RSS
What do you do with a golden egg?
August 3, 2007 | 7:27 AM PSTDisclaimer: AMN’s previews are designed to inform you of a game's progress, so far. These previews are not reviews, and we reserve final judgment of each game until it is finished and released. These previews offer an honest opinion of what a publisher chose to demo to us. So, without further ado, read on.
What The Game Is About
The Silent Hill games have become some of the more popular survival horror series out there, so it's only natural that Konami would want to bring the thrills and chills to multiple platforms. Silent Hill Origins for the Sony PlayStation Portable serves as a prequel to the original Silent Hill encounter, chronicling events that introduce new players to the formula and allow hardcore Hill fans some answers to questions raised in previous games.
The demo that we had the chance to play at E3 is still early in development, but it has potential. We stepped into the shoes of a truck driver by the name of Travis. He's new in town and has brought an injured little girl to the hospital, but when he goes to check up on her he finds her missing and the hospital in a shambles. We wandered around the dark corridors for a while until a Konami representative revealed the secret: we had to touch the mirror in the waiting room area. As soon as we put Travis's hand on the glass, everything changed. Now the mildly creepy hospital had become downright terrifying. Worse yet, monsters were on the loose. Our Konami guide led us through the area step by step, and without his guidance we would have been left to wander in the dark for quite some time, as some of the solutions to the puzzles presented in the demo are very abstract.
What's Hot
Attacking enemies is a straightforward process. Travis can use his fists to wail on monsters or he can use items he finds in the hospital. Some are reusable, such as the hammer, but some are good for only one use, e.g. tossing a television into a foe.
What's Not
The PSP does the whole "survival horror in the dark" thing pretty well, although the doors and walls tend to blend together. It's difficult to see just what is a door and what is not. At this early point in the game's development it's possible for monsters to walk through tables and other such objects. As mentioned above, the puzzles are quite confusing to the point of frustration. Without our guide's help we firmly believe we would still be sitting in the Konami bungalow days after E3's conclusion in search of the place to use the golden egg item.
Outlook
Silent Hill Origins still needs a lot of work, but it could shape up to be an enjoyable game. Here's hoping that the final version includes helpful clues, otherwise we'd recommend that a Konami representative be packed in the box with each game to provide assistance.
What The Game Is About
The Silent Hill games have become some of the more popular survival horror series out there, so it's only natural that Konami would want to bring the thrills and chills to multiple platforms. Silent Hill Origins for the Sony PlayStation Portable serves as a prequel to the original Silent Hill encounter, chronicling events that introduce new players to the formula and allow hardcore Hill fans some answers to questions raised in previous games.
The demo that we had the chance to play at E3 is still early in development, but it has potential. We stepped into the shoes of a truck driver by the name of Travis. He's new in town and has brought an injured little girl to the hospital, but when he goes to check up on her he finds her missing and the hospital in a shambles. We wandered around the dark corridors for a while until a Konami representative revealed the secret: we had to touch the mirror in the waiting room area. As soon as we put Travis's hand on the glass, everything changed. Now the mildly creepy hospital had become downright terrifying. Worse yet, monsters were on the loose. Our Konami guide led us through the area step by step, and without his guidance we would have been left to wander in the dark for quite some time, as some of the solutions to the puzzles presented in the demo are very abstract.
What's Hot
Attacking enemies is a straightforward process. Travis can use his fists to wail on monsters or he can use items he finds in the hospital. Some are reusable, such as the hammer, but some are good for only one use, e.g. tossing a television into a foe.
What's Not
The PSP does the whole "survival horror in the dark" thing pretty well, although the doors and walls tend to blend together. It's difficult to see just what is a door and what is not. At this early point in the game's development it's possible for monsters to walk through tables and other such objects. As mentioned above, the puzzles are quite confusing to the point of frustration. Without our guide's help we firmly believe we would still be sitting in the Konami bungalow days after E3's conclusion in search of the place to use the golden egg item.
Outlook
Silent Hill Origins still needs a lot of work, but it could shape up to be an enjoyable game. Here's hoping that the final version includes helpful clues, otherwise we'd recommend that a Konami representative be packed in the box with each game to provide assistance.
November 20, 2009
