Neuf Reacts

*ahem*

So last time I played this game I was clearly not mentally prepared for it; I had been suffering from some minor insomnia, which I quickly learned does not bode well with fear. But I’ve (mostly) caught up on my sleep and am far from a delirious state, so time to finish off the fourth entry in this chronicle of madness.

Oh fuck

I remembered vaguely last time I had stumbled upon a bloodied corpse sitting in front of a television watching static, still unable to solve the clock puzzle due to an acute lack of tools. But I don’t remember if I picked up anything or if something was said that indicated where I should go next…but now I’m completely lost

»»10 MINUTES LATER««

Why the hell can’t I just take my plank and reach over to grab that key on the third floor? The bars aren’t that narrow, the board with the nails stuck in the end of it could hook onto it. But I guess since it’s a weapon and not a scripted item, I’m out of luck. Okay, let’s just check the rooms again, maybe I missed something in the bullethole-gunmania room.

Nope, just more bulletholes.

»»10 MORE MINUTES LATER««

I can’t take this anymore. I wanted more than anything to refrain from looking up a walkthrough during my Silent Hill journey, but it looks like I might have to break this vow…

Oh wait, message from my friend, let’s see what he says…

*checks message*

Are you fucking kidding me?!

So in my crazy insomnia-induced state, I completed missed a key that was placed on the shelf in clock puzzle room. I had completely walked by it last time I played this game. Goddamn it.

Goddamn it!

»»5 MINUTES LATER««

So it looks like room 202 was home to an insect enthusiast and a terrible pet owner as there are both dead butterflies on the floor and live ones fluttering about in my face. Actually, they do seem very attracted to me. Must be the truck-stop herpes they smell…if butterflies do smell.

There’s this weird red light glowing in the kitchen but I can’t get a good look at it; I can’t tell if it’s some appliance light or some emergency light. Seems like such a small thing to point out but it’s really bugging me that I can’t see the source of this light. This is going to be nagging me for the rest of the journey.

Upon entering the bedroom my ears are greeted by this lovely metallic thumping growing louder and louder, making me feel very hesitant to stay standing still in this room. After running around the bed for a bit I find a weird opening in the wall where James carefully inserts his hand.

GAH what the hell? It’s like…like something bit him…but didn’t?

I don’t know, something happened in that paranormal glory hole that was quite questionable. If he had been bitten, his reaction would’ve been more pained. James’ reaction was more like one of…surprise? Disgust? I can’t quite tell. But when he reaches in a second time he pulls out the clock key.

Wait…

It couldn’t have been that, could it? Maybe he was surprised to find something inside. But even though his reaction was too subtle for pain, it was definitely too strong for something as simple as this. Was there…something else in that hole?

Well, best not to dwell on that shit, moving on.

Alright, time to wind this puppy up…that reminds me of that awesome Saga song.

Wind him up he can’t stop, he’s wound up tight just like the clock…

Okay enough of that.

The puzzle is quite simple. I know, since this is a play-by-play chronicle of Silent Hill 2 it is full of spoilers, but I’m going to try to refrain from revealing the solutions to the game’s puzzles. Don’t know why, but there’s something about puzzles that I hate revealing their secrets.

In any case, the clock puzzle, as I just mentioned, is easy. Pushing the clock out of the way reveals a hole leading to the next apartment.

At this point I can’t remember if the radio hissed around the red figure or not

»»5 MINUTES LATER««

Well this is cozy. Suddenly the camera decides to stick to the ceiling, making the hallway appear a lot more narrow than it is. That claustrophobia is really setting in now. The radio isn’t hissing so I’ll just quickly run to the stairwell, hopefully that’ll be a little better. The main stairwell is so big, after all.

Goddamn it, this isn’t any better. Well I’ll run up and see how the third floor is. It was quite dark, but the camera certainly gave you a bit of wiggle room to work with.

Goddamn it!

As I’m walking down the hall, that familiar radio show starts playing again. I assume it’s some other candle-wannabe looking for a dance partner, so I decide to run up to the first door I see and do a bit of exploring before the wax monster catches up to me

*enters door*

WHAT THE FLIPPING FUCKING CHRIST AM I LOOKING AT?! WHO THE WHAT THE FFFFFUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!?!

