Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii) Review

Silent Hill has scared millions over the years with over six installments and tons of gore that it's trip to the Wii console has been nothing but sketchy. However, since playing this masterpiece from Konami I know now, Silent Hill feels right at home on the Wii.

Now for some reason something I've noticed over the years is that survival horror games seem to always play better on Nintendo consoles. I mean just look. Resident Evil on Gamecube, Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube, Resident Evil 4 on the Wii and so on. There's just something about Nintendo that makes these games enjoyable and easy to play, even if it's on the Wii. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a re-directed look at the first Silent Hill game designed customarily for the Wii. It's pretty much one of those games that says "Hey! Let's take the story of the first one (kinda) and completely change it." It's almost as if they re-thought the original Silent Hill, and I wouldn't have it any other way.


Controls and Gameplay - Controls are smooth, for the most part. When walking around town and exploring the city Harry's movements feel natural and well mapped to the Wii controls. The flashlight feels real although quite delicate. The puzzles are great for the Wii's style of exploration and manipulation and I love the feeling of having to shake off enemies.... if only it worked. That's my biggest pet-peeve about this game. When you're caught in one of the "Nightmare" sequences and you get caught up with 2 or more enemies it's almost impossible to shake them off, and it's nothing of difficulty. It's the controls. They're non-responsive. For some reason I can shake off the guys in front and in back but left and right just doesn't want to work. Out of the controls though, Shaking off enemies is my only complaint. The phone is also decently easy to navigate but I would have loved the ability to run with it out so you could use your handy GPS without switching back and forth.

Story and Innovation - The story follows Harry Mason, the original main character from Silent Hill on the Playstation 1. The story is pretty much a re-creation of what the original Silent Hill could have been. The story starts off with you talking to a therapist about things that happened in your life, and when I say your life, I literally mean you. This has nothing to do with Harry, nor do we even know if it is in fact Harry there. The therapist will ask you to either answer some questions or do some small riddles and figure out somethings. Based on what you choose will alter the game. Aside from that aspect the story is simple. After a car crash Harry (A writer) has lost his daughter Sheryl (or something like that) and now he's venturing through Silent Hill. Characters like Cybil Bennit return from the original and make an outstanding performance. Now during the game at some points you'll enter a phase known as "the Nightmare" during this point the world gets covered in Ice and you're forced to run to safety as creatures chase you down. There's NO COMBAT in this game at all, all you can do is run, and personally I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the sense of fear that builds up as you flea from your enemies. It's engrossing and pulls you directly into the action.

Graphics - As far as graphics go, the Wii is only capable of so much, and aside from the occasional pop-ins the game does a PHENOMINAL job at it. The graphics are smooth, atmospheric and really really well detailed. Lighting is done amazingly and the snow and ice effects are crazy! I love the graphics especially for a Wii title.

Sound - The sound track is done by the same mastermind who composed all the music for previous Silent Hills and is done fantastically. I love how every time Harry gets a phone call, you have to put the Wii mote up to your ear to listen to the call. The screeching of enemies is also bone chilling and extremely well done. Every sound you hear completely sets the mood and does it well too.

So overall if you own a Wii and are looking for a game worth purchasing this holiday season I wouldn't wait any longer to pick up Silent Hill: Shattered Memories on the Nintendo Wii. This is truly one nightmare you won't forget!

Controls and Gameplay - 8.5 (Konami! fix shaking them off!!!)
Story and Innovation - 9.8 (I love the therapy sessions, well done!)
Graphics - 9.2 (Very good Lighting, feels realistic!)
Sound - 9.9 (Almost perfect!!! Keep it up!)

OVERALL - 9.6

"This game is a must have for Wii Owners!" - Locke Downe