The Room is a weird creature alright. It seems most people who played it have strong opinions in one direction or the other about it. It's main problem, in my opinion, was that it almost seemed half-finished, a lot of the aspects it introduced came off as being rushed. If you consider the fact that it's development-time was only one year (as opposed to two years for the first three games), and that it is rumoured to have originally started as a non-SH project that only late in it's development got the SH-name slapped on top, it might not be so strange that it wasn't quite all that it could be.

I think its a very uneven game that brings a lot of interesting ideas to the table. Its one of the weaker entires in the series, but the sheer bizarreness and strangeness of the game still makes it worthwhile. Its like SH mixed with Alice in Wonderland or something. Its not the best, sure, but by no stretch of the imagination would I agree with avatar! that its "terrible". Despite being poor Silent Hill, its still better and more rewarding than 90% of the horror games out there. Sometimes I get the feeling that The Room was unfortunate enough to appear around the time many fans of the previous games started getting tired of the series in general, leading them to overemphasize the game's faults and downplay it's strengths.

Also, here is a very interesting review of The Room, that very much sums up my feelings about the game. I agree with most of what's said, it captures the duality of the game well.

i made it halfway thru SH4.. at the beginning it was nice to know you had a safe haven back in your apt where you could regain health... but once you started getting your butt kicked out of nowhere there... between that aspect and having to redo the levels,, i put the game away 4 years ago and havnt touched it since

avatar! summed up what I thought about Silent Hill 4 pretty well.  I thought it had a lot of promise at the beginning, but that was quickly replaced by a feeling of tedium.  It honestly felt like a chore to play through the thing, especially when they made you start replaying levels (with the levels then being even less interesting than they were the first time.  yay!).  I tend to play survival horror games with an audience, and SH4 was the only one where we were all just completely bored.  We were all honestly shocked by how low the playtime registered after finishing it because it felt like an eternity dragging through that monstrosity.

I've recently started playing through Origins (on the PS2, with my same friends watching), and while it DOES have the feeling of being made by people trying to make a Silent Hill game, at least they tried.  Even with weapons breaking (I just keep running from all the enemies... used to it after SH4!) it's at least moderately enjoyable.  More than I can say for 4.

You know, this actually sounds pretty good - http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/971/971316p1.html

As for my thoughts on 4, now that the dust has long settled on it, I thought it was often great. I loved that they tried something different. I love the feel and some of the locations. I adore the room setup and how that all plays out. I have no problem with the ghosts.

Like Daniel, to me some of it almost felt unfinished. Like remember those two-headed creatures that walked on their hands? In the trailer, you just got a glimpse of them and they looked creepy as hell. And in the game, how did they debut it? In a boring circular corridor, you just come across one and it's just sitting there, not doing a thing because its animation hasn't kicked in yet. It felt like a mistake. Someone had forgotten to put something in there.

But the biggest crime was making you play through the sections twice. That, to me, is unforgivable. A totally cheap way of extending game time and really exposed that, for the first time, these were just completely unconnected levels rather than actual places.

And I guessed at the time, and more recent interviews would seem to back it up, that Yamaoka didn't score the game. He just made music he wanted to make. There was one scene in particular, a death scene with a vocal track playing over it with such clear yet non sequitur lyrics that it was laugh out loud funny.

Overall though, when it worked it worked. While it didn't look as flashy as 3, I thought it was far more inventive and that made it interesting. And I loved the last location - it was the one place in the whole game that I felt the soundtrack actually worked.

Yeah, it does! It sounds like they're really putting a lot of thought and work into this game, with many fresh ideas. With so much new stuff, the potential for big failure is there to be sure, but if they actually come through on the promises, this might prove to be the same kind of reinventing turning point that RE4 was for the Resident Evil series.

I still have a few worries, though:

1. They say "PS2 and PSP versions are also planned, although Wii is the lead platform". As I'm not planning on getting a Wii ever, I really hope they manage to competently port it to the PS2. I hope the Wii-exclusive play mechanics aren't unique enough as to be totally untranslatable.

2. The dark world being replaced by an "icy world" sounds both intriguing and kind of worrisome. It could be a very cool new take on the concept, but I'm guessing I'll miss the good ol' dark world as much as I did in Homecoming. If this icy new idea turns out to be too "tame", it'll undoubtedly hurt the atmosphere. Re-imaging or no re-imaging, this is SH1 we're talking about here, I do hope they remember they're remaking the darkest of the dark: no wussing out.

