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Post by nullPointer on Oct 3, 2018 18:07:35 GMT -5
The town portions themselves are wide open, I do remember the flying birds/bats whatever in SH1 being annoying, but it's a complete waste of time to fight those or the dogs. In the town portions you just want to run and you eventually lose them. Yeah I don't know that I've ever engaged in combat with creatures in the open town areas of Silent Hill. There are no item drops you get through combat so really the sole purpose of their existence is to inflict damage via lucky shots and/or to tempt you into burning through resources. (I'll admit those skinless pterodactyl bastards took it too far a time or two though, and I had no choice but to show them the business end of my side iron. ) As I was running around the open town in Silent Hill 2 last night (the stretch that occurs prior to entering the Historical Society) it occurred to me that there are no residential areas in this one. This really is one aspect of the first game that got fairly tedious; going from house to house testing for locked doors. SH2 has none of that, and I suspect that developers realized how tedious it was in the first game. Sure SH2 has its share of locked doors but they're usually tightly clustered within interior environments (notably the Apartments and the Hospital) where there's only a few steps between each door. You can typically canvas both sides of an entire hallway in no longer than a couple of minutes, and assuming you collected the map you'll subsequently know every locked door in that entire area.
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 3, 2018 19:47:18 GMT -5
The town portions themselves are wide open, I do remember the flying birds/bats whatever in SH1 being annoying, but it's a complete waste of time to fight those or the dogs. In the town portions you just want to run and you eventually lose them. Yeah I don't know that I've ever engaged in combat with creatures in the open town areas of Silent Hill. There are no item drops you get through combat so really the sole purpose of their existence is to inflict damage via lucky shots and/or to tempt you into burning through resources. (I'll admit those skinless pterodactyl bastards took it too far a time or two though, and I had no choice but to show them the business end of my side iron. ) As I was running around the open town in Silent Hill 2 last night (the stretch that occurs prior to entering the Historical Society) it occurred to me that there are no residential areas in this one. This really is one aspect of the first game that got fairly tedious; going from house to house testing for locked doors. SH2 has none of that, and I suspect that developers realized how tedious it was in the first game. Sure SH2 has its share of locked doors but they're usually tightly clustered within interior environments (notably the Apartments and the Hospital) where there's only a few steps between each door. You can typically canvas both sides of an entire hallway in no longer than a couple of minutes, and assuming you collected the map you'll subsequently know every locked door in that entire area. Yeah, SH2 has the best town section for sure. Though I like how SH1's had that weird gap, like a giant crater in the Earth in the middle somewhere when you go from one side to the other where the docks and such were. Those unnatural giant cracks in the road... love how weird they are. And then: I was utterly shocked when the "otherworld" overcame the town areas too. That was an incredible moment. I think only Origins did it again. Having to search the house doors in SH1 was a weirder part and I don't remember if that auto updated on the map or not. Ultimately though, I don't mind slowly exploring these games and worlds, as they're really short. Even 9 hours for SH2 with the extra content according to HLTB someone mentioned earlier sounds like a big stretch. SH3 is actually too short and my biggest knock on it probably, it feels like it's lacking an entire level or two, or maybe got rushed, and the absence of new town sections was pretty disappointing. I think it only had the little garden/motel area and that was about it. With how incredible the monster designs and graphics were in SH3, I think they could have done some really neat things with some town portions. But I guess it doesn't hurt that they're all different, I just wish SH3 was longer! I seriously think I beat it under 4 hours once.
Damn, I don't have any of these listed on HLTB... now I feel like I should replay the whole Team Silent saga and do 1-4 this month.
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Post by Ex on Oct 4, 2018 0:40:26 GMT -5
Well dudes I've got about four hours into Fatal Frame now. Tonight I managed to surpass where I quit playing this back in 2007. I got to the part where I stopped in 2007, and remembered why I had. There was a puzzle that I couldn't figure out back then. Well here we are in 2018, and I figured that puzzle out right quick. (Glad 39 year old me is smarter than 28 year old me was.) It's been smooth sailing since then, no walkthrough used yet. I'm definitely enjoying Fatal Frame. Putting on a short skirt and taking pictures of ghosts is what real survival horror is all about!
