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Silent Hill: Homecoming not coming home to Japan
Konami regrettably informs us that the latest installment in the Silent Hill series, the Western-developed Silent Hill: Homecoming, won't be making its way to Japan following its North American release last year and European release earlier this year. Konami blames "assorted issues" for the lack of a Japanese release, yet says Japanese gamers can "look forward to future releases in the series." Just not this one. Ever. That doesn't mean Japanese gamers are without hope, however. If you've got a PS3, you can pick up the US version of the game and play it on your Japanese PS3, since there's no region protection. If you've got a Japanese Xbox 360 though, you're out of luck. Also, you're weird. [Via Magweasel]
PSN Thursday: In time with Turtles, Silent Hill and George Takei
Oh, my! Although the release of Turtles in Time and Silent Hill on PSN this week is certainly noteworthy, it's the appearance of George Takei in PAIN that takes the cake. The original Star Trek star will be at your disposal to shoot from a canon and ... seriously, why would you want to hurt George Takei? He's awesome! The Andy Dick hurtable PAIN DLC character from a couple weeks back was a far more understandable option. Check out the rest of the update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Remember to pre-order Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for a free soundtrack
GameStop's listing for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (also on PS2, PSP) includes a pre-order item that seems perfect for a Silent Hill game: a soundtrack disc containing "18 of your favorite tracks from the Silent Hill series." Akira Yamaoka's music is one of the standout elements of the series, so if you don't already have a bunch of Silent Hill pre-order bonus soundtracks, you'll want this one. Oddly, the wording makes it sound like it's a Silent Hill sampler and not necessarily a Shattered Memories sampler, though we're sure at least a few tracks from the new game will appear.Shattered Memories does not have an official release date, but GameStop has moved its tentative date from October to November 3. So it's delayed, kind of?[Via GoNintendo]
Krazy Kart Racing: Pyramid Head vs. Frogger
Konami's mascot kart racing game Krazy Kart Racers materialized on the iPhone App Store last night. Why would you possibly want to pay $8 for a 3D kart racer on iPhone, if you're not one of the few people dying for a successor to Konami Krazy Racers on GBA? Well, the roster includes not only Pyramid Head, but Robbie the Rabbit from Silent Hill, making this officially the creepiest kart racer ever. In fact, the App Store description says, "If you have trouble staying on course try using Robbie the Rabbit. He's a bit slow but easiest to control." He's not just in the game, he's the beginner character!Other confirmed characters ("confirmed" meaning we see them in screens) include Power Pro-kun, Frogger, Evil Rose from Rumble Roses ( ... ), Sparkster, Pentarou, Goemon, and Tako from Parodius.Krazy Kart Racers (Konami, $7.99)
New Silent Hill logo and screens scared up
click to look for Cheryl Konami has released some new screens of the upcoming Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The shots are looking pretty nice, and include some of the more Wii-centric features, like object manipulation and Harry's mobile phone. There's also a monster or two and the bloody snow seen above. Remember kids, never eat red snow.On another note, Konami has freshened up the game's logo. It's essentially the same, although the cheesy icicles have (thankfully) been removed. Find the new logo and screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-69800%
Silent Hill haunted house spooking Orange County this Halloween
Sinister Pointe, an Orange County, Calif.-based haunted house attraction, has got something special in mind for gamers this Halloween -- their annual gore-filled maze will be Silent Hill themed this time around. There's a few details on the company's site -- including an endorsement from Konami, it seems -- but no early looks at the attraction are given. We're guessing Pyramid-headed gentlemen and bloody, faceless nurses will be incorporated.We're not certain how much a production like this costs, but if they're aiming for capturing the true Silent Hill experience, they must be spending a freaking mint on fog machines.[Via Kotaku]
Silent Hill My Little Ponies are adorable, disturbing
When one conjures up thoughts of Silent Hill, rarely do such thoughts wander in the direction of My Little Pony. That is, unless you're clickclackcat, an enterprising eBay member who readily connected the two incredibly disparate franchises. Currently up for auction are the gruesomely darling ponies seen above, one in the likeness of Pyramid Head, and another made to resemble a member of Alchemilla Hospital's famed nursing staff.If you have eccentric tastes (or a particularly macabre little girl), feel free to place a bid.[Via Hawty McBloggy]Source - eBay: My Little Pony Silent Hill Custom: Zombie NurseSource - eBay: My Little Pony Silent Hill Custom: Pyramid Head
Konami re-issuing select PS2 titles in the UK
European gamers who may have missed out on classic Konami PS2 titles will get a second chance, as Eurogamer reports Konami will be re-releasing its most popular games. The first batch will include Suikoden Tactics, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and will later be joined by Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill: The Room.Each title will be priced between £10 and £20, with supplies being determined on a title-by-title basis. Konami says that the games "will likely pop up in independent rather than chain stores," so head on down to your local mom 'n pop if you're trying to pick up one of these Konami classics.
