Silent Hill Origins - Looking Promising

After early footage of this game left a lot to be desired, it is now looking pretty sweet. More of the same maybe, but this looks like it could be the best SH game for a while.

Music/sound seems spot on too. I had my doubts the PSP could be used to create atmosphere, but Portable Ops proved me wrong on that count, so this could be the creepiest handheld game yet.

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/adventure/silenthillorigins/news.html?sid=6169563&tag=topslot;title;4

Check out the movie clip. The hand to hand struggle with the nurse is pretty cool.

Yeah.

This game sadly has had a very locky life. Climax USA f*cked the game up and there was poor comunication between climax and team silent. Konami got pist off and the project was forced to move to Climax UK and now Team silent forced them to redo everything (character design, story, graphics, ...).

I am very hopeful on it's current version because Team Silent has full controll over what is done on the project.


PSP is more then capiple of creating the atmosphere. If you need more proof just play Silen hill 1 via popstation. :P

I wonder if the Kid is still sandy about this.

The Kid? You mean me? Was I sandy about this? I guess I could have been. The previous updates did look kind of shitty and sound kind of stupid. I don't remember.

The Kid is the coolest/lamest nickname ever, APPRECIATE IT.

And yes you are sandy.
I have a wicked memory on everything everyone's said and done.

Oh, I believed you. I just don't remember it.

Looking at the thread, it looks more like general sandiness than anything aimed at Silent Hill in particular.

As a Silent Hill fan that owns a PS2 but is without a PSP, I hope Konami considers those people who have supported them throughout the years—people who have, without question, played a vital role in making the Silent Hill brand a success up to this point. And by this I mean that I hope Konami ends up porting this prequel to original Silent Hill to the PS2. Why? Well because the PSP market is marginal; a fact that is reflected time and again in monthly sales charts. Furthermore, after reading this latest hands-on report, I can tell that Silent Hill Origins will live up the high standard of quality set by previous games in the Silent Hill series. It would be a real shame if, by choosing to keep the game on a platform with such a limited audience, Konami was not justly rewarded for their considerable efforts in creating a quality product.

Ilona Staten said:

As a Silent Hill fan that owns a PS2 but is without a PSP, I hope Konami considers those people who have supported them throughout the years—people who have, without question, played a vital role in making the Silent Hill brand a success up to this point. And by this I mean that I hope Konami ends up porting this prequel to original Silent Hill to the PS2. Why? Well because the PSP market is marginal; a fact that is reflected time and again in monthly sales charts. Furthermore, after reading this latest hands-on report, I can tell that Silent Hill Origins will live up the high standard of quality set by previous games in the Silent Hill series. It would be a real shame if, by choosing to keep the game on a platform with such a limited audience, Konami was not justly rewarded for their considerable efforts in creating a quality product.

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Blah blah blah-blah-blah.

By that logic, I hope they port MGS4 to PS2, because I have been an extremely faithful fan of the series up until now, but don't particularly want to buy a stupid PS3. Just get a psp if you want to play this. The price dropped some recently.

Silent Hill is no longer an interesting franchise. The only way they could get my attention back is to release something as good as SH2, and that probably won't happen.

I mean come on, remember the arcade light gun game they put out recently? What the hell.

Southtownkid said:

Blah blah blah-blah-blah.

By that logic, I hope they port MGS4 to PS2, because I have been an extremely faithful fan of the series up until now, but don't particularly want to buy a stupid PS3. Just get a psp if you want to play this. The price dropped some recently.

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I understand where you’re going with your statement Southtownkid, yet I feel there is a more pertinent comparison to be made—specifically with the PSP GTA games and Sony’s own PSP Syphon Filter game. As we all know, GTA Liberty City Stories has been ported to the PS2 and the same fate, as we’ve more recently come to understand, will befall GTA Vice City Stories. The motivation for Take 2 porting the GTA PSP games to the PS2 would, of course, be money—since the PSP’s user base is, in a word, diminutive, sales expectations were not met with the two GTA games which were slated to remain exclusive to the PSP thus PS2 ports became a reality. Likewise, Sony’s own Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror failed to meet sales expectations on the PSP platform, so according to recent reports, it too will see release on the PS2 so that the effort will not be a total loss for its publisher and developer. The PSP simply is not popular enough as a gaming platform that it can ensure that even big-name software will see great success on it. Moreover, the Silent Hill brand is not as popular as Grand Theft Auto. It doesn’t take much intelligence to realize that if GTA couldn’t achieve the figures its publisher set for it, Silent Hill Origins most certainly will not set the sales charts on fire.

