silent-hill-homecoming
Latest
Worldwide PS3 releases for the week of September 28th
Silent Hill is coming home this week. For America and Asia, that is. Europe has about another month to wait, but instead get the latest iteration in the never ending FIFA franchise. That's it for this week, but here's the info in a handy bullet-point list:US Games Silent Hill: Homecoming EU Games FIFA 09 Asian Games Silent Hill: Homecoming Release dates are constantly subject to change. If you're worried, then check with your local retailer. Europeans, feel free to import Silent Hill: Homecoming, if you're desperate. Just be aware that imported games must have downloadable content from their respective regions. Not that we suspect Silent Hill: Homecoming will be getting any DLC.
Silent Hill not coming home in Australia
Atari, the distributor for Konami games in Australia, has stated (via GameSpot) that Silent Hill: Homecoming won't be coming to the land down under. The game has been refused classification by the OFLC, making it illegal to sell the game in stores. At earliest, the title is expected to arrive "next year" while Konami decides whether to edit the game for the region.Fallout 3, which was also refused classification in Aussieland, endured minor edits so it could be sold in the country -- and those edits poured over to other regions. That will apparently not be the case for Silent Hill: Homecoming, which is still due to arrive everywhere else this year.[Via Game Politics]
Silent Hill: Homecoming still set for Sept., PC version Steam-only
Konami has clarified a couple details about Silent Hill: Homecoming's release date and its distribution on PC. Following up on some reports coming out of Leipzig, the company informs us that the time frame for the North American release is still September, and Europe will apparently need to wait until later in '08.We have also been informed that Valve's Steam digital distribution service is "the only method of distribution" for Silent Hill: Homecoming on the PC. Konami currently has no plans for a retail box version, which certainly is an interesting strategy.
GC 2008: Silent Hill coming home to PC, possibly delayed until November
Konami announced today that Silent Hill: Homecoming will release on PC, in addition to PS3 and Xbox 360. The press release states the game "will be available as a digital download" through Steam and doesn't mention anything about retail. Meanwhile, there's a report by Darkzero out of Leipzig that the game's release has been delayed from September to November. The press release for the PC announcement, however, still states Homecoming is "expected to launch" in September. We've reached out to Konami to clarify the release date and PC details and will update as soon as we hear something.%Gallery-22986%
Silent Hill: Homecoming delayed till November [Update]
Update: Apparently, this information only applies to Europe. The US release date is still September.At LCG today, Konami informed us that the upcoming Silent Hill: Homecoming has been delayed till November. The sixth game in the survival horror series was originally slated for a September release, but apparently the newly announced PC version will debut simultaneously with the console versions. From the looks of our hands-on impressions at E3, perhaps Konami could use the extra time to polish things up a bit.%Gallery-12896%
Hands-on: Silent Hill Homecoming
Usually, a venue like E3 proves to be a bad venue for a game like Silent Hill Homecoming. The usual hustle and bustle of the E3 show floor makes for a game focused squarely on atmosphere to suffer. So, why was our playtest of Silent Hill Homecoming in a closed room with headphones so uninspiring? There are a number of issues that come to the top of our minds: the lackluster graphics stand out, for once. However, the most frustrating aspect of Homecoming is how familiar it all felt. Returning to Silent Hill on consoles after an adventure like Silent Hill IV: The Room is strange. Regardless of the execution found in that last Silent Hill title, one couldn't deny the interesting premise which took the series in a slightly different direction. Homecoming, on the other hand, plays it safe and feels like an HD remake of Silent Hill Origins (PSP).For those that are hankering for a new Silent Hill game, perhaps this by-the-numbers offering will satiate that itch. However, the setting is much too familiar, and the setup is just not that compelling. Waking up strapped down in a hospital bed, our protagonist Alex Shephard must break free and find clues on his missing brother. Combat works just as it has before: lock on and swing various melee weapons found in the environment.%Gallery-12896%
Pyramid Head and Robbie the Rabbit in Silent Hill: Homecoming
Fan favorites Pyramid Head and Robbie the Rabbit will apparently be making appearances in the upcoming sequel Silent Hill: Homecoming. Joystiq spotted Pyramid Head at E3 and even has photographic prove, as seen above. The character is meant to be a manifestation of guilt (though one could say all the enemies in Silent Hill fall in that category, but that's a story for a fansite ... ) and has only appeared so far in Silent Hill 2 and the theatrical movie, but his role here is unknown. Robbie the Rabbit first appeared in Silent Hill 3 as the creepy mascot of the amusement park the player is trapped in, as well as Silent Hill: The Room as a doll in Eileen's room. We also have six new screenshots, with all the screwed-up goodness you expect from the franchise. %Gallery-12896%
Spotted in Silent Hill Homecoming: Pyramid Head
There are two things we know about Pyramid Head. One, he is a physical manifestation of guilt. Two, he generally causes the physical manifestation of crap in your pants. Oh, actually, there is a third thing we know about Pyramid Head: he makes an appearance in Silent Hill Homecoming. This raises the question: what is protagonist Alex Shepherd guilty of? Our guess is that he feels guilty about the desperate fan service required to keep gamers interested in this series.Stay tuned for hands on impressions.