3. The cellphone thing sounds cool, but I hope it doesn't turn out too "gimmicky". It seems to have a lot of functions, but I'm not sure I want to mess too much with that.

Also, here is a rather detailed interview with the lead developers. If there's something that has really sparked my interest in this project, its their very confident tone. They seem to be very passionate and determined about this, which is always a good sign. I just hope they can follow through.

Yeah, you're right there. The official SH4 OST CD is great, one of Yamaoka's best albums in my opinion, but most of the music isn't even in the game. The sound design in the game itself isn't on par with the rest of the series, and the placement of the tracks that are there is pretty sloppily done. People who only played SH4 and no other game in the series probably wonder what all the fuss is about with the SH-music, because its not very noticeable in that game.

Dammit, Daniel K. Was that intentional?

On the other hand, as a Wii owner, I'm hoping for the opposite.  I'm sick of half-assed implementation of using the Wii's unique properties just so other versions can exist.  The whole purpose of the Wii's controls is to introduce new ways of playing games.  Would you still not plan on "not ever owning a Wii ever" if games starting coming out for it that could literally not exist on other platforms?  That's what I'm hoping to see from this.  Climax, give us something that actually IS a new experience in lieu of HD graphics.  And stop beating the dead PS2 horse.

Well, I can't foresee the future, but my tentative answer to your question would have to be yes, I still do not plan it. I have nothing against the Wii per se, but, with the exception of a few games, I'm wholly indifferent to the current generation of consoles (Wii/X360/PS3), none of their lineups impress me. Couple this with the fact that I very seldom play games nowadays and find it hard to justify wasting time and money on them, and the chances of me getting a Wii become pretty slim. I love Silent Hill, but I'm past the stage where I'll buy a console just to be able to play one game (the only reason I got around to playing Homecoming was that my brother has a PS3).

That old horse was good enough to bring forth Silent Hill 2: I'm pretty sure it can host quality SH. I hope Climax has it in them to translate the game to PS2 without it losing too much of it's mechanics.

It's only a rumour.

http://games.kikizo.com/features/konami … _sep04.asp

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09 … hill/50852

New Trailer.

I'm back to a state of doubt again. The vibes I've been getting from the developments so far have been somewhat positive, but seeing the game in action, I can't shake the feeling of lukewarm tameness I've been getting from the series since SH4. This just isn't the descent into hell that the earlier games were, and I get the feeling that in the end, it'll just prove to be a lustmord of my dear old favourite. Even the music sounds a bit off, and McGlynn - *sigh* - seems to be back for the fifth time.

Oh man, that trailer actually got me excited about the game
I'm glad we're getting a SH where you don't just go and mow down enemies! As much as I love SH1, it is a bit awkward to be finding ammunition just littered about a small town, and why is our protagonist always such a good shot? Using firearms effectively is not as easy as people think! But I digress... and I will agree that it didn't look quite as frightening as the earlier SH games, but hey that was just a teaser. Also, the fact that you're playing on the Wii and looking around with your flashlight is just awesome! That, along with no weapons, totally makes it a new and exciting SH experience in my mind. We'll have to wait and find out what happens, but this might end up being a great experience...

cheers,

-avatar!

edit: and maybe they'll flesh out the SH1 story. I know some people view that as hubris, but personally I would love to see it more cemented and "deep" story. Just as long as they don't pull some mitochlorian BS on us

He wasn't a good shot, SH1's aiming system was way off.

What I object most to is the tameness of it all. SH3 might have had a dumb story, but it was a pure descent into hell of that oldschool, hardcore SH-variety. I hunger for another SH that has that balls-to-the-wall razor-sharp radicalism that the earlier games had. I'm tired of wishy-washy carboncopies, I want the vintage choking darkness. Maybe its time to realize those times are bygone.

The saving grace this game still has is that it promises to be something different and fresh. They seem to have some good ideas and ambition. I just can't shake the premonition though that I'll end up disappointed.

Silent Hill 1 had, to my recollection, a visceral presentation that might've seemed over-the-top in any other game, but was right at home in the expansive void of the game's setting. I didn't play too much of it, but my experience with it, and the totality of my time with Silent Hill 2 has me agreeing with you here.