Holy shit it’s Pyramid Head

Is he raping those…those mannequin things?? Are they dead are they alive why is..?!

YES GET IN THE CLOSET JAMES GOGOGOGOGOGO

Oh god he’s dragging one across the room now is he..

OH GOD he knows I’m here he knows I’m here he knows I’m here he knows I’m here ohshitohshit

SHOOT JAMES SHOOT FIRE ALL THE BULLETS FIRE FIRE FIRE!!

*quiet*

…

…

*shuffling sounds*

…

…

…

*exhales*

So that was Pyramid Head.

Wow, that scene was really fucking intense. The music and ambience took a straight-up detour to hell, the sounds of…whatever the fuck just happened were unnerving and jarring, the scene was gritty and sick. And the tension went through the roof.

Phew….wow…that was really fucking intense.

So umm…was that as good for you as it was for…fuck it, nevermind.

Well after that lovely scene, I suddenly remember that I’ve been carrying a gun around. Can’t wait to use it on a regular wax creature and see how it is.

»»5 MINUTES AND 1 DEAD THING LATER««

AW YEAH James is a total badass now! That waxy prick didn’t come anywhere near me. Welcome to the real gun show now folks, BLAT BLAT

*clears throat*

Alright, it’s time to be serious and continue with my jour—HOLY CRAP CANNED JUICE!

»»10 MINUTES LATER««

So now that I have access to the (foggy as hell) courtyard, I figure I should have a look around.

*walks up to the pool*

Oh…there’s no water in the pool, but that doesn’t really stop these fine folk from trying to take a swim. I take aim and fire into the pool running along the edge to get a better angle as they fall. I figure I’m safe up here and should—

*gets too close to the edge and falls in*

WHOA this isn’t Resident Evil, you can fall off ledges in this game! Well, better make short work of these guys.

»»FEW DEAD BODIES LATER««

Well this is bizarre. Why the hell is there a baby stroller in the pool? And why is there a snake-engraved coin inside it?

Why am I asking questions against logic in Silent Hill?

»»10 MINUTES LATER««

Eww, what the hell is that sound? I walk into this room and I hear what sounds like retching. It’s gross, you can hear some sort of liquid splashing against flesh. What the hell is…oh, it’s a person.

This is Eddie, and it seems that the townsfolk’s hygiene has gotten to him, quite badly; throughout the whole conversation Eddie has his head close to the toilet bowl and vomits noisily a few times before the next line of dialogue is delivered. I have to say, the acting and vomiting sounds are quite naturalistic and believable. I have no idea why they would ever want to replace it in the Silent Hill HD Collection; I’ve watched the clip for myself, and the new dialogue and vomit delivery made me want to do what Eddie is doing right here.

Multiple times Eddie denies knowing about any killings that have been happening, which is good because I don’t want to have to start killing human witnesses who may have seen my wax candle massacre since arriving in Silent Hill.

There isn’t much revealed through words in this conversation, but there’s a lot of subtle hints into both Eddie and James.

Eddie, when asked if he was “drawn to Silent Hill”, responds with a vague and suspicious “yeah, you could say that”; granted, there could be something else that brought him here, or perhaps he kind of volunteered to come to Silent Hill. One thing for sure is that he isn’t a resident, and likely didn’t have prior knowledge of the town; he tells James “I’m not even from this town”, his tone of voice indicated very little emotional tie to Silent Hill. But he must’ve found out about the town somehow. Or maybe he got lost? I don’t know. Strange to see another human here.

Also James’ tone of voice and dialogue kind of indicates a sort of suicidal aspect; he will “leave as soon as [he] is done here”, despite the crazy things he has witnessed and the apparent danger of being in Silent Hill. It’s clear that he wants to see this mystery through to the end, and doesn’t believe (or doesn’t want to) he will leave the town alive. 

So many questions, so much further to go.

Well Eddie here seems a bit flustered right now, but he might turn out to be an okay guy. Doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with…

Special thanks to Kai for giving me the clock key hint and keeping me from looking up a walkthrough :D

This was a mistake. This was a really terrible mistake. Had sleepless nights lately, bad trouble sleeping. Couldn’t get to sleep.

