??-Jan-24
Let's start with the Silent Hill series, shall we? As for the first game, Silent Hill 1, well: I do love the PS1 horror games, though by that I really mean Resident Evil games. This was my first time playing Silent Hill. I appreciate what makes this a classic, but think I prefer the zombies (rather than weird ghoul thingies), pre-rendered backdrops (rather than ugly 3D terrain) and insanely cheesy dialogue (rather than slightly incoherent dialogue) of RE vs SH.
Still, I had fun. What about Silent Hill 2? I’d say it’s pretty much the ultimate sequel - improving on the original in basically every aspect. Better graphics (obv), better story, etc. Some people do prefer the original as a pure “horror” experience, and I think I’d agree this one is more psychological creeps than out-and-out “argh!”. But it is unsettling right from the get-go in that now iconic scenic viewpoint. Glad I finally got around to playing.
Now… on to Silent Hill 3? Listen, mate. This was good. I think it beats 2 even in some respects - it is more out and out horror but does that very well, with some superbly creepy levels. The mall, the construction site in particular. But yeah. It’s more frenetic and in your face than 2, that’s for sure. Doesn’t ever really let up. Maybe the end dragged a bit but overall, I was happy. Proper creepy-ass shiznat.
But as for Silent Hill 4... well, well, this was the odd one out. The biggest shift away from the template so far. The central conceit of “the Room” is, of course, brilliant. The problem is that it has all these niggles the other games didn’t have: 1) invincible enemies that follow you around 2) limited inventory space 3) requiring arduous backtracking 4) it goes on a few hours longer than the rest (or felt that way…), backtracking over several previous levels, but this time escorting a woman in a cocktail dress. I resorted to using a walkthrough to get it over with. Stil, the central idea is sound.
Anyway, how about some other thoughts? I suppose I should turn to the next 'series' I attempted: the Mass Effect trilogy. As you can see, I actually only completed the first two. I started the third, but found it so plodding (and difficult - I suppose that's my fault though for choosing one of the harder settings) I decided I actually 'couldn't be tossed'. It's known as the 'weak entry' in the trilogy for a reason, you know. But yes, the first two remained pretty much, more or less, as good as I remembered, especially in the music/ambience/atmosphere arena. I suppose the first one does indeed suffer from 'kinda pap' combat, and the Mako stuff has NOT been improved in the remake, despite reports to the contrary. It remains 'hella pap'. But the story, which is the reason you play modern Bioware RPGs (by 'modern', I mean post-Baldur's Gate), remains one of the 'best in gaming'. I am using a lot of 'quotation marks'.
Speaking of Baldur's Gate, I played that at the start of the year. A year ago as I write this in January 2024. I actually played it! For the first time! A mere 25 years after it came out. I thoroughly enjoyed it, far more than I was expecting to. I think some of that was the weight of my memory of Baldur's Gate 2 (which is far more sprawling, and complicated) making me assume I wouldn't get on with it. And part of it is the excellent 'Special Edition' or whatever it is called, which vastly improves the UI and adds lots of 'QoL' stuff. And probably the most important factor in me completing it is that it is NOT RIDICULOUSLY LONG. It took me about 30 hours, and I wasn't rushing it by any means. That's barely longer than a casual Deus Ex playthrough!
I may do some more thoughts later, I may not. The suspense must be killing you. What I will point out is that in amongst the other stuff I did my basically annual playthroughs of Sonic the Hedgehog, Resident Evil 2, and Doom. They remain 'some of the best games of all time'. Or probably just 'the best game of all time', in Doom's case. I also completed Resident Evil 1 for the first time. It was 'dead fun' (HAH!) and I will probably add it my rotation, though the sequel still remains vastly superior.
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