extremely grateful for everything I have in my life, but the way the image stretches out, the pixels are all over the place, its hard to make out what is what, and to add a layer of difficulty, there are no 3D controls. Meaning no matter which way the camera is facing, Up is always "walk forward." Even if your character is walking towards the camera, you still press up to walk forward. It's really confusing and frustrating until you get used to it.
Also, I don't remember the voice acting being as bad as it is. One of the first scenes is your character talking to a policewoman about your missing daughter. Now, let's remember exactly what's happened. You were in a car crash, your young daughter is missing in an abandoned town where you're pretty sure you just saw a few demons from hell walking around stabbing you with knives. Do you think you could work up a little more excitement than:
"Hello. Have you seen my daughter?"
"Haven't seen her."
That massive blank space in there represents the uncomfortable, unnatural pauses in conversations in this game. I'm still convinced that I will allow the game to scare me, and in a way, the unnatural voice acting adds a certain layer of creepiness to the whole affair, intentional or not.
I was talking to a friend about this game and we got on the topic of the fog. If you've ever played a Silent Hill game you know that when you're outside, there is the ever present entity of a heavy fog that hangs over the town. Now, this is obviously a deliberate design choice, but it's also a very clever coverup for straggling technology. In the days of PS1 there was something called "pop in" - this is when objects in the distance would appear or "pop in" to the scene unnaturally. This happened because the system couldn't render the objects until they were a certain size. So if you throw a thick blanket of fog over the entire outside world, with a visibility of only 4 or 5 feet in front of you, the problem is eliminated, or at least unnoticeable. Very clever, Konami-san. Very clever.