Yeah, I'm feeling this in the trailer. Like you, I'm not yet convinced at all but I sort of feel their heart may be in the right place. How the town is represented doesn't yet look all that scary. I think there's a bit of a problem in the level of the graphics. They are obviously much more clean and polished than the messy 32-bit graphics of the original and yet they don't seem to have added mess and dirt to the natural cleanliness of higher resolution textures. In that respect, just going on this trailer, Silent Hill 2, 3 and even 4 looked that bit better to me.

I really admire that they are going for something different with the other world this time. I totally understand your feeling that nothing has ever gone for that scariness in the way the original did. SH3 attempted it but, for me, the constant enemies were actually a comfort because there was no time for the atmosphere to sink in and get under my skin.

That they are trying something different, I think is great.

And yet this is a retelling of the original game. So why go for different in this game? That seems odd to me. And, just from the shots in the trailer, I'm not at all convinced that what they've gone for will actually be scary. Interesting? Yes. But I'm not sure about scary.

Still, I do love that they're going for something a bit different and this interests me far more than the last two did (the last of which, I never played).

Agreed on all points, Jay (with the exception that I seem to have enjoyed SH3 more than you did). I guess my posts reflect my great ambivalence towards the series at this stage.

I'm surprised no one re-opened this thread yet.  Am I the only one playing this?  I'm not far at all but so far I will say it's better than I expected.  The plot is taking a while to gain momentum but I like where they're going with it, they're staying true to the psychological roots of the series a la SH1 and SH2.  It's most certainly not following the original Silent Hill plot at all though, the only real similarities are the characters and the town itself.  Speaking of differences, one thing I thought I would hate is the use of a cell phone w/ GPS capabilities.  However, I actually like how they implemented it.  You need to dial certain phone numbers every so often to solve a puzzle or figure something out, and yes, you have to hold the Wii remote up to your ear to hear phone calls.  I know other games have done this in the past but I just think it's such a clever idea.  The phone has a camera feature as well so you can take pictures of things to either keep for later viewing or to actually reveal secrets.  And as far as the "GPS" goes, it's basically just the map we know and love from every other game in the series.

While I'm mostly positive about the game so far, the one thing that does annoy me is the process of running away from and avoiding the enemies.  Having to shake off enemies by waving the Wii remote like a lunatic just doesn't sit well with me, especially for a SILENT HILL game, it feels more like I'm playing Wii Sports or something during those parts.  Luckily, so far anyway, there haven't been too many enemy encounters.

Oh and did I mention the music is AMAZING so far?  I haven't listened to much of the actual soundtrack yet, just what I've heard in game, but so far I'm digging it.  Zane was spot on with his review of the soundtrack.  It's not your typical Silent Hill soundtrack because it's not your typical Silent Hill game.  This game has such a different feel from any other in the series, it's refreshing!

Yeah, everyone's partying in the Game Music forum over it. You're in the wrong place, mang!

Woooooooooooo!

I'll probably be trying the game soon cos I am hearing fairly positive things about it.
The soundtrack on itself didn't appeal to me at all, but who knows, it might actually work in-game.

Fatal Frame 4 did this to great effect a couple of times too.
Now THAT was one of the best Horror-games I've played in years, despite the sluggish controls.
I have no idea why it hasn't been localized yet.

Oh, lord. Someone at Nintendo will die a hilariously brutal death at my hands if they don't get off their asses and review whatever legalities are preventing that game from making it over here. Shit.

From what I understand, there are no legal issues whatsoever - they're just being @!&#s about releasing things these days.  Would be really nice to get to play that, Disaster, Captain Rainbow, and Another Code: R!  Also guess what - three of those games have English translations already!  >:(

Whenever there's a survey like the new one on Club Nintendo I make a point to work in complaining about those.

When you say english translations, what do you mean? I know folks are doing that with PS2 games now, but can they be done with Wii? Will I be able to play Fatal Frame 4 with subs at some point?

I mean they're getting or have gotten European releases, though now I can't seem to find that FF4 is confirmed for that region anymore.  I thought there were ads floating around at one point for it, though...

The localization had started and it was set for release, but it was canceled some time ago.

