Tut-tut, It Looks Like Rain!

Winnie the Pooh had a right to be slightly concerned at the coming forecast, after all who likes to get soggy when they have things to do? Sometimes we see things coming and we question whether it’s really what we were hoping, but when you face a rain cloud sometimes you just have to grab a handgun and shoot it in the face until it dies.

Okay, granted that’s probably not what Mr Pooh had in mind when hunting for some honey, but it is what a lot of gamers will be doing in the near future. Why? Those fellas over at Konami have gone and done it again with announcing the upcoming release of Silent Hill: Downpour.

Not much is known as of yet, but then again what kind of a Silent Hill game would it be if it went and gave us all the answers straight away? Although knowledge of its existence has been in circulation since its announcement at E3 last year, it’s only now that some of its darker underbelly has begun to emerge.

As underbellies go in the world of Silent Hill, you’re often encouraged to stab them with a large pointy sword. My thoughts for some of the Silent Hill franchise releases, even as early as sequel three, were that they probably should have been stabbed, if not slightly mutilated into something else to really be honoured with the title of a Silent Hill game. After 12 years of subsequent releases, each as questionable as the next, Silent Hill: Downpour will be the 8th game in the series; I can’t help but feel that the franchise has reached that inevitable point where people start to wonder ‘Do I get my umbrella and hide, or go singing in the rain?’.

Konami, ever the unchanging developer has often been questioned for its lack of development with titles, often resorting to the mentality of if we liked it once before, surely we would like the same thing again and again? This time, they at least seem to be more conscious of the need for change, and if words are anything to go by, Silent Hill: Downpour could bring a great deal to the table. Following on from the satisfactory reception of Silent Hill: Homecoming, Konami seem to be making every effort to give the franchise a much needed shake up. A large part of this will come through the development of the game being handed over to Czech company, Vatra Games.

Also high on the agenda are the expansion and development of Silent Hill itself, with bigger environments being a vital part of the game’s experience. Don’t hold out hope for another visit to the Hospital or School because they will be out of bounds! Early information on the game also suggests that protagonist Murphy Pendleton will only be able to hold one weapon at a time to take on the hosts of Otherworldly hordes, and in game decisions will affect the development of the story far more frequently than the obvious “Save/Kill” scenarios of the past.

At first glance it seems that Konami really know how to forecast a storm, with promises of returning to the Silent Hill of old while developing the game where it obviously needs to change. However with only a few scraps of info on the game currently circulating, it’s hard to tell if Silent Hill: Downpour will be a tsunami of survival horror, or a very fleeting shower.