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Silent Hill: Homecoming

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Silent Hill: Homecoming
Developer(s)Konami Digital Entertainment
Double Helix Games[3]
Publisher(s)Konami
SeriesSilent Hill
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows[4], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Survival horror
Psychological horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Silent Hill: Homecoming[5] will be the sixth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror video game series, currently being developed by Foundation 9 studio, Double Helix Games[3]. On July 11, 2007, Konami officially announced Homecoming, then known as Silent Hill V, at their E3 press conference.[6] The game is currently being developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows. The PC version will be distributed exclusively through Valve's Steam digital content delivery service.

Although plot details are scarce, this upcoming entry is about a soldier who returns from a war to search for his missing brother.[6][7]

Plot and gameplay

File:Alex Shepherd.jpg
Alex Shepherd, the protagonist of Silent Hill: Homecoming.

The official announcement of Silent Hill: Homecoming named the protagonist as Alex Shepherd, a war veteran who returns home from an overseas tour of duty to find that his father and younger brother are missing, and his mother has gone into catatonia. Alex begins to search for his brother, leading him to Silent Hill after searching his hometown of Shepard's Glen, where he will have to traverse real world areas covered in fog, and also the "Otherworld" version of the same maps.[8] EGM magazine confirmed that there will be a female supporting character named Elle, who is an old school friend of Alex. It is unknown whether she will be a playable character at the moment. A trucker speculated to be Travis Grady of Silent Hill: Origins also appears to transport Alex to Silent Hill.[9][10] Pyramid Head will also be making a reappearance in Homecoming.[2]

Combat in the game will take into account Alex's experience as a soldier, and the psychological aspects of other installments of the game will have a part in Homecoming. Confirmed enemies in the game include the nurses and a new androgynous creature called "Siam", as well as "Schism", a humanoid with a massive, seemingly pointed head split down the middle, and "Smog", an emaciated corpse covered in boils who spews poisonous gas which resembles the Lying Figure from Silent Hill 2. The game play will feature real time wounds that show up on both Alex and his enemies. New fighting techniques will be offered as way for Alex to deal with enemies, including grappling and evasive maneuvers. Enemies will have upgraded artificial intelligence, adding new ways to attack and evade. The game engine used allows all this, and also incorporates realistic physics. For example, if the player bumps into a table, the table itself will move as well as any objects on it. Such interactions with anything in the environment can bring a monster's attention to Alex.

It is rumored that the developers are once again planning to create multiple endings based on the way players do things in the game, continuing the tradition of the other games in the Silent Hill series. Acts of aggression, kindness and interactions with other people met in the game will impact how it ends.[11] The developers have also stated that the popular UFO ending will return.

Development

File:SHHfan.jpg
Alex Shepherd, exploring the otherworld.

Chief designer of Silent Hill: Homecoming, Masashi Tsuboyama announced the game's development in a 2004 interview with Eurogamer.[12] Tsuboyama first clarified rumors that it wasn't going to be called Shadows of the Past as previously reported. In the same interview, he stated that Konami wasn't sure which next-generation console it would be released on. Although dodging the question, composer/producer Akira Yamaoka recently shed some light upon the question with, "We cannot say yet, but we are hoping to carry on the plans of the earlier Silent Hill platforms."[13]

In several interviews, Akira Yamaoka has revealed some information regarding the fifth release. In Famitsu Magazine, around December 2006, Yamaoka confirmed his return as the composer for Homecoming, stating, "I will be composing the music which has started being made now, but I am far from finished. I cannot say anything about the music or the type I'm making but I can say that fans of the previous soundtracks should be pleased with its outcome."[13] He hinted at a return to the psychological roots that were present in Silent Hill 2 and that the team was working on a unique game atmosphere of a 'fear in daylight' or a 'sunny environment gone wrong'.[14] In April 2007, Yamaoka told GamePro Magazine that he wasn't able to comment much about the story or progress at the moment, but confirmed that Homecoming would resemble the second installment in terms of the way the player is directed and the characters' behavior.[15]

On July 11, 2007, gaming website Kotaku confirmed that Silent Hill: Homecoming will not be developed by Team Silent but instead by Foundation 9 studio, The Collective.[16] Since that interview, the game has appeared in various GameStop computer systems for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a release date of September 30. Foundation 9 put production of Harker, another survival horror title, on indefinite hiatus during Homecoming's production.[17]

Also, in 2007, Silent Hill: Homecoming's developer, The Collective, merged with well-known game developer Shiny Entertainment to create Double Helix Games.[3]

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is also returning to perform the vocals for at least one of the new songs.

Konami has recently released an official site[3] for the game, featuring the journals of Alex, Elle, and Wheeler.

Classification difficulties

It has been announced by the Australian Classification board (OFLC) that Silent Hill Homecoming has received a "Refused classification" therefore, it will not be available for purchase in Australia.[4]

The German version of the game has been postponed to February due to cuts having to be made. [5]

Pre-Order Bonus

On September 24, 2008 the game's official North American website posted in its news section that people who pre-order the game at either GameStop, EB Games Canada, or Gamecrazy will receive the [[6]] on DVD for free. Similarly, people who preorder the game at Circuit City will receive a free Pyramid Head keychain.

References

  1. ^ [http://www.konami.com/ctlimg/konami/pressrelease/2008_05_15_GamersNightPR.pdf KONAMI ANNOUNCES INNOVATIVE LINE-UP FOR 2008 AT GAMER’S NIGHT] Created on May 14, 2008. Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
  2. ^ [1] Created on August 30th. Retrived on August 30th.
  3. ^ a b c Double Helix Games Studio Information Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
  4. ^ Silent Hill: Homecoming Gets Pyramid Head, PC Version Created on July 18, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
  5. ^ "Silent Hill 5 Named And Dated". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  6. ^ a b E3 07: Konami's 15-Minute Press Event Raises Eyebrows GameSpot, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  7. ^ Konami Announces Silent Hill 5. Konami, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
  8. ^ Konami Announces Silent Hill 5. Konami, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
  9. ^ Silent Hill V Concept Art - Travis in Silent Hill V? Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
  10. ^ Silent Hill Homecoming Hands-on Created on May 15, 2008. Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
  11. ^ Gameznewsletter.com "Silent Hill V". Created on 2007-09-16. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
  12. ^ Eurogamer: "Silent Hill 5 Coming to Next Gen" Created on August 17, 2004. Retrieved on August 18, 2007.
  13. ^ a b SilentHill5.net: "Japanese Magazine Famitsu Interview Akira Yamaoka on Silent Hill 5" Created on December 19, 2006. Retrieved on June 29, 2007.
  14. ^ Kotaku.com: "Akira Yamaoka Talks Silent Hill 5" Created on December 21, 2006. Retrieved on June 29, 2007.
  15. ^ ComputerAndVideoGames.com: "Silent Hill 5 Details Emerge" Created on April 20, 2007. Retrieved on June 29, 2007
  16. ^ Kotaku.com: "Silent Hill V First Screens, Developer Named" Created on July 11, 2007. Retrieved on July 11, 2007
  17. ^ Foundation 9 buries Harker Created on April 22, 2008. Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
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