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How Metascores Are Calculated
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Altered Beast
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
The game thrusts players into a shadowy world of chaos and terror with atmospheric graphics and an original storyline that sheds new light on the desolate, fog-shrouded town of Silent Hill. Silent Hill: Homecoming follows Alex Shepherd, a war veteran returning home from an overseas tour of duty to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother, Joshua. His travels lead him through the small, insular community of Shepherd's Glen and eventually through the hauntingly empty streets of Silent Hill. Building upon the series' trademark foundations of atmosphere, adventure and storytelling, Silent Hill: Homecoming introduces players to a frightening new experience. When confronted by the perverse incarnations of evil that roam Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen, players are able to utilize an enhanced combat system and execute a number of offensive and defensive maneuvers as they experience every terrifying encounter with the game’s numerous nightmarish creatures. Players also have to solve a variety of puzzles as they progress through the highly atmospheric game world, using cues from the environment to unlock Silent Hill's darkest secrets. Continuing the series’ tradition of standout music and sound design, Silent Hill: Homecoming features an original soundtrack by famed composer Akira Yamaoka. [Konami]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 95
Variety
A true heir, lovingly crafted with the same psychological intensity as its predescessors while improving on their weak combat controls. All but the most closed-minded afficionados are sure to embrace it and savvy marketing by Konami could expand the fan base.
 84
Cheat Code Central
The folks at Double Helix gave me the Silent Hill I wanted: a nerve-racking, scary as hell experience to hold me over this Halloween season. Any fan of Silent Hill should be checking this out, and anyone just needing a good scare can join in the Homecoming.
84
Team Xbox
Fans of the series are sure to be pleased, as well as spooked, by the expected, yet unexpected twists the plot takes as Alex searches for his missing brother and father. Newcomers will also appreciate the ability to pick up the game without needing to know the full history of the franchise, but some may feel a bit overwhelmed if they aren’t prepared for what the Silent Hill experience has to offer.
82
AtomicGamer
Homecoming shows a significant improvement over the franchise’s last console outing, but there’s still work to be done.
82
Talk Xbox
All in all, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a successful entry to the series. Even though it doesn’t do anything spectacularly new in terms of the franchise or the genre, it does do the old ways justice.
80
Da Gameboyz
If you are a fan of the Silent Hill franchise then Silent Hill: Homecoming is a must buy title.
80
G4 TV
Thankfully, the game manages to be worth more than the sum of its parts. The controls are the best they've ever been, and combat is actually tolerable this time. That said, you're still better off avoiding fights whenever possible, especially during the few annoying sections that continually respawn creatures.
80
Gamers' Temple
Silent Hill Homecoming brings more action to the Silent Hill series and does a good job at blending it together with what we have come to expect
80
GameDaily
Unless you've got nerves of steel, this game will at least send chills up your spine and at most scare the crap out of you. Sure, it feels similar to its predecessors, but the familiar mechanics and scares still give us hours of monster bashing fun.
80
AceGamez
Silent Hill: Homecoming is no queen, then, but there's more than enough about Double Helix's first go-around with the series that I can heartily recommend it to any gamer with an appetite for a genuinely creepy hybrid of survival horror old and new.
80
MS Xbox World
Silent Hill: Homecoming will not disappoint in quality, whether you’re returning traditionalists or even a curious newcomer, Silent Hill: Homecoming is an honorable addition to a defining franchise.
79
Games Master UK
Solid but over familiar, Silent Hill is a town in need of some redevelopment. [Feb 2009, p.74]
79
Xbox360Achievements
There are definitely some faults to this game, but it is overall an enjoyable experience. Double Helix Games is a mish-mash of multiple companies and is overall very new to the video game industry so the faults are no surprise.
78
Planet Xbox 360
Silent Hill Homecoming delivers one of the few solid survival horror experiences on the system. The genre used to see a release a month, and gamers are lucky now to get two a year. Homecoming’s great story calls for a rebirth of the genre, even if the gameplay occasionally does not.
