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Harry Mason wakes up to a car crash to find his daughter has gone missing. He explores the seemingly empty town, as a snow storm has forced most residents to take refuge in their homes. After talking to police officer Cybil Bennett (or a bartender, depending on the player's choices), Harry remembers that he lives in Silent Hill on Levin Street, only several blocks away. Harry reaches his home, only to find another family living there. Cybil picks him up and offers to take him to the station and figure things out, but she has to stop after her car windshield becomes covered with snow. Cybil leaves to see where they are. Harry doesn't wait for her and escapes into the woods, finding his way to Midwich, the local high school.
Harry Mason wakes up to a car crash to find his daughter has gone missing. He explores the seemingly empty town, as a snow storm has forced most residents to take refuge in their homes. After talking to police officer Cybil Bennett (or a bartender, depending on the player's choices), Harry remembers that he lives in Silent Hill on Levin Street, only several blocks away. Harry reaches his home, only to find another family living there. Cybil picks him up and offers to take him to the station and figure things out, but she has to stop after her car windshield becomes covered with snow. Cybil leaves to see where they are. Harry doesn't wait for her and escapes into the woods, finding his way to Midwich, the local high school.


At the school, Harry meets Michelle Valdez, a prom queen attending a reunion, and learns that his daughter was a student here, although considerably older than he remembers and at a different address. Harry follows Michelle to the [[nightclub]] where she works. She offers to drive Harry to Cheryl's address, but when Harry briefly steps away he comes back to find Michelle has disappeared. Instead, Harry meets Dahlia, a wayward girl who acts as if she has been with Harry the whole time and claims to have a romantic history with him. Scared and disoriented, he accepts the ride, but another shift to the nightmare causes the car to crash. Harry wakes up in a hospital with Cybil, but the nightmare world quickly takes hold again and Harry is forced to flee. Returning to the normal world, he meets Lisa Garland, a nurse. He takes her back to her apartment, and helps her with her headache, but she dies shortly thereafter. Cybil shows up and tries to arrest Harry. Once again, the ice world takes hold, and Harry navigates the frozen town, emerging near Cheryl's address. Inside, he finds an older version of Dahlia, who shows Harry her wedding ring and claims they are married. She tells Harry that Cheryl is at the [[lighthouse]], before the world freezes over yet again. Harry tries to leave the apartment, only to find a seemingly endless maze that ends in Cheryl's bedroom, where Michelle appears and offers to drive him to the lighthouse.
At the school, Harry meets Michelle Valdez, a prom queen attending a reunion, and learns that his daughter was a student here, although considerably older than he remembers and at a different address. Harry follows Michelle to the [[nightclub]] where she works. She offers to drive Harry to Cheryl's address, but when Harry briefly steps away he comes back to find Michelle is gone. Instead, Harry meets Dahlia, a wayward girl who acts as if she has been with Harry the whole time and claims to have a romantic history with him. Scared and disoriented, he accepts the ride, but another shift to the nightmare causes the car to crash. Harry wakes up in a hospital with Cybil, but the nightmare world quickly takes hold again and Harry is forced to flee. Returning to the normal world, he meets Lisa Garland, a nurse. He takes her back to her apartment, and helps her with her headache, but she dies shortly thereafter. Cybil shows up and tries to arrest Harry. Once again, the ice world takes hold, and Harry navigates the frozen town, emerging near Cheryl's address. Inside, he finds an older version of Dahlia, who shows Harry her wedding ring and claims they are married. She tells Harry that Cheryl is at the [[lighthouse]], before the world freezes over yet again. Harry tries to leave the apartment, only to find a seemingly endless maze that ends in Cheryl's bedroom, where Michelle appears and offers to drive him to the lighthouse.


The car ride ends when Michelle and her boyfriend John get into a fight and leave the car. Harry, left on his own, finds his way to the docks where he finds Dahlia, now young again. She sets course for the lighthouse and seduces Harry. He wakes up shortly afterward to find Dahlia and the world frozen again. Fleeing across the frozen lake toward a beacon of light, Harry meets Cybil at the shore, who claims that Harry Mason died 18 years prior in a car crash. She tells him that whatever answers he seeks are in the lighthouse. As Harry enters, he finds the lighthouse is actually a therapy clinic where Dr. Kaufmann works.
The car ride ends when Michelle and her boyfriend John get into a fight and leave the car. Harry, left on his own, finds his way to the docks where he finds Dahlia, now young again. She sets course for the lighthouse and seduces Harry. He wakes up shortly afterward to find Dahlia and the world frozen again. Fleeing across the frozen lake toward a beacon of light, Harry meets Cybil at the shore, who claims that Harry Mason died 18 years prior in a car crash. She tells him that whatever answers he seeks are in the lighthouse. As Harry enters, he finds the lighthouse is actually a therapy clinic where Dr. Kaufmann works.

