Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

I'm not going to hide my love of Survival Horror games , especially the Resident Evil franchise, so it's no surprise that I've sunk countless hours into the game. It even started a cascade of playing through the entire series of Silent Hill games, one after the other.

Shattered Memories breaks free of certain conventions that have been part of the Survival Horror since the inception of Infogrames' Alone in the Dark in 1992. You don't have to worry about ammo conservation or juggling health items in your limited inventory, you in fact don't even have an inventory or any weapons! It's a strange experience to play a game like this without weapons, and creates a very intense feeling of dread when you feel danger is imminent. It seems that, given Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Alone in the Dark (2008), Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead, that Survival Horror is in the throes of being reimagined and changed (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse). Shattered Memories plays out more like an old point-n-click adventure game in 3D than a conventional Survival Horror game.

Shattered Memories is a standard retelling of Silent Hill to start with, but quickly varies from the source material, just as Christopher Gans' terrible film adaptation did. The variations in this game were welcome, when compared to the film, as a complete remake, rather than reimagination, would be boring to most fans of the series. Even Silent Hill: 0 (Origins in N/A) lacked much new material and felt somewhat forced into the series, Shattered Memories does not fall into that trap. It starts with Harry Mason trying to find his daughter, Cheryl, after a car crash, as the rest of the game plays out, you scratch your head trying to figure it out. All of the characters from the original Playstation's Silent Hill are featured in the game, but in very different ways than you're used to in the series. Lisa Garland, Cybil Bennett, Dahlia and Dr. Kaufmann are all in the game, but if you're hoping for them to be the same people from 1999, you're in for a disappointment.

Shattered Memories plays fairly quickly, and fluidly. There are very few points in the game where you find yourself stuck and unable to figure out the puzzles (all of which are fairly simple), the hardest puzzles take place in the middle of the dreaded "chase sequences," sometimes requiring you to backtrack through danger and take photos while small, ugly monsters attempt to kill you. Just a tip: remember what color the toucan's beak is. The chase sequences are something that I feel get repetitive and confusing. On initial playthroughs of the game, it's easy for the player to get lost running through new environments and get overwhelmed by the following monsters. It's true that doors are highlighted, helping you get away, but I found myself going in circles quite frequently. On subsequent playthroughs, I would plan my path out before known chase sequences and beeline to the end of the chase sequences.

As you progress through the game, your mind is constantly raped by the other characters and events in the game, especially if you're used to the franchise. None of the characters in the game are what they seem. An interesting route that Climax took with this installation of the series, was a constantly changing game. Being a Survival Horror addict, I'm well aware and used to the idea of different endings in games, but in each subsequent play through with Shattered Memories I found not only subtle differences, but felt the game had a completely different demeanor. Sometimes the women would be hussies, sometimes respectable. Sometimes the monsters featured awkwardly sexual anatomy, sometimes just faceless goons. The ending is always the same, it's the back story that changes, in an interesting twist. The outcome and condition of the game is decided through a series of psychological examinations given to you by another character, what object you spend more time looking at, as well as what you take pictures of, it's very fluid and dynamic and it isn't as simple as you'd think to get the outcomes you want.

This game does feature the most elaborate means of achieving the UFO ending in all the series. It requires you to capture 18 UFOs with your camera and call a phone number on Harry's phone. Speaking of Harry's phone, Climax took some hints from other current popular games (IE: GTAIV) and incorporated the Cell Phone as a tool and stole the "Camera capturing ghosts" idea from Fatal Frame. It isn't anything new for ideas from one series to translate into the other (especially in the Survival Horror genre), but it's rare for it to be as fluidly incorporated as Climax did. There are bonus finds throughout the game that help elaborate on the story of the game if you find all the little bits and pieces. Through your phone, you can call for help, take pictures of ghosts and receive voice and text messages from the dead. It's a very interesting mechanic to add to the game.

Overall, I was fairly pleased with the game. It wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be, but I attribute that to my anticipations as a fan, the gameplay was fresh and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. For many, the game may be worth merely a rental, as a single play through can be had in one or two nights, but for fans of the genre, a purchase is necessary to achieve all endings and extras.

Pros: It's Silent Hill, refreshing game play, unique character development, great visuals, chilling sound, perfect controls.
Cons: Ending isn't as epic as past Silent Hill outings, lacks any type of combat, sometimes feel repetitive, certain characters in the game seem forced.
Play if you like: Survival Horror in general.
Overall: 8/10