So I finished the game a couple nights ago.  All my worries about the series being dead can officially be put to bed, what an absolutely amazing gaming experience this was!  In regards to the plot, this was the closest thing to the psychological mindf**k known as SH2 that I've ever played.  The end of the game threw me for such a loop that I immediately started my second playthrough.  One of the greatest things about this game is how it actually psychologically profiles you.  On my second playthrough, so far I'm making a lot of different choices and I've already noticed a bunch of changes in the game itself.  Trust me, it's very cool and Climax did a fine job implementing it.

If you're a diehard fan of the series or just psychological horror in general and you have a bit of patience when it comes to the chase sequences, do yourself a favor and play this game as soon as possible, you won't regret it!

Oh and as a side note, "Always on my Mind" is quickly becoming one of my favorite McGlynn vocals, especially now that I know the meaning of the song in regards to certain characters in the game.. <3

I've got a couple of hours (about 4) into the game now, and I'm REALLY liking it too.
The Nightmare sequences can be absolutely INFURIATING at times though, and they do seem like a slightly cheap way of making the game scary, but well, when you're frantically looking for the exit and your heart is pounding in your chest, then the game must be doing something right.

As I had hoped, the music works a lot better in the game than outside of it (for me at least) and in that regard it is exactly like the original, but that's where all similarities stop.
You can tell that they wanted to do something totally different with the series, and they've certainly managed to pull it off.

I haven't finished it yet, so I don't know where the story is going, but it definitely looks to have potential, and the miker's comments only seem to reaffirm that. There's plenty of WTF moments, that's for sure.
The transition from Normal SH to the icey version is pretty nifty (resisting urge to write "cool") too.

But what the game definitely excels at is in the WAY it tells its story. Climax have shown some really clever and original ideas in this game, and you'll find yourself in some really memorable situations at times.
One of the first things you see when you load your disc is a disclaimer that the game "psychologically profiles" you, and that it "plays you as much as you play it", which is the kind of thing that makes me go "yeah, sure", but I'll be damned if they didn't pull it off.
Your adventures in Silent Hill are interspersed with conversations with a psychiatrist, and the way in which you answer his questions and complete his tasks are wonderfully woven into the rest of the game. I'm definitely curious to see how the game plays out when you choose to do things differently, although I'm not much looking forward to going through those chase sequences again....

Also, and this is something I really appreciate, the fact that you can use your mobile phone to call phone numbers and take pictures of your environment for some background color, REALLY helps give Silent Hill a believable background.
In, well, ALL previous games it has always been a "cursed town" and nothing more (or less), but this is the first game in the series that has actually managed to make me feel that Silent Hill is ACTUALLY a town, that used to have a past that also involved other people, just going about their daily lives.
It feels much more "alive" than ever, and I have to give Climax major credit for that.

I played through the PSP version of this over the last few days. I didn't bother with Homecoming. It looked generic and the series seemed to be going a bit stale for me as far back as SH3 (even though I found stuff to enjoy in that, SH4 and Origins). And now a remake. Well a retelling or whatever. It did look interesting though - I certainly admired that they looked like they were doing something different. Unlike Homecoming, I was curious enough to give it a go.

But I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking - have they run out of places to go with this that they have to go back and rip things from the first game?

Turns out the answer was no. No, they had not run out of places to go. They had found a whole different direction.

And I love it.

This game is more Jacob's Ladder than even SH2 was. And it pulls it off brilliantly. The confusion and the paranoia that crept into SH2 is really milked here and in a way that feels like they have totally mastered it. The characters feel like people. The way the game drops in elements that come from the psych sessions is great. Silent Hill feels like a town. A weird, quiet town.

It's not SH1. Not even close. Why they even used the character names, I'm not quite sure. But I'm glad this isn't SH1. The oppression of SH1 isn't here. I didn't miss it. The combat - I didn't miss it. The sense of danger - strangely, for a game that was once survival horror, I didn't miss it.

In fact, the bulk of the game is a relaxed yet creepy adventure game. It's simply about that journey around town. Not survival.

The only bits that didn't work for me were actually the chase sections. I enjoyed the first one - it had panic and confusion and gave a real kick to the game. But, after that, I found I just wanted them to end. There wasn't enough danger to get the adrenalin going - killed once, I realised that there really is no consequence to it as the sections are short - and I just found that going around in a circle even once just gets frustrating.