Revision as of 18:39, 9 February 2010

Developer(s)Climax Group
Publisher(s)Konami
Composer(s)Akira Yamaoka
SeriesSilent Hill
Platform(s)Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP[6]
ReleaseWii
PSP
PlayStation 2
Genre(s)Survival horror
Psychological horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the seventh video game in the Silent Hill series. It is a reimagining of the first game in the franchise.[7]

The game was first released in December of 2009 for the Wii in North America. The PS2 and PSP versions were released in North America on January 19, 2010[8] , while the European / Australian releases for the three platforms will be in March 4, 2010 and the Japanese releases for the Wii and PSP versions will be in March 25, 2010 (the PlayStation 2 version won't be released in Japan). It is the second game in the Silent Hill franchise to be released on a Nintendo brand console. The first title was Play Novel: Silent Hill on the Game Boy Advance, released in Japan only.

Plot

The basis for the game's plot is similar to the original: the protagonist, Harry Mason, searches for his daughter, Cheryl, in the mysterious town of Silent Hill following her disappearance after a car accident that left him unconscious. The rest of the story, except for some character names, is radically different.

The game begins in a therapist's office, where the player can interact from a first-person perspective. After the player fills out a questionnaire, the action cuts to the town of Silent Hill. Throughout the game, the action cuts back to this session, where the doctor listens to the events unfold. Harry's journey is also occasionally interrupted when the town transforms into an icy nightmare in which he is forced to run from bizarre monsters, forcing him to flee from one location to the next.

Harry Mason wakes up to a car crash to find his daughter has gone missing. He explores the seemingly empty town, as a snow storm has forced most residents to take refuge in their homes. After talking to police officer Cybil Bennett (or a bartender, depending on the player's choices), Harry remembers that he lives in Silent Hill on Levin Street, only several blocks away. Harry reaches his home, only to find another family living there. Cybil picks him up and offers to take him to the station and figure things out, but she has to stop after her car windshield becomes covered with snow. Cybil leaves to see where they are. Harry doesn't wait for her and escapes into the woods, finding his way to Midwich, the local high school.

At the school, Harry meets Michelle Valdez, a prom queen attending a reunion, and learns that his daughter was a student here, although considerably older than he remembers and at a different address. Harry follows Michelle to the nightclub where she works. She offers to drive Harry to Cheryl's address, but when Harry briefly steps away he comes back to find Michelle is gone. Instead, Harry meets Dahlia, a wayward girl who acts as if she has been with Harry the whole time and claims to have a romantic history with him. Scared and disoriented, he accepts the ride, but another shift to the nightmare causes the car to crash. Harry wakes up in a hospital with Cybil, but the nightmare world quickly takes hold again and Harry is forced to flee. Returning to the normal world, he meets Lisa Garland, a nurse. He takes her back to her apartment, and helps her with her headache, but she dies shortly thereafter. Cybil shows up and tries to arrest Harry. Once again, the ice world takes hold, and Harry navigates the frozen town, emerging near Cheryl's address. Inside, he finds an older version of Dahlia, who shows Harry her wedding ring and claims they are married. She tells Harry that Cheryl is at the lighthouse, before the world freezes over yet again. Harry tries to leave the apartment, only to find a seemingly endless maze that ends in Cheryl's bedroom, where Michelle appears and offers to drive him to the lighthouse.

The car ride ends when Michelle and her boyfriend John get into a fight and leave the car. Harry, left on his own, finds his way to the docks where he finds Dahlia, now young again. She sets course for the lighthouse and seduces Harry. He wakes up shortly afterward to find Dahlia and the world frozen again. Fleeing across the frozen lake toward a beacon of light, Harry meets Cybil at the shore, who claims that Harry Mason died 18 years prior in a car crash. She tells him that whatever answers he seeks are in the lighthouse. As Harry enters, he finds the lighthouse is actually a therapy clinic where Dr. Kaufmann works.

