![]() Far from the usual mini-game routine clogging the Wii’s software library, the decisions made in these segments effect aspects of the story taking place in Silent Hill, most of the time going unnoticed to the casual observer. For example, to begin the game the player must check off boxes in a vague survey of various personality traits like social interaction and honesty. During these visits various mini-games will be presented to the player in first-person, guised as various real-life psychological tests. Not just confined within the bounds of Silent Hill itself, Shattered Memories splices therapy sessions within the larger experience, the segments acting as a post-mortem on the events that happened since the last session and as the occasional foreboding introduction to what will happen next. ![]() ![]() Intricate therapy sessions will bookend the game's chapters. Needless to say the PSP and PS2 version’s substitution of the analog sticks for these segments are pitiful in comparison, and while the latter merely lessens the experience for it, the former is near-broken in its execution. Sporting an almost Zack and Wiki-esque library of motions, Shattered Memories integrates them so well into the flow of gameplay, and mapped them to near 1:1 control (even without the Wii-Motion Plus add-on) that each opportunity to utilize the functionality is realistic enough to draw the player in further to the incredibly detailed world. Beyond the obvious flashlight control, players can use Harry’s all-important cell-phone (which acts as the closest thing to the game’s hud,) as well as over a dozen minute item interactions throughout the game, such as shaking and turning over a can to find a key by miming the real-life motions through the wii-mote. The main drawing point for the game’s console position is its dependence on many varied uses for the Wii-mote. Harry's cell phone will have many uses throughout the game. While many of the story’s lines can be traced back to an infinite number of film references, the believable dialogue between characters and exceptional voice acting goes far to convince players of what once was an almost histrionic plotline. Keeping away from the original’s overt melodrama and hokey script allows for a much more languid and natural flow to take place, aided by the game’s visual detail and depth. Despite what many diehard fans of the series may tell you, this was a definite move in the right direction. But beyond the occasional semblance flare-ups, Memories takes great liberty in filling story gaps and adding additional locations and characters not featured in the Playstation classic. Many of the narrative’s plot points and characters are revisited throughout the playtime, including female cop Cybil. Shattered Memories' Version of Protagonist, Harry Masonįrom a story standpoint Shattered Memories intends on re-envisioning the franchise’s first installment (the Elder-Geek review of which can be found here,) where Harry Mason suffers a car crash on the edge of the titular hamlet and loses his daughter Cheryl in the fog of the town’s streets. The bad news is: it isn’t a Silent Hill game. The good news is that the team has crafted a unique, engaging, and at times frightening experience. Climax Studios hopes to break the trend (that they somewhat started with their PSP-bound Origins) with the Wiimote-centric Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The Silent Hill franchise has been one of the more obvious victims of this dilemma, with its two most recent outings missing the series trademark smoldering intensity and psychologically-layered storylines by a football field-sized gap each time. There is something about certain types of games that Japanese programmers and designers just seem to be more in tune with, and when Western developers get their hands on the same license, they tend to do one of two things try to tread too close to the original mystique of the Japanese producers had and fail, or attempt to “re-define” the experience for their demographics, and fail. Many popular franchises have fallen by the wayside due to publishers porting development across the oceans. There is a sentiment in game-making: never let Americans try what the Japanese do best.
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