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Post by Ex on Oct 30, 2018 23:32:20 GMT -5
Silent Hill 2 (Greatest Hits): Born From a Wish | PS2 | 2001
When "Silent Hill 2" released on Xbox, it included a bonus sub-scenario called "Born From a Wish". In this vignette the player controls the character "Maria", shortly before she meets the primary protagonist James. Maria's tale here is difficult to describe without spoiling the entire thing. Let's just say overall it's a ghost story. Depending on how the player interpreted the plot of "Silent Hill 2", Maria's actual existence outside of James' awareness can be contemplated a few different ways. The truth of course is absolutely subjective, its verisimilitude tangible solely in the mind of the beholder. As by design. +It's another interesting tale from Team Silent.
+The Baldwin mansion feels lived in and real enough.
+The scenario thankfully ends before it wears out its welcome.
+The ending was foreseeable but still a gut punch.
+Once upon a time Konami actually gave a damn!
-The crux of the experience is in yet another large abandoned building.
-Lots of asset reuse from SH2.
-No new enemies.
-Weak "puzzles" as usual.
-Offers little character development for Maria overall. I'm not one to dismiss a gift, and "Born From a Wish" was indeed a gift for latecomers to "Silent Hill 2". In that regard, I applaud Konami for caring enough to allocate the resources. As a standalone story, "Born From a Wish" has legs and is above average in the writing department. As an exposition on Maria herself, this scenario rather fails, and if anything only adds yet another layer of murkiness to the overall "Silent Hill 2" mythos. As intriguing as the plot is, once again I didn't care for the actual gameplay here. Exploring another locked-door-a-thon old building, beating on weak baddies, solving goofy puzzles, tracking down keys, it was all the same bland thing as the core "Silent Hill 2" gameplay harbors. Which I guess for most people is actually really awesome. Alrighty, I'll be the odd man out. With "Born From a Wish" I came for the plot, and I wasn't disappointed in that regard. And that wraps up my stay in the foggiest town in Maine. See yeah "Silent Hill 2", it's been uh, unreal.
Ex's time to beat: 1 hour 18 minutes Ex's rating: 6/10
- Real life permitting, I plan to beat one more game tomorrow for this month's thread.
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Post by Sarge on Oct 30, 2018 23:35:50 GMT -5
Ugh, frustration in Thief Gold right now. Got to the safe, but don't have the key. Looked to see if I was missing something, and apparently I am, so I'm poking around trying to find where the heck Reuben is so I can get the key and get out of this area.
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Post by toei on Oct 31, 2018 0:48:10 GMT -5
I didn't really care that much about Born from a Wish either, for what it's worth. It's a cool little bonus, but it doesn't really add anything to the overall experience, mostly because it's too short to amount to much. Nowadays it'd be DLC.
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Post by Sarge on Oct 31, 2018 10:44:10 GMT -5
Alright, I think I got back on track last night. It was a sewer area that I almost went into, but turned around looking for other stuff. Hopefully I can find that key soon. Also, I think I've blackjacked pretty much every guard up until this point. This is very much turning into a pacifist run.
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Post by toei on Oct 31, 2018 16:47:21 GMT -5
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Post by Sarge on Oct 31, 2018 22:17:47 GMT -5
Knocked out Mission 5. Probably going to take a short break tonight; it's a bit late to start another mission, especially if it ends up being as drawn out as this one was.
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Post by Ex on Oct 31, 2018 23:51:48 GMT -5
That was a fun interview, thanks for posting it. I'm glad you're still playing. It's true some of the missions can be rather long due to huge levels. I remember spending between 1.5 to 3 hours per level. I didn't do the pacifist thing at all, I went all lethal ninja. But pacifist style is the way you're "supposed" to play Thief. --- I decided my last game for this month would be an arcade title. I started out with some Splatterhouse. It's still a good game, but I wanted to play something I'd not played before instead. So I played some Ghoul Panic for a bit (Namco 1999), and then Lady Killer (Yanyaka 1993), but neither stuck. I finally settled on... 71. Demon's World | Arcade | 1989
"Demon's World" is an arcade run 'n gun platformer, developed and published by Toaplan Co., Ltd. in 1989. This game was ported to PCE-CD in 1993 under the name "Horror Story". I'm not sure if these releases were Japan-only or not. The gameplay is simply shoot and jump through large amounts of monsters, defeat the boss, proceed to the next level. The levels auto-scroll by the way. There's no cutscenes or plot exposition. I'm not sure what the plot even was. Dudes blasting ghosts and demons, that's all I know. The stages are almost entirely linear, but there's some actual platforming here and there. Cooperative two-player mode is an option. There are many different weapons to collect, giving a "Contra" type feel to the shooting. As the name implies, there's a horror theme going on. The game begins in what looks like old Edo-period Japan, complete with traditional yokai and yurei monsters. Later this switches to "mainstream" horror, with haunted towns, ghosts, zombies, skeletons, Frakenstein, Dracula etc. There are a lot of stages, and this game seems to go on forever. With its bland graphics and simple gameplay, "Demon's World" grows repetitive quickly. I suppose it would be better if played co-op with a pal. If you're interested in just mindlessly shooting ghouls and ghosts, "Demon's World" has you covered. It's certainly appropriate for a Halloween run. But honestly the experience is largely forgettable.
Ex's time to beat: 33 minutes
Ex's rating: 5/10
--- And that fellow HRG'ers is the end of "October Horror" month for me.
Here's a list of the games I beat for this month: Demon's World (Arcade) 5/10
Fatal Frame: Special Edition (Xbox) 7/10 Jack in the Dark (PC) 7/10
Nanashi no Game (The Nameless Game) (DS) 4/10 Silent Hill 2 (PS2) 7.5/10 Silent Hill 2: Born From a Wish (PS2) 6/10
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Post by Sarge on Nov 1, 2018 12:44:15 GMT -5
Yeah, I figure I'm going to try to see it through to the end.
I know the style of gameplay isn't the same, but for some reason I keep getting Jedi Knight vibes as well. I don't know if it's just the general look, or something else.
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Post by Xeogred on Nov 1, 2018 17:57:00 GMT -5
Sarge : Glad you're keeping at it dude. I'm sure you'll walk away from the experience on a positive note, nothing else quite like the original Thief.
I don't know if you knew this though, but Deadly Shadows is on the Xbox as well... that and Deus Ex Invisible War were intentionally designed around a new engine and consoles first. Maybe this one will be more up your alley, I still think it's excellent.
(also lately I keep thinking you'd probably enjoy the Deus Ex games if you haven't played them, they have enough other RPG elements and whatnot I think you'd enjoy).
Also for me... no map in Thief was complete until I blackjacked all guards!
Anyways, October was fun. Sweet dreams everyone!
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Post by Sarge on Nov 3, 2018 17:37:34 GMT -5
I'm hoping for a few more missions like the Mage Towers I just got through in Thief Gold. This one, while really long, has been the best one yet. I still probably don't love it as much as others here, but I also see why y'all love it.
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