I felt drawn back to this game, tempted to play. But when I came back, things had changed…

I went back down the hall of the second floor. The radio started to crackle. I had my new weapon ready.

Then I saw it.

I saw something.

On the other side of the bars…something red…somehow visible in the dark. It didn’t move a single inch. Was it watching me? Or was it turned away? I couldn’t tell. It was on the other side of the bars.

Foolishly I ducked into the adjacent room.

The tenant of the room had evidently returned. He was watching blood-stained static.

The body was new. Someone had done this.

I left the room, unable to do more. I looked back.

The figure was gone. The radio was silent.

I looked back down the hall. Suddenly it was like entering the apartment for the first time. Did the thing leave to try to find me? Is it coming around? Is it gone? Or will I see it again? Will it attack me? Will it kill me?

I can’t go on.

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve continued this chronicle. No doubt this 5 minute session will be a disappointment to you, reader. 

But I don’t care right now.

My heart is beating faster, my hairs are standing on end. I’m in a more frail state than usual, lack of sleep and everything.

Later today I promise you I PROMISE YOU I will continue and play for much longer.

But I can’t right now, not right now.

Goddamn it

I wasn’t planning on making this Silent Hill chronicle a daily project since I’m also working on a number of different games, and things might come up that could take me away from the computer. So I’m sorry if you, the reader, have gotten the impression that I will be submitting a journal entry every night, because I’m not. Again, I’m sorry :c

But one of the reasons why I decided to play for a third night in a row was because I have a friend from France who is coming to stay with me for 10 days and in that time I highly doubt I’ll be playing Silent Hill 2. So I figure before the 10 day hiatus I’d squeeze in a quick play session and give you something to read.

Anyway, enough chitchat, time to continue adventuring.

I decided to roleplay James as a xenophobic American and not greet any of Silent Hill’s pleasant residents, opting instead to run like hell down the street until my AM radio cleared up. Feeling pretty tense and energetic, bit surprising in comparison to last night when I was hopped-up on enough Skittles and Rockstar energy drink to drive a hyena into cardiac arrest.

This is proving only semi-effectual since I keep running into dead-ends; some serious road construction must be going on because almost every road I’ve ran down seems—OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT WAS THAT?!

I nearly fly back from my desk as one of those wax creatures shuffles out from under a white van. I KNEW I couldn’t trust those vans! It’s quite terrifying how fast these things can crawl. Oh god he’s twitching on the ground…

*runs away*

Ain’t touching that.

Although I did end up killing one or two during the manly sprint for my life. I’m quite impressed with the little details of this game, including the final stomp you can do to monsters, and how walking through their pool of blood causes you to leave bloody footprints behind for a few steps. Minor little touches that really add to the atmosphere of the game.

Speaking of atmosphere, hellooo corpse. Strange though; there have been no other signs of life in Silent Hill, and other than the cemetery mama chick, there is no one else here…or maybe there are? Maybe there are others searching Silent Hill for something. Poor bastard, lying in the middle of the road…in front of this dead-end. *turns around and runs back the other way*

»»10 minutes later««

I can’t stop hearing electricity crackling or grinding or something. The sounds in this game really put me on-edge, since I never know if it’s a creature or the environment or the ambience messing with my head. It makes me paranoid that something is out there that I’m missing, something vital. 

Whoa, written text I see. Cryptic, and written in blood. How appetizing.

Makes me wonder who the real residents of Silent Hill are/were; are the monsters what used to be townsfolk? Or are they invaders? With their melded arms I doubt they could scribble something like this, and I did find a corpse in the road. But he may not have been a resident. 

Oh great, the door there is locked.

»»5 MINUTES LATER««

Oh thank God a gate!

Maybe now I can…

Fuck

»»HALF A BLOCK LATER««

Oh hey, this looks totally inviting. 

*walks inside*

Ah, another save point. And there appears to be a note on the seat…

“I will wait at Bar Neely’s” Ah finally, a clear objective that is actually within my reach. Guess whatever I’m looking for is there. Nice of James to automatically add these details to the map.

James is going to be super in-shape after this little visit to Silent Hill is over because I haven’t let go of the Shift key once; instead of taking a calm leisurely stroll I’ve decided to jog to all my destinations to avoid the STD-ridden coughs these guys are hacking out.