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 4, 2018 21:08:19 GMT -5
I'm glad you're enjoying that one. I love frequently rewatching this Silent Hill 4 trailer, it's so damn cool and gets me amped thinking about the game. Feels like a short Lynch film.
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Post by chibby on Oct 4, 2018 21:18:02 GMT -5
I am stuck on Stage 4 of Castlevania: Bloodlines I think that whenever I first played this game years ago I was turned off by what I considered to be a sluggish pace. In reality, I think I was coming hot off of something hedgehog related and wasn't willing to adjust my expectations. Anyway, I'm really getting into it this time around, but those damn conveyor belts are reminding me how not quick Eric Lecarde is. I haven't been using passwords yet, but I probably will when I sit down with the game this weekend.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2018 7:03:45 GMT -5
It's been smooth sailing since then, no walkthrough used yet. Yeah, we don't need no walkthroughs. But I'm glad, if a bit surprised, that you're enjoying Fatal Frame. Can it be played both in 3rd and 1st person? Or does it only switch to 1st person when taking pictures? I love frequently rewatching this Silent Hill 4 trailer, it's so damn cool and gets me amped thinking about the game. Feels like a short Lynch film. It's beautiful. And Eileen was a cutie, wouldn't mind having her as a neighbor. I just wish the main characters were a bit more fleshed out. - As for me, I made some progress in Clive Barker's Undying but I'm currently stuck as the game tells me I need to 'blast my way into the catacombs' and I already tried placing dynamites on all the most obvious places to no avail. I have no intention whatsoever to use a walkthrough, so I'm taking a break from this one and started playing another horror game instead that started meh but got better and hopefully stays that way. Can't say I was enjoying myself all that much with Undying anyway.
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Post by Ex on Oct 5, 2018 9:57:06 GMT -5
Can it be played both in 3rd and 1st person? The only time Fatal Frame is in first person, is when you're using the camera. You can move while looking through the camera, but you can't interact with objects. The bulk of the gameplay is strictly third person. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly on Xbox does allow the player to play through the entire game in first person, but IIRC that's restricted to New Game+. I'm currently stuck as the game tells me I need to 'blast my way into the catacombs' Despite not having played Undying since 2002, I do remember that part, because yeah, it was aggravating figuring out where to put the explosives. I did eventually figure it out. When you get into the catacombs, there are some jerk skeletons that are more difficult than you might expect. Can't say I was enjoying myself all that much with Undying anyway. Undying got highly positive reviews in its day, but I could never quite figure out why. Sure it had good graphics for its time (PC version at least), and a decent plot. But the moment to moment gameplay wasn't very fun at all. I tried twice to get into it, but it never stuck for me either.
