Forums > Game Forums > Silent Hill: Homecoming > Homecoming and Silent Hill fans
Diogo Ribeiro (332) on 7/21/2009 11:03 AM · Permalink · Report
And by “fans”, I obviously mean those who write FAQs about every single appearance of Pyramid Head or have taken upon themselves to question the integrity of every Silent Hill after the 2nd chapter.
Just what is it with Silent Hill Homecoming that sets fans on fire? Some spoilers follow.
Fans complain about the combat, because elements like dodging make it too arcade-like (when dodges, or sidesteps, already existed in the first game about ten years ago) because as Silent Hill tropes go, the lead characters are always normal people not adept at combat. Many “hardcore” fans go as far as to suggest playing the games while avoiding combat at all costs. Then Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for the Wii has no combat at all in an attempt to stay away from the shootouts and baysplosions that have seemingly taken over the genre in detriment of the survival aspect... And fans complain it's treasonous, because even a normal person would at least throw a rock at the lumbering deformities.
Fans complain that Homecoming mirrors the movie adaptation to the point where it includes the puppet Nurses only as a gimmick, as they weren't supposed to be there. Yet, nurses have mostly always been a reflex of the lead characters' state of mind, reflecting their anxiety towards hospitalization and illness (a recurring theme in the series), and this has a place in Homecoming. These large-breasted and sexualized nurses were given thumbs up in SH2 because they represented a frustrated libido, but are dismissed as aesthetics leftovers in Homecoming because frustrated libidos are not a theme in the game – nevermind that Alex has been hospitalized for a long time, quite possibly feeling sexually frustrated in the process. In fact, the only women I've seen in Sheperd's Glen so far (Judge Holloway, Elle Holloway and his mother) certainly seem capable of inducing very similar anxieties - the Judge is caring but too stern, Elle is a childhood friend turned brash and resentful, and Alex's mother is caring but aloof. All of which have been negative experiencies with the opposite sex.
Nurses sometimes were also physical as in, actual people and not necessarily psychic manifestations, in Silent Hill. When you return to Silent Hill in Homecoming, there's a hotel where someone was ill and required medical assistance – cue a reason for the nurses. But they're still seen as out of place in Homecoming? In spite of only appearing in locations where they make sense?
Other criticisms include Homecoming's story being predictable (because cults and sacrifices in previous games weren't), unimaginative enemies (when seriously, only a couple of SH creatures throughout the series can be called original), that it doesn't mention enough characters or events from past games (as if touching upon the essentials of the past games wasn't enough), and so on. Actually, Mobygames' own review claims that the only reference to past games is to Origins, when this isn't true - Deputy Wheeler also mentions Cybill by proxy ("they found her bike outside city limits", or something to that effect).
While it's arguable that Homecoming is not the best Silent Hill game, I keep wondering what is it with the reception it's been getting. It's better understood as a side chapter, but not necessarily a bad one because of that. And wouldn't you know, all this coming from someone who has played through the main series.
Slug Camargo (583) on 7/23/2009 4:51 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
I will only quote myself as saying ...
Shootous in a fucking Silent Hill!!!
... and if you consider that isn't enough to rule this game out as a Hollywoodesque piece of stinking shit, well, more power to you, man, because you have the ability to overlook what to me are flat-out atmosphere-killers and enjoy the game regardless.
Sure, I could go on about ridiculous stuff like the forced-in, unnecesary, pointless love interest or the inclusion of an incredibly idiotic comic relief in one of its worst possible forms, the Wisecracking Wacky Black Guy (TM), but I take it from your words that you read my review, and thus anything I could say would be repeating stuff that didn't convince you already, so what's the point?
Like I said, for whatever reason you still can forgive this garbage of a game, and that makes you the one among both of us that doesn't consider himself being ripped off, which makes you the happier one, so congratulations.
Oh, just one thing: Cybill is a lead character in the movie, so her being mentioned is not a valid point in de-shitting this piece of shit.
And another thing:
[Q --start Diogo Ribeiro wrote--]These large-breasted and sexualized nurses were given thumbs up in SH2 because they represented a frustrated libido, but are dismissed as aesthetics leftovers in Homecoming because frustrated libidos are not a theme in the game – nevermind that Alex has been hospitalized for a long time, quite possibly feeling sexually frustrated in the process.[/Q --end Diogo Ribeiro wrote--] Well how's that for a stretch? I guess you never heard of Occam's razor...
Diogo Ribeiro (332) on 7/23/2009 2:38 PM · Permalink · Report
I am aware that discussing Silent Hill is a polarizing investment, and don't expect people to agree with me. But the more I read criticism towards Homecoming, the more I believe people come up with somewhat arbitrary reasons to dislike it. Of course no single game means the same thing to two different people, and I admit that this is a possibility here.