WHOA that looked like a giant spider or tick on the street.

Well now the ambience has unnervingly cut completely out and this room is tiny, with this lovely bit of graffiti on the window. Worst bar ever.

Interestingly, there is another map on the counter, detailing closed-off roads and even specific buildings are circled. So does this mean someone else is exploring Silent Hill as well? Was it the corpse that I found earlier? Or maybe the residents did it themselves to keep the monsters out? Man, I need a drink.

Oh wait, seems there’s a huge question mark at the end of…Martin Street? Damn, I was just there; that’s where the body is.

»»A FEW MINUTES LATER««

Ummm, something isn’t right, here. The body was in the middle of the street when I was here. And now it’s past the sidewalk by some garbage. There are no signs of any moving of the body, no blood trails. I’ll just take this key and go, thanks sir.

*walks down the street*

Why is my radio going haywire?

»»20 MINUTES LATER««

So now I’m in this utterly dark apartment complex, fumbling around for I-have-no-idea-what. It certainly makes you feel oppressed and slightly helpless when the game doesn’t give you a clear goal but you’re expected to progress; there’s absolutely no hand-holding here, nothing spelled out for you. This is true survival horror.

I was pretty terrified walking through the forest I have to admit, and usually I’m very nervous in an open environment in any video game I play; there is nowhere for you to hide, you’re completely exposed, and it becomes apparent that if something happens to you, you’re all alone. That’s why I sort of prefer tight corridors or even just normal closed-in buildings. But this isn’t what I had in mind.

Alright, going up to check out the second floor…

Another really cool detail is that I can’t see things because it’s too dark, my map included, but if I stand under the (few) working lights in the hallway I can open up my map and take a look. Little details, they add up to develop some great atmosphere. Sometimes.

There appears to be some names scribbled in the wall, but of course I can’t interact with it right now because it’s too dark.

There’s also a grandfather clock in here, which isn’t very surprising; almost every survival horror game seems to have a clock puzzle, or just a clock laying around.

Continuing down the hall, it sounds like the Creatures From the House of Wax show is starting on the radio. Better prepare my listening stick.

Now that the show’s over, better check out what’s behind door #2.

Ah, another patron of the show, slithering around the bathroom. Better give him the proper Sunderland greeting.

I make this sound all light and cheery, but I’m actually incredibly tense and my fingers have actually started shaking a bit; in Resident Evil you had a gun and could use auto-lock to see if enemies were in the room. In Silent Hill, sure you have the radio, but it doesn’t give you any indication where the enemy is inside the room. You could try to use Search mode to look around, but I’m too afraid that the camera will take too long to move, trying to squeeze past walls, and I’ll end up being horribly mangled off-screen.

As I said, I say things in jest, but it’s really not helping.

Okay now it’s ti—WHAT THE FUCKING HELL JESUS AAAAAHHHHH—-

»»10 MINUTES LATER««

Okay so here’s what happened: when I said I had killed that monster in the hallway, it was right in front of the apartment door I eventually entered. After I finished exploring the apartment I came back out in the hall where the monster squirmed around in a bloody seizure coughed on me and twitched away while radio static and hissing screamed in my ear, all of which caused me to cry out accidentally tilt my chair and fall to the floor unplugging my headphones and pulling the mouse to the floor somehow.

I just got my shit back together.

SO WHAT KILLS THESE THINGS HUH?!

Actually, I think I know; I noticed that sometimes when I continue smashing a board across a monster’s face while they’re twitching on the ground they continue to emit their demonic moan, but will eventually stop. Guess I didn’t hit this monster enough and he wasn’t actually dead.

To be safe I wail on him for a solid 2 minutes.

»»A FEW MINUTES LATER««

Let’s check out the third floor now.

Let’s go back downstairs now.

»»5 MINUTES LATER««

It appears that I had missed an apartment, and found exactly what I needed: light.

This dress is disturbingly clean, but it has a handy flashlight clipped to it; it’ll save me from using up one hand holding a normal flashlight.

*picks it up, monster stands up*

Oh hey there…eww you’re a different monster. Just like a mannequin, sort of; no feet, hands, or head, but still walking on stumps that I think are limbs. I bash this one to death before searching the rest of the room, finding nothing else really of note save for a HANDGUN CLIP oh sweet there must be a gun nearby.