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Post by nullPointer on Oct 5, 2018 11:47:54 GMT -5
I love frequently rewatching this Silent Hill 4 trailer, it's so damn cool and gets me amped thinking about the game. That trailer is fantastic! I'd never seen that one. Clearly I've talked at some length regarding a few of the things I love about Silent Hill 2. But I've yet to talk about the nuts and bolts of why I'm playing it this year, particularly when I've played it several times before. Earlier this year I secured a copy of the PC release of the game for the express purpose of checking out the Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition mod pack. This pack has really been generating some buzz, to the point that some were calling it 'the definitive version' of the game. Now I'm not much for buying into hyperbole, but claiming a new 'definitive version' of one of my all-time favorite games was more than enough to pique my interest. Long story short, I've had this bad boy installed for months. But playing Silent Hill 2 in the middle of July just doesn't set the right tone, ya know? No, I've been saving this one for the perfect time of year, when I could really sink my teeth into it. I'm really glad that I waited, and I've been quite pleased with the mods. In point of fact though, many aspects of this mod pack are simply restorative, aiming to restore the quality of effects found in the PS2 release (fog effects, DVD quality music, better controller support, PC bug fixes and so forth). There are some quality of life enhancements present as well such as widescreen support and enhanced textures (Forum Mods: as much as it pains me to say it, let me know if this part runs afoul of HRG policy; apologies in advance that it's not something I'd considered previously. I can cease discussion if need be). I'm not sure I'm fully ready to call this the 'definitive edition' of Silent Hill 2, but it's quite an improvement over the hastily banged together HD Collection release. I'd definitely be willing to declare this as the definitive version of Silent Hill 2 on PC even over emulated means of play. Progress report!Is it weird to say that one of the most impressive parts of the game is also its most disturbing? I defeated the 'boss' in 'Angela's room' last night. If you've played the game before, you know exactly the part I mean (and if you haven't, why are you reading the spoiler, you cheeky little monkey!?). I'm with Ex, as an adult it's pretty rare that any piece of fictional media 'scares' me (although when I was a kid it was a whole different story), but … ugh … this part of Silent Hill 2 just makes my skin crawl. And as weird as it sounds, I kind of love that it's capable of evoking such a visceral reaction in me. But I mean how could it not? Team Silent pulled No. Punches. in this section. And I respect them all the more for it. The fleshy walls with mechanical pistons moving in and out of them!? Gag. The frickin' design of the Boss!? I'll tell you what, this mod pack brought out every disgusting detail in that boss. Obviously I had known previously that it was a walking bed with … pulsating shapes … moving under the layer of viscera. But I hadn't realized just how clearly that it really and truly is two bodies uh … moving …under there. Yuck. And all of this while Angela is huddled crying in the corner. This is Team Silent firing on all cylinders. And undoubtedly it feels pretty darned good blasting that disgusting 'boss' to smithereens. It's psychological horror and effective revenge fantasy all rolled into one. Well played Team Silent. Well. Fucking. Played. I think it's also worth mentioning that I find Angela to be one of the most tragic figures in all of gaming, perhaps because her tragedy is of the sort that's all too real. I won't even lie, it gives me a bit of a lump in my throat when she says, "for me … it's always like this", a reaction which is definitely another rarity for me in gaming. At any rate! I finally made it to the Hotel you guys! I'm in the home stretch here. Pyramid Heads-Schmear-amid Heads amirite?
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 5, 2018 18:40:03 GMT -5
