~Radiance~
Meow-Meow, Choco-Chow
*SPOILER ALERT: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SH SPOILERS!!!*
So this discussion revolves around one my all time favorite game series: Silent Hill. Alot of people like to compare this series to Resident Evil, however, they have almost nothing in common. Resident Evil, in it earlier forms, was a game compromising of awkward controls and camera angles that left the player unable to really feel in control of their character. Silent Hill, as we know, shares some of these same aspects. In earlier versions the controls are awkward and some camera angles instill a sense of fear by not knowing whats around that next corner. But silent hill isnt about you killing monsters, its about how it gets into your head. Thats where it is different then the RE franchise, it digs under your skin, making you question over sound echoing in the distance, and every footstep that has no owner. Its air of mysteriousness also contributes to its ability to get to you. There is usually always fog, a symbol of blindness in a world that you know little about, and the scenes that transpire in the "Other" dimension are grotesque enough to make you fear this place. Lets take a look at the works that have been made under this franchise.
In this instalment you play as Harry Mason, a man who visits silent hill as a vacation spot. Why he would ever want to go here is beyond most of us. His daughter, Cheryl, who was adopted at birth, ends up getting lost in this town and Harry must track her down. Much to his surprise, he finds that she was destined to come back to this town, as she has had a distrubing past with this town.
My personal favorite in the series. This game centers around James Sunderland going to silent hill upon the will of a note received by his wife who he thought was dead. His search leads him to find more about himself than it does him trying to find Mary, his late wife. From jumping into holes that are metaphors for his loss of belonging to his world, to the manifestation of what his true desires of his wife were in the form of a woman named Maria. James going to silent hill is not related to SH1 at all, but the events transpire between SH1 and 3, while Heather is growing up.
SH3 revolves around Heather, the daughter who replaces Cheryl at one of the endings to SH1. The game starts of in a typical silent hill manner, with grotesque creatures and surroundings. Heather finds herself trapped in a world possessed by silent hill, as the priestess of silent hill has plans for the manifested child given to Harry. Heather faces tragic loses, harsh physical and mental torment, but like every other SH game, can make it out on good terms depending on the ending you receive.
Here comes the worst of the group.
SH4 encompasses protagonist Henry Townshed, as he is trapped in his room for several days. There are giant locks all over his door keeping him barred from society, (yet his attitude is so calmly monotone.) Henry finds a hole in his bathroom that leads him to alternate worlds, where he meets and departs with several ppl as they are murdered in cold blood by a man named Walter Sulivan, who is attempting to please a "Higher Power." It should also be noted that all the ppl Henry meets are all trapped in their homes at the apartment complex where Henry lives.
Homecoming takes place in an undisclosed time period in the SH timeline. It is presumed to take place anywhere after SH2, as occult members have taken over SH at this time, and since no one else actually goes to silent hill besides James in SH2, it is presumed to take place sometime after that. The game stars Protagonist Alex Shepherd, a 22 year old who comes back to his town of Shepherds Glen with the soul purpose of finding his brother Josh. His search leads him to many locations, from graveyards to demented otherworlds, it even has you pairing up with some friends to revisit old SH. Alex had also been gone for a few years before returning home, and everyone who is left is surprised to see him. Near the end of the game, and after Alex's attempts at saving his family and friends, he finds out that *SPOILER ALERT* His brother can never be found because he is dead, and Alex is the killer. Gameplay is difficult, but playing around the high learning curve and getting involved in the story makes this one of my favs in the series.
Silent hill origins is, well, the origins of how silent hill came to be. You play as a trucker named Travis Grady who stumbles upon Silent Hill while driving, well actually it is a burning house that he first sees and is then transported to silent hill. At this burning house he finds a girl who has suffered severe burns, and he saves her. Throughout the game, Travis recives help from this girl in spirit form, helping him gather pieces of a triangular object called the Flauros, which is later used to confront the final boss. The Flauros is created by Travis and used by Harry in the first game, its function is to seal spirits and enhance the power of the burned girl known as Alessa. She is then reborn by the Flauros and becomes Cheryl from SH1.
As of now, the newest SH in the works is shattered memories,a continuation of SH1. This game will star you as Harry Mason again, but you will have no weapons. It is supposed to be a very interactive game coming out for the wii and ps2. No weapons means more running, and as we know in the SH world, running away is always harder to do then to face your fears. Details still to come on this game.
It should also be noted that every SH game has different monsters for the purpose of it is specific for the protagonist. In SH2, james felt he needed to be punished, so Pyramid Head was created by SH to manifest his desires. The manicans consisting of just legs represented Jame's inner desires for Mary, he wanted to be able to have sex again but her condition prevented that. In Homecoming, The Schisms (look like sharks with legs kinda) are a represnetative of Alex's personality disorder. He killed his brother, yet does not even know until the climax. The monsters are all interpersonal, Eddie from SH2 only saw ppl which he would then shoot, because it's what SH wanted him to do. Laura, the little girl, acts surprised when James asks if she's ok. She responds with, "Why wouldn't I be?" She see's no monsters in SH, she is innocent, only looking for Mary. The distinctiveness of the SH games makes it so interesting, as no one person will see the same monster.
On one last note, Pyramid Head is ONLY a monster that james can see. Though he has become a major symbol for all SH games, he is just being milked. PH was a manifestation of james' horrible actions and want to be punished. He should not be in any other SH, though he is *sigh*
Phew, well that's about it! any discussion about this could be much obliged!