»»20 MINUTES LATER««

Okay, I’m back up the third floor after having checked out the grandfather clock. Naturally, I need specific tools to move the hands of the clock, and I’m not sure what to make of the three names carved in the wall: Henry, Mildred, and Scott. There were specific lines carved beside each one, I assume it has to do with the clock puzzle. I scribbled it down just in case (in the same paper notepad that I scribble all these diary notes in).

So yeah, I’m up here, questing for the truth. The area outside of the flashlight’s cone actually appears darker now. And the ambience is completely different up here; it actually sounds like something is breathing…heavily. It’s like this hallway is a monster, watching me.

I look behind me and see a key or some metallic object on the other side of these bars. I try to reach over to grab it…I’m so close…HEY who the hell is that? Some little girl just kicked the object away and ran off laughing. Why the hell is a little girl here in Silent Hill? And why did she kick my key away, that bitch.

Alrighty, let’s see what’s in this room at the end of the hall…

IT’S A GUN!!!! :D

I couldn’t help beating myself up about my first Silent Hill session. I mean, why should I be afraid? It’s the beginning of the game, of course nothing is going to happen to me. Certainly nothing to cause me any bodily harm. What kind of heartless game would do that? Right?

Unlike Resident Evil, I had the ability to move the camera about (however limited) with Search Mode [S key] and keep an eye out for anything sinister. Unfortunately, I think this actually made my stroll through the fog a bit more unnerving; now instead of seeing what was behind me I could only look forward, which didn’t really help because of how thick the damn fog was. 

Fortunately the satanic growling of the Devil’s hellhounds stopped so I merrily went about my business.

Like holy crap, why is this fog so thick? Where did it come from? It wasn’t this bad when I was shaking off the herpes I caught from that washroom up in the parking lot.

Eventually I came across a sort of well with a very nice patio built around it. I decided to gaze down into it, where I could “feel…someone groping around inside my skull”. I found this description odd until it became apparent that it was a save point. I like that subtle tapping at the fourth wall; it can be interpreted as an indirect reference to you, the player, controlling James. I’m liking the writing so far.

As I continued travelling into the grey unknown, I was greeted by the sight of another human being, comforting despite her slightly unhinged behaviour.

As I conversed with her….

…

…

…

…

…

…wait

Is the game…frozen?

The noise filter was still flickering about. But no one is moving.

*hits Esc* 

What? The game continues? But…I missed important dialogue stuff!

After doing a bit of Google research, I discovered that Silent Hill 2 doesn’t really enjoy being stretched over 4 cores, so after resetting the game and making sure it only ran on 1 CPU, I could continue my journey to Silent Hill.

I can understand the woman’s frightened reaction upon meeting James; in this fog, it’d be pretty easy to sneak up on someone. And who else would hang out in a cemetery?

She seemed pleasant though, I didn’t even mind her quirkiness; it’s apparent that something might be a bit “off” about her, but hell, being here is making me feel a bit edgy. Wonder if she owns the pedophile van in the parking lot?

Well as I’m walking through the forest? field? prairie? garden? path, the dogs have yet to return. Instead my ears are greeted by the wet sloppy chewing sounds of a very rude stranger. I can’t tell where they’re coming from. At least that’s what it sounds like. But I don’t see any animals out here, and I’m pretty sure chewing on grass doesn’t make that sound. Hope they’re not attracted by the scent of truck-stop herpes.

»»5 MINUTES LATER««

Why the hell haven’t the sounds changed in perspective or volume? What is it about this crazy forest and sound? It doesn’t sound like the chewing or whatever is getting further away or closer. That doesn’t make sense.

Why is this lamp post here?

»»A FEW MINUTES LATER««

Oh hallelujah a chainsaw! Conveniently full of gas and with badass looks to boot. This game just got 70% less scary. I have no idea how to use it, but I feel safe and comfortable running around with this thing. Come at me demonic chewing canines!

»»10 MINUTES LATER««

The comfort of the chainsaw is wearing off and the game feels 120% more scary.

Apparently the ambience has a mind of its own and decides it can completely switch things up when you pass through a chainlink gate. 

The sounds are getting louder. They won’t stop.

