Any thoughts on Silent Hill 4: The Room?

aso · Post by **aso** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 10:23 pm

I suspect a few Silent Hill fans are lurking around here, so I'd like to know if anyone has any thoughts on it thus far? It seems to be an interesting title... most likely better than SH3 in some respects, most notably gameplay and storyline.

The best part is how confounded the fans are about names. The landlord of the apartment building? His last name is Sunderland. At this point, a large number of people believe the man to be none other than James Sunderland of SH2.

Can't blame them for searching for a connection, however... the infamous Hope House, mentioned beforehand in the SH series, will actually be explored in further depth in this installment.

There's more to say, but I'll save that for later.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 10:30 pm

<a href="http://www.black-helix.com/">Central Silent Hill</a> has some good info on it. According to them the landlord is Cesiro Sunderland and is related to James. Unfortunately they don't mention where they got their info, and only say it's from rumors, so I can't say for sure. <a href="http://www.konamityo.com/sh4/">The official site</a> is in Japanese, and I don't know Japanese, so I can't say what's going on there either way. (The official site is also very, very creepy, and I'm sort of glad I don't know what's going on...)

Also, I think I may actually be the only SH fan here (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) but as you can tell I don't mind discussing it. *g*

aso · Post by **aso** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 10:39 pm

Yes, I've heard the same thing about the name. I can't say for sure about the Cesiro, either... and I'd really have to wonder about the connection to James. It's stated that James and Mary considered Silent Hill a vacation spot. Wouldn't it be some sort of rocking coincidence if a relative of James ended up connected to the same sort of situation?

Ah yes, the official site. I actually prefer SH3's Japanese site, as the content was a bit more interesting (numerous videos, whack-a-nurse, series history, et al). But I do dig the creepiness of the site, and I do think I have some idea as to what it's all about. Those cameos of people, and their profiles? I believe those may be the 'ghosts' that we've heard so much about. That stuff in Japanese may simply be information explaining how they became a ghost.

If you don't mind possible spoilers, I'd advise checking Felix's Silent Hill 4 images.

I love discussing Silent Hill, fortunately! Never enough people chatting about it, though - always discussing bloody Resident Evil when it comes to horror. Bah, I say!

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:21 pm

always discussing bloody Resident Evil when it comes to horror. Bah, I say!

Hear, hear.

I opted to pass on the first couple of Silent Hill games back when you could still get them and now I regret it. I played the first one briefly (in fact I think that may have been the last game I ever rented) and had mixed opinions, but I'd like to give it another shot. I think I missed the mark that time.

I'm told the third one isn't as creepy/good as the first two. Is that right?

plasticwingsband · Post by **plasticwingsband** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:36 pm

I think that out of all the "horror' games, the one that deserves the most props is the originator: Splatterhouse!

Granted, I've never played the Genesis sequels, but the original Arcade & TurboGrafx/PC Engine game is still wicked awesome. OK, so it's not really scary, but this sucker came out before horror games were hot shit. And it just oozes this campy, B-movie feel. It's just so much fun to see zombie guts splat against a wall when they're hit with a 2 x 4, or blasting the top half of a zombie off with a shotgun, only to watch a zombie dog run up and start feasting on its' remains.

Plus it has a boss who has chainsaws for hands! Chainsaws for hands, I say!

On a relevant note: I never played 1 or 3, but I have played a few hours into Silent Hill 2, and I have to say it legitimately scared the shit out of me.

aso · Post by **aso** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:37 pm

Silent Hill can be picked up for around 10 to 15 bucks. It's well worth the meagre cash.

I'm told the third one isn't as creepy/good as the first two. Is that right?

Matter of taste, really. SH2 is more about creating a sense of building dread that culminates in a outright cold sweat. SH3 is a blunter, less subtle psychological twangler in that it eschews more of the slower-paced style of SH2 in favor of 'jesus christ what the hell is that' imagery. Most people seem to prefer SH2's style, so I'd at least advise trying it before SH3. It's pretty cheap now, too, given that it's been released under Greatest Hits.

I think that out of all the "horror' games, the one that deserves the most props is the originator: Splatterhouse!

Bullocks! The Lurking Horror was the first. Bless that text adventure game.
Splatterhouse is, enh, okay. I'll admit to loving Wanpaku Graffiti as much as the next bloke, though.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:40 pm

I never played the Splatterhouse games, mostly because I'd see the box cover art at the local BlockBuster and be scared away. Hey, I was like 7.

Part of me wants to play Silent Hill, but the other part tells me not to. I don't do scary stuff too well. I just don't like horror much.

