E3 09: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Hands On

After seeing a new trailer for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories at the Konami press conference, I made a point of heading down to their booth so I could get some hands-on time with the game. It's a "reimagining" of the original Silent Hill, but aside from the general plot of Harry Mason searching the town of Silent Hill for his missing daughter, Cheryl, everything has changed. There is no combat in this game. During "nightmare" sequences, ice takes over the town, and creepy little faceless figures stalk you relentlessly. All you can do is run for your life, shaking them off with the Wiimote and Nunchuck, moving them in accordance with the on-screen indicators. It's pretty intense. You can find flares laying about, but all that will do is scare them back a bit and slow them down, giving you a chance to make a break for it. You can also hide inside certain places, but the one time I tried it, the thing found me immediately. And I even remembered to shut off my flashlight! So I gave up on hiding and just ran, ran, ran.

Another interesting aspect of the game is that it will analyze you psychologically and adapt the game according to your playing style, customizing the scares for you. There are no scripted scares — it's always going to be different. At the opening of the demo, a psychologist talks to you and asks you to fill out a short personality questionnaire, then reacts according to what you checked off. Movement is controlled with the Nunchuck, while the Wiimote moves your flashlight around to illuminate the environments and A and B are used to interact with items. This time around, the puzzles will have physical interaction, such as shaking soda cans, or unlocking a door by lifting out the bolt and sliding the lock out. They're going for a more immersive experience, and it really works. To that end, they've also incorporated the maps and game saving into your cell phone so as not to break the illusion. Combined with the brilliant-as-usual sound design and the all-new soundtrack from Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories looks like it's already on its way to being a brilliant entry in the series when it releases later this fall (probably just in time for Halloween). And if you don't have a Wii, don't worry, because it's also heading for the PS2 and PSP!