With the adventure bits working so well, I don't even think the game needed the chase bits. Silent Hill could totally be an adventure game and work.

But the chase sections are only a small part of the game so they didn't spoil the enjoyment at all. I loved it and I'm looking forward to playing through it again.

On the music, it really works with the game but there didn't seem to be a huge amount of it. I seemed to hear the same tracks over and over more so than other SH games.

So, I've finally had time to pick it up. Played through it three times so far, and I completely agree with the_miker, Amazingu, and Jay. Shattered Memories is an awesome and deeply refreshing and original game that signals a potential rebirth for the series. Its without a doubt the best SH game since 2001's Silent Hill 2, and the only post-SH2 entry I consider really worthy to stand together with the first two. What makes it even more surprising is that its developed by Climax, the same team responsible for the cliche-riddled, by-the-numbers Silent Hill: Origins, the worst game in the series. I applaud their stellar effort in breaking away and creating something new, they have redeemed themselves in my eyes.

Story-wise, the best thing about Shattered Memories is that it completely throws out the tired, done-to-death "evil cult" and occultism shtick and delves head-first into the subtle psychological horror that made the series in the first place. 3, 4, Origins, Homecoming, and the live action movie all milked this story-line - that originally started out as one of several potential interpretations of Silent Hill 1's purposely vague story - to no end, and, in so doing, turned the series into something nearing a parody of itself. Shattered Memories is really just about the best thing that could have happened, a clean, back-to-the-basics break that for the first time since SH2 makes me feel like there might actually be a future for the series. Could psychological horror be back in the gaming world after it's long hiatus? Too early to tell for sure, but I'm now carefully optimistic.

The way Shattered Memories starts from the same premise as SH1 did but then takes it in a completely different direction and twists it around during the course of the game is brilliant, it breaks new ground at the same time as paying homage to the original. "Re-imagining" was really the way to go: a straight-up current-gen remake of the original - no matter how tempting and appealing the idea seems to those of us that love and treasure the 1999 classic - would just have amounted to throwing some new paint on an old game, thereby inviting irritated nerdy nitpicks from old fans while probably not winning over many new fans. Even though Shattered Memories in no way holds a candle to SH1 when it comes to earning a high ranking on the scare-o-meter, it still gets under your skin in the way that SH1 and - especially - SH2 managed to do, and the subsequent games failed at. I agree with Jay that, even though I love the old-school, tried-and-true survival horror mechanics of the classic SH games, I don't really miss the battles, fetch quests, picking up weapons, ammo, health-drinks, etc. Silent Hill can indeed make it as a downbeat, no-action adventure game as much as a "survival horror" game as long as it focuses on working that dark psychological voodoo that is it's true hallmark (something especially Origins and Homecoming almost completely lost sight of, even though they had their own merits in other ways). Leave the zombie decapitations and sniper rifles to Resident Evil and the hiding under beds and behind curtains to Clock Tower: we've got more serious matters to take care of in this here series.

About the chase-scenes, which seems to be the one thing in the game people are complaining about... I can understand the criticism. They feel kind of disjointed in regards to the mellow pace of the rest of the game, and occasionally they're quite irritating. Still, they never really bothered me much, I didn't feel like they wrecked the game or that they should have been left out. Jay's suggestion to just throw out the action/horror aspects and make it a straight-up adventure game is intriguing, but there's still something in the back of my head that objects to that, even though I can't really pinpoint what it is yet... Maybe just that that would be taking it too far by completely ripping the series from it's original moorings. Moving away from the pitch-black, visceral balls-to-the-wall satanic horror the series started at towards a creepy but mellow psychological focus is all very well and quite fruitful (as this game clearly proves), but I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable with Silent Hill completely losing it's horror roots... Still, the problem whether to put combat in there or keep the chase-scenes or whatever remains. This has been one of the series' central problems of design, the various attempts to reconcile the psychological aspects of the story with the "struggle" aspects of actually having a game in there too, and having them both mesh well with each other. The different installments have tried various approaches to this, the polar extremes being the fight-a-monster-in-almost-every-room setup of Origins and Homecoming on one side, contrasted with the almost Myst-like low-action dark adventure setup of Shattered Memories. The latter has a lot more potential of impressing upon the player what the series tries to achieve, but its still not without it's problems, as the widespread ambivalence towards the chase-scenes in Shattered Memories and the arising question of throwing them out or altering them in some way proves. In the best of possible worlds, Climax (or whichever team gets to make the next SH game) will move closer to solving this problematic.