78
Pelit (Finland)
A mediocre take on survival horror genre, and sadly not very impressive debut for the series on new console generation. We've seen these puzzles and these fighting mechanics already in dozen different games of the same genre. The hellish visions of Otherworld evoke good horror feelings, but they're soon dragged to ground by far too frequent fights which become more or less routine after few first encounters. [Mar 2009]
77
3DJuegos
Silent Hill: Homecoming is just an enjoyable horror game but, at this time, its also the best Survival Horror of the present generation of consoles. Easy combat, classic puzzles and extraordinary atmosphere for a game that obviously needed a deeper, not so simple, gameplay.
77
GameTrailers
The development team has played it safe, delivering a game that maintains the status quo. It will make fans giddy, but those without preconceived notions will find it to be a bit clunky and growing long in the tooth.
75
GamerNode
Homecoming doesn't recapture the essence of the Konami-developed games. The action-oriented approach leaves players with an awkward camera and less impressive plot, but the game is still enjoyable in its own way.
75
Game Revolution
American developer Double Helix has managed to stick its landing—right in the uneasy, dark parts of the mind that define the Silent Hill experience.
75
1UP
Double Helix has stayed true to the series' foundation while also taking steps in a brave new direction; they've crafted a tale that stands well within franchise lore, and they've produced horrifically beautiful environments, occasional framerate drops aside. If Double Helix learns from their mistakes here -- combat balance being the most glaring issue -- their future work could rival the series' best.
75
GameShark
Imagine the L.A. skyline during rush hour, condensed into the perimeter of a city block, and you have a good idea of how thick the trademark fog has become.
75
NZGamer
Viewed as a standalone title, Silent Hill: Homecoming is extremely competent, but as a sequel, it falls short of progressing the series in any meaningful way.
75
Vandal Online
Despite its flaws, we have to say we have a more than decent title here, heir to a legacy of classic survival horror elements and an example of what Silent Hill should be in this generation. Although the final result is not so awesome, this is a good opportunity to return to that silent village.
70
IGN UK
Scary it mightn’t be, but it’s compelling, unsettling and engaging in its own familiar, anachronistic way.
70
VideoGamer
Despite these impressive production values, Homecoming ultimately fails to achieve greatness.
70
Official Xbox Magazine UK
Workable horror, but missing some charm. [Mar 2009, p.86]
70
Totally360
Silent Hill: Homecoming is without doubt a good game, but it is let down by little problems here and there. The plot twists are generally quite easy to see coming but at least keep you interested, although the deviation from the original Silent Hill games will annoy a lot of people.
70
Telegraph
For pure chilling atmosphere, Silent Hill still succeeds with strong plotting and disturbing art direction. Few games can creep you out and leave you thinking about their story after the credits have rolled as much as Silent Hill can and the latest title is no exception. It’s a good game, there’s no doubt, but you just feel this Homecoming is perhaps a few years too late.
70
360 Gamer Magazine UK
Yeah, it’s alright, especially if you’re new to the series or just want to play something that spreads on your bread like ‘I-Can’t Believe-It’s-Not-Silent-Hill-2.’ The monsters are great, the combat is workable and the mystery is intriguing. But if you’ve ever played a survival horror game then chances are you’ve already played this, down to the last ‘put strange object in bizarre vaginal slot’ puzzle. As with Hollywood’s trend for remaking J-horror movies, fans may well prefer to fondly remember the original instead.
70
GameFocus
If you are a survival horror fan or just a Silent Hill fan you will enjoy this game and it would be worth the buy, but it is not a scary game, at least for me. If you are new to the Silent Hill franchise, just rent this one as it is not a good starter for the series. If you want to be scared, Dead Space is your best bet or Siren on the PS3.
70
Game Over Online
It never hits its stride, never find that sweet spot that makes for that great edge-of-your-seat survival horror experience.
70
ZTGameDomain
While it does change a lot as far as combat is concerned it feels more like a traditional Silent Hill title than the last few efforts.
70
X360 Magazine UK
Guaranteed to make you jump at least once. [Issue#40, p.78]
70
GameSpy
Silent Hill: Homecoming is a very strange game, as its dual nature and oddly unsatisfying gameplay could likely turn both fans and newcomers away.