Porting Silent Hill Origins to the PS2 would be in the best interests of Konami and the Silent Hill fan community at large. Staying loyal to the trivial PSP user base is not a practice that is commercially viable for publishers. If Konami is prudent, they will realize this very quickly and subsequently change course immediately.

genjiglove said:

Silent Hill is no longer an interesting franchise. The only way they could get my attention back is to release something as good as SH2, and that probably won't happen.

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I’ve never quite understood why the sentiment exists within the Silent Hill fan community that Silent Hill 2 somehow represents the apex of the series. The story was compelling; then again the story was compelling in the original, 3 and 4 as well. The gameplay was good in Silent Hill 2, yet the same applies to the others as well. If Silent Hill 2 is superior, it’s only superior in some intangible, unquantifiable way. Perhaps the sentiment is subjective, yet the people who express it seem to think its undeniable fact.

The same phenomenon can be observed within the Mega Man fan community. Mega Man 2 is rather frequently referred to by many fans as the apex of the original Mega Man series for reasons which elude me. Better bosses? Better music? The superiority of the title is never defined—it is simply stated as fact without adequate substantiation.

Ilona Staten said:

stuff...stuff....stuff...stuff....Staying loyal to the trivial PSP user base...stuff...stuff....

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First of all, your mama is trivial.

Secondly, it's the same situation for the psp Metal Gear games. I really, really wanted to play Portable Ops, the sequel to MGS3, so I bought a psp. Simple. Straightforward. I'm not sorry I did, because I don't expect every game to be ported to every console. And to be honest, as fun as it was, it would have felt a little light for a full PS2 release. This Silent Hill game will probably be a similar deal. Just fucking buy a PSP. It's not going to kill you.

Maybe you are one of those people who can only like one handheld and feels the need to bash the other..."Oh, DS!!! I *heart* *heart* you! PSP is teh suxxorz!! BOO!" But you know what? You don't have to tell your friends you got one. You can have both. It will be our secret.

Ilona Staten said:

I’ve never quite understood why the sentiment exists within the Silent Hill fan community that Silent Hill 2 somehow represents the apex of the series. The story was compelling; then again the story was compelling in the original, 3 and 4 as well. The gameplay was good in Silent Hill 2, yet the same applies to the others as well. If Silent Hill 2 is superior, it’s only superior in some intangible, unquantifiable way. Perhaps the sentiment is subjective, yet the people who express it seem to think its undeniable fact.

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If you don't get it, I don't know what to tell you. You're right, it is partly subjective. SH2 is an internal journey, while 3 & 4 are more plain straight-ahead stories. SH2 is like an interactive version of Lost Highway.

Ilona Staten said:

then again the story was compelling in the original, 3 and 4 as well.

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In 1, definitely. In 3 & 4, not so much. I like all of them, but 3 cheapened the hell out of 1, and 4 wasn't even supposed to be a Silent Hill story. 4 also feels very rushed and unfinished in parts.

oh yeah, and welcome to the boards.

Porting silent hill to the PS2 is just going to kill the game some more. Right now psp suffers from an illfaded notion that all good games will be ported up to the ps2 which is just not true (its only happened on a select few games).

The PSP it self has a HUGE base and still is doing very well when the game apeal to the base properly (Monster Hunter pocket 2 sold over a million in less then 2 months in japan).

If you like the ps2 alot, just cough up the cash for a psp as there will be alot more then just silent hill to interest you.

Now regarding SH2. There was just something in the story that kept you interested the whole way. SH2 is probably the only one i've beaten multiple times (like 4-5 times).

people bitch because it's PSP. PSP it's having a good wave of games lately but people will bitch because it's a PSP

recon_zero said:

PSP it's having a good wave of games lately but people will bitch because it's a PSP

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It sure took its sweet-ass time getting good games though.

It's been what? Two years now.

(Don't bother quoting me saying that it was already worth owning before and it had good games, because I'm speaking for myself and I realize people saw it was worth the price of admission long ago.)

