SILENT HILL: DOWNPOUR (PS3)
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Publisher: Konami.
Developer: Vatra Games. Released: March 2011. Genre: Survival Horror. Other versions: X360. Posted 1st December 2012. By Tom Clare © 2012 |
Are we Silent Hill fans fools for retaining such faith year after year, hoping against hope that the next instalment will be the return to form we’ve craved for so long? The rest of the gaming world watches on in sadness as a once-marquee horror series is yanked unceremoniously from its Japanese roots and bandied around a multitude of inexperienced and obscure western developers who don’t seem to know quite what to do with it. Were we fools to believe Downpour would be any different? Maybe. But then, maybe not…
After the creative but lightweight Shattered Memories and the visionless Homecoming, SH has in recent times looked a sure-fire recipe for disappointment. The first half hour of Downpour does little to raise the muted optimism. Looking acceptable at first glance, it soon becomes apparent that the game engine is far from comfortable in its own skin; a bit of exploration reveals unconvincing, jagged fog effects and a disconcerting habit of skipping frames. Cut-scenes show up visual discrepancies the worst, with splodgy textures layering before your eyes, and some of the worst anti-aliasing effects you’ll ever see make unfocused backgrounds look a blocky mess.
At this point, the mind races ahead, formulating a write-up on a lost series plunging new depths. But then something delightfully unexpected occurred; Downpour not only found its feet (both thematically and technically), but blossomed. A fortnight’s stay in the creepy town reveals what is the best (and truest) Silent Hill in years. No classic, I hasten to add, and still some way short of the standard set by the first few instalments, but from looking like a disaster to begin with, Vatra have chiselled out a genuinely decent survival-horror.
Bloody...Hell. Two words entirely deserving of association with Silent Hill
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Don't let the red chasing light thing melt you from behind!
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Downpour centres on Murphy Pendleton; a prisoner shouldering a dark, violent past (combat controls are explained through him attacking a fellow-inmate in the showers). As he’s being transported to another prison, the bus plunges down a ravine, leaving everyone who was inside missing, and lucky ol’ Murph seemingly free to go. Except he’s in Silent Hill, so he’s gotta face the rain, and his demons, instead.
Following the Diner/Mines opening, things really get going when you reach Silent Hill proper, with a fair selection of additional tasks becoming available. I have to admit, I baulked at the prospect of secondary missions as such leisurely freedoms didn’t seem in keeping with the series. In practice though, they gift Downpour a depth that its recent predecessors never enjoyed. Most are instigated through cryptic notes and memoirs; a mother leaves ribbons to guide her daughter home, so to learn of her fate, you have to follow the trail. They can be really spooky; one example sees Murphy winding a gramophone in order to reveal how the body of a woman came to meet her chilling fate – before then having to deal with the murderous spirit responsible. You can even cobble together some items to help a beggar in return for access through the sewers to different parts of the town, though disappointingly, this has a tendency to glitch and leave you locked out. There’s around a dozen of these quests and the majority of them work well.
Even on the harder difficulties, Downpour isn’t populated by a great number of enemies, and they’re mostly quite easy to out run. Nevertheless, there’s no question it has the capacity to scare thanks to smart articulation of light/shadow and some excellent ambient sound effects; creeping around a dank basement or manky sewer will have you thinking twice about rounding a corner. On occasions, Murphy has to resort to using his lighter, and as if to mimic your own peering in the gloom, the camera edges in closer; the flickering light proving at once piteous and precious. And there are some genuine standout moments, set-pieces of real class. Above a theatre stage, there’s a really cool puzzle that sees Murphy following the plans for a play; working the music, lighting and set backdrops before simulating rain and the crashes of thunder. Upon completion, he’ll have induced a real thunder storm and brought the dense woodland set to life, which is terrifically chilling. Honorary mentions must also go to the room that fills with blood and the remarkable last boss.
And it shouldn’t be forgotten that the rain alluded to in the title adds a neat new facet to the game. Spend enough time outdoors and it will start to rain, before thunder and lightning brings starts to attract more veracious gangs of monsters. Admittedly, the lightning effect is amazingly cheap-looking, but rain instils a little bit of urgency to the otherwise-straightforward ambling, encouraging you to seek shelter. Otherworld Silent Hill is tame, generic and underused, but there’s still plenty to be admired. Vatra deserve credit for making use of the more positive elements of the series’ recent endeavours; they’ve adapted the breathless chase scenes from Shattered Memories as Murphy is pursued by a relentless red cyclone (never really explained) through a maze of freakish corridors, whilst the combat is more immediate and features generally tighter mechanics than the suffocating antics of Homecoming.
