Posts Tagged ‘Wii’

Since Silent Hill 2 Konami’s psychological survival horror series has been following something of a downward trend. Now new developer to the series, Climax Studios, buck this trend by making one of the most interesting, but flawed, installments since Silent Hill 2.

It is unusual to see me play through a game that doesn’t grab me immediately. It is even more rare I finish a game that at points actively discourages me from playing, and yet this is exactly what Silent Hill: Shattered Memoires does.

Short and flawed Shattered Memories is none the less is deserving of a play through, maybe even two if you want to see how the game change to reflect your in-game psychological profile.

Shattered Memories creates an incredible world. Moving away from the black rusted ‘dark world’ of past Silent Hills the new ‘dark world’ is one of blue ice that plays perfectly with the games narrative. Add to this the games promise that it was to actively psychoanalyzing me as I played and the hooks were there, but it kept fighting its own accomplishments.

Completely separating the puzzle element of the game from the action sections sees long sections of atmospheric exploration punctuated with horrific (as in bad not scary) chase sections. When I heard that combat had been removed from the game I initially rejoiced as it was always a failing point of the series, but the reality of the change made me less exuberant.

Being hunted with no recourse through Shattered Memories icy dark world was scary, but the tension was constantly undermined by the ineffectually Wii remote flailing I was reduced to every time I was caught by the shambling female figures that pursued me. It was a problem I could have forgiven if stealth was a viable tactic; unfortunately ‘sneaking’ hinted at by the game amounted to turning off the flashlight and doing exactly the same in the dark as I did in the light.

Shattered Memories flaws are redeemed in the last few hours of its six-hour story. Mounting psychological elements are slowly woven in to the story to create an awesome crescendo to events. Shattered Memories is so much better in retrospect that if you are ever fortunate enough to play it you owe it to yourself to finish it. Go on, it’s not that long!

We are coming in to May, which here in Japan means Golden Week. A magical time of strained family relationships and unspoken expectations that can only result in disappointment. Fortunately if you are I, and thus only involved in these festivities by the loosest of connections, it is possible to sit back and observe during your three extra days off, dodging the barbed comments and drinking beer. Plus as an extra bonus I get to finally try and finish Dragon Age on my laptop.

Unfortunately the downside to my upcoming situation is that I will have no Internet during the five-day visit to my other halves family abode. Thus unless I manage to get my planed post finished in my remaining time in Osaka, April is going to look like a pretty Spartan month for DoFuss. Not to worry really, my time has been fairly well spent, indulging in games (for edification and review) and writing for other sites. I have little to complain about but would like to have managed to get at least one of my two articles in progress up on the site before I left.

There is still a small chance I will manage to complete one of the unfinished projects that sit on my desktop before tomorrow morning when I have to leave. Just in case I don’t however here are some links to my other writings for the month of April on the wonderful Game People and Play Devil. Please visit them and remember to check back here next week for when I get back to civilization to post these articles, and maybe even do a podcast.

Line Rider 2 (Wii), Dark Void (PS3), Greed Corp (360), Lumines (PSP), Heavy Rain (PS3).

Heavy Rain (PS3), Silent Hill – Shattered Memories (Wii), An Open Letter To Fanboys (Feature).

Darren is back just in time for a semi-festive show. We spend most of our time catching up on the last few months events and our respective holiday breaks but in the process we do touch on lots of games in-between our stories.

As I said last show do not expect Dans wonderfully detailed show notes every week, and this week serves only to reaffirm that declaration. I can tell you that you can expect us to talk about all the games we played recently, Red Dwarf, bad commercials, me pissing myself, me being taunted by hordes of nerds, the upcoming 2010 releases and our vacations. Unfortunately even with Darren back there is no Frakkers this show, but we do have some music and the return of Darrens Old Games.

Hopefully 2010 will mark a more regular schedule for The DoFuss Show as we stream line the formula, but we make no promises. Enjoy the show and keep an eye on the site this month for some gaming memories of the last ten years.

I am trying to get back in to oil painting, Darren insists on Twitpic updates so keep an eye on that if you care.

 

 Craig Charles had far too much to do with it. [71:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Okay, I have finally taken over the reigns of editing, which is why the latest podcast is a tad late. Think I have it all down though, so here’s hoping you won’t notice much of a difference.

During the course of this show we manage to talk about institutionalization… and drugs… and sandwiches, all without diverging from the usual format of news and features. Frakesy, Darren’s old games and the song challenge are back as always and are joined this week by discussion of game prices.

A few extra notes. Every time I say Acclaim I mean Activision. It is a mistake I used to make when I was thirteen, I do not know why its rematerializing now. Also there is no such thing as morphium, thing my brain created a lovely mix of morphine and opium.

I really want a sandwich.

Enjoy the show.

 

 The DoFuss Show – I Want a Sandwich.: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download