Originally Posted by
EGM (typed out by your's truly)
Moonlighting in Silent Hill doesn't seem fun---between the fog-soaked streets, twitching, faceless nurses, and the notoriously picky series fans, it's not a terribly inviting place for visitors. But the fearless folks at The Collective (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mar Ecko's Getting Up) willingly spent several sleepless nights slaving away on a playable demo showcasing their vision for Silent Hill V, the first next-gen installment in Konami's nearly decade-old survival-horror franchise. All that caffeine paid off: Several other well known development houses were in the running for the project, but none were dedicated (crazy?) enough to craft a prototype, so The Collective landed the sought-after gig.
"I'm obviously very passionate about this," says SH5 Lead Artist Brian Horton, himself a longtime fan of Silent Hill. "We're dealing with a franchise that a lot of people have very strong feelings about." That's putting it mildly. Silent Hill fans don't scare easily, but when news broke at the recent E3 Media & Business Summit that Konami was handing the previously Tokyo-bred series over to a U.S. team, many followers got plenty spooked. ("Those gun-crazy American swine have no possible chance of doing anything but ****ing this game up," read one typical forum response.) Perhaps their skepticism wasn't entirely unwarranted; the upcoming Western-made PSP prequel, Silent Hill: 0rigins, has endured a rocky development. Also, considering the relatively weak Playstation 3/Xbox 360 lineup Konami has fielded to date (most notably Rumble Roses XX and...uh, Bomberman Act: Zero), should the company really gamble with a popular established franchise?
But our fears abated after seeing SH5 in action; it appears to be in capable hands. The involvement of longtime SH Composer Akira Yamaoka should further assuage fans' trepidation. He's writing a new soundtrack for the game, as well as acting as a consultant for its overall look and feel. Yamaoka actually finds irony in the series' Stateside move: "It's funny, because the original Silent Hill was our attempt at making classic American Horror through a Japanese filter," he says, "and now with SH5, it's an American take on a Japanese-filtered American horror."
A Soldier's Tale
Silent Hill V probably won't hit PS3 and Xbox 360 until fall 2008, leaving a four-year gap between this and the previous title, Silent Hill 4: The Room. That's a long time, considering that the first four games all shipped within a five-year period, and the 2006 big-screen Silent Hill film adaptation undoubtedly broadened the series' appeal. So rather than forging a storyline that closely ties to the previous games, The Collective instead chose to create a stand-alone plot with all new characters to help reboot the previously dense narrative. But don't expect to see completely unrecognizable characters, settings, and situations. "It's important that the characters fit into the overall Silent Hill style," says Horton. "There's a certain stylized-yet-realistic believability--almost as a heightened reality--that's expected for the canon, and our hero, Alex Shepherd, has that familiar Silent Hill angst behind him....You can see it in his eyes."
Although he may look like past SH protagonists, Alex is a different kind of hero altogether--he's a 22-year-old veteran who's recuperating from a war wound in a military hospital when he has a premonition that his little brother, Joshua, is in trouble. He returns to his New England hometown of Shepherd's Glen to find his mother nearly catatonic, his brother and father missing, and a creepy pea-soup fog blanketing everything. Alex's background as a soldier influences both SH5's gameplay and its narrative, yet the developers aren't trying to make an overt political statement. "There's a relevance without being political," says Horton. "We're not making any comment on any one specific war or branch of the military." For a young guy, Alex has seen a lot...and that world-weary mentality gives his character the appropriate amount of gravitas. "Alex will be confronted with horrors that reflect his psychological state, and these manifestations come from within," explains Lead Designer Jason Allen. "All the trauma that he's been through, whether it's the war or his troubles at home, makes for some visceral scary encounters."
Along the way, a spunky female named Elle will aid Alex on his quest. It's not clear whether she's a playable character or simply an A.I.-controlled ally, but she seems to combine the streetwise sexiness of SH2's Maria with the relatable girl-next-door cuteness of SH3 heroine Heather. Plus, she and Alex have a long history, so there's potential for a messy love reconnection in the midst of all this turmoil. "She definitely has a heart, and she's trying to warm him up to the town's plight," says Horton. "She's definitely an instrumental character in the overall scope of the game." The Collective has no qualms admitting their desire to recapture the emotional impact that fans felt with Silent Hill 2's troubled cast. "We want to keep our characters from being too one-dimensional," Allen says. "We want real depth and gray areas to make the characters relatable, as we all have flaws."