I wish I knew how to use this thing.

»»5 MINUTES LATER««

I am now in Silent Hill.

For some reason I do not feel safer being out of the woods. 

I must say that the environment and ambience are top-notch, doing an excellent job at setting the mood. It’s not over the top and doesn’t slap you in the face, letting you know something might go down. Subtle, precise, crisp. Awesome.

Whoa, did someone hit a deer or something? Why are there long streaks of blood all across the—JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!

I just spotted something shambling away by a truck, but I couldn’t make it out because of all this stupid fog! I have to follow him don’t I?

*checks map*

Oh god I have to follow him.

»»DOWN THE STREET««

Oh goody, more blood, very encouraging. I have to keep my goal in mind however; my deceased wife wrote me a letter inviting me here, which is pretty bizarre. I really want to know how this is possible and why Silent Hill?

I find it quite intriguing that James establishes in the beginning of the game that he knew of Silent Hill already; he said a part of it was their old special place or something. The little knowledge that I have of the first game paints a scary image in my mind. Something involving a cult or some demonic happenings (wow I’m using a lot of religious terms). James never said anything ill of Silent Hill, perhaps they moved before the bad stuff happened or simply didn’t know? But then again James got lost on his way to Silent Hill, so maybe he didn’t know about the town before? Or it could just be that the fog is so thick? I don’t know, think I’m dwelling too much on this.

Anyway, let’s follow this ro—WOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROAD?

Man, if I had a nickel every time I had to take a detour driving home because the road caved in…

The little jokes and humourous anecdotes I’m telling myself aren’t relieving the tension welling up in my chest. Nothing is making me feel better.

But I must press on.

Well I guess I can’t go any further now. But I did find a radio, that’s a bit comforting; at least any static or hissing I hear will have a definitive source and I’ll know where it’s coming from.

Oh…OH WAIT THERE’S SOMETHING THERE.

What in God’s name is that thing..or…person? What the hell…he looks all melted.

Wait…WAIT…OH GOD HE’S COMING CLOSER WHAT DO I DO??

*James grabs a plank with nails*

Aw yeah come eat some you freak! *swings and kills the monster* Yeah, one swing! Take that you…wow, what is it?

The sounds it made…its skin…it looks as though it was melted like wax and squished together, but still has partial arms and…a face?

Wait, that sounds like Mary’s voice. The quality is really bad though. But I suppose this doesn’t change my goal or my objective. Now I have a means of fighting back, and I know how to implement these weapons properly. I need to keep going.

That’s odd. The static is getting louder.

As a 24 year old gamer I’m quite ashamed to admit that I have never played a Silent Hill game in my life. Quite sad really. Kind of odd too, since I’m a fan of the early survival horror genre, being a long time fan of the old Resident Evil series (before things started getting out of hand with the fifth entry).

Well in light of the release of the Silent Hill HD Collection, I figured I’d try getting into the series and install the PC version of Silent Hill 2 & 3. I’ve heard from many that the second one is the best in the series, while others argue that the third is superior. Guess I’ll be able to throw in my own opinion soon enough.

I’ve decided to keep a journal of each play session and record my thoughts and reactions. In time, perhaps I’ll even record audio so I won’t have to constantly stop to jot down notes or anything. Since this is the first entry and my session’s notes are short I thought I should get all this introductory stuff out of the way. As the game progresses I imagine I will be talking less and less about technical aspects and discuss story elements instead.

Having only seen the film and possessing only fleeting knowledge of the first game, let’s delve into Silent Hill 2.

Seems we’re jumping right into it from selecting New Game: I immediately see the game’s apparent protagonist, James Sunderland, studying himself in one of the grittiest restrooms I have ever seen. I really hope he didn’t drink the water or anything. Hell, I’d be scared to use any of those urinals.

Kind of weird that James would get a letter from his dead wife. Sounded like a nice person though; her voice as she narrates her invitation to Silent Hill is calming and kind. But again, she’s dead, so it’s kind of weird. 

Speaking of which, holy cow the voice acting is fantastic. None of that “master of unlocking” crap, these actually sound like human beings. Wish this level of quality could be found in the Hollywood canvas lake pasted in front of James; it’s like looking at the Statue of Liberty in that skyscraper level of Twisted Metal 2. But hey, the game was made around the turn of the century, so no marks docked for that. At least they present the environment well, with depth of field (thanks trees!) and some awesome fog effects.

