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Scared stiff: Why should we care about Silent Hill: Homecoming?

by Jason Dobson { Jun 25th 2008 at 4:15PM }

Konami's Silent Hill franchise has forgotten more about keeping us hiding beneath our covers than most games will ever know. Even EA's own Glen Schofield tips his hat to the series, telling us earlier this week that he considers the 1999 PlayStation original to be among his favorite survival horror games ever. But after nearly a decade of stumbling through the fog, it's easy to feel that the dilapidated burg of Silent Hill has gotten a bit too long in the tooth.

For the series' sixth installment, Konami has handed the blood-soaked baton over to external developer Double Helix Games, a recent mash-up of The Collective and Shiny Entertainment. The result is this fall's upcoming release, Silent Hill: Homecoming, and we recently puzzled our way out of mist long enough to ask the game's lead designer, Jason Allen, just why we should care about this latest return trip to Silent Hill.

Gallery: Silent Hill: Homecoming

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New Silent Hill: Homecoming screenshots be freaky, foggy

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 27th 2008 at 1:00PM }

Though the characters in Wes Craven's magnum opus would be an obvious exception, we're pretty sure that protagonists in horror movies have never seen horror movies -- looking at the Silent Hill series, it's clear this rule applies to video games as well. Not that we're complaining, as if the characters in Konami's beloved horror series would collectively realize that abandoned, fog-filled towns are abandoned and fog-filled for a reason, they would probably stop going to them in search of deceased or missing wives/offspring/brothers -- and we wouldn't have these gorgeous screenshots from the upcoming Silent Hill: Homecoming to drool over.

So thanks, horror genre characters. Your obvious ineptitude for danger avoidance may deliver you into the jaws of certain doom, but it provides us with near-limitless entertainment -- and really, isn't that more important in the long run?

Gallery: Silent Hill: Homecoming

Silent Hill Origins confirmed for PS2, world reels in shock

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 22nd 2008 at 1:30PM }

Of course, the world's just being polite. Though Konami's official announcement of a PlayStation 2 version of Silent Hill Origins is welcomed, it arrives about as unexpectedly as that surprise birthday party you planned for yourself once. That might have been more enjoyable if you had any friends, but then you're far too busy clobbering jittery, faceless nurses in your free time.

Incidentally, that's exactly what you do in this game. Casting some light on the spooky town's black history, Silent Hill Origins for PS2 aims to impart the "chilling, suspenseful and fear-filled experience that handheld gamers encountered" to those who prefer considerably larger screens. "This is their chance to learn more of the mystery and mythos surrounding Silent Hill that's been hinted at in earlier games and made the series such a success," said Anthony Crouts, VP of marketing and ineffective secret keeping at Konami Digital Entertainment.

We'll share further details as soon as they come shambling out of the foreboding mist.

Retailers listing Silent Hill Origins for PS2

by Justin McElroy { Jan 16th 2008 at 12:15PM }

We told you last month that we thought you'd soon hear more about a PS2 version of the PSP's Silent Hill Origins. Though we still haven't gotten official word from Konami, the rumor has now been corroborated by a few retailers, making a port seem all the more likely.

GameFly and Amazon both have listings for the game, although they've currently got it set at opposite ends of March. Heck, the two sites even have box art (seen at right). Now, Konami, would you please just announce the thing so we can start stocking up on Depends? ... Wait. No. We mean Game Fuel. Yeah. Game Fuel. You know, so we can play all night because we're not scared at all. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Rumor: PSP Silent Hill being ported to PS2

by Justin McElroy { Dec 11th 2007 at 10:15AM }

So get this: Konami made a (by most accounts) pretty good game called Silent Hill Origins for the PSP, and according to a Kotaku tipster, the company will be moving the game to the PS2 in March 2008! Making a port of a decent game from a well-regarded franchise for a system with 120 million units sold worldwide, can you believe it? ... Yes, so can we.

As we said, this hasn't been confirmed by Konami, but it seems like one of two things would be happening right now. Either they are porting SHO to the PS2, or they've seen this story on the internet, fired the guy in charge of thinking of things like this and are in the preliminary stages of porting SHO to the PS2. Either way, we'd bet that you'll hear more about it soon.

New Silent Hill V details finally surface

by Scott Jon Siegel { Nov 29th 2007 at 8:00AM }

It's been a while since Konami first announced Silent Hill V, and details revealed since have been few and far between. A new issue of Official Playstation Magazine, however, has revealed some new tidbits of information about the latest in the survival horror series.

The radio and the flashlight -- which were abandoned in the previous Silent Hill game -- return in the fifth console installment of the series. Unlike previous games, the camera will feature full 3D movement, and the article hints at some possible Sixaxis functionality in the PS3 version. The rest of the article features some new, "exclusive" images and character renderings, and recaps story and gameplay elements that were already known, but it could be a nice refresher for anyone who's forgotten exactly what to look forward to.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Joystiq interview: Silent Hill: Origin's Akira Yamaoka

by Kevin Kelly { Oct 23rd 2007 at 9:31PM }

Not quite as terrifying as the titles he's been working on, Akira Yamaoka sat down with us during E For All to give us a teensy bit of information about the upcoming Silent Hill: Origins, and what it took to bring the game to the PlayStation Portable. While he didn't tell us the secret to being scary on a much smaller screen, we imagine it'll mean a lot of OMG IN YOUR FACE moments and spooky noises. Perhaps they'll even tell people this is a game better enjoyed with headphones.

Check out the brief interview after the break.