Gameplay video shows first part of Silent Hill: Homecoming
Supposedly from an early beta version of Silent Hill: Homecoming on the PS3, this Russian gameplay video shows a playthrough of what appears to be the first chapter of the game. Gameplay-wise everything looks similar to what we have seen before, and the provider of the video assures us the narrator isn't saying anything we didn't know already. In terms of story, we'll refrain from saying much as small story elements are disclosed in the 13+ minute video, but it involves the protagonist Alex returning home and running into some old family and friends. Look for Silent Hill: Homecoming when it arrives September of this year.[Thanks, Leigh B.!]
Qore Issue 2 out today, features Resistance 2
Love it or hate it, the second issue of Qore hits the PLAYSTATION Network today. Here's what you can expect: Resistance 2 - The big cover story for this issue is Insomniac's upcoming PS3-exclusive FPS. Bonus! You get to see host Veronica Belmont don a mo-cap suit just for this game. Silent Hill: Homecoming - A look at Konami's upcoming horror game. Madden Twenty Year Retrospective Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm - Exclusive first playable demo. Qore is available for $2.99 each episode, $24.99 for a 13-episode subscription. (Also, for those waiting for the SOCOM Confrontation beta, you'll need to keep Issue 1. We'll tell all of you when the beta will be available.) Do you think this second issue is worth it?
Silent Hill: Homecoming video showcases new mechanics
A French gameplay video of Silent Hill: Homecoming has been spotted at website Gamersyde. It's a bit long, clocking at over 10 minutes, and it is an extended version of a video from Konami Gamers' Day 08 last month. This one features some of the elements reported earlier, such as new combat mechanics and branching conversations. The combat, though supposedly more difficult than previous games, looks more fluid and less jerky. Another interesting note is that unlike his predecessors, it appears the player can actually hear this protagonist speak when he remarks on the environment around himself.The game stars Alex Shepherd, solider who just returned from war, searching for this brother Josh in Silent Hill. In the video, Alex is dragged through a hospital strapped to a bed where he witnesses some rather horrific things -- he eventually is able to escape his bondage (by pressing X apparently) and though the ex-soldier finds his brother, his sibling appears unfazed by the grotesqueness around him. Scary indeed. The branching conversations featured at the end of the video and the buttons pressed in order to free yourself remind us of an earlier game on PS2, Indigo Prophecy. Take a look at all the killer nurses you can handle here.[Via Maxconsole]
Scared stiff: Why should we care about Silent Hill: Homecoming?
Konami's Silent Hill franchise has forgotten more about keeping us hiding beneath our covers than most games will ever know. Even EA's own Glen Schofield tips his hat to the series, telling us earlier this week that he considers the 1999 PlayStation original to be among his favorite survival horror games ever. But after nearly a decade of stumbling through the fog, it's easy to feel that the dilapidated burg of Silent Hill has gotten a bit too long in the tooth. For the series' sixth installment, Konami has handed the blood-soaked baton over to external developer Double Helix Games, a recent mash-up of The Collective and Shiny Entertainment. The result is this fall's upcoming release, Silent Hill: Homecoming, and we recently puzzled our way out of mist long enough to ask the game's lead designer, Jason Allen, just why we should care about this latest return trip to Silent Hill. Gallery: Silent Hill: Homecoming
ESRB Watch: Swan Song Edition
Yeah we know the post title is a bit needlesssly grim. Let's face it, we're going to still be getting some information about releases from the ESRB. And hopefully some publishers simply won't much care about putting their games up there early. Others like Playful Entertainment, publishers of Ticket to Ride, seem to still want their ratings to go up at the last minute (TtR releases this week). However, if we're to believe that the publishers of the other two XBLA games on the list (Rocket Riot and Cribbage) also want their games to pop up at the last minute, we could be looking at the first hint of next week's releases. Or we could just be paranoid about this whole ESRB thing.
Silent Hill: Homecoming preview discusses combat, branching conversations
Are you still worried about Silent Hill: Homecoming being in the hands of a Western developer instead of Team Silent? Konami producer William Oertel put it pretty well: "Much of it is very deliberate. You don't have to go into every single detail. You leave it to the fans to decipher...In a sense, the whole game is like a puzzle." This is part of the ideology of the development staff -- to keep the game more on the psychological level like the legendary Silent Hill 2 and less on the literal side, like the first and third installments. We support this move.A preview of the game doesn't go into the storyline very much, since they claim it is quite on-track with previous titles and wish to refrain from spoiling anything. However, they do comment on the new battle system and how it, actually, works in favor of the Silent Hill style of play. Every weapon as a finishing move, dodging is challenging ... combat is, essentially, more difficult. Enemies detect sound and light pretty viciously now -- they reacted before, but now it's clear when you knock over any of the surrounding stuff, the enemy comes running.Conversations branch, too. During some of the games discussions between characters, you can choose from a couple of different answers that will yield different reactions or get you a little more background information. It doesn't sound overly complex, but it'll be interesting to see if these branches actually influence the type of ending you get. All in all, it's sounding pretty well done.