Following the Diner/Mines opening, things really get going when you reach Silent Hill proper, with a fair selection of additional tasks becoming available. I have to admit, I baulked at the prospect of secondary missions as such leisurely freedoms didn’t seem in keeping with the series. In practice though, they gift Downpour a depth that its recent predecessors never enjoyed. Most are instigated through cryptic notes and memoirs; a mother leaves ribbons to guide her daughter home, so to learn of her fate, you have to follow the trail. They can be really spooky; one example sees Murphy winding a gramophone in order to reveal how the body of a woman came to meet her chilling fate – before then having to deal with the murderous spirit responsible. You can even cobble together some items to help a beggar in return for access through the sewers to different parts of the town, though disappointingly, this has a tendency to glitch and leave you locked out. There’s around a dozen of these quests and the majority of them work well.
Even on the harder difficulties, Downpour isn’t populated by a great number of enemies, and they’re mostly quite easy to out run. Nevertheless, there’s no question it has the capacity to scare thanks to smart articulation of light/shadow and some excellent ambient sound effects; creeping around a dank basement or manky sewer will have you thinking twice about rounding a corner. On occasions, Murphy has to resort to using his lighter, and as if to mimic your own peering in the gloom, the camera edges in closer; the flickering light proving at once piteous and precious. And there are some genuine standout moments, set-pieces of real class. Above a theatre stage, there’s a really cool puzzle that sees Murphy following the plans for a play; working the music, lighting and set backdrops before simulating rain and the crashes of thunder. Upon completion, he’ll have induced a real thunder storm and brought the dense woodland set to life, which is terrifically chilling. Honorary mentions must also go to the room that fills with blood and the remarkable last boss.
And it shouldn’t be forgotten that the rain alluded to in the title adds a neat new facet to the game. Spend enough time outdoors and it will start to rain, before thunder and lightning brings starts to attract more veracious gangs of monsters. Admittedly, the lightning effect is amazingly cheap-looking, but rain instils a little bit of urgency to the otherwise-straightforward ambling, encouraging you to seek shelter. Otherworld Silent Hill is tame, generic and underused, but there’s still plenty to be admired. Vatra deserve credit for making use of the more positive elements of the series’ recent endeavours; they’ve adapted the breathless chase scenes from Shattered Memories as Murphy is pursued by a relentless red cyclone (never really explained) through a maze of freakish corridors, whilst the combat is more immediate and features generally tighter mechanics than the suffocating antics of Homecoming.
A winning smile if ever I've seen one.
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The dolls are dangerous with their funky out-of-body skills
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So what prevents Downpour from taking that final step towards the pantheon of survival-horror greats? As well as its aforementioned technical frailties, there’s a clumsy real-time inventory menu to deal with (items really start to stack up towards the end and can’t be rearranged) and a method of interaction that should have been thought through better; the same button is used to pick up key items and general scenery used as weaponry, meaning if you’re searching for an item of importance, you’ll often have to put up with Murphy picking up and dropping stuff ad nauseam. The story is relatively disappointing by the series’ usual standards as well. The fraught dynamic between Murphy and the eternally-vexed Officer Anne Cunningham adds a bit of spark, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the forced sense of ambiguity ends up feeling a bit faux-Silent Hill. This is partly down to the scattergun characterisation and rather bitty nature of the narrative; postman Howard Blackwood and DJ Bobby Ricks (who sends Murphy song dedications via radio throughout the game) show a cryptic understanding of the town’s manipulation of circumstance, but their exploits aren’t rounded off in satisfactory fashion. Add to this some peculiar (even by Silent Hill’s standards) primary mission objectives, such as finding three pieces of a rhyme needed to coax a child into unlocking a door, and it doesn’t fully convince.
Still, after a slow start, Downpour redeems itself in fine style. Many of the dodgy technical effects aren’t as debilitating once you’ve passed through the opening phases, and the look of the locations (notably the Orphanage) is much closer to the series’ usual high standards. Despite the exit of long-term series composer Akira Yamaoka, the music is affecting and used sparingly, whilst the token UFO ending offers ample encouragement for a second play of the adventure. Just as Silent Hill appeared to be disappearing into the fog, Downpour offers an unlikely reprieve for the series and suggests that, provided they can learn to limit technical bloopers and tidy up the presentation, Vatra could have a bright future ahead of them.
Still, after a slow start, Downpour redeems itself in fine style. Many of the dodgy technical effects aren’t as debilitating once you’ve passed through the opening phases, and the look of the locations (notably the Orphanage) is much closer to the series’ usual high standards. Despite the exit of long-term series composer Akira Yamaoka, the music is affecting and used sparingly, whilst the token UFO ending offers ample encouragement for a second play of the adventure. Just as Silent Hill appeared to be disappearing into the fog, Downpour offers an unlikely reprieve for the series and suggests that, provided they can learn to limit technical bloopers and tidy up the presentation, Vatra could have a bright future ahead of them.
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VERDICT
Visual: 5/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Longevity: 7/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |
MORE SILENT HILL REVIEWS
Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008, PS3)
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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (2010, PS2)
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