Silent Hill 5 update w/ pics (56k Warning)

[sabre2922]

Konami revealed some new tidbits for Silent Hill 5:

* The protagonist is a 22 year old veterans named Alex Shepard, who stays in a military hospital, recovering from an injury.
* Alex has a premonition that his younger brother Joshua is in danger, so he returned to his hometown Shepards Glen.
* In his hometown he found out his mother is catatonic condition, his father and brother were missing, and the whole city is covered in bizarre fog.
* In the journey Alex will find a partner Ellen, who resembles Maria and Heather from Silent Hill 2 & 3
* The game will have a completely new action system, the combat system will be more interactive, since Alex is a former soldier
* Alex can use various weapons like saw and pipe, there are more close range combats, and Alex can also grasp and counterattack opponents.
* The story will be have more touches on psychological topics, similar to Silent Hill 2, at some point Alex will come to Silent Hill
* The game will make use of the Havok physics engine, and will make use of more filter techniques, like glass and fog filters
* Alex will show real time wounds and injuries on his body
* All characters are animated using motion captures
* The game will have sound track from Akira Yamaoka

http://www.the-magicbox.com/

[Kitsune Sniper]

... Isn't this Silent Hill Origins?

[sabre2922]

... Isn't this Silent Hill Origins?

noooo its the new Silent Hill for PS3 and Xbox360

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/777/777941/imgs_1.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5159.html

[MegaDrive20XX]

Man, I tell ya, I went into a coma when I saw the newest EGM. 4 or 5 pages I think? Very nicely done

[sabre2922]

Man, I tell ya, I went into a coma when I saw the newest EGM. 4 or 5 pages I think? Very nicely done

Unfortunately I rarely pick up any print magazines anymore.

Would luv to read the article though.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Unfortunately I rarely pick up any print magazines anymore.

Would luv to read the article though.

You'd love it, because it has Silent Hill 5 on the front cover even.

[G-Boobie]

How do people feel about the game being designed by an American developer, one with a VERY bumpy track record?

Myself?.... I'm a little worried.

[Wolfrider31]

I'm with you there. Especially with the more action oriented / epic boss fights. That screams North American ADD style gameplay to me. >.<

[Promophile]

How do people feel about the game being designed by an American developer, one with a VERY bumpy track record?
Myself?.... I'm a little worried.

90% chance it sucks. I'm expecting a "The Suffering" style game, with wave after wave of monsters charging your massive chaingun.

[G-Boobie]

90% chance it sucks. I'm expecting a "The Suffering" style game, with wave after wave of monsters charging your massive chaingun.

I hope not.

The classic 'survival horror' genre as we know it has been in flux lately, and the changes have NOT been positive across the board. RE4 was a fantastic game, but it wasn't survival horror.

It's fun killing waves of zombies/aliens/demons/whatever, but there's something to be said about a regular guy on the run from forces he can do nothing about. I was hoping that Silent Hill at least would keep the old school traditions alive.

I mean, it still might.....Here's hoping, right? They scrapped the first attempt at Silent Hill PSP, so here's hoping Konami keeps these guys reined in.

And if there's a goddamn chaingun? I'm out.

[Promophile]

I hope not.

The classic 'survival horror' genre as we know it has been in flux lately, and the changes have NOT been positive across the board. RE4 was a fantastic game, but it wasn't survival horror.

It's fun killing waves of zombies/aliens/demons/whatever, but there's something to be said about a regular guy on the run from forces he can do nothing about. I was hoping that Silent Hill at least would keep the old school traditions alive.

The essence of TRUE Survival Horror is powerlessness. Western developers can't seem to grasp that fact. There were some genuinely scary moments in "The Suffering", but they were always moments when you WEREN'T fighting. Seeing bodies dragged into air conditioning vents by mysterious forces, leaving behind a trail of blood is Survival Horror. Mowing down demons with a chaingun isn't. Until western developers realize that, Survival Horror is doomed. I just hope another Fatal Frame is released...

[Wolfrider31]

The essence of TRUE Survival Horror is powerlessness. Western developers can't seem to grasp that fact. There were some genuinely scary moments in "The Suffering", but they were always moments when you WEREN'T fighting. Seeing bodies dragged into air conditioning vents by mysterious forces, leaving behind a trail of blood is Survival Horror. Mowing down demons with a chaingun isn't. Until western developers realize that, Survival Horror is doomed. I just hope another Fatal Frame is released...

EXACTLY. The best parts of Silent Hill had less to do with any action and more to do with how claustrophobic everything felt. Or how long it took to kill even a single enemy. That sense of panic when more than one descended on you. That's survival horror. Remember how freaky the scene in SH2 was when Pyramid Head was just leering at you from beyond a fence. He couldn't get to you, but good god, I didn't let my finger move from the run button.

[G-Boobie]

Great responses!

I'd actually argue that it isn't necessarily powerlessness that dictates whether a game is survival horror, though that's one good method; I think that generating a true sense of dread and uncomfortable tension as a core gameplay mechanic is the closest I can get to a definition. Silent Hill uses the powerlessness example, as does Fatal Frame and Siren.... But Doom 3 nearly made me pee my pants several times, and your character is the most generic 'bald bad-ass space marine' imaginable. Would I categorize Doom 3 as survival horror? Absolutely. RE4 doesn't make the cut purely because it's an expertly crafted run and gun game; not once was I disturbed or scared. Maybe I'm nuts, though....

