Silent Hill 3

[Concept]

Arhra, it gets worse, much worse. Believe me.

[arhra]

having just finished, i see what you mean... the last area is just...

the last boss was a bit limp, but overall, i'd probably rate #3 as the best in the series (and i've played through all three in the past week or so, since i wanted to refresh my memories before playing it)..

right, now i can go back and read all those spoiler posts...

[Concept]

I just discovered a higher resolution mode for Silent Hill 3, quietly tucked away in the extra options screen (R1).

Ignore the noise filter because that's not what I'm referring to. Instead, turn "screen display" to sharp and you'll notice the difference.

I can't believe Konami didn't use that as a default mode. The only reason I can fathom is that the extra "sharpness" highlights an increased number of evident jaggies, especially in the cutscenes.

But even so...

[darkangel]

I know i have asked loads but...

is it coming out for xbox?

[Concept]

There's been no news or any word from Konami on a port. Some publications/websites jumped the gun upon hearing a few tidbits from the rumour mill a number of months ago.

But that's about it. Not looking likely I'm afraid.

[wazy15]

Concept, your review was fantastic and the level of discussion here has been tops. I have been holding off till after my exams, but I might just take the plunge

[Concept]

Thanks a lot m8.

I really recommend you pick up Silent Hill 3. It's dark, dirty and deep.

Just the way I like them.

[PeteJ]

I have to say that I've really enjoyed this thread. Lots of interesting theorys that have intelligent thoughts behind them. I wish I stuck out the first SH for longer so I can get a feel for the entire series, but I've enjoyed it none the less.

Look forward to people like Sidez joining in whenever possible, it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with regarding certain things in the game...

[huxley]

Just got to the end of this great game but...........

Did anyone else think that the ending music was crap? In the credits there was a mention of E3/TGS trailer editing, is that another easter egg? Heather looks good in the SH3 Tshirt I unlocked

edited out the spoiler, although it wasn't really a spoiler - PeteJ

[Concept]

How can you say that m8? The end credit music is true fan service. It's a remix of the opening theme track to the original Silent Hill. And it rocks (IMO of course).

As for the trailer editing. That isn't an easter egg. Konami just had a little help from Sony when it came to the editing, that's all.

[Miyamoto's Evil Twin]

I was somewhat disapointed with it myself. SH has always been more subtle and sophisticated than RE, but in it's own way it's falling into the same trap. It's become way too overly familiar. Is anyone else getting really irritated by survival horror puzzles. The very notion of sterile, intricate puzzling, however cerebrally challenging, is completely at odds with the organic and 'instinctive' terror the atmosphere is trying to convey. In SH it's even more jarring because the rest if it is so fluid. If your game is about madness and losing your reason you shouldn't rely on logic puzzles surely?

[Concept]

It's a no-win situation. If Konami take the puzzles out of Silent Hill and focus on a more action-orientated slant then there will be accusations of dumbing down to appeal to a wider audience. Claims and such like will start being made questioning the series integrity.

However if Konami stick to the puzzle format in Silent Hill then they get accused of not doing enough to innovate and reinvent the more 'think-focused' sections of the survival horror genre.

With regards to logic... A puzzle can be mad or abstract and still be logical. Logic has nothing to do with the appearance or construction of a puzzle. It's do with the mechanism of how all it works in terms of system and rules. As long as a puzzle is fathomable then it can be considered logical. Now Silent Hill 3's puzzles to my mind are fairly imaginative and strange in terms of creation, but are also equally 'crackable'.

Take away a sense of logic, the ability to solve, and all you'll get accused of is alienating your audience and targeting a very specific few.

To Silent Hill's credit, its format and methods of facilitating puzzles are some of the most open and flexible in the entire survival horror genre.

Why?

Because it has three varying levels for how far you want to be challenged. If you honestly want your puzzles to appear mad and to make little sense then just try setting the puzzle mode to hard.

[Concept]

I don't know if any of you are interested, but the "making of Silent Hill 3" that was scheduled to be bundled with the European version of the game has instead been included in the latest issue (43) of PSW.

I think Konami may not have had the time or resources to release a two-disc addition due for the May 23rd release date, so at least they had the courtesy not to let the documentary go to waste. It also helps to clear up the meanings behind a couple of the more ambiguous scenes and imagery in the game.

[Miyamoto's Evil Twin]

I've watched the making of 2 and these are obviously very talented and clever people challenging many of the conventions of the genre. But the one area that was not touched at all in that piece was gameplay. That's where most of the conventions of survival horror haven't changed since gill was first 'the master of unlocking'. I long for these guys to not trow away puzzles, but redefine them. I long for a more freefrom environment that operates more like the villages in zelda. i'll explain. if they prove anything it's that you don't need locked doors constantly for your puzzles to work. They don't have to be about pulling switches, turning dials, or even combining items ALL THE TIME.

Off the top of my head...imagine a horror game where you played a maid that worked for a spooky family in their big mansion. You go there. You're uneasy. As you do various tasks and interact with staff you begin to uncover more of the mystery, the terror. You're job afords you perfect opportunity to explore (there are only a few locked doors ) and you return to your village every night.

But do you?

Not after you discover the secret passage through the caves from the tomes in the library you don't. It's entirely up to you. You uncover things at your own pace, organically. The whole thing would play like a twisted verion of windfall island. you could even have certain things happening at different times. chacters to follow. even things that happened in realtime as hidden extras.

of course, this is just a cliched example, and I know it's completely different and the traditional format with always have it's place, but we're still paying for the origonal 'magic box' construction of the first RE. Imagine what the SH guys could do with something more organic. Let's hope they are.

Sadly though, it looks like we'll just be getting silent hill 4

[Bleeders]

Gah! In dire need of some help, I'm at my wits end...

On the final boss, with only 1 first-aid kit to my name, 6 shot-gun bullets and 80 bullets for my pistol. I've been trying an amalgamation of different techniques at trying to defeat the bastard, but I can't either get out of the way quick enough or I run out of bullets.