Resident Evil, on the other hand, I couldn't get into because the gameplay bored my pants off within the first hour. What's with the Tomb Raider-style-except-even-slower controls?

plasticwingsband · Post by **plasticwingsband** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:46 pm

Segaholic2 wrote:I never played the Splatterhouse games, mostly because I'd see the box cover art at the local BlockBuster and be scared away. Hey, I was like 7.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember going to Blockbuster and seeing the cover to one of the Genesis games (either 2 or 3) and looking at the (I believe) MA-17 rating and thinking how scary the game must be.

But if you ever get ahold of a TurboGrafx, I'd definitely recommend this game. Or, you might even try your luck with the Genesis games, but I can't offer any real insight into what those are like.

aso · Post by **aso** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 12:02 am

Resident Evil, on the other hand, I couldn't get into because the gameplay bored my pants off within the first hour. What's with the Tomb Raider-style-except-even-slower controls?

Got me there. Silent Hill 2 and 3 actually have the option to use either 2D or 3D control, which makes managing the games a lot easier.

Resident Evil, however, STILL uses that same stiff 'whirl around until you're facing in the correct direction' control. Gah!

BlazeHedgehog · Post by **BlazeHedgehog** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 1:50 am

I've got a friend of mine who reccomended Silent Hill to me. The previous game he'd reccomended to me was <i>Castlevania: Symphony of the Night</i>, what I consider one of the best games ever -- considering both Castlevania and Silent Hill were by Konami, reccomended to me by the same friend, I decided to pick up the PS1 version (which he was playing at the time).

I got up to the part with threes keys very early on in the game, and it just really put me off. I did not feel like Key Hunting, and still do not feel like key hunting. And that's where my save file sits.

Played abit of Silent Hill 2 over at a friend's place, but it didn't seem terribly interesting. (It was also broad daylight in a room full of people, so that probably had something to do with it)

The concept of Silent Hill 4 sounds interesting -- never leaving a single room except through otherworldly portals and whatnot, but I don't think it's my bag.

Post by **Delphine** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 1:34 pm

aso wrote:Wouldn't it be some sort of rocking coincidence if a relative of James ended up connected to the same sort of situation?

I think the town of Silent Hill is something that sticks to you; you can never really leave. Y'know: you can take the average Joe out of Silent Hill, but you can't take Silent Hill out of the average Joe.

aso wrote:Those cameos of people, and their profiles? I believe those may be the 'ghosts' that we've heard so much about. That stuff in Japanese may simply be information explaining how they became a ghost.

Ah, you're probably right. I should've thought of that. *g*

aso wrote:always discussing bloody Resident Evil when it comes to horror. Bah, I say!

And meh is what I say. RE is fun, but it doesn't really inspire discussion for me; there's not much to it besides shooting zombies, which certainly has it's appeal, but SH is so much more for me.

BlazeHedgehog wrote:Played abit of Silent Hill 2 over at a friend's place, but it didn't seem terribly interesting. (It was also broad daylight in a room full of people, so that probably had something to do with it)

Yeah, SH is best played alone or with a single silent friend long after the sun has set, or in a room with no windows, and the lights turned off. It's no fun unless you still hear the game's sounds after the game has been turned off.

Green Gibbon! wrote:I'm told the third one isn't as creepy/good as the first two. Is that right?

Like aso said, it's a matter of taste. While SH2 left me wanting to hide under the bed long into the night (and sometimes in the middle of the day), SH3 scared the crap out of me while I was playing, but as soon as I turned it off it was pretty much over. (Except after I'd just gotten out of the bloody room in the Other hospital. OH MY GOD THE BLOODY ROOM.)

Dache · Post by **Dache** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 2:01 pm

Don't play 3 until you've played a shitload of 1, or it won't make much sense. Play 2 whenever, the story is unconnected.

Post by **Delphine** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 2:07 pm

3 can be played without playing 1, that's what all that annoying exposition is for. then again, there's no real emotional connection when Heather gets home and finds the gift Claudia left her in the living room.

Dache · Post by **Dache** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 4:28 pm

I never completed 1 and even though I have a (free promo) copy of 3 on my shelf, I've hardly played it. Spoil away for me.

aso · Post by **aso** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 8:06 pm

Delphine wrote:I think the town of Silent Hill is something that sticks to you; you can never really leave. Y'know: you can take the average Joe out of Silent Hill, but you can't take Silent Hill out of the average Joe.

You know, that makes Harry's death a lot more logical. Even after 17 years had passed, the cult supposedly dissolved and the attempt to birth god foiled, he still couldn't escape the town or its impact.

Delphine wrote:And meh is what I say. RE is fun, but it doesn't really inspire discussion for me; there's not much to it besides shooting zombies, which certainly has it's appeal, but SH is so much more for me.