I was just checking out the release list for PSP stuff this year and it's looking fantastic.

That Monster Hunter game has really drawn my attention (it looks a lot like PSO... but in a good way), as well as the new FFVII spin-off game (I'm a VII fanboy and I admit to it.)

I may just have to finally drop down the cash myself for a system (the lowered price tag has really helped a lot too.)

(And just so I don't leave this thread without a bit of biased fanboyism thrown in here Pokemon D&P > The PSP software library)

Ilona Staten said:

I’ve never quite understood why the sentiment exists within the Silent Hill fan community that Silent Hill 2 somehow represents the apex of the series. The story was compelling; then again the story was compelling in the original, 3 and 4 as well. The gameplay was good in Silent Hill 2, yet the same applies to the others as well. If Silent Hill 2 is superior, it’s only superior in some intangible, unquantifiable way. Perhaps the sentiment is subjective, yet the people who express it seem to think its undeniable fact.

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Simple, SH2 has a coherent dark story that most people enjoyed more than 3 or 4. Protagonist is more suited to the demographic in SH2 I think as well. The pacing of the action was more sparse and gave the game a more despairing lonely quality not found in 3 or 4. SH4 changed the controls and the story feels more vignette and fragmented...all very tangible reasons for thinking of 2 as the best of the series.

Creature design is stronger in SH2 than the others in my opinion too.

pixeljunkie said:

Simple, SH2 has a coherent dark story that most people enjoyed more than 3 or 4. Protagonist is more suited to the demographic in SH2 I think as well. The pacing of the action was more sparse and gave the game a more despairing lonely quality not found in 3 or 4. SH4 changed the controls and the story feels more vignette and fragmented...all very tangible reasons for thinking of 2 as the best of the series.

Creature design is stronger in SH2 than the others in my opinion too.

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Strongly agree with this, especially on the pacing. Also - the sound design in 2 is by far the best of the series, I think. For me the SH series is really about the sound environments. The first half-hour or so of SH2 is maybe the most atmospheric game experience around. It's a bit unquantifiable, I suppose, but I think a lot of SH fans agree that 2 just captured the idea of the series best.

Southtownkid said:

First of all, your mama is trivial.

Secondly, it's the same situation for the psp Metal Gear games. I really, really wanted to play Portable Ops, the sequel to MGS3, so I bought a psp. Simple. Straightforward. I'm not sorry I did, because I don't expect every game to be ported to every console. And to be honest, as fun as it was, it would have felt a little light for a full PS2 release. This Silent Hill game will probably be a similar deal. Just fucking buy a PSP. It's not going to kill you.

Maybe you are one of those people who can only like one handheld and feels the need to bash the other..."Oh, DS!!! I *heart* *heart* you! PSP is teh suxxorz!! BOO!" But you know what? You don't have to tell your friends you got one. You can have both. It will be our secret.

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Yes, simply purchasing a PSP would be the simplest solution, however the PSP as a gaming platform doesn’t appeal to me to any great degree. While it may possess the odd game or two which I find compelling, as a whole, the platform is little more than a PS2-lite. I see no reason why publishers still stand firmly behind the platform. The fact of the matter is that PSP success stories can be tallied on a single hand, and while that means little to me as a dedicated gamer, I still find it hard to commit to a platform I know will not see much in the way of solid software support as a result of its mediocre performance at market. Also, I do not think that I am being unfair toward the PSP in the least—Sony doomed their machine to a distant second the instant they reached the ill-conceived notion that the Playstation brand would carry anything to supremacy. As they’ve discovered with the PSP and now with the PS3, a brand is only as powerful as the strategy behind it.

Southtownkid said:

If you don't get it, I don't know what to tell you. You're right, it is partly subjective. SH2 is an internal journey, while 3 & 4 are more plain straight-ahead stories. SH2 is like an interactive version of Lost Highway.

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In 1, definitely. In 3 & 4, not so much. I like all of them, but 3 cheapened the hell out of 1, and 4 wasn't even supposed to be a Silent Hill story. 4 also feels very rushed and unfinished in parts.

oh yeah, and welcome to the boards.

