Your thoughts on SH5 and it's new combat system

[Hexagram]

As some of you may or may not know SH5 will soon be upon us. I'm a big fan of the series but from looking at the previews, the game appears to have taken more of an action oritented feel.

This is mainly due to an American design team taking over the franchise as opposed to it being a Japanese horror game in an American setting.

Does the idea of a SH game with more focus on combat exicte you or dissapoint you? If you've never played a SH game, will you try this one? Of if you're a die hard fan will you steer clear?

Those who want to see a preiview can view it over at Gametrailers.
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5159.html

 

[used44]

I'm very excited for this. I think RE4 and this new SH have (and will have) benefited greatly from the improved controls. I still hope that fighting isn't your first option. I think it's kind of lame how your character in Silent Hill 5 supposedly has some "combat experience" being a veteran and all. I guess I just still like the idea that running should be your first option and you should only try to fight when you absolutely have to.

So, I'm mixed between the first two poll options.

 

[LinksOcarina]

Its an attempt to rejuvenate the franchise, which frankly has been going downhill since Silent Hill 3. One of the hallmarks was the crappy combat, because you were joe everyman in the strange situation that is supposed to overwhelm you.

That being said, the fact that the protagonist is a war veteran means this is going to be about one of three things.

1. An undertone about the horrors of war and how it's bad

2. The psychology of PTSD.

3. Redemption for past misfortunes.

It also gives the excuse of a slightly more savy combat specialist, or at the very least someone who is not afraid to use a gun. So I am torn, because it goes against the entire idea of Silent Hill, but it's also as I mentioned a great breeding ground for a good story and good scary elements.

Let's face it, Silent Hill is the last of the Survival Horror Genre, which is turning into a clone of the shooter genre in some form if you look at the progression of Survival Horror games like Condemned, Resident Evil, and (shudder) Dino Crisis. Hell, games like Dead Space and Bioshock can be seen as a first person survival horror game. The genre is slowly dissipating.

 

[GhostTrip]

lol, Hex your poll seems a bit biased.

I like the idea of new combat but I don't think the combat was boring in the older games. So I voted "I dunno".

I love Silent Hill and Resident Evil. I remember when Silent Hill first came out and I used to post on an RE forum. I tried to defend the game but it was hopeless against a league of elite RE fanboys who claimed SH was nothing more then an RE clone and would be forgotten in a couple months.

...now here it is almost 10 years later and the series is still going.

I think after SH4 the design team wanted to jump start the series and try to rejuvenate it by bringing in more action. While this is not what SH is about, they seem to stay true to the atmosphere and the mythology of Silent Hill.

What will really be the deciding factor on if this is a good game or not will be the story. In the first two games, the protagonist is searching for somebody, which later unfolds into a deep psychological head trip. I've been told the design team wanted to take us back to SH2 and the story starts with the protagonist searching for his brother. Could this lead to a world of insanity that may or may not exist out side the character's head? Who knows.

And Silent Hill Origins was a pleasant surprise. They combined the back story of SH1 with a psychological journey about coming to terms with one's own guilt from SH2. Just what fans want, so here's hoping.

 

[Hexagram]

Yeah, er sorry about that.

I figured those who like the new combat idea would think the old combat was boring since there wasn't much to it at all. If you vote "yes" you're not saying the old games sucked, just that you feel Silent Hill needed a new combat system.

 

[Rekkie7]

I'll have to get Verty to post in this topic as he's the SH fan, so I'll just speak on surivor horrors in general. I think controls should not to be factor on if a game is survior horror or action. It should be based primarily on two things: scares and ammo.

First one is basic. Survior horrors should be scary. Enough said.
The second one is important. Combat shouldn't be fighting against the control system, if you choose to fight and you have the skill then you should be able to take a target out. The choice has to be made from the player though that if I don't run, if I stand and fight, will I be able to fight again? Ammo should be rare. Have the enemy tough to take down but the challange should never be, in any game genre, fighting the controls.

I think re4 made some massive leaps forward with it's control scheme. It's true it was more of an action title then before but I think that has more to do with the amount of guns and ammo you could collect and not the fact you could control the aiming well.

 

[used44]

I agree with Dave completely. RE4 could have still been a survival horror game with the same control scheme. They decided to go in the "action" direction instead, but the fixes in controls are good for any genre.

 

[MattAY]

I quite like the sound of it. It doesn't sound TOO different. Just some combos and dodges added in. Nice to know the story is still personal to the player - looking for his brother, and not just some meathead hacking monsters.

also like the sound of that conversation choice thingy they've added.

Same "Silent Hill" sign as in the film too!

 

[DH_Ninja]

Going to have to agree with Link on this. Though i think the new system is interesting, its not really survival horror anymore, though it has the atmospshere. I want to see a silent hill where the guy really has no idea what he's doing, like, shakey aim on a gun, Perhaps an after effect of too much fighting.

 

[BlackStar]

I think it actually looks pretty cool. But if they want to turn it into an action game they've completely missed the point of SILENT hill.

 

[masterchris]

I've been trying to stay as much away from pictures or gameplay footage as possible. But given what's been said here, I had to watch some of the videos. I agree it appears the development team is going down the path of increasing the action levels, move violence and fighting, etc. But that's been steadily happening since Silent Hill 3, so it's no surprise to me. I'm not totally sure what you meant by a new combat system though...

To me the biggest mistakes, aside from the fact the franchise seems to be ever approaching the status of action/shooter, is putting a freaking war veteran. Why can't we go back to the days of putting some random person into hell, it increases the emotion you the player feel during the game. You can picture a protagonist like Heather or James having an emotional breakdown, but not this guy. I dunno, a lot still remains to be seen.

So far all we've got is bits of video footage showing the protagonist fighting. I guess they have to show that in the gameplay videos, showing videos of him exploring empty hallways won't bring in the mouse clicks. They say they want to bring the feeling of this game back to Silent Hill 2, huh? Well, if they do, that's excellent. I have to admit, Silent Hill: Origins wasn't bad, I enjoyed the story tremendously. The gameplay not so much. Who knows what Homecoming will bring. I'll still buy it of course.

Edit: Couple of things I forgot to mention. We see the protagonist enter the "Grand Hotel" in one scene, and in another we see the Silent Hill road sign we saw from the movie (we see that sign also in Origins) - anybody else have a problem with them incorporating scenes from the movie into the games? Also, what's up with the letter B having a seizure in the top right corner of the screen during fight scenes?

 

[used44]

One thing I like that they are incorporating into the games from the films is the "transition" between reality and Silent Hill. *sounds siren*

 

[masterchris]

You mean how they actually show the transformation?

That's what I liked about the first game... with a couple of exceptions (the clock tower at Midwich, and Sanford Street), Harry would fall unconscious, then awaken to a completely changed world. I enjoyed the mystery; such as the hallucination in the "other" church in which he awakens and is in the otherworld, or the transformation in the hospital from the otherworld back to "normal"
I'm not a fan of the way they did the transformation in the movie, showing the world almost melting away.


Oh, and another thing I forgot in my first reply. What's up with the two-way radio on his jacket?