The soundtrack works really well in the game, Yamaoka really hit the right tone for it. As we've already discussed elsewhere, the score is a damn strange animal, and I found that this is a case where playing the game really helps the music to grow on you. It's grown to become one of my favourite Yamaoka albums, with the vocal tracks and the instrumentals "Another Warm Body" and "Different Persons" being among Akira's most profound and evocative pieces, in my opinion. The soundtrack perfectly mirrors the game: quiet, unassuming, and mellow, but also deep, powerful, and very rewarding to explore.

To finish off the post, the series has started to grow prolific enough for "best-to-worst"-lists to actually become meaningful and interesting. My list so far goes like this, best at the top and worst at the bottom:

1
2
Shattered Memories
Homecoming (yes, it gets placed this high, shut up)
3
4: The Room
Origins

You might be getting your answer fairly soon:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178735

Glad you liked it, Daniel. I ended up playing it six times on the PSP and may well pick it up on Wii for no other reason than the nicer graphics.

And the more I played it, the more it went up in my estimation. And the more I picked up as I went along.

The parallels in much of the journey to the original added a huge amount for me. I think in one of the posts above, I may have said I didn't know why they chose to go with the SH1 character names as this was so different but my opinion on that totally reversed the more I played it. That they take that same journey, those same characters and completely reinterpret it, playing against so many of the preconceptions those characters bring, is fantastic.

After playing through it for the fifth time, I actually went and played through the original again from start to finish. And, while I cringed at talk of 'gyromancy' and casting spells, the original still totally gets me with its atmosphere. It's oppressive and plain creepy, getting more and more pressured as it builds. In terms of scares, no, Shattered Memories doesn't touch it. No SH game really does.

But, going back to Shattered Memories, I really appreciated the story, the journey and the quite adult storyline. And loved all the references and parallels to the original, many of which I had forgotten about or missed until I replayed the original. Shattered Memories is very polished and structured so well. It's a testament to the game that a linear story-based adventure with a plot that relies much on what you don't know early on (and so loses that on a second play-through) could hold my interest enough for me to play it six times.

On losing the chase scenes completely and relying on the adventuring, Daniel, I don't see that as losing the horror. The oppression of the original comes from so much more than just the threat to your character, the risk of seeing a 'game over' screen. And I think of some horror films like The Eye, where there really isn't a threat at all - it's like a threat of proximity or something. Not threat of death or harm. I think it's entirely possible to retain horror and scares in the series without the threat of a 'game over' screen.

Of course, that's only one of so many ways they could go from here and I doubt they will. I guess my original point was simply that I felt the rest of the game was so strong, that's all it needed.

Regardless of the chase sections, it's a great game and, yeah, rescues Silent Hill from being, as you rightly put it, a parody of itself.

Given how good it was and how well received it was, it seems such an odd decision to give the new one to anyone other than Climax. Can't say I'm thrilled about that but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

I may have to get Homecoming now and fill the gap in my SH playing. Especially as you recommend it, Daniel.

Agreed. It kind of reminds me of how the Resident Evil 1 remake for the GC used your knowledge of the PS1 original against you by sometimes rearranging passages, items, incidents, etc. But Shattered Memories takes it to the next level by applying the principle to plot elements, creating a weird deja vu-like feeling of both familiarity and confusion. Genius. I especially like how they managed to put Heather in there, showing another possible (and more terrible) way her life might have turned out if her dear daddy had been less of a stand-up guy. I also liked how you basically follow the same route as in the original and visit the same locations (mostly), but everything looks so different.