Back in the therapist's office, the doctor, now revealed to be Kaufman angrily confronts the player, stating that they are delusional. In a twist ending, it is revealed that the patient in the therapy segments is not Harry Mason, but rather his daughter, Cheryl Mason, now 25 years old and struggling with the demons of her father's death. Harry enters the office and Cheryl now realizes that the fragments of conflicting memories are in fact false recollections based on her childhood memories. Harry's journey to find Cheryl reflects the search for the truth that Dr. Kaufmann has been struggling to find. The closer the doctor came to the truth, the more intense Harry's journey became. The last scene of the game varies according to the psychological profile of the player. Cheryl may reconcile herself to the death of her father (either by accepting it or by rejecting him entirely), or decide to still live in her "fantasy world", where her father is still alive. The game ends with old home videos from Cheryl's camcorder.

Four variations of this video are available based on the player's actions as Harry, reflecting the traits of Harry with his family while he was alive. All videos begins with the footage from the beginning of the game, when the video is abruptly overwritten with other recording. This footage may depict him as a weak and abused husband, an angry alcoholic, a sleazy womanizer, or a genuinely loving father. Continuing the series tradition of joke endings (commonly known as "UFO endings"), a fifth ending is available where Dr. Kaufmann is secretly an alien and Cheryl is a dog. James from Silent Hill 2 also makes a cameo as one of Kaufmann's clients. The credits roll over Kaufmann taking notes on his session with Cheryl. A bonus scene plays after them, showing Cheryl placing mementos Harry collected throughout the game in a box, then sealing it and walking away.

Sequel

During The Eurogamer TV Show, Mark Simmons, the director of the game, said: "We'd love to do an another Silent Hill game, we'd love to continue the vein of innovation we put into this one, but will that be another Wii title, or an Xbox360. PS3 is something I can't talk about at the moment."

Also, on Climax Studios's official website, there are two TBN titles for Konami.

Gameplay

The player will be observed and evaluated by the game as they play and their actions will have an effect on multiple aspects of play with the town, its attendant monsters and characters' attitudes, gender and clothing changing according to the player's choices.

Harry is equipped with a cell phone which he can use to check the map via GPS, receive text- and audio-messages, take pictures and call numbers. In the Wii version, the Wii Remote will be used for puzzle solving and to control the player's flashlight and cell phone.[6] Checking scattered diary pages and documents has been eliminated in favour of visually scanning the environment and utilizing the cell phone to zoom in on small objects and text and to reveal hidden messages by taking pictures.[9] Combat has been removed from the game with emphasis placed instead on evading encounters with monsters entirely.[10]

Development

Plans for a Silent Hill remake, and rumours related to the project, were circulating as early as 2006 with the idea of a remake based on the Silent Hill film.[11] The idea of a remake was also considered early in the development of the prequel game Silent Hill: Origins, under the title Silent Hill: Original Sin.[12]

Rumours of a remake persisted into 2009,[13] and were seemingly confirmed the following month when the British Board of Film Classification re-rated the game.[14] The game was officially announced in the May 2009 issue of Nintendo Power.[7][15] Shattered Memories will be developed by Climax Group, the studio behind Silent Hill: Origins, with a development team made up of more than 55 team members and a supporting network of more than 90 artists.[16]

Series vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn was a guest at Otakon 2009 where she announced at her Friday Q & A panel that she was made a co-director for Shattered Memories' voice acting and that there will be "one of a kind bonus stuff" that she couldn't reveal at the time.[17]

Soundtrack

Once again series composer, Akira Yamaoka returned for the game's musical score. The soundtrack is composed of 21 tracks, and includes a cover of the song "Always on My Mind" featuring series vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. In addition, McGlynn also performs on three other tracks.

The soundtrack was a preorder bonus with the game in North America.