Gallery: E for All 2007

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Silent Hill: The Arcade makes us jealous

by Justin McElroy { Oct 1st 2007 at 10:30AM }

The death spiral of the arcade in America is a vicious cycle. If more people were populating arcades, we'd probably get more games like Silent Hill: The Arcade, released in Japan last month. Of course, if our arcades included more games like Silent Hill and fewer sweaty meat sacks trying to lose that last 230 pounds on a DDR machine electronically beeping out a prayer for a quick death, we'd probably be more apt to go there.

Luckily for us, we have footage like the above clip. Just make your fingers into a gun shape and go to town. You don't have to pay any money and (best of all) you don't have to keep yourself from staring at Chunky Brewster performing his Slurpee rehydration.

TGS07: Silent Hill: Origins video is beauty incarnate

by Chris Powell { Sep 20th 2007 at 4:00AM }

A couple months ago, Andrew said Silent Hill: Origins is one of the best-looking PSP titles he's seen so far, and this new trailer just released during Tokyo Game Show only confirms that. We still can't believe Konami has been able to create such an amazing looking game on the PSP.

The video shows Travis driving his rig when he's attacked with some pretty disturbing mental images causing him nearly to careen off the road. We're not exactly sure why the rest of the video is shown playing on a PSP, which makes anyone with less than 20/20 vision struggle to see it. Perhaps Konami really wanted you to know this amazing game is running on the PSP?

Either way, Silent Hill: Origins is shaping up to be a no-brainer for any PSP owner, and the song was a great choice, too!

1UP previews Silent Hill V, shows in-game footage

by Justin McElroy { Sep 10th 2007 at 11:00AM }

Much like a Tootsie Roll-brand Tootsie Pop, deep below our hardened, candy exterior of cynicism is a center of gooey, chocolatey cowardice. As you might have guessed with that information nestled inside your breast (you won't tell anyone, right?) we don't typically get anywhere near Silent Hill games. That being said: This new 1UP preview of Silent Hill V has us intrigued.

It's in the hands of an American team, and we're interested in the way they're going with it. We do wonder if it will be possible to still enjoy the real-time disintegration effects and more responsive combat if we watch the game through a slit between our index and middle finger with wads of cotton in our ears. Here's hoping.

Silent Hill V taking cues from Gan's movie

by James Ransom-Wiley { Aug 28th 2007 at 5:26PM }

Silent Hill V developer The Collective is borrowing a few Christopher Gans film devices for its upcoming game sequel, according to an article in the latest EGM. Inspired by the Silent Hill movie, SHV will feature real-time shifts between reality and the 'Otherworld,' forcing helpless players to suffer through the ghastly transformations of their immediate environments. Enhancing this horror, The Collective will use motion-capture techniques to model the game's monsters, just as the film crew did, creating vivid movement, like the sexually charged lure of the Siam, a perverse fusion of genders.

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Silent Hill V breaks down before your eyes

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 28th 2007 at 3:30PM }

The latest issue of EGM contains quite a spread on Silent Hill V, and the contents have begun popping up on the internet courtesy of SilentHill5.net. First and foremost, we know a little more about the game's story. The story centers around one Alex Shepard, a 22 year-old war vet. The game begins as Alex wakes up in a VA hospital where he was undergoing treatment for a near fatal wound (Jacob's Ladder, anyone?). In the hospital, Alex has a premonition that his younger brother is in danger. Like any good brother, Alex rushes home to Shepards Glen, only to find that his mother is catatonic, his father and brother are gone, and that the New England town is covered in fog. As Silent Hill fans could probably guess, things are about to get weird.

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Silent Hill: Origins features "Accolades"

by Nick Doerr { Aug 22nd 2007 at 11:00AM }

Anyone check out the leaked Silent Hill: Origins demo? If so, you may have noticed an inaccessible option labeled "Accolades" in one of the menus. Radio GTN believes this is actually the beginning of a PSP version of 360's "Achievements" system. It's obvious if you think about what an accolade is -- an award, basically.

However, the more likely scenario: Silent Hill: Origins will have special tasks to complete that give you these accolades, which would unlock in-game awards. (Maybe something as simple as wallpaper for your PSP?) However, imagine the possibilities of PSP/PS3 connectivity: perhaps an unlockable T-shirt for your Home avatar?

[via Digg]

Climax denies responsibility for Silent Hill demo leak

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 21st 2007 at 9:00PM }

A few days ago, a Silent Hill demo was leaked onto the internet. This potentially damaging loss spread like wildfire, with sites generating upwards of 1200 downloads of the demo, which only operates on PSPs with unpatched, or unofficial firmware. Karl Jeffery, CEO and founder of developer Climax, told GamesIndustry.biz that the UK developer is not responsible for the leak. "All I can say is that code did not leak from Climax – 100 per cent guaranteed," said Jeffery. "The code that is out there is fingerprinted and was supplied solely to Konami for marketing purposes."

"At Climax we have strong and proven security procedures that protect all of our code, assets and builds," he added. "We have developed over 100 titles in 20 years in business and have never had a leak or theft from inside the company." In spite of this apparent security breach, it doesn't appear as though the release will be pushed back. Thank goodness -- could we really have waited even longer for Silent Hill Origins?

Hacked Silent Hill demo smuggled, released to public

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 20th 2007 at 11:30AM }

The Games Convention in Leipzig is only a few days away, and it appears that Konami's upcoming Silent Hill UMD demo from the show somehow got leaked for public consumption. Unlike regular demos, this must be ripped into a disc image and run off of a homebrew-enabled PSP. We're not sure if Konami is too appreciative of having early code released to the public, and we're going to refrain from linking to places where it's available for download. However, video proof (seen above) shows that this is, in fact, real.

[Thanks, Joe!]