VIDEO GAME REVIEW: 'Silent Hill: Downpour' frustratingly familiar
The "Silent Hill" series has been in a situation much like its own protagonists for a while now, wandering around aimlessly in a haze trying to find the right path towards salvation.
"Silent Hill: Downpour" is the latest effort by the series to get back on track. While the game certainly takes some steps in the right direction, more often than not the game turns out to be a frustrating mess.
One of the best things about the game is the stories that are told throughout its duration. This includes the story of the protagonist Murphy Pendleton, along with many of the side stories that can be found by exploring the desolate town of Silent Hill.
Murphy’s personal story is interesting from the very beginning. Throughout the game players get to unravel Murphy’s mysterious past and his deepest emotions.
The atmosphere and sound design in "Silent Hill: Downpour" is also top-notch. Walking around an oppressively dark room with only a lighter to see while a woman’s sobs echo in the distance is truly terrifying. The music also goes a long way in establishing a creepy tone.
The game has some great moments that will instill fear and paranoia within the player.
Unfortunately, players will spend a majority of their time with the atrocious combat, along with aimlessly navigating Silent Hill and solving terrible puzzles.
The combat in "Silent Hill: Downpour" is an abomination. There are guns in the game, but players will mostly be using melee weapons like axes, hammers and pipes. The combat consists of blocking or striking and most of it looks even clunkier than it feels.
There is no impact to the combat either. It never feels like the player is viscerally beating up an enemy with a lead pipe, but instead feels like the character is slapping a monster with a flimsy plastic toy.
Silent Hill itself is an open world for the most part, but navigation can be troublesome. At first exploring the foggy and creepy town is fun, but moving on to the next area can be difficult. This is especially true when some random item lying around is needed to reach a ladder or something.
The various puzzles in the game are just as bad, usually requiring brute force through trying random solutions ad nauseam until something works. It requires no intuitive thinking on the player’s part.
"Silent Hill: Downpour" is alright for people itching for a new survival horror game, but it requires too much effort and leniency on the player’s part for it to be fun for most people.
Game: Silent Hill: Downpour
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Genre: Survival Horror, Third-Person Action
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Score: 2 out of 5
