Previews

E3 2009: First look at Silent Hill: Shattered Memories on PSP

Let's scare each other like it's 1999

E3 2009: First look at Silent Hill: Shattered Memories on PSP

Like a reoccurring nightmare, Silent Hill rears its creepy gameplay again in this cerebral remake. Well beyond a rehash of the groundbreaking original, this revamped contemplative adventure left a memorable impression during E3.

You begin Shattered Memories in the same predicament as the original Silent Hill: Harry Mason and his daughter Cheryl crash outside the city limits of the creepy town. An unconscious Harry wakes up to find Cheryl missing, the only clues to her whereabouts being the footprints in the snow leading into the town centre. It's from this moment that the game departs from the original release with a new dynamic interaction system that radically changes the flow of the game.

New situations and characters are introduced according to how to tackle the game's various challenges. Instead of simply updating graphics and polishing the controls, Shattered Memories ambitiously attempts to cater the game's horror to your specific style of play. Based on how you play and your interactions with the surrounding environment, the game responds by opening specific areas, changing which characters you meet, and even varying the way puzzles are presented.

Depending on your style of play, for instance, a voice message found in the town's camera shop differs in the information provided and mood of the person leaving the message. Other variations are more pronounced such as whether the diner is open versus the bar across the street. Whichever location is accessible then changes which characters you interact with; perhaps you enter the diner and find a hard-nosed version of Sibel, the police officer from the original game. Conversely, you may end up running into a more sympathetic Sibel.

Other new elements instill Shattered Memories with gameplay that is markedly more dynamic than the original. New puzzles have been designed to minimise backtracking and emphasise interactivity instead of static number crunching. Opening a door may involve finding a key by rattling beer cars (or sodas if your style is less hardcore) or turning dials and pressing buttons on a security monitor.

Many of these elements are seamlessly integrated into the game too. Shattered Memories eliminates the heads-up display in favour of complete immersion – no health gauge and few text prompts for interacting with objects. Instead, Harry will automatically speak when near objects of interest and any interactive item takes you to a zoomed view where you can toy around with it using the face buttons and analog stick.

Puzzle-solving definitely is the focus here, as Shattered Memories strips away combat completely. Enemies appear, though cannot be defeated; rather, you're told to flee in intense chase sequences. One such flee sees Harry running through a nightmarish frozen version of Silent Hill while monsters chased him from behind. Coming to doors, Harry automatically busts through using the side of his body and you can even peak over his shoulder to see how far the monsters are tailing behind. There aren't any weapons, yet you can topple bookcases to slow down the pursuit or light a flare to scare an enemy off. Should they catch up to you, flinging them off with a rapid button press keeps Harry alive.

Although the lack of direct combat scares us a bit, Shattered Memories possesses a unique level of dynamic interactivity that sets it apart from other survival-horror games. Even better, it promises more than just a simple rehash of the original game. Expect it to arrive sometime before the end of the year.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.