Apparently this is old news but a Silent Hill Origins promo leaked. I've seen videos of it on YouTube and it looks okay. Not fantastic. Not atrocious. Looks to me like we'll have to forgive the game everything we have already forgiven the series up to now - dodgy camera, awful stiff movement etc. Worst thing I saw was that it has QTEs.

QTEs need to die.

Especially in a game that will struggle to be immersive and that immersion is all-important.

The interesting thing is, apparently, this demo contained all of the music and video files in the game. This has resulted in hideous spoilers (which is why I stopped looking and don't have any links) but also the existence of a full game music rip, including what some people seem to labelling the OST. I've only heard a few tracks from it and, so far, it's precisely more of the same with even more vocal tracks. I've always said since SH3 that Yamaoka seems to see SH as more a vehicle for his albums than anything else and it seems to be true this time around.

Anyway, all interesting stuff. I'm looking forward to this though it looks like it's not going to impress hugely or advance the series in any way.

The OST to SHO is the thing I'm looking forward to most right now, so I would KILL for a link, even if it's just samples.

Let me see if I can dig it up.

Edit: Okay, here we go. Apparently there are different rips floating about but here's one of them - http://www.hometown.ru/sh0cst.htm

It's a russian SH fansite so I can't actually read what it says but this was linked to from silenthillorigins.com boards.

Another Edit: Do beware of spoilers if you go looking for more stuff. The game's endings are floating about.

Wow, just what I needed, some fresh Yamaoka!
I'll be sure to get the OST once it's released.

Thanks Jay!

I like the QTEs from what I played of Resident Evil 4.  Do you really feel they make the experience less immersive?  I don't know if I feel the same way.  I'm hesistant to say they make it more immersive, but part of me feels that they actually can do that.

P.S., thanks for the link!  I like being able to sound out the Russian letters, its all I remember from my Russian class!

Yep, it's just personal opinion of course but when a game flashes up a button that's on your console/handheld, it simply serves to remind me that I'm playing a console/handheld. Conversely, games that have completely integrated control schemes, once those controls are learned, become fluid experiences with me directly controlling the character - not me controlling the controller which is telling the console to control the character.

Now I haven't actually played through RE4 so I can't comment on those but, in Shenmue (a game I adore) the QTEs were just there to pretend that fancy cut scenes were, in fact, gameplay. Same in the new Tomb Raiders.

But SH Origins doesn't seem to be using it that way. From what I could tell from the videos on YouTube (once again, beware as the endings are up there), if an enemy grabs you, a random button flashes on screen and you have to press it or hammer it maybe. And so, in a game where immersion is key, you get a big triangle button flash and you have to go find it on your system. It can only serve to take you out of the game.

Personally, I'd rather there were set techniques to get out of the grab or you had to react to what the creature was doing visually so, once it happened a few times, it would become completely natural and there would be no need for any buttons flashing on screen.

Anyway, back to Origins and the music, I've listened to a few more and it doesn't actually seem like there are more vocal tracks - it's just that they were all lumped together. It does seem like there is even less variety again but some of the tracks are excellent. I'm not going to listen to them now again until I've played the game, in case knowing them lessens the impact of the game (which it probably would).

I listened to the SH1 OST again yesterday and also a game rip of the other tracks in the game. It does seem that, in creating a creepy atmosphere, that one was easily the most successful. Mostly, as far as I can tell, due to the variety. It's totally unpredictable and constantly changes. While a more laid back beat approach worked really well for the atmosphere of SH2 (and made for my favourite SH soundtrack), Yamaoka seemed to settle into a rhythm from there and, while it still results in some great tracks, it negatively affects the atmosphere of the games.

So most of this Origins soundtrack follows that but I still reckons there will be a great OST from it. I'm just not sure how creepy the game will be.

I could be struck down by Yamaoka for saying this but am I the only person a little bored with the hospital setting in SH games? I like that it's Alchemilla Hospital again but still, so many hospitals.

Also (and this makes me a SH nerd) the uniforms are wrong. The uniforms seem to match the nurses in the other hospital in SH2 and 3, not the hospital in SH1.

wasnt there mention of a new version of PSP with a video out? SH would definitely benefit from that...

Yep, it's out here in about a week. I would have thought it would be out in the US either at the same time or not long after. From what I've heard, they've worked the contrast well in SH Origins so it can be seen well. I played SH1 on the PSP recently and could barely see a thing unless I was in complete darkness.

Well, I gotta say thanks for letting us know about the audio goodness, Jay. Always appreciate Yamaoka doing his thing.

Well, SH Origins is due out in a couple of weeks here. I saw the Destructoid hands-on article, and when I saw this picture my heart stopped:

http://www.destructoid.com/elephant//ul … 20copy.jpg

Having come fresh off replays of SH1, 2 and 3 in the past couple of weeks, that one shot made me really anxious for the game. I just went out and bought a PSP so I could play it when it came out. Looks like it's sale time again soon. >_>

SH Origins was released today. I looked in the instruction book and there are profiles for Alessa, Dahlia, Kaufman and Lisa Garland. Oh dear. It looks like I'll be putting PW3 on hold for this.

This is winging its way to me now. While I'm not expecting anything spectacular, I'm really looking forward to revisiting Silent Hill. One thing that has scared the bejesus out of me from a review or two is that it has been mentioned that thisgame tries to bring some of the movie continuity in. I don't know if that's true but I really hope it isn't.