This place looks long-abandoned, and yet beside my haphazardly-parked car there is a white serial killer/pervert van, with what looks like curtains in the windows. I tried knocking on the door or taking a peek for myself, but to no avail. Guess Mr. Hands wasn’t about. Oh damn, can’t travel up or down the highway at all, so I guess I’ll go down the stairs.

Wow, where the hell did this fog come from? Wasn’t like this when I was pondering my dead wife up on the balcony, what gives?

I’m walking down the path when suddenly I hear growling. I’d like to say it sounded like canine growling, but that must be one sick fucking dog if it is in fact a dog making those disturbing sounds. I went into ‘search mode’ and mercifully the camera whipped around to face the same direction James was looking…only to reveal fog so thick I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me. So now I’m walking blind.

I decided to be adventurous and take a few more steps forward. After all, it’s the beginning of the game, nothing terrible is going to happen right?

Well the hellhound direwolf growled again. So I stopped.

There’s no sense of movement in space; it didn’t sound like the source was moving closer or further away from my position. So, is it keeping a relative distance?

I decided to calmly press forward even more. More growling, bit louder.

Well this is a good time to save and quit and go to bed. I feel I’ve made excellent progress and now is the time to take a break from my journey through Silent Hill.

Will update when I finish my second session!

Wow, long time no see folks; been ages since I wrote a rant. But seeing as how I’m feeling pretty ranty, I think it’s about time to write up a new one.

Yesterday, out of the blue, I decided to try out Sony’s Day 1 Digital thingy and pre-ordered Dishonored through PSN. Since my console was set to automatically update at midnight, I figured my PS3 would flip on and automatically download the game, since Dishonored is out today.

Well it’s still not downloaded.

And it’s the same case with every other person who pre-ordered through Sony’s Day 1 Digital.

I’ve checked over and over and over again, but the game is STILL not available for download. It was then I realized that it never actually stated WHEN I could download the game when I purchased it; a message popped up telling me to come back on the day of release to check for my download…but it never gave me a time.

There are 24 hours in a day. That’s a lot of hours. With a message as vague as “check back on this day” it could mean anything. Hell, I might not be able to get the game until 11pm tonight.

After sifting through forums and complaints, I read a response that stated that “it’s up to the publisher as to when the game is released”. And here I am thinking: people actually want to rely solely on digital distribution?

Really people? This is what you want to rely on? You want to leave the delivery of your games up to your internet connection and the will of the publishers?

Granted, platforms like Steam have proven to be incredibly reliable for releasing content. But I still don’t like the idea of relying so heavily on digital distribution, although, with titles like Dishonored, Borderlands 2, and Resident Evil 6 up for download on console, it looks like that’s where the industry might be headed. Of course, for all these titles you can still buy the discs at retailers. It’s just scary to see how heavily the industry is relying on this distribution method when there are still so many bugs and faults with the system.

Although high speed internet is becoming available in more and more areas, switching solely to digital distribution would still cut off a large percentage of gamers from the community; not everyone has a high speed connection, and not everyone can get online. It doesn’t help that publishers like EA are sticking shitty multiplayer sections onto every new release and splitscreen coop is a rarity now.

It’s kind of a dirty trick on the part of Sony, claiming that PSN users would get the game faster with a digital download, to turn around and say that it’s up to the publishers on when they can release their games; BEAT THE LINES WE’RE FASTER Sony claims, and yet I would be PLAYING THE GAME RIGHT NOW if I actually went and stood in line by the store. Instead, I’m STILL waiting to even start downloading the game I paid money to play. It seems almost exploitative.

I love Valve to death and will still download new PC releases through Steam, but it’s a system I don’t want to rely on, and I don’t think the industry should either. Trying to download World of Warcraft through Blizzard’s launcher was a nightmare, with the system constantly crashing and having to restart entire sections of the download, and Origin is still an absolute joke.

I still find data burned onto a disc more reliable than having an entire game downloaded through the internet. Personally, I find digital distribution to be cool and very handy. I just think it’s a stupid idea to rely on it completely.