Interview: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories producer Tomm Hulett
When it was first revealed, we gave Silent Hill: Shattered Memories a bit of a cold shoulder. Gone was the established story that had first introduced us to the world's creepiest town, reinterpreted with altered characters and a new otherworld that ditched darkness and rust in favor of jutting glaciers and vaguely menacing snowflakes. Thankfully, our experience with the game at E3 revived our expectations, even if it was at the expense of whole memories.We later had the opportunity to speak to producer Tomm Hulett, who elaborated on why we should call Shattered Memories a re-imagining -- and not a remake:You're making Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and you're tying it to the first game. Harry Mason is back, but you're calling it a re-imagining, you're not saying "remake." Is that a bad word?Right, that's a curse word. [laughs] By re-imagining, like you said, we've got the premise of the first game: you're Harry Mason, you're looking for your daughter Cheryl. Beyond that we've changed and updated it, so it's an entirely new experience. If you've played the PlayStation game to death, you still have no idea what to expect for Shattered Memories. We did that because, on the Wii, maybe there's a lot of people who haven't played any Silent Hill games, so it wasn't really fair to say, "Here's the sequel to Homecoming, enjoy yourself." But then, returning fans, they've played the first game, they've played Origins, they've seen the movie, and they've played Silent Hill 3 and it all kind of revolves around the events of the first game. So they wouldn't really want to play a remake and so, by re-imagining it, there's new content -- if you've never played it before, of course, it's new to you -- but then, there's also this extra layer of new content if you're returning, because you get to experience all these things that are different from what you're expecting. And that really fits the theme of Silent Hill, which is this place where your reality is subjective and you don't know what to expect. We've built that into the game if you're a returning fan.
Silent Hill's Pyramid Head appears in Swedish fashion label
While not busy shoving spears through young women or peeling the skin off of ... young women, it seems that SIlent Hill's geometrically-proportioned antagonist, Pyramid Head, moonlights as a fashion model for Swedish clothing label Odeur. His exploits were featured in the company's autumn/winter 2009/2010 Lookbook.You know, we were going to make witty observations about the inclusion of a classic horror figure in a clothing catalog but we just can't bring ourselves to do it. Pyramid helmets? Odeur? Lookbook? This might be our blogger sweatpants talking, but high fashion is impossibly dumb. [Via Kotaku]
Hands-on: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)
"I've heard 'Shat-On Memories.' That's a good one," remarks Shattered Memories producer Tomm Hulett, taking the complaints from the so-called "unreasonable" Silent Hill fans in stride. Remaking -- or "re-imagining," rather -- a horror classic is no easy task, least of all when the leading platform's scariest trait is its abundance of minigames. Calling it a re-imagining seems appropriate, with familiar characters and themes returning in unfamiliar ways, but that belies the fact that the upcoming Wii title (PSP and PS2 versions are also en route) is the freshest and riskiest Silent Hill game to come along in years. Conveying an intense, unnerving experience in the din of E3 is like reciting a poem behind an airplane barreling down a runway. The packed show floor, filled with colossal sub-woofers and eccentric excessiveness, couldn't be a less ideal place to play a survival-horror title. And yet, despite the copious distractions and some truly awkward sensor bar placement, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories managed to fool us -- if ever so briefly -- into thinking we were skulking around the world's least hospitable and most perplexing town. %Gallery-49995%
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is ... mom-friendly?