While SH5 seems to play it safe with a simple "lost child" story line, the developers hint that a deeper narrative lurks beneath the surface. "Along the way, Alex learns the truth about his hometown, and what's been going on while he's been away," says Horton. "He also learns the true influence of Silent Hill, and it's much darker and more pervasive than you'd expect." Speaking of Silent Hill, we wanted to confirm that Alex physically travels there (in SH4, you only commuted to the accursed burg via a magic tunnel). "Yes, you will transition into Silent Hill at some point," says Allen. "The game isn't called Shepherd's Glen, after all."
A disgusting feast for the eyes and ears
Despite the fresh cast and new locale, the series' basic tenets remain filly intact. We witnessed the game's nightmarish opening scene--a waking dream that has Alex exploring a desolate hospital before warping through a mirror into the grimy, rust-covered "Otherworld" populated with death-dealing nurses. It's classic Silent Hill aesthetic canon, from the tense ride on a creaky, blood-stained gurney to the trail of crayon drawings left behind by Joshua as he wanders deeper into the abyss.
The classic SH presentation hasn't changed much--a more user-friendly camera angle (controlled with the right analog stick_ gives a clearer view of the horrors, but the basic look and feel of Silent Hill V stays true to the series' roots, albeit galvanized with HD-era detail and clarity. As in the previous games, the wold you inhabit exists in two separate states: First, you explore dilapidated real-world locales cloaked in heavy shadows and billowing fog. As creepy and unsettling as these bits may be, they seem downright inviting compared to the "Otherworld" versions of the same maps. For the uninitiated, expect an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition only Satan could love: Unspeakably grotesque creatures roam industrial structures decorated with bloody walls, rusty chains, and doors made of pulsating flesh. The transition between these two physical states shows off some impressive new tech inspired by Christope Gans' Silent Hill flick--the floors and walls dramatically melt away, revealing the twisted, damaged world beneath. It all happens in real time around Alex as you play, and it's definitely an unsettling effect.
The series is renowned for its effective use of light and shadow, and SH5 takes those graphical touches to a new plateau. "My philosophy for horror is: The less you see, the scarier it is," says Horton. "So we create situations that really show off the mystery: Dramatically cast shadows and lighting tricks really make it tough to discern exactly what you're looking at... As soon as you can identify something, it ceases to be as scary." Expect plenty of dramatic silhouettes, subtle freak-outs, and cheap scares...even though some will be purely accidental. The addition of a realistic physics system (utilizing the popular Havok middleware kit that powers games lik Saints Row and Halo 3) means that every character and object interacts realistically with the environment. So now, when you accidentally bump into a chair, it might collide with a table, noisily knocking junk onto the floor...which may alert nearby enemies to your presence.
Although it's not apparent in these screenshots, the series' trademark grain filter--a veil of noise that overlays the action--will indeed return for SH5. "We're not just sticking with one filter; we're actually experimenting with different ones, with hairline scratches and bits of debris," says Horton. "We can change the look of the grain dynamically as you play, which gives us the power to handcraft the mood and atmosphere of each area." The gameplay demo we witnessed featured three distinct grain filters, with various amounts of grit, flicker, and jitter, lending the action a uniquely terrifying vibe. "It's something we've fought about internally, as everyone expects HD gaming to be so clean and precise," admits Horton. "And really, in this gaming landscape--where everything is starting to look the same--these filters give SH5 the opportunity to stand out."
Silent Hill fans also expect to see some truly impressive fog in this next-gen outing, but the creeping mist isn't quite ready for prime time. We spied an early stab at the effect, and while the addition of chunks of ash that flutter by (a nod to both the fist Silent Hill game and the recent film) is a nice touch, the overall fog effect isn't all that convincing yet. "The goal of the fog is to make it absolutely immersive, as if you're really walking through it," says Horton. "We want it to feel physical and alive, like you're carving the fog with the beam of your flashlight."
Tweaking the gameplay
So, Silent Hill V looks and sounds like the real deal, but does it play like the old games? Yes...and no. Sure, Alex is still clobbering monstrosities with a lead pipe in classic SH fashion, but The Collective wants those fights to be more challenging and engaging than in previous titles. "While in the past, the hero was an everyman, we're taking the action further this time," says Allen. "Alex does have military training, and he's coming into the situation more equipped than previous heroes." To be honest, combat was never really the series' strong suit; despite minor tweaks to the battle systems in SH3 and SH4, enemy encounters often degenerated into clumsy mashfests.