I do like RE to an extent. Yes, SH has more appeal. It's more interesting to discuss (being more psychological/spiritual) and I believe that its puzzles are infinitely less frustrating. Silent Hill has had its share of annoying puzzles, yes, but nothing is quite as bad as the card-shaped key holes in the RPD (RE2).

It just annoys me that so many people credit RE for heading survival horror. Want to be technical? Alone in the Dark did this first, and Silent Hill is a better inheritor of the Lovecraftian tone AitD had. As opposed to RE, which takes more of a cheesy Romero/Hammer tone.

Delphine wrote:(Except after I'd just gotten out of the bloody room in the Other hospital. OH MY GOD THE BLOODY ROOM.)

I was a tiny bit spoiled as to what to expect in that room, but it still freaked me out.

Dache wrote:Spoil away for me.

Okay. Cheryl, Harry's 'daughter' in Silent Hill 1 is actually Alessa, the older, teenaged girl you see from time-to-time in SH1. The 'Cheryl' half is a half of herself that Alessa split off spiritually, in what I believe was an attempt to save part of herself from the horrible suffering she was going through (Alessa was being prepped by her mother as well as a few others to give birth to their cult's god). At the very end of the game (Good or Good+, what you get is determined by a few particular actions), the god is birthed, regardless. The mother, Dahlia, as well as Alessa/Cheryl are both killed. The god itself is weak enough to be killed by a single man with a gun (Harry). Alessa/Cheryl, having died/been engulfed during the birthing, gave Harry a new child via spiritual presence. Something to fill the void in his life.

He escapes the town, names the child 'Heather' to avoid any possible future actions from the cult, and moves to a nearby town to raise the child.

17 years later, the cult manages to catch up to Heather with the help of a detective by the name of Douglas. Soon after this, Heather is thrust into nightmarish otherworlds despite not physically being in Silent Hill. This is basically because the otherworlds you saw in Silent Hill 1 were being maintained by Alessa/Cheryl. The monsters you fought were all basically envisionings of things/beings that Alessa/Cheryl were scared of or basically thought of a lot. This is what happens in Silent Hill 3 as well, the stuff stemming from Heather.

There's a bit more, including the few remaining members of the cult, the Memory of Alessa at the Amusement Park, and the fetus of god that actually exists in Heather's womb, but this is the basic gist of the Alessa/Cheryl/Heather connection that exists between SH1 and SH3.

Hope that made sense!

Post by **Delphine** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 8:43 pm

AitD did start the survival horror genre, but RE made it popular, so I can see why people say it started things.

I like RE for it's cheesiness, but there's not much to say about "I hope this isn't CHRIS'S blood" besides muffled giggles.

aso · Post by **aso** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 8:50 pm

Yeah, RE did make it more popular. I'll give it that, at least.

(Alone in the Dark popped up on the PC and 3D0 foremost. Whereas Resident Evil popped up on the PlayStation. Which one is more likely to grab the attention of the general public, folks?)

As far as RE quotes go,
They know them best!

Dache · Post by **Dache** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:22 am

aso wrote:[SH stuff]

Oh yeah, yeah, I knew that. I was just wondering what the gift Claudia left Heather was.

Post by **Delphine** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 8:41 pm

Dache wrote:Oh yeah, yeah, I knew that. I was just wondering what the gift Claudia left Heather was.

I was referring to Harry's dead body. (and yeah, if they wanted to make me pissed off at Claudia? IT WORKED.)

aso · Post by **aso** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:21 pm

Ah yes. She has a rather nasty monster known as the 'Missionary' do the honors of slicing poor Harry up. You, naturally, get to kill it.

(And to make things even better, you get to fight smaller versions of the same monster at the very end! Yay!)

Post by **Popcorn** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 6:46 am

I always wanted to like Silent Hill, but apparently I'm the only guy in the world who actually finds it severely distancing if a game controls like a lead rhino. :(

aso · Post by **aso** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 8:36 am

Popcorn wrote:I always wanted to like Silent Hill, but apparently I'm the only guy in the world who actually finds it severely distancing if a game controls like a lead rhino. :(

I did mention that SH 2 and 3 let you choose between two different types of control. :o

Post by **Popcorn** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 9:08 am

SH2 and SH3 are the only ones I've tried. It's not even the weird-ass default controls that get me, it's the way you feel so outrageously detached from everything. It's just as bad as FFX.

aso · Post by **aso** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 6:53 pm

As far as I know, that's an issue inherent with all third-person games.

Post by **Delphine** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 10:43 pm

aso wrote:As far as I know, that's an issue inherent with all third-person games.

*snerk* It's funny 'cause it's true!