It's interesting that true horror has been conspicuously absent from games over the last couple years. I think the closest we've come has been Bioshock, or maybe Condemned...

I don't want my Silent Hill character to be a 'bad ass'.... And I sure as hell don't want to shoot a rocket launcher at Pyramid Head.

My main concern about the game so far is the developer... The Collective. They DID make 'Wrath Unleashed', a game I think I may be the only fan on earth of, but they also were responsible for Star Wars Episode III, Marc Ecko's Getting Up, and The Da Vinci Code. Not a very good record in my book.

[Promophile]

Great responses!

It's interesting that true horror has been conspicuously absent from games over the last couple years. I think the closest we've come has been Bioshock, or maybe Condemned...

They're out there, but yes they are few and far between. The US never saw the release of Michigan or Siren 2, although Europe did. Fatal Frame 3 was released only a few years ago, and Rule of Rose was pretty recent. Those are all Japanese games though.

[Wolfrider31]

They're out there, but yes they are few and far between. The US never saw the release of Michigan or Siren 2, although Europe did. Fatal Frame 3 was released only a few years ago, and Rule of Rose was pretty recent. Those are all Japanese games though.

I think that's telling. I've always felt the Japanese do horror better than the US (Romero being the possible exception) and that always seems to be helped by the fact that, in Japan, it seems horror "stands" for something. Narratively speaking. In the US, it's usually about the visceral thrill ride.

[sabre2922]

New update

from EGM:

"SILENT HILL 5....

It would seem The Collective is very honored to be working on Silent Hill 5 and rightfully so. After Konami announced they were passing on the developer work to an outside company, it was discovered that quite a few developers wanted to work on the IP. In the end, these other developers were "scared" out of doing such an ambitious title.

The Collective, evidently, is not so easily frightened.



Character Debacle

Although Alex may look similar to other protagonist’s in the series, he is an altogether different character. Alex Shepard is 22 years old and with that comes the attitude and thinking’s of a standard young adult.

While SHV will feature an entirely new plot (ala SH2), the developers have said

Along with Alex and his family (more on that later), a new host of characters will be featured in this entry. That doesn't mean however, that settings, situations and settings wont be familiar.

"It's important that the characters fit into the overall style of Silent Hill," says Brian Hourton (SHV Lead Artist).

About that story bit...

(what follows is a recap of the story we know so far)

Alex is in a Military Veteran's hospital, recovering from a near fatal wound he received. (It is not specified how he received the wound). While there, Alex has a premonition that his young brother, Joshua, is in danger.

He leaves the VA for his New England home town of Shepards Glen. Upon returning however, he finds his mother in a catatonic state, his brother and father missing and the entire town shrouded in a bizarre fog.

Gameplay

Alex's military background plays both into the game dynamics and the theme of the story. Knowing this however, the developers aren't attempting to create any sort of political standpoint.

"Alex will be confronted with horrors that reflect his psychological state" Horton adds.

Graphics

To sooth everyone's soul, the grain filter will indeed return for Silent Hill V, however in addition, other filters will be added as well. Filters that give hairline cracks in the screen or are filtered with debris allow the developers to change the mood and atmosphere of the game WHILE it's being played.

Interestingly enough, the game is using the Havok engine in a unique way. The middleware is being used in the same capacity as it was in Saints Row and in the upcoming game Halo 3. Now when you bump into chairs or tables or open doors, the game will register that action in the in-game environment. Bump into a chair? It will in turn bump into a table causing not only a response physically but also audibly. This new "noise", the running on creaking floors etc, can and will alert enemies to your position."

Update! More:

"The camera is now controlled using the left analog stick and allows the player to view the horrors much better then earlier iterations. Inspired by Christopher Gan's movie adaptation, the worlds in SHV, or rather the transition between the two, will all be done in real time. Like in the movie, the setting will peal and melt away or suddenly burst into flesh painted walls."

Even more:

"All the Rest

Boss battles will be revived in this entry as well. The Collective is obsessed with delivering cinematic massive, epic boss battles. Interestingly, they are looking for Zelda like encounters...hmmm.

Endings....yes there will be many, though a number has yet to be given. The developers are looking to make the decision on which ending you are given to be much more player induced then before. Missing an item or killing someone wont automatically move you to a predetermined path. The actions you do, the way you speak to the different people you meet. These interactions will have a much more fluid transition into the story upon up intriguing possibilities.

Monsters are now fully motion-captured (ala the Silent Hill movie) and all new beasts are set to make their debut. One such creature, Siam, is a fusion of a male and female body. What’s left is a pulsating, overtly sexual enemy. Monsters will now have visible effects on them. So if an enemy has busting pustules or bleeding mouths, it will be animated, in real time and will be effected by Alex's attacks.

Some of the enemies are humanoid in nature, favorites such as the nurses, will indeed return, however the variety of creatures is said to be quite large.

[sabre2922]

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Edited to links by PapaStu to not make the thread go thermo-nuclear with load times