So this discussion revolves around one my all time favorite game series: Silent Hill. Alot of people like to compare this series to Resident Evil, however, they have almost nothing in common. Resident Evil, in it earlier forms, was a game compromising of awkward controls and camera angles that left the player unable to really feel in control of their character. Silent Hill, as we know, shares some of these same aspects. In earlier versions the controls are awkward and some camera angles instill a sense of fear by not knowing whats around that next corner. But silent hill isnt about you killing monsters, its about how it gets into your head. Thats where it is different then the RE franchise, it digs under your skin, making you question over sound echoing in the distance, and every footstep that has no owner. Its air of mysteriousness also contributes to its ability to get to you. There is usually always fog, a symbol of blindness in a world that you know little about, and the scenes that transpire in the "Other" dimension are grotesque enough to make you fear this place. Lets take a look at the works that have been made under this franchise.
In this instalment you play as Harry Mason, a man who visits silent hill as a vacation spot. Why he would ever want to go here is beyond most of us. His daughter, Cheryl, who was adopted at birth, ends up getting lost in this town and Harry must track her down. Much to his surprise, he finds that she was destined to come back to this town, as she has had a distrubing past with this town.
My personal favorite in the series. This game centers around James Sunderland going to silent hill upon the will of a note received by his wife who he thought was dead. His search leads him to find more about himself than it does him trying to find Mary, his late wife. From jumping into holes that are metaphors for his loss of belonging to his world, to the manifestation of what his true desires of his wife were in the form of a woman named Maria. James going to silent hill is not related to SH1 at all, but the events transpire between SH1 and 3, while Heather is growing up.
SH3 revolves around Heather, the daughter who replaces Cheryl at one of the endings to SH1. The game starts of in a typical silent hill manner, with grotesque creatures and surroundings. Heather finds herself trapped in a world possessed by silent hill, as the priestess of silent hill has plans for the manifested child given to Harry. Heather faces tragic loses, harsh physical and mental torment, but like every other SH game, can make it out on good terms depending on the ending you receive.
Here comes the worst of the group.
SH4 encompasses protagonist Henry Townshed, as he is trapped in his room for several days. There are giant locks all over his door keeping him barred from society, (yet his attitude is so calmly monotone.) Henry finds a hole in his bathroom that leads him to alternate worlds, where he meets and departs with several ppl as they are murdered in cold blood by a man named Walter Sulivan, who is attempting to please a "Higher Power." It should also be noted that all the ppl Henry meets are all trapped in their homes at the apartment complex where Henry lives.
Homecoming takes place in an undisclosed time period in the SH timeline. It is presumed to take place anywhere after SH2, as occult members have taken over SH at this time, and since no one else actually goes to silent hill besides James in SH2, it is presumed to take place sometime after that. The game stars Protagonist Alex Shepherd, a 22 year old who comes back to his town of Shepherds Glen with the soul purpose of finding his brother Josh. His search leads him to many locations, from graveyards to demented otherworlds, it even has you pairing up with some friends to revisit old SH. Alex had also been gone for a few years before returning home, and everyone who is left is surprised to see him. Near the end of the game, and after Alex's attempts at saving his family and friends, he finds out that *SPOILER ALERT* His brother can never be found because he is dead, and Alex is the killer. Gameplay is difficult, but playing around the high learning curve and getting involved in the story makes this one of my favs in the series.
Silent hill origins is, well, the origins of how silent hill came to be. You play as a trucker named Travis Grady who stumbles upon Silent Hill while driving, well actually it is a burning house that he first sees and is then transported to silent hill. At this burning house he finds a girl who has suffered severe burns, and he saves her. Throughout the game, Travis recives help from this girl in spirit form, helping him gather pieces of a triangular object called the Flauros, which is later used to confront the final boss. The Flauros is created by Travis and used by Harry in the first game, its function is to seal spirits and enhance the power of the burned girl known as Alessa. She is then reborn by the Flauros and becomes Cheryl from SH1.
As of now, the newest SH in the works is shattered memories,a continuation of SH1. This game will star you as Harry Mason again, but you will have no weapons. It is supposed to be a very interactive game coming out for the wii and ps2. No weapons means more running, and as we know in the SH world, running away is always harder to do then to face your fears. Details still to come on this game.
It should also be noted that every SH game has different monsters for the purpose of it is specific for the protagonist. In SH2, james felt he needed to be punished, so Pyramid Head was created by SH to manifest his desires. The manicans consisting of just legs represented Jame's inner desires for Mary, he wanted to be able to have sex again but her condition prevented that. In Homecoming, The Schisms (look like sharks with legs kinda) are a represnetative of Alex's personality disorder. He killed his brother, yet does not even know until the climax. The monsters are all interpersonal, Eddie from SH2 only saw ppl which he would then shoot, because it's what SH wanted him to do. Laura, the little girl, acts surprised when James asks if she's ok. She responds with, "Why wouldn't I be?" She see's no monsters in SH, she is innocent, only looking for Mary. The distinctiveness of the SH games makes it so interesting, as no one person will see the same monster.
On one last note, Pyramid Head is ONLY a monster that james can see. Though he has become a major symbol for all SH games, he is just being milked. PH was a manifestation of james' horrible actions and want to be punished. He should not be in any other SH, though he is *sigh*
Phew, well that's about it! any discussion about this could be much obliged!
I've always been a fan of the unexplained and I'd much rather not have an explanation for Pyramid Head - makes its character all the more interesting imo. This is also one of the reasons I really liked Valtiel and Robbie the rabbit.