Reception

A demo was available to play at the E3 2009. IGN gave the game three "Best of E3" awards in the Wii category for best overall game, best adventure game and best graphics technology.[18] Shattered Memories also won best Wii game from GameSpy in their "E3 2009 Editors' Choice Awards".[19]

Metacritic has scored the game 76, which indicates generally positive reviews, based on 16 reviews.[20] GameRankings average the game at 7.9, based on 25 reviews. [21]

Destructoid praised the game, giving a 9.5 out of 10, stating: "this "re-imagining" could have been a story rehash, instead we get a brilliantly deep game with subtle subtext and surprising symbolism."[22]Nintendo Power gave the game an 8.0 out of 10, praising the game's immersion and puzzle elements but criticizing the "reduced emphasis on horror" and expressing disappointment with the chase sequences, concluding that while "it may not be the unqualified success we were hoping for, Shattered Memories proves an audacious and ultimately compelling experiment." [23] IGN gave the game an 8.6 out of 10, lauding the game's atmospheric use of a flashlight, terrifying chase sequences and departure from the Silent Hill formula while criticizing it for its short length and lack of monster variety. Gametrailers awarded the game an 8.5 out of 10 praising the flashlight and motion controls but were disappointed by the lack of combat and potentially frustrating chase sequences. Some reviewers were more critical. About.com gave the game a 3/5, calling the chase sequences frustrating and stating that the framing therapy scenes undercut the "trapped in a nightmare" feel of previous Silent Hill games.[24] X-Play gave the game a 2/5, and Adam Sessler said of the game's lack of combat and trial and error gameplay, "It's not really survival horror...so much as tedious bullshit."[25] GiantBomb gave the game 4 out of 5 stars, citing the intuitive use of the Wii remote and how it was incorporated into the usage of the phone in game. The game also received their Best Wii Game of 2009 award, as well as their Best Ending of 2009 award.[26][27]

GameZone's Louis Bedigian gave it a 6.5/10, saying "As an interactive story, Shattered Memories is deep and memorable. The music is unfathomable; if there’s ever been a composer who understands the true meaning of survival/horror music, it’s Akira Yamaoka. But unless you’re a newcomer searching for something that’s barely challenging and is only marginally horrific, Shattered Memories is best experienced as a one-time rental."[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Silent Hill Delayed for PS2". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  2. ^ a b c "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Feb". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  3. ^ a b c "Darkness lifts on Silent Hill". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  4. ^ "SILENT HILL-SHATTERED MEMORIES". Konami. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  5. ^ "SILENT HILL-SHATTERED MEMORIES". Konami. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  6. ^ a b Fahey, Mike (2009-04-06). "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Re-Does Wii, PS2, And PSP". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  7. ^ a b "Silent Hill Hits Wii". Nintendo Official Magazine. April 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Konami Announces Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Now Available - Playstation 2 story". IGN. December 10, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "YouTube - E3 09: Silent Hill Wii Demo". G4. June 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  10. ^ Williams, Bryan (April 2, 2009). "Silent Hill Headed to Wii". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  11. ^ Klepeck, Patrick (March 16, 2006). "Silent Hill 1 Re-Release?". 1UP. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  12. ^ Reed, Kristan (May 11, 2006). "Silent Hill Origins Preview". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  13. ^ McWhertor, Michael (February 26, 2009). "Rumor: Silent Hill Wii-make Coming From Climax". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  14. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 9, 2009). "Silent Hill Gets Re-Rated, Wii-make Announcement Coming Soon?". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  15. ^ "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories announced for Wii (not a joke!)". GoNintendo. April 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  16. ^ Casamassina, Matt (April 9, 2009). "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  17. ^ Yegulalp, Serdar (July 17, 2009). "Otakon 2009: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn: Jill Of All Trades". Advanced Media Network. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  18. ^ "Nintendo Wii Best of E3 2009". IGN. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  19. ^ "E3 Editors' Choice Awards - Best Wii Game". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  20. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/silenthillshatterdmemories?q=silent hill: shattered memories
  21. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/959196-silent-hill-shattered-memories/index.html
  22. ^ http://www.destructoid.com/review-silent-hill-shattered-memories-wii--157608.phtml
  23. ^ Nintendo Power, Volume 249
  24. ^ Herold, Charles. "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - Game Review". About.com.
  25. ^ http://g4tv.com/videos/43131/Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories-Review/
  26. ^ http://www.giantbomb.com/silent-hill-shattered-memories/61-25707/reviews/
  27. ^ http://www.giantbomb.com/news/giant-bombs-game-of-the-year-2009-day-two/1806/
  28. ^ http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r37862.htm
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