Akira Yamaoka admits David Lynch as Silent Hill influence
The new Silent Hill game isn't completely abandoned by the original Japanese devs: long-time composer for the series, Akira Yamaoka, is still on board and singing praises to the new staff and the new game. Yamaoka sat down with Gamasutra at a recent Konami event and spoke a bit about the game. Let's listen in.Yamaoka thinks it's a natural step for the game to move on to Western developers -- it had originally been a game whose horror is derived from American cinema. Plus the franchise is more popular in the US, he says. Yamaoka is also trying to move away from the horror genre, saying he "worked on some other titles that are not horror titles. But also I have something, another project in mind, that I'm trying to develop." If you're looking for what influences the Silent Hill team, he says it's probably David Lynch (The Elephant Man, specifically). So there you go. At least we can expect his white-noise style of music to scare us silly in Silent Hill: Homecoming, right?
Some worries put to eternal rest in Silent Hill Homecoming interview
An exclusive interview was snagged by SilentHill5.net with the game's lead designer over at Double Helix, Jason Allen. Since this is more of a fansite than anything else, the questions are actually geared toward easing the thoughts of longtime Silent Hill fans -- which means the questions are probably what you want to hear answers to. Our summary, naturally, will cover the answers as well.While the game appears action-oriented, the developers have focused primarily on the signature atmosphere of the series. However, Double Helix was asked to create the game to appeal to a larger audience and they felt a revamped fighting system would assist in that regard. This change may also be felt with the puzzles -- they're a more seamless experience now, instead of moving to a static screen with a puzzle, they will be viewed in a more seamless manner (that's probably easier to see than explain).The game is trying to remain true to its roots. The developers understand people's hesitations and have done several things to keep the game in-line with its roots: the text, map system, sounds, picking up notes and other items has remained the same as ever. Difficulty settings will exist for the game, but they will not have an option for puzzle difficulty. They hope people realize they've kept the heart of the game alive and the magic is still there. There are more questions to go over, like boss battles, objectives, and item management. However, they didn't really give any valuable answers to them, so we'll leave checking those out to you. We'll remain cautiously optimistic about this game, but our anticipation is growing.
New Silent Hill: Homecoming screens damage psyche
It's a strange kind of excitement when a new batch of Silent Hill: Homecoming screenshots is released. There is happiness at the prospect of any news regarding Silent Hill and there is also the lurking fear that accompanies it. The latest screens keep most of the fear in check, thankfully, as creepiness is kept to a minimum. Sure, we do get some new shots of the nurses (as well as a new monster apparently obsessed with yoga), but we've learned to deal with them. Psychologically, at least, we can (mostly) handle the nurses. Check out the new screens and hope that Homecoming lives up to its predecessors.%Gallery-23427%
Go to sleep with these Silent Hill screenshots
Click for high-resolution image. It's 2AM on the east coast. As we go to sleep, we thought we'd curl up and sit down with new images from Silent Hill Homecoming. The upcoming survival horror game for PS3 comes from new developer Double Helix, and will be available this September.The franchise has always been known for mood and atmosphere, and that's exactly what we see in these new shots. But, will this feel like more than just the same ol' Silent Hill, with a fresh new coat of paint?%Gallery-12896%
New 'scream' shots of Silent Hill: Homecoming
click to make with the zooming Did we mention just how creepy the latest Silent Hill installment is in our most recent update on the game? Let's see ... yes, we did. Still, for those who either refuse to believe us – in which case you're meanies – or aren't yet convinced of its (dare we say?) fear factor, we offer you a ghastly gaggle of new shots from the game, by way of Konami. Just don't blame us if you have trouble breathing eating seeing walking talking sleeping after viewing them.%Gallery-23416%
Funny endings return for Silent Hill: Homecoming
Speaking to GameTrailers, Silent Hill: Homecoming producer and composer Akira Yamaoka has revealed that funny endings will be returning in upcoming Double Helix (formerly The Collective) take on the series. When asked about what elements from previous games would be returning in Homecoming, Yamaoka said (through a translator), "I think humor is important. A lot of Silent Hill fans enjoy different endings, like the UFO ending, the dog ending, right? Those funny endings are an important part of Silent Hill."We'd be hard-pressed to disagree, as the humorous endings (spoilers ... sort of) serve as a much needed counterbalance to the disturbing, soul-shattering imagery that the series is known for. Oh, and Yamaoka's favorite entry in the series? Silent Hill 2 (ahem ... duh). Check out the full interview after the break.