I love frequently rewatching this Silent Hill 4 trailer, it's so damn cool and gets me amped thinking about the game. That trailer is fantastic! I'd never seen that one. Clearly I've talked at some length regarding a few of the things I love about Silent Hill 2. But I've yet to talk about the nuts and bolts of why I'm playing it this year, particularly when I've played it several times before. Earlier this year I secured a copy of the PC release of the game for the express purpose of checking out the Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition mod pack. This pack has really been generating some buzz, to the point that some were calling it 'the definitive version' of the game. Now I'm not much for buying into hyperbole, but claiming a new 'definitive version' of one of my all-time favorite games was more than enough to pique my interest. Long story short, I've had this bad boy installed for months. But playing Silent Hill 2 in the middle of July just doesn't set the right tone, ya know? No, I've been saving this one for the perfect time of year, when I could really sink my teeth into it. I'm really glad that I waited, and I've been quite pleased with the mods. In point of fact though, many aspects of this mod pack are simply restorative, aiming to restore the quality of effects found in the PS2 release (fog effects, DVD quality music, better controller support, PC bug fixes and so forth). There are some quality of life enhancements present as well such as widescreen support and enhanced textures (Forum Mods: as much as it pains me to say it, let me know if this part runs afoul of HRG policy; apologies in advance that it's not something I'd considered previously. I can cease discussion if need be). I'm not sure I'm fully ready to call this the 'definitive edition' of Silent Hill 2, but it's quite an improvement over hastily banged together HD Collection release. I'd definitely be willing to declare this as the definitive version of Silent Hill 2 on PC even over emulated means of play. Progress report!Is it weird to say that one of the most impressive parts of the game is also its most disturbing? I defeated the 'boss' in 'Angela's room' last night. If you've played the game before, you know exactly the part I mean (and if you haven't, why are you reading the spoiler, you cheeky little monkey!?). I'm with Ex, as an adult it's pretty rare that any piece of fictional media 'scares' me (although when I was a kid it was a whole different story), but … ugh … this part of Silent Hill 2 just makes my skin crawl. And as weird as it sounds, I kind of love that it's capable of evoking such a visceral reaction in me. But I mean how could it not? Team Silent pulled No. God. Damned. Punches. in this section. And I respect them all the more for it. The fleshy walls with mechanical pistons moving in and out of them!? Gag. The frickin' design of the Boss!? I'll tell you what, this mod pack brought out every disgusting detail in that boss. Obviously I had known previously that it was a walking bed with … pulsating shapes … moving under the layer of viscera. But I hadn't realized just how clearly that it really and truly is two bodies uh … moving …under there. Yuck. And all of this while Angela is huddled crying in the corner. This is Team Silent firing on all cylinders. And I tell you what, it feels pretty damned good blasting that disgusting 'boss' to smithereens. Psychological horror and effective revenge fantasy all rolled into one. Well played Team Silent. Well. Fucking. Played. I think it's also worth mentioning that I find Angela to be one of the most tragic figures in all of gaming, perhaps because her tragedy is of the sort that's all too real. I won't even lie, it gives me a bit of a lump in my throat when she says, "for me … it's always like this", which is definitely another rarity for me where it comes to gaming. At any rate! I finally made it to the Hotel you guys! I'm in the home stretch here. Pyramid Heads-Schmear-amid Heads amirite? Huh, that's interesting but yeah not sure if it totally sells me on going through the hoops to play the PC version. I guess if it's a better take on the HD version then yeah, that's not too shabby. I think the perk to this genre though is that a lot of this stuff ages really well, with the use of a lot of blacks/shadows and some good artistic use of camera angles, etc, I kind of think most of these games in their base form still look perfect. And with horror, "restoring" things too much can kind of ruin it. I remember watching some ultra low resolution fuzzy download files of Boogiepop Phantom years ago... and the quality or lack thereof just simply enhanced my experience with it haha.
Of course, I'm mostly thinking of the PS2 era SH's, but like Koudelka also fits the bill, etc. SH1 okay yeah... not everyone is going to appreciate that one on the eyes haha. Your SH2 progress update: Even just reading this description of that boss battle makes me feel sick, heh. I love how claustrophobic that room is too. Yeah man that is easily one of the weirder bosses in the franchise. I love how you can't even describe over half the creatures/bosses in these games, other than trying to link up what they're potential metaphors of. But physically, you have no fucking clue what THAT or THIS is and that just further aids to the creepiness. SH2 especially, literally makes me feel gross beating some of these ... things... to death, just disdainful mutilated walking piles of flesh and junk.
