Silent Hull

They brought Yamaoka back for the soundtrack I think, so that should be decent at least.

I hope they keep the original compositions and just spruce them up as it felt like Yamaoka (understandably) phoned it in for the post-Team Silent games. 

I will say one thing profoundly negative so I'm coming across like a complete Barry Fanboy though. That cover image they are using is fucking awful. It would have worked okay if it was just James walking in to the fog (not great, but better). With the big floaty cgi Mary looking off to the right though it's... It's just a bit rubbish looking. Isn't it.

But giant Kaiju Mary has stopped mid fight because she's noticed Silent Hill has a Primark and she's thinking she might pop along after.

I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about, since I've never finished SH2, so I'll just throw this here for actual fans to discuss:

aftermath.site/silent-hill-2-remake-maria-outfit-sexy

PS. Apparently aftermath is a site created by ex-RPS writers, mentioned in another FG thread...

Good things about it having early access is you find out from the people that like wasting money for fuck all If it's broken or not.

The people that pay all that money tend to be the ones that put their blinkers on when it comes if its broken or actually good

Games back then had bad cameras and awkward combat as games were not as refined at the time and game design was still evolving. They didn't make the combat shit on purpose in early silent hill games. The trick is with modern games is to make it good enough for someone like James in SH2 to get some hits in but not act like soldier doing SAS takedowns or diving through the air with double handguns. Also not have cheap monster attacks that can stun lock you to death (lost count how many gamers think thats challenging game design)

I’m not saying it was a game design choice, but to me it makes it more tense. Playing resi remakes I think the only time I’m tense is when Mr X is chasing me or in 7 and 8 where I’m hiding briefly.
Sure, in resi remake the bosses are horrendous because of the tank controls, but in terms of tension it is way up there over the others for me.

I love Wunty's enthusiasm for this game - and most others, really - and I hope it turns out to be justified, even though I'm not in the market for Silent Hill 2 myself (plus, as I've already said, I think it looks kinda crappy from what we've seen so far).

Sure, there's some fun to be had when a remake comes out and completely shits the bed. (I'm looking at you, GTA: The Trilogy!)

Also, this particular instance involves Konami, and it's invariably amusing to watch them face-plant when they try to pull off crap like Metal Gear Survive or eFootball. (Good job, guys! Shoulda stuck to pachinko machines.)

Still, in the long run it's always better when remakes are actually good - Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 2 and 4, Dead Space, Tomb Raider 1-3, and so on.

If they all had seizure-inducing rain effects, more glitches than an Aphex Twin drum track, and a list of bugs so long it makes one of my reviews look pithy by comparison, no publisher would bother to invest in them...

... And I kinda like being able to revisit old games without having to adapt to old mechanics, you know?

Besides, if SH2 turned out to be good, it'd give me a modicum of hope regarding MGS Delta - Konami's next big remake project - and that would be nice.

Regarding Silent Hill combat, it was mostly a player decision. You weren't getting anything from it besides risking your health getting shaved down. Besides the bosses, switching off the flash light and avoiding enemies was the best choice most of the time.

This helped the game maintain tension. Clearing rooms of enemies, puts you at ease and lets you relax, versus nervously planning a route across the map, trying not to use the flashlight or make excess noise. When you shifted to the otherworld sometimes your best strategy was to run for your life.

Silent Hill 2 mostly maintained that but made enemies far more passive, switching off the flashlight allowed you to creep by enemies in the cramped, mostly dark hallways of the apartments, it's possible to finish the game with a ridiculously low number of enemy kills. To see Silent Hill 2 presented as an over the shoulder game in the remake is perverse, once you give the player that, how do maintain any sort of tension or make enemies feel dangerous? I suspect Bloober Team will do the usual and copy what somebody else has done. Give enemies some sort of magnetic, lock-on grab to quick-time button mash out of. Preventing exploitation of widened pathways to easily run past enemies and make them ridiculous bullet sponges like the Resident Evil 2 & 3 remakes.

In the first two Silent Hill games, regular enemies normally have to detect you before they'll become aggressive. The real test of the remake is if it maintains that. It's a small thing but it plays a major part in creating that Silent Hill atmosphere. I'm seeing a lot of worrying stuff, like the widened out hallways to accommodate the over the shoulder camera, in the original you were forced into incredibly close proximity to enemies by cramped hallways and rooms.

Entering a tiny, almost pitch dark room. Realising there's a nearby enemy, almost hidden lurking by the door, trying to figure out whether they'll notice if you carefully search the room in the darkness. That's a situation which builds tension and presents you with choices. That's Silent Hill.

Alternately, how it would play out in a copy of Resident Evil 2 remake. Enter the room. You're close to an enemy, quick-time grab. Escape the grab and either flee or do some over the shoulder combat and then happily search a fully monster exterminated room at leisure. Not maintaining tension. Not like Silent Hill. Less interesting.

Erm. I just kill everything.

My one and only hope for this remake is that wunty enjoys it. Personally, nothing has changed my mind on it since the announcement of Blooper Team's involvement

As for combat, it's never been the focus of the game (or series). It's not particularly good or bad, just functional, which I think is fine. I do think a lot is lost with the switch to over the shoulder though. It doesn't matter so much with RE but the fixed camera in SH were much more intrinsic to the mood and feel of the games

True but that says more about the homogonisation of modern games. Silent Hill stood out because it was weird and did something different. I don't think it's really possible to get a Silent Hill that will match up to the original 3 (or 4) as things are just different now. The Silent Hill series, as it was, is done and has been for a long time

I don't think the Silent Hill 2 remake is needed and probably only exists because of the RE remakes. The original still holds up really well, so I'm not mad about it

SH needs to find a new identity. The Kojima thing was probably the best bet for the series