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I only have fond memories have Silent Hill 2. Still, I enjoyed subsequent chapters just as much. I suppose since I am easily amused, certain subtleties in 2 were lost on me. Anyway, I agree with you to an extent in regards to 4—I had the sneaking suspicion that it was never meant to be part of the series. It felt disconnected and independent of the Silent Hill mythos. Even so, what was present in 4 I found to be compelling.

And thanks for the warm welcome Southtownkid. I have a feeling we’re going to get along just fine.

subbie said:

Porting silent hill to the PS2 is just going to kill the game some more. Right now psp suffers from an illfaded notion that all good games will be ported up to the ps2 which is just not true (its only happened on a select few games).

The PSP it self has a HUGE base and still is doing very well when the game apeal to the base properly (Monster Hunter pocket 2 sold over a million in less then 2 months in japan).

If you like the ps2 alot, just cough up the cash for a psp as there will be alot more then just silent hill to interest you.

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As I said before, Sony has only Sony to blame for the PSP’s lingering demise. If they had not miscalculated and instead delivered a sensible platform at a reasonable price point, the PSP would be enjoying more success at present. Also, Monster Hunter is the exception not the rule in terms of PSP software.

Additionally, I don’t think the PSP will succeed in becoming the PS2’s heir apparent. That role will probably be filled by the Wii—a system with true mass-market appeal.

pixeljunkie said:

Simple, SH2 has a coherent dark story that most people enjoyed more than 3 or 4. Protagonist is more suited to the demographic in SH2 I think as well. The pacing of the action was more sparse and gave the game a more despairing lonely quality not found in 3 or 4. SH4 changed the controls and the story feels more vignette and fragmented...all very tangible reasons for thinking of 2 as the best of the series.

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Upon further deliberation, I find that I’m inclined to agree with the view that SH2 is better than succeeding chapters in the series. Even so, the series as a whole is one of my favorites of all time for all the common reasons Silent Hill fans typically cite for being fans of the series—atmosphere, art, etc. Personally, I’d be curious to see in what direction Konami would take the series on the Wii. A deeper sense of interactivity could only benefit the Silent Hill experience in my estimation.

Ilona Staten said:

Yes, simply purchasing a PSP would be the simplest solution, however the PSP as a gaming platform doesn’t appeal to me to any great degree. While it may possess the odd game or two which I find compelling, as a whole, the platform is little more than a PS2-lite. I see no reason why publishers still stand firmly behind the platform. The fact of the matter is that PSP success stories can be tallied on a single hand, and while that means little to me as a dedicated gamer, I still find it hard to commit to a platform I know will not see much in the way of solid software support as a result of its mediocre performance at market. Also, I do not think that I am being unfair toward the PSP in the least—Sony doomed their machine to a distant second the instant they reached the ill-conceived notion that the Playstation brand would carry anything to supremacy. As they’ve discovered with the PSP and now with the PS3, a brand is only as powerful as the strategy behind it.

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Whatever. If you owned one you would probably think differently. The whole thing about the PSP being a PS2-lite is pretty irrelevant now. I have a bunch of PSP titles now and the only one that is really close to a PS2 game is Monster Hunter Freedom.

If you are going to put a Silent Hill game on a handheld, then the PSP is the system to do it on. No question.

You don't want a PSP because it is second place behind the DS? So don't get one, but you will miss out on Origins because of it.

Also, to say there will be no demand for the game on the PSP is far from accurate. I stumbled across the daily poll on GameFAQs today about most anticipated PSP game and Origins has 10% of the vote against very strong competition like God of War and Crisis Core.

Ilona Staten said:

Upon further deliberation, I find that I’m inclined to agree with the view that SH2 is better than succeeding chapters in the series. Even so, the series as a whole is one of my favorites of all time for all the common reasons Silent Hill fans typically cite for being fans of the series—atmosphere, art, etc.

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Pretty much any way you look at it, SH2 is the best of the series.

I was playing SH3 last night. The game really doesn't pick up until you actually reach Silent Hill (apart from the kick ass first section the first time you play), which is quite far into the game. Some of the early sections are really weak too (the subway station is a chore a really devoid of much at all). Furthermore, the characters and script are weak. Douglas just doesn't have anything to do but ask detective like questions and say, 'What?', uncovincingly when Heather says someone gave birth to a god. The same can be said of all the main characters. Claudia and Vincent hardly ever appear in the game. Heather just doesn't carry the story either. Shame, as her design and voice actor are good, but the script and story just don't cut it.

