Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Preview

The storyline for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories allows you to play the same main character from the first, Harry Mason, searching for his daughter Cheryl when she disappears after a car crash. However, fans have been promised that this game is not a remake of the original Silent Hill, but merely uses some of the same concepts. Those who have played the original will get twice as much out of the storyline of Shattered Memories. Another major difference from the original is the new Silent Hill world. Instead of the traditional settings players may be used to by now, this game has a twist to it: the world is set in snow and ice. Monsters appear behind blocks of ice, desparately searching for a way around to find you. You can try to run, but they are smart and can hop the fence after you, or simply pull you back down. Also, the thick snow can be disorienting, causing you to become lost and run straight back into a swarming throng of enemies. The change in story and setting is definitely a welcome breath of fresh air for the Silent Hill series.

What sets this apart from the rest of the horror games out there is its use of the Wii to create an environment in which the player is fully immersed in the action. The Wii remote serves as your flashlight and controls for the game. The flashlight is supposed to be the best its ever been in any Silent Hill game. The trademark static noise will now emit from the Wii remote's speaker to alert you when monsters or important objects are near by and is sure to startle players at least a few times. The set-up itself aims to overcome the flaws of traditional horror games. There are no loading screens or pause menus. As you go through the game, you can access all the areas. They are already loaded, and you do not have to follow a certain path. The storyline changes based on your decisions. You use a cell phone as your guide and to receive incoming messages and texts. The zoom function allows you to read text in the game without pausing the action, and when you're using your phone the action continues to happen around you. There is a big different in the fighting style of this game, however. You don't fight. Instead, the entire point is to evade the monsters and run away. This could go either way. It might be fun if done well, and will certainly please players who have trouble fighting off monsters, but it could lose some of the fans who enjoy the games for their battles with the creepy monsters lurking around every corner.