69
Console Monster
The lack of horror in the game does not technically make it bad; it just makes it not what is typically expected from a game marked with the Survival horror genre tag.
68
MondoXbox
A good compromise between modern survival-horror trends and the genre's classical elements, with consequent pros and cons. We mainly recommend it to Silent Hill fans, but it's also enjoyable as a stand-alone good psycho-thriller story, granted that you are willing to close an eye on the visual aspect and the tricky shooting.
68
Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
An okay-looking action game. [Apr 2009, p.90]
67
Gaming Age
It was the game's storyline and characters that captured me versus the suspense this time around, but that didn't make the game any less enjoyable for me.
67
IGN
The game feels like a bit of a letdown. The gameplay has been reduced from a tense psychological experience fraught with spine tingling jumps and scares to a generic, predictable action title set in the location with good graphics and a great soundtrack.
67
Electronic Gaming Monthly
While it doesn't top Silent Hill 2 or 3, I'll still be proud to add it to my collection. [Nov 2008, p.72]
65
GameSpot
Eye-catching visuals and creepy atmosphere aren't enough to make up for this game's poor pacing, cheap tricks, and muddled story.
65
Official Xbox Magazine
From its leaden, cheap-shots-aplenty combat to its wild-goose chase through gray, same-y hallways filled with useless, placebo doorways to a story that takes much too long to get off the ground, its entire first half feels like a death march through a clunky hot mess. [Nov 2008, p.73]
65
Game Informer
Fans will probably dig the game’s cool set pieces and the story, but the save points are placed too far apart, many puzzles require too much random experimentation, and the dialogue system seems like an afterthought.
65
Play.tm
Ultimately, I enjoyed Silent Hill: Homecoming a great deal. Probably more than the game itself deserved. Its main problems are not related to any initial suspicions that the series would be weaker due to its westernization, and whilst its approach is clearly more striking and shocking than the tense subtleties of its forebears, its engaging storyline and well thought out settings help allay any frustrations towards games shortcomings.
65
WonderwallWeb
In the end Silent Hill Homecoming is as mad as a bag of spiders, the look and feel alone will chill you, but just like most scary games and films the story falls flat.
62
Computer and Video Games
Sticks to the Silent Hill formula like glue. But Homecoming feels clunky and looks old compared to today's horror games.
60
Kikizo
Not so much Silent Hill returning home as Silent Hill rooting through its own garbage. A polished but utterly complacent slab of survival horror.
60
D+PAD Magazine
Homecoming is an assured and welcome entry into the series that will be appreciated by fans of survival horror, though to gamers unfamiliar with the ways of Silent Hill, it may come across as slightly anachronistic in the face of such efficiently tooled thrill-rides as Dead Space.
60
Hardcore Gamer Magazine
It’s decent survival horror, but Silent Hill fans will be disappointed.
60
Eurogamer
The resolutely linear nature of the gameplay, as well, is a throwback. There are so many possibilities for a Silent Hill game set in a more expansive environment with multiple threads running concurrently, with a more fleshed-out cast, but that's never the case here.
60
GamePro
If survival horror is your bread and butter, then Homecoming is right up your alley; otherwise, you might be better served waiting for Resident Evil 5.
50
games(TM)
Most devotees openly proclaim they like the game because they wanted to, not because it actually deserves it. [Feb 2009, p.108]
50
Thunderbolt
It’s a game whose flaws consistently work against its plusses. The atmosphere is brilliant as always, the scoring and sound effects magnificent (better than ever, perhaps) – but with this latest effort, which definitely falls short, I wonder if it isn’t time for Konami to consider an overhaul of Resident Evil 4 proportions.
40
Teletext GameCentral
A shadow of one of the former masters of survival horror, that is better equipped to bore than scare.
GaryMac gave it an8: Caleb H gave it a6: Patrick R gave it a9: Anthony A. gave it an8: Josh S gave it a10: Aramis G gave it a5: Randy M. gave it a7: |
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