Yeah, I agree. All the constituent parts of Shattered Memories were so good, it really didn't need to pull out the big guns horror-wise. Its just that I kind of miss the dark world-aspect from the earlier games. The "icy" world, while cool (hehe) in itself, felt kinda lukewarm (hehe again) compared to the alternative realities explored in other SH games. Most of the time, you didn't even have time to look around and take in the atmosphere and creepiness of the places because it was so focused on running away from the freakish creatures and finding the exit as quickly as possible. So I'm not worried about them taking away the combat or the enemies, its more about not getting to walk around in abandoned, decaying, and pitch-dark industrial buildings with only a flashlight. Call me a weird kid or nuts, but I really loved that aesthetic, and while Shattered Memories worked great with its location design and daylight, I think I'd feel like something was missing if they totally threw out the alternative reality and just stuck with exploring the normal town. At least put some freaky playable Black Lodge-like dream sequences in there or something.

Like I've said before, Homecoming is definitely a mixed bag. Be warned, there are some absolutely cringe-worthy scenes and additions, especially when the game tries to connect to the SH movie (the biggest mistake the developers made), and don't expect another Shattered Memories or anything. I'd still recommend fans of the series to try it out since Homecoming does have a lot of redeeming features, and even if you in the end find yourself disliking it, at least you checked it out and formed your own opinion. The atmosphere in the game is (most of the time) a lot better than its been given credit for by many, and the plot, while not touching Shattered Memories or the first two in psychological depth, is actually quite good and captivating with some interesting twists. Story-wise, Homecoming easily beats 3, 4, and Origins, the plot messes with your head a lot more than in those.

Besides, I seem to recall that you said you enjoyed Origins despite it's many failings. I can't imagine anyone that liked Origins finding Homecoming an unrewarding experience, so you have nothing to lose in trying it out. If you do, be sure to tell us what you think about it.

I ended up quite liking Origins actually.
It's a by-the-book affair, certainly, but that's just what I wanted at that point.

Homecoming I ended up hating for the simple fact that it's incredibly frustrating to play.
Story and atmosphere may have been good (from what I've seen that is, I never bothered to finish it) but the combat is so clunky and frustrating and it's so easy to die if you mess up, I just couldn't bother to drag myself through it.

Also, I think running should always be an option. If you don't want to confront an enemy, just run; that's a basic principle in most horror games, and indeed the very foundation the Nightmare scenes in Shattered Memories are built on.
But when I was running through the town purposely avoiding enemy contact (because you get jack shit in terms of ammo, and melee is far too infuriating), I ended up having 6 (6!) enemies following me across the entire town and NEVER giving up, and that's when I realised I did not want to be playing this game anymore.

You certainly have a point about Homecoming's combat, at times it can be infuriating. I'm no fan of it, so I won't defend it. But, on the flip-side, many of the things you wrote I consider applicable to Origins as well, and, on the whole, I was more frustrated with combat in that game than in Homecoming. Especially towards the end of the game, Origins spams you with so many fast-moving enemies, it sucks much of the fun out of it. Your mileage may wary of course, but I personally didn't find combat worse in Homecoming.

The biggest black mark against Homecoming for me was the fact that the game has TONS of game-breaking glitches.  My friends and I ended up using a FAQ while going through it just to make sure we didn't save at the wrong time just in case it would prevent us from continuing.

So yeah... that's pretty unforgivable and trumps any redeeming features the game would've had.

Well... that and the fact that the game is not so much psychological horror as it is "let's show you horrible graphic things actually on screen!"  The developers certainly learned some things from modern torture-porn horror films!

I don't recognize this, at all. Which version did you play? I played through the PS3 version four times, and I didn't see a single glitch.

Again, I disagree. Homecoming might not have had the depth of SH1, SH2, or Shattered Memories, but it was the first game in the series since SH2 that could actually rightfully be called psychological horror (albeit a flawed example of it). If you didn't see that, you either didn't finish the game, or received the story in a shallow manner. That Homecoming also was too focused on action and showing horrible and gruesome stuff on screen, and that some parts of the plot were crap, doesn't detract enough from the overall experience to make it a bad game, in my opinion. Its flawed, sure, but no way near as bad as 99% of the people I've talked with about it say.

I'm not mad! All of you are! (In situations as these, I wish this forum had a "deranged" smiley that you could use).

360 version for me, though a quick Google search seems to indicate that all three versions have their issues. 

To each his or her own!  I saw attempts at depth but it all just seemed superficial, and it never struck home for me.  Obviously your mileage may vary.  For anyone considering the game (who's a fan of the series, especially) - I'd still recommend trying it out.  As was stated earlier in this thread, you'd be better off forming your own opinion of it.