I do kind of miss the SH1 siren in the rest of the series, which flared up after you beat every boss. IIRC in SH2 you hear it after surviving that first Pyramid Head encounter with the flooded staircase, but after that I'm not sure if you hear it again anywhere else. In SH1, the siren made me feel so uncomfortable, because I never knew if I should feel good or bad after beating some weird ass monster to death. It was so creepy and cool. chibby : Keep up the good work boss, Stage 5's beginning is the part that really drives me nuts. But you're a little over halfway in, the game isn't as long as say Super CV4, but the difficulty is definitely 10 steps up from that one. It's cool you're playing Eric too since I want to do that as well when I get the time.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2018 5:01:10 GMT -5
I've beaten The Penumbra Collection, which includes Overture (2007), Black Plague and Requiem (2008), on the highest difficulty setting (Hard, however, Requiem has no selectable difficulty). Overture is the first commercial release by the indie Swedish company Frictional Games, which would later go on to revolutionize - for better or worse - the survival horror genre with Amnesia: The Dark Descent in 2010. It's also the first game to feature their innovative HPL (as in H.P. Lovecraft) Engine, whose physics system really gives the Source engine a run for its money, not to mention the almost unparalleled environment interaction it allows to the player, which will no doubt appeal to any PC gamer who played some immersive sim in the past. The Penumbra series follows the misadventures of Philip, a skinny thirty-years-old physics professor, who ventures into the bowels of an abandoned research facility in Greenland in search of his father. Penumbra has its roots deep in Inuit mythology and its main theme is the perpetual struggle of rationality and science against the ancient and unfathomable. The game autosaves when you make significant progress, but it also lets you save manually by interacting with mysterious relics placed around the facility. Playing Overture, I could immediately tell that Frictional was still finding their footing: most of the game takes place in an abandoned mine and if that sounds drab and uninteresting to you, it's because it is. The environments just aren't fun to explore and tend to blend into each other. The 'monsters' the game throws at you just make things more frustrating rather than tense. They follow strict patrol patterns - and when I say 'monsters', I mean zombie dogs and spiders - lame, I know. There's also a giant worm that looks legitimately creepy, but only appears in scripted chase sequences. There's also a clunky combat system, but after I found out how dynamite would merely stun dogs for a few seconds, I never bothered with it again. Even the writing isn't stellar and the story as to what happened to the facility is not well explained and it's made all the more confusing by the so-so English text: you can tell it wasn't written by a native speaker. Understandable flaws once you realize how small the development team really was, and even if at times it feels more like a tech demo, the HPL Engine still manages to shine through the low-budget environs and poor game design choices. The game is at its best when you're solving puzzles and getting your hands dirty turning valves, stacking boxes and basically doing engineering work. It might not sound like much, but in Penumbra you can't just walk to a valve and press the 'Use' button, instead it actually requires you to hold the mouse button and move the mouse in the desired direction. It gives you a sense of tangibility and accomplishment similar games just don't have. Black Plague is the true core of the Penumbra experience and improves over its predecessor in every conceivable way. Environments and map design are more ambitious and interesting, making exploration less of a chore. Combat is gone and dogs have been replaced by some humanoid monsters that go about patrolling in a seemingly random fashion and while they may look scarier, they are actually much easier to deal with than the dogs, as you can outrun them with relative ease. The story is actually comprehensible this time around and there are stakes and characters to care about. It's not as good, but it definitely reminded me of Soma - and that's more than I had hoped for. Requiem is the worst rated game in the series and that's both completely unfair and understandable. Why is that? Well, that's because Requiem has more in common with Solomon's Key than the previous Penumbra games. A bit of a stretch perhaps, but there's no doubt in my mind that the fine folks at Frictional played Portal around the time of its release (2007) and had a blast with it. And seeing how that game was hugely successful, they thought to themselves 'hey, we have an engine with an excellent physics system ourselves. Let's make our own puzzle game!'. While Requiem does seem to take place after Black Plague, everything is very surreal and dream-like. Philip finds itself in Penumbra-themed levels where he has to solve various puzzles and collect a certain number of keys in order to unlock the portal to the next level. Puzzles are often physics-based, usually feature a generous amount of boxes and levers and there's also quite a bit of platforming. While the maps are reminiscent of Penumbra, they are generally much bigger and extremely vertical: much more akin to Portal than a survival horror game. There are no monsters to speak of, but you can still die from environmental hazards. I won't pretend to be particularly good or well versed in puzzle games, but I enjoyed playing Requiem and I found the puzzles to be just challenging enough. It may not be the sequel to Black Plague people were expecting, but it's a fine puzzle game with a unique horror feel to it. The Penumbra Collection might be a bit of mixed bag, but my experience with it ended on a high note and the 10 hours I spent with it were fun for the most part. I can't say I found the story particularly compelling or the main character to be all that relatable as I started playing, but Frictional really stepped their game up with Black Plague, while Requiem was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. Good stuff! I give this series 7 Tuurngait out of 10.
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