Earlier this month, Nintendo Power annouced that a new Silent Hill would be coming to us later this year. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is explicitly described as a reimagining of the first game in the series, and not a remake. Developers want to make sure people don't think of this as just a revamped port of the old classic. This is supposed to feel like an entirely new game. Shattered Memories is coming to the Wii, PS2, and PSP this fall.
While the story is still the same base as the first game, that is supposedly where the similarities end. The characters play twisted roles, things don’t necessarily happen in the same order, and the story is taken down many different roads. You still play as Harry Mason, you’re still looking for your daughter, and you see other familiar scenes, but they’re all shuffled up to pull you in new directions.
Along with new gameplay, a new added feature will be the psyche profile. A system within the game that monitors the player's actions, reactions, which items you choose to investigate, where you explore. The game is designed to change visual elements and story reveals based upon this, meaning no two gameplays could be the same. “In Silent Hill games, the town always gets inside the protagonist’s head,” says developer Hulett. “But now, it’s getting inside YOUR head."
Being developed by Climax, the same team behind Silent Hill Origins, developers boast new additions to all aspects of the game. The game's environment is designed to specifically work with the Wii-mote for interaction. Puzzles and item collection will all implement these controls. Another feature will be even more exploration, unlike the previous games which present the player with numerous "locked" doors.
We'll see just how different from the first Silent Hill, Shattered Memories actually is. Even if it was just a remake I would still be ecstatic about it because of how much I loved the original. Playing it late nights with my girlfriends, while I was the only one brave enough to keep going. If Shattered Memories can recapture that, it has my buy hands down. The psyche profile mode definitely sounds interesting and I can wait to see how it plays!