Not even Silent Hill is afraid of the Wii's casual audience. Speaking to Joystiq during E3 2009, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories producer Tomm Hulett described the game as being very much a true franchise entry (and we can attest to that!), but one that would enjoy the benefits of a wider audience and an intuitive control system on the Wii."For the casual gamer, we say this like it's strange, but casual gamers go to horror movies," he explained. "There's a reason that we all started playing survival horror -- it was new and different and, 'Oh, it's like a scary movie that I play.'" According to Hulett the game's control system, which thrusts the Wiimote into the role of a flashlight, is intuitive enough to accommodate ... your mom. "I've had my mom try it out and she only plays Animal Crossing, but she can walk around as Harry Mason and run from creatures. It's really easy to pick up and play. If there's a casual gamer who enjoys going to the movies and seeing The Ring, they can go to the store afterward and buy Silent Hill and have a horror experience at home."Well, as long as they don't pick up The Room. That's a different kind of horror experience at home.%Gallery-49995% %Gallery-65287%
Overheard@E3: Silent Hill will hate me
At the start of Konami's Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, a psychiatrist performs an evaluation on players, prodding them with some fairly personal questions. Answering the "Do you roleplay during sex?" question is probably one of the tougher ones to answer truthfully in full view of other E3 attendees. (Hell yes, if you were wondering. Also, stop that.)This was the discovery made by one young lady, who appeared to be answering some questions (another example: Do you think of other people during sex?) unfavorably and nervously. With the cursor hovering over another negative answer, she quickly looked around her and exclaimed, "This game is going to HATE ME!"
Silent Hill: Not your mother's cosplay
The word "disturbing" is not often far removed from the word "cosplay." You'll frequently find them situated together in very close proximity, as in: "Look at that grown man dressed as Captain Falcon; that's kind of disturbing." Fairly innocent, right? The connotation we would associate with the Silent Hill costumes pictured above is a little more direct, as in: "Those Silent Hill costumes are disturbing." Given the arc of the franchise though, we suppose that's the point.Seen at Anime Central 2009 (photos by Judith Stephens) the costumes are frighteningly accurate recreations of the both Pyramid Head and a nurse from the Silent Hill series (and are based on the film versions of those characters by the looks of things). Hit the source link for lots more pictures, and possibly a few nightmares.Those with weaker stomachs would probably be better served by the Pyramid Head snowman, which is almost cute.[Via GameSetWatch]
Joystiq impressions: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Click for full-size scares! Although it was probably the most impressive looking game shown at Konami's Gamer's Night 2009 event last week, the "Wii-imagining" of Silent Hill, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, was sadly not playable. It's a shame, too, considering how natural the game's motion controls appeared in the on-stage demo; seeing them in action made us really want to try them. We were left to watch the footage of the Climax-developed title and imagine what it will be like, roaming the streets of the snow-covered town, flashlight in hand and camera phone at the ready to catch the unexplainable and unnerving. Fortunately, it was a fairly meaty bit of footage that provided a good idea of what to expect from the game when we finally do get our hands on it.%Gallery-49995%
Gans not directing Silent Hill movie sequel, actress Radha Mitchell says
Actress Radha Mitchell played Rose Da Silva in the first Silent Hill film, and she told Bloody Disgusting recently that a sequel could happen. Interesting to note, however, is that director Christophe Gans will not direct, as he isn't involved with the project."I don't think Christophe is attached," said Mitchell. She further lamented that she felt this was a shame, because he's so passionate about the game series. She also offered that should Silent Hill 2 be put into production, Gans should be the one to helm it. As for the state of the sequel, Mitchell says it's "being kicked around right now." [Via Kotaku]
New Silent Hill: Shattered Memories details