I'm not sure I'm overlooking the themes or the ambience of the game considering that, in a way, I am trying to defend it. Someone shooting back at the protagonist seems such a flimsy reason to neglect the game to me. I didn't think less of the first game when Cybill was shooting Harry, after all. And if that doesn't qualify as a shootout, I don't know what does.
I don't feel ripped off because I've come to look at Silent Hill as a theme, not a parade of the same aesthetical and thematical elements. These are par for the course, yes, but the series have always had a good deal of thems and subtexts operating simultaneously and often intertwined. Alex and Elle's relationship is no more of an offense to the series than Harry's affection for his daughter or James's love for his departed wife (a quick examination found you calling SH2 a, quote, "heart-grinding love story"). They're narrative elements that help connect characters and themes (a quest for the "self", an anchor to reality and safety in a world that doesn't make sense to the lead characters, etc.).
As for the nurses, my reasoning is no bigger stretch than what many fans have done over the years. It's actually tamer when compared to the notion that the Pyramid Head could only be present in Silent Hill 2, for instance. And what I said doesn't actually venture far away from what the series has established in regards to characters' psyches.
With that said, I wasn't expecting you to answer me as my post wasn't specifically related to your review :) I chanced upon it, which got me thinking about other criticism I've read elsewhere. I appreciate the response but as you said yourself, I don't think I can say anything to convince you. But then, that wasn't my intention either :) All I'm saying is that I don't see Homecoming as a radical departure from previous installments - although it's not the series finest, either - because Silent Hill has always experimented with many themes (even humor) and wasn't particularly ashamed to mess with the gameplay either (such as the room/hub in SH4).
St. Martyne (3648) on 7/27/2009 8:53 AM · Permalink · Report
Wow, I've just realized that this game (which I haven't played, but inclined to believe on the general consensus of it being, at the very best, just average) was developed by the studio based on the remnants of Shiny. Shiny who gave us the wondrous whimsical games like Messiah, Sacrifice, MDK and, of course, Earthworm Jim.
Its sister company, Planet Moon, is spewing out nothing but shovelcrap today too. Guitar Hero clones and trivia games? Thanks, but no thanks.
Sigh. How the mighty have fallen!
St. Martyne (3648) on 7/31/2009 4:03 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start stvedder wrote--]But "Giants: Citizen Kabuto" and "Armed & Dangerous" were pretty cool. Well not as good as Messiah, MDK or Sacrifice, but definitely worth a play. [/Q --end stvedder wrote--]
Of course! I lament their descent into mediocrity with the same sadness I exert towards Shiny. And I think that Giants was even a far more impressive game than Messiah.
But take a look at their recent output and you heart will skip a beat.
[Q --start stvedder wrote--] Or, more recently, stuff like Enter The Matrix and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Yay, talk about a talented bunch! \o/ [/Q --end stvedder wrote--]
The whole world of crap titles won't be enough undo the awesomeness which Shiny once was.
Diogo Ribeiro (332) on 7/27/2009 3:18 PM · Permalink · Report
This is true, in a way. The first Silent Hill for me always was about Lynchian themes not unlike those of Twin Peaks - the dark side of small American towns, where the community is resistant to outside influences just as it is moved by supernatural forces. Homecoming is, without a doubt, quite tame by Silent Hill standards when it comes to terror but I find it more accurate in its small town depiction; it's not as sugestive as the original but it's more focused on its path. The original title spread out too thin - suggestions of cults, drugs, paranoia, illness, dead gods. Homecoming is more about a literal homecoming - that of Alex, and of being an outsider - into a small town whose inhabitants harbor grudges against those outside its routines and ways. Alex's mother is an example - nearly indifferent to her son's return - with Elle being another - reluctant to accept Alex's return. It's much more self-contained and, in a way, this provokes a different kind of reaction - it makes everything more personal. It's a reverse take on traditional SH games since Alex is not trying to go to Silent Hill to find something - he's actually trying to escape it. But the influence haunts him and tries to bring him back.
This is by no means a declaration of excellence towards the game, but it's not as different as suggested. Like any old SH, it's a good story on its own - solid enough to hold up to scrutiny and malleable enough for us to invest meaning into things, just like the past titles.
Slug Camargo (583) on 7/29/2009 1:56 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--]Wow, I've just realized that this game (which I haven't played, but inclined to believe on the general consensus of it being, at the very best, just average) was developed by the studio based on the remnants of Shiny. Shiny who gave us the wondrous whimsical games like Messiah, Sacrifice, MDK and, of course, Earthworm Jim. [/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] Or, more recently, stuff like Enter The Matrix and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Yay, talk about a talented bunch! \o/
Diogo Ribeiro (332) on 7/29/2009 12:52 PM · Permalink · Report
Because any talent in the past is utterly disposable in the face of less than stellar games.