"Alex's maneuverability in combat will make him feel very different from previous SH heroes," explains Lead Scripter David Verfaillie. "The sheer variety of moves at his disposal goes far beyond previous titles: You can unleash a flurry of light attacks, charge up for a heavy attack, and even hit foes with specific trajectory, knocking them into walls and objects." The two melee weapons we saw, a knife and a lead pipe, each offered unique combos and strategic uses depending on the type of foe Alex was facing. Other new twists on the combat formula include grapples that require button mashing (or possibly Sixaxis shaking shenanigans) to avoid a grisly fate (one failed struggle we witnessed ended with Alex lying on the floor in two bloody pieces), counter moves, and a much-needed evasive-roll maneuver.
Given Alex's military past, we have to wonder what changes are in store for SH5's gunplay. Previous SH titles offered projectile weapons, but the aiming mechanics felt haphazard. Unfortunately, the developers aren't ready to debut the new shooting mechanics. "Don't worry, though--we're not trying to make SH5 into a shooter," says Verfaillie. "We will take the control scheme to the next level with the ranged weapons, but you will feel very much in control."
To put it simply, the combat in SH5 looks considerably deeper and more responsive to what fans know from the previous games. "The combat is evolving--and people are always concerned that we've made it more physical--but at the end of the day, it still feels like Silent Hill," says Oertel. "It's nothing for fans to get worried about--we want to make it scarier, but not because you can't see or can't control your character."
Giving players a more effective fighter constitutes only half of the equation, though: The enemies in SH5 have received a serious A.I. upgrade. "Now, you can't just run past the monsters as you might have done in past SH games." says Allen. "Because Alex is more equipped, our enemies must be more difficult, too." Foes will now kick open doors to reach you, and they'll react realistically to both sound and visual cues. Monsters also have specific A.I. proclivities that you can exploit. We saw one concrete example in action: The diabolical nurses flock to light sources like moths, so Alex turned on a projector to draw their attention so he could slip by unnoticed.
In terms of creature design, SH5 marries returning favorites like the nurses with a host of original abominations. Glimpses of Schism, a hideous humanoid with a massive, blade-shaped head split by a zipper, and Smog, an emaciated, gas-spewing corpse covered in pulsating boils, showed definite potential for emotional scarring. Another new creature, Siam, fuses a male and female body together into a ghastly morass of psychosexual depravity.
Expect all of these monsters to move with animations that blend the series' traditional Jacob's Ladder-inspired twitchfest with fully motion captured performances by human actors (a series first). And although they won't discuss any specifics, The Collective promises that SH5's boss encounters will handily outclass those in past installments, with a focus on delivering climactic, Zelda style duels against massive foes.
Despite all the changes made to SH5's combat engine, other aspects of the game appear to stay fairly true to the series' established norms. The lone puzzle we spied--where Alex must track down various X-ray plates to piece together a numeric password--could have easily been in any previous SH title. The Collective hopes to make the puzzles a bit more cohesive and location based, but it's familiar fare to series vets. Likewise, the game's overall flow mimics that of its predecessors, blending a directed, linear quest with a somewhat open-ended, free-to-explore world. "We're not going to hold the player's hand at this, but it's going to be sophisticated and creative,"says Oertel. "You're going to go in and you're going to wander, explore, and you'll have to think about what to do next--this is a thinking man's and woman's game."
The Collective also hints at one intriguing new gameplay factor that should tie nicely into the series' history of offering multiple endings--moral decisions that influence the narrative. "Every decision has consequences, and the will have cumulative effects on the overall outcome of the game," says Allen. "There is an interface for these decisions--some physical, others verbal--that will directly affect the game's progression." Hmm, hopefully some of these tough choices will lead to a return of the fan-favorite UFO-finale tradition.
A dark future awaits
We got the feeling that the initially negative fan reaction to SH5's announcement had the developers a little spooked when we met with them, but that skepticism should propel them to ace the project that they fought so hard to land. Even at this early point in development, the title appears poised to deliver on the promise of a next-gen Silent Hill that stays true to its roots while (finally) evolving the series' stagnant gameplay. Producer Oertel sums up the team's aim nicely: "We really wanted to take the player down into the deepest part of the rabbit hole, and to feel the insanity of what it's like to be in Silent Hill.
Haha, nah... He's extremely masculine-looking... I don't think he could pull make-up off. (Not that all very masculine-looking males can't pull make-up off... I just don't think it'd look good on him.
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