IGN has posted a preview of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories so glowing, you'd swear it was radioactive. Aside from the effusive praise, there are a few details to be gleaned from the eyes-on preview. The psyche profile system revealed earlier this week is further fleshed out by the preview. Lead character Harry Mason will actually start the game in a psychiatrist's office, where players will have to fill out a form. The choices you make on the form, as well as other choices in the game, will affect other parts of the game.Harry's phone acts as the hub of all the game's information, containing the map, voice mail, text messages and a camera. The camera can be used to take pictures of certain areas, revealing ghostly images in the finished photos. The article cites a moment when Harry takes a picture of a strange swingset, only to see his missing daughter, Cheryl, show up in the photo. Once the picture is taken, Harry receives a voicemail from Cheryl ... creepy. In an interesting twist, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories features no combat whatsoever. When you're face to face with a freakish monster, the only choice is to run. Another change, the rusty, hellish Otherworld has been changed into a frozen, icy one instead. As in Silent Hill: Homecoming, the transition to the Otherworld takes place in real time as buildings freeze over and columns rise out of the ground. The preview assures us the transition is "breathtaking," but we'll reserve judgment until we can see some video.It certainly sounds like Shattered Memories could be shaping up to be a decent entry in the series, even despite the somewhat radical changes to the staple conventions. At least one thing isn't changing though. In IGN's interview with Climax -- a good read for anyone interested in the title -- it is confirmed that Akira Yamaoka will once again provide the soundtrack.Source - IGN: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories PreviewSource - IGN: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Interview
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories also heads to PS2, PSP
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was unveiled for Wii last week by Nintendo Power, but it seems it won't be exclusive to Nintendo systems. This "re-imagining" of the original Silent Hill will also be going to PS2 and PSP, and as today's press release details, all three versions will be out sometime in Autumn this year.Gamers who played the original will have their memories slightly shattered upon picking up this new version -- characters won't be found in the same spots and new clues, dialogue and gameplay paths will serve to jumble things up. Another major change is the new "psyche profile," which monitors the player's reactions. Based on these reactions, alterations are made to the game's "visual elements" and the protagonist's actions as he encounters other people and creatures. The psyche profile system sounds interesting, but a bit difficult to fully grasp without seeing in action. Perhaps future gameplay videos will provide better insight into this new feature.
Nintendo Power reveals Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Wii
We're not exactly sure if titling the "reimagining" of a classic game "Shattered Memories" is going to instill much hope in its fans, but that's what Konami is doing with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Wii. The not-a-remake of the first game in the series is revealed in the May 2009 issue of Nintendo Power, which contains a 10-page cover feature on the Climax (Silent Hill: Origins) developed game. (Oh, and it's not an April Fools joke -- we confirmed this news with the magazine.)GoNintendo has scanned parts of said article and provides some details, such as the Wii Remote's use in interacting directly with environment-based puzzles. Subscribers to the magazine are beginning to get the issue now, and Nintendo Power tells us to expect an update related to the game next week.
Rumorang: BBFC rates 'Silent Hill'
We hope Konami may soon be ready to scare some truth out of earlier rumors of a Silent Hill remake for the Wii and PSP. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) recently posted a '15' rating for Silent Hill, with a listing that contains an interesting breakdown of scenes from the game with titles like "ANKH ROOM" and "CYBIL'S DEATH." Last month's rumor laid dev duties at the feet of Silent Hill: Origins creator Climax, though Konami has yet to make anything official. We're trying to reach either Konami or Climax for comment ... but the lines are cut, and there's an unsettling noise coming from behind the door.Of course, this could just as well be a PSN re-release. And yes, we'll take one of those too.[Via Kotaku]