Compare that to SH2 where practically every single cut scene is a standout.

Still, where SH3 does perform is with the dark atmosphere and the scares. Just last night (playing in the dark with loud surround headphones on) I worked through the hospital and there were two times that really got me.

Ilona Staten said:

Personally, I’d be curious to see in what direction Konami would take the series on the Wii. A deeper sense of interactivity could only benefit the Silent Hill experience in my estimation.

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That sounds like true horror.

Edit:

Just noticed there is a second video clip up on GameSpot posted on the same day. Gameplay 4. It is brief and shows a little bit more. The section at the end is suitably creepy. Can't wait for this game.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/video...&sid=6169575&tab=related&tag=videos;related;1

Ilona Staten said:

As I said before, Sony has only Sony to blame for the PSP’s lingering demise. If they had not miscalculated and instead delivered a sensible platform at a reasonable price point, the PSP would be enjoying more success at present. Also, Monster Hunter is the exception not the rule in terms of PSP software.

Additionally, I don’t think the PSP will succeed in becoming the PS2’s heir apparent. That role will probably be filled by the Wii—a system with true mass-market appeal.

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Sony only blame is not being agressive enough with marketing the PSP. The PSP by far is the best handheld to go against a nintendo handheld. Hardware sales for the PSP by in large are very high. Actualy last year alone 80% of the year the on a weekly basis the PSP was the second best selling unit week by week (ds first, ps2 third).

As well by average, PSP has higher ranking games then the DS does.

Sony has many fault on the PSP but a huge issue has been from gamers not actualy knowing what the PSP has to offer (or sony not rubbing that in everybody's face)

I'm waiting for the new PSP thats meant to be coming out

Now that they've cleaned up the graphics, Origins looks promising. I just wonder how long the game is.

stupid game on stupid psp.. i want silent hill on next gen !!

Ilona Staten said:

Yes, simply purchasing a PSP would be the simplest solution, however the PSP as a gaming platform doesn’t appeal to me to any great degree. While it may possess the odd game or two which I find compelling, as a whole, the platform is little more than a PS2-lite. I see no reason why publishers still stand firmly behind the platform. The fact of the matter is that PSP success stories can be tallied on a single hand, and while that means little to me as a dedicated gamer, I still find it hard to commit to a platform I know will not see much in the way of solid software support as a result of its mediocre performance at market. Also, I do not think that I am being unfair toward the PSP in the least—Sony doomed their machine to a distant second the instant they reached the ill-conceived notion that the Playstation brand would carry anything to supremacy. As they’ve discovered with the PSP and now with the PS3, a brand is only as powerful as the strategy behind it.


I only have fond memories have Silent Hill 2. Still, I enjoyed subsequent chapters just as much. I suppose since I am easily amused, certain subtleties in 2 were lost on me. Anyway, I agree with you to an extent in regards to 4—I had the sneaking suspicion that it was never meant to be part of the series. It felt disconnected and independent of the Silent Hill mythos. Even so, what was present in 4 I found to be compelling.

And thanks for the warm welcome Southtownkid. I have a feeling we’re going to get along just fine.


As I said before, Sony has only Sony to blame for the PSP’s lingering demise. If they had not miscalculated and instead delivered a sensible platform at a reasonable price point, the PSP would be enjoying more success at present. Also, Monster Hunter is the exception not the rule in terms of PSP software.

Additionally, I don’t think the PSP will succeed in becoming the PS2’s heir apparent. That role will probably be filled by the Wii—a system with true mass-market appeal.


Upon further deliberation, I find that I’m inclined to agree with the view that SH2 is better than succeeding chapters in the series. Even so, the series as a whole is one of my favorites of all time for all the common reasons Silent Hill fans typically cite for being fans of the series—atmosphere, art, etc. Personally, I’d be curious to see in what direction Konami would take the series on the Wii. A deeper sense of interactivity could only benefit the Silent Hill experience in my estimation.

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Is this WizKid's girlfriend?

77punk said:

stupid game on stupid psp.. i want silent hill on next gen !!

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erm.. are you a little dense in the skull erea?

77punk said:

i want silent hill on next gen !!

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The unconfirmed rumour is that Team Silent are working on Silent Hill 5 at the moment.