Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

The story follows Harry Mason, who wakes up after a car accident to find that his daughter Cheryl is missing. Harry will wander the snowy streets of Silent Hill searching for answers of her disappearance, but when the world freezes over, he will need to escape the lumbering demons that haunt his steps. Harry will need to navigate both worlds to discover the truth; not just about his missing daughter, but also the type of person he actually is.

Silent Hill’s debut on the Nintendo Wii makes the fear more real than ever before. Players will be drawn into the mysterious town using the Wii Remote as a flashlight and a cellphone as they search for clues. Choices they make will shape Harry Mason, as well as the people he meets and the places he visits. The enemies evolve as well, taking the form of the player’s deepest fears. Silent Hill promises to be more terrifying than ever, bringing the fear to Wii, PS2, and PSP.

Features

* A re-imagining of the original Silent Hill that turns everything you thought you knew on its head
* The game watches you and adapts to your actions to create a unique experience to each player and intensify their fears
* Implementation of a cell phone as the user interface, which acts as a story telling device, map, puzzle helper, and camera that provides seamless flow with no interruption in gameplay
* New nightmare sequence focus on escape and evasion rather than direct confrontation
* Silent Hill: Shattered Memories will feature an all-new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka

First and foremost, this is not a Silent Hill game. Don’t be fooled by the game’s title or any of the other Silent Hill flavourings, this is something entirely new – a trip to the psychologist’s office disguised as a game.

Don’t let that opening statement put you off, though. Shattered Memories is a phenomenal experience, a harrowing journey that aims to get under the skin of only one person: you. The only true flaw is that it’s been unfairly weighed down with the Silent Hill branding and all the expectation that comes with it.

The plot is essentially a re-imagining of the original game. You play as Harry Mason, regaining consciousness after a car accident to discover that his daughter Cheryl is missing. This sets you off on a journey through the mysteriously empty town of Silent Hill, wading over snow drifts and interacting with the few other lost souls you meet. Breaking up the game into smaller chapters are the psychologist chats, where Dr. Kaufman attempts to help you understand what happened, and it’s these sections that elevate the game to a new plateau.

The majority of the gameplay will see you exploring Silent Hill’s many memorable locations in eerie silence, the light from your torch (the Wii Remote) casting monstrous shadows in the blackness that threatens to consume you. It’s here that you’ll spend most of your time – walking around the town, a few solving puzzles and getting closer to the mystery of what happened to Cheryl.

Each chapter also has its own nightmare sequence, an utterly terrifying moment where the level is encased in ice, plunged into blackness and filled with creepy faceless pink monsters. Compounding this fear is that fact that, brilliantly, there is no combat system, no way to fight back. All you can do is run blindly forward and glance back over your shoulder for a nerve-shredding glimpse at your rapidly gaining pursuers.

While this method of gameplay is all very recognisable, very Silent Hill and therefore comfortably familiar, it’s the interludes with Dr. Kaufman that really put you on edge. Kaufman himself is both intimidating and friendly, a father figure and an abuser and the questions he asks seem so innocent. In fact, they’re hugely important, changing whole swathes of the story in each chapter as you play it, turning the town of Silent Hill into a playground for your nightmares.

For instance, this writer is frustrated, bitter and cynical, so the game responded by leaving a trail of pain, heartbreak and grief in Harry’s wake – like real life, only with a stirring soundtrack running over it. Incredibly, this left enormous feelings of guilt and sadness, compounded by the fact that the characters are so damn likeable.

In fact, the game’s script and voice acting are top-notch throughout. Each character is lovingly defined, richly detailed and visually distinctive – impressive given the size of the cast you interact with. Long time Hill composer Akira Yamaoka also returns to provide yet another outstandingly moody soundtrack. Even the town around you feels more involved and detailed than ever before, thanks to Harry’s incredibly useful phone.

The citizens of Silent Hill are a ghastly bunch, leaving residual memories of their terrible deeds behind. Go near one and static will emit from the Remote speaker, drawing you closer to it. Once you stumble across the secret, you’ll get a voicemail, text or picture message relating to it that will help to deepen the backstory. You can also take pictures of ghostly sightings to the same end. Spooky murder mystery? There’s an app for that. There are also hundreds of phone numbers hidden around the town for you to find and call – some for puzzles, most are for fun, all of which simultaneously increase the sense of isolation and undermine by letting you hear another human voice.

In spite of the praise being launched at the game, Shattered Memories isn’t without faults. The gameplay almost borders on repetitive, seeing you explore, solve puzzles, run away and then talk about your problems. The puzzles are also far too easy, most requiring a simple – if often deviously inventive – movement of the Wii Remote. The nightmare sequences can sometimes be highly unfair, placing a target pointer on your map that can only be accessed from one route, the map you have to stop running to be able to view and the very same map that you can’t look at when hiding from the monsters. This sees you often dying and having to repeat a scary section, which gets a lot less scary and a lot more frustrating each time.

There’s also the problem of the Silent Hill branding. While the town itself is present and correct, all the other locations feel like they’ve been bolted on to a completely different game. While you do visit classic, familiar areas – the school, hospital, amusement park, Toluca Lake, etc – you’re quickly whisked through them to continue the story. If anything, the Silent Hill name must have been attached to a totally different idea.

On the whole, Shattered Memories is a wonderfully unique experience that deserves to be played by everyone alive. Part horror, part mystery, all compelling, it’s the closest games have ever come to being an interactive film. Disturbing, complex, infinitely replayable and, most terrifying of all, it’ll take a good long look into your soul and that’s the most frightening prospect of all.

Rated: M for Mature (Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence)