Silent Hill 5 Wishlist

There now follows a joint entry from Richie and from Diversion Projects, Kaiser Tia, regarding a favourite gaming franchise...


As you may or may not know the Silent Hill series is getting a fifth instalment. Hurrah! However, this chapter in the series will NOT be developed by Konami Japan's Team Silent . Instead It will be developed in the US by The Collective, inc., the company responsible for such gaming classics as The Da Vinci Code and Star Wars: Episode III (ugh).

Konami made a similar decision when they outsourced the PSP's Silent Hill Origins to Climax US, who did such a bad job that the game's developent that most of the game's mechanics were scrapped and production handed over to Climax UK, who were deemed more capable of delivering a 'Silent Hill experience'. Now we don't claim to be a Japanimaniacs or USAphobes, but we have all seen what happens to good Japanese things when they get Westernised. Subtlety generally goes out of the window in favour of easy scares and plots that treat intelligence with contempt. Be it films (Ring, Grudge), Anime (One Piece), and of course, games (see the horrible things done to box art here) .


The Silent Hill series is very dear to our hearts. We'd rather Team Silent give the franchise a break for a few years rather than churn out third-party sequels, which may lead to a dip in quality and vision. Climax UK altered its development for Origins when fans of the series voiced concerns. This little list is for The Collective, inc.

Things that we really don't want in Silent Hill 5:

1. Thousands of Pyramid Heads

Richie says: Pyramid head is a unique character to Silent Hill 2 because he is an anthropomorphic representation of the main character, James' guilt. Fair enough you may get people's own anthropomorphic representation of guilt similar to Pyramid Heads, that's part of the charm of Silent Hill . But be careful guys, the last thing we want is Pyramid Head as a Mascot (a la Sonic) of the Silent Hill series.

Kaiser Tia says: Damn right, Pyramid Head is a fearsome character, and a lot of his mystique would fade with over-use. Since he's part of the Silent Hill mythology, I wouldn't mind learning a little more bout him through books or paintings (the Silent Hill series has always been quietly self-referencing). It's also the sign of an unoriginal developer to simply recycle older, better ideas (see below).

The New International Track & Field cameo was genius, though

2. Sexy Nurses

Richie says: Silent Hill is about normal and usually safe places and people gone very, very wrong. The most obvious example being the messed- up twitchy-head nurses, but this only works in context. Silent Hill 2's nurses were sexualised (as were all the other enemies in the game) to represent James' own problems (and boy, did he have a lot of them). Unfortunately, it's the sexy nurses of Silent Hill 2 that seem to have been adopted as standard (thanks for that, movie). For the love of god please don't give them massive boobies, lingerie, sextoy weapons and cheeky poses.

Kaiser Tia says: It's true that there's always nurses in Silent Hill games, but that's because there's always a hospital stage in the games. Silent Hills 4's nurses were anything but sexy - which was a representation of the villain's attitude to his own mother. The protagonist of Silent Hill 5 is meant to be a war veteran (how original), so why not use that as a theme for the nurses instead of simply raising the hemlines?

3. Combo system

Richie says: Keep the HUD to a minimum! Do not flash up "3x Bonus Multiplier" or "Kill Frenzy"

Kaiser Tia says: Combat has never been a focal point of the Silent Hill games. Sure, you have weapons and enemies, but this isn't Devil May Cry, people. The fact that you're controlling a character that isn't combat-ready makes things a lot more tense. I hope anyone on the development team who has mentioned 'Xbox Live' has been laughed out of the studio, and the games industry in general.

4. Film References

Richie says: For the love of Heather, just stay away from the film, don't make it a sequel the movie; do not tack on a "Real World" sub plot, and DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT make Silent Hill populated!

Kaiser Tia says: Did people actually like the movie?

5. Explanations
Richie says: The wonder of the series is how the themes of guilt, lust, and the other darker emotions are prevalent and the "plot" weaves around it. Stick to one protagonist so that the player can feel the story from his/her point of view.

Kaiser Tia says: The plot of the original Silent Hill needed an faq and now a prequel to explain it. Everyone loves a mystery - plus, it's easier to make interesting sequels when the rules of Silent Hill are vague (hence Silent Hill 4 taking place outside of the town itself).


Final comments

Richie says: All i can say Is that it better be fucked up and creepy. If I cringe, just once, due to any of the above points... I... I... I'll take a nose full of that White Claudia stuff, trip out into my own Silent Hill and use the lead pipe to beat-up any Silent Hill 5 references in there (Except maybe the army of Pyramid heads... Then I would just Run!)

Kaiser Tia says: I would be really disappointed to play Silent Hill 5 and get a generic blood and rust experience. I know it's early days yet, but the footage released so far shows little imagination (Wheelchair? Check. Main character searching for someone? Check? Child? Check, check, yawn). Silent Hill 4 pushed the series in a really interesting direction, and also felt like Team Silent had hit their design stride. It would be a real shame for the next generation of Silent Hill games to become a diluted version of the excellence served to us so far.

At least Akira Yamaoka is doing the music.

It had better be good, Akira, you hear?

Oh and Luv N' hugs,

Richie and Tia.