Price: $49.99 | Release Date: December 8, 2009 | System: Nintendo Wii | ESRB: M (Mature)

5 Stars- Amazing, a must buy game

Read the first part of this review, on the history of Silent Hill, here.

This is the best story in a Silent Hill game since 2, in fact I am going to blow people's minds and say I think it comes close to even being better (comes close but is not). The characters are more believable and developed than 2 and you really care about them. By the end you will not know what's up and down and who you can trust if you can even trust yourself.  Not many games surprise me, but Silent Hill: Shattered Memories totally threw me in a different direction then I thought I was going and I loved every second of it.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is basically an old school adventure game. Think Monkey Island or Myst but simplified. You explore the town using only your flash light and phone, and can interact with puzzles in intuitive ways via the Wii Remote. For example in one puzzle you have to line up objects shadows cast by a light to match a nearby painting, which unlocks a memory in your mind. Which brings us to the greatest technical achievement in the game, the flash light and how you use it with the Wii Remote. This is by far the most realistic flash light since Doom 3, partly due to the intuitive use the Wii Remote, which makes it work as the actual flash light. You point the remote and light anything you see. You light the direction you go, then use your Nunchuk to actually control your character. You basically explore this really detailed snowy empty town, learning the past of the flawed people who lived their while trying to find your missing daughter and uncover your own past.

Another great intuitive feature is your phone, you use it for everything -- from taking pictures to solve puzzles, or getting phone calls, voice messages. You lift the physical Wii Remote to your ear (similar to how the phone was treated in No More Heroes but with greater success) and you listen to calls from the remote's speaker as if it was a phone. You can also use the phone to dial any numbers you see in the environment. Some are just for fun like a gas company or wild life ranger, while some give you clues on characters, places and the town.

Overall I thought the town was fantastic and I enjoyed exploring it and solving puzzles while getting creeped out by the amazing visuals, music, sound and atmosphere. This was the fresh Silent Hill experience I've been waiting for since 2. I'm saying Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the best Silent Hill game, and due to the gameplay being innovative and smart it actually is a better game than 2 which by today's standards plays really dated. In an objective comparison, however, Silent Hill 2 is still the best Silent Hill because it came first and at the time innovated a lot of things within the gaming industry and its story line is classic.  So the game sounds perfect, is anything wrong with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? Sadly yes.

A big controversial move by developer Climax was to take out all the combat. When monsters appear in the game the only weapon you have is your ability to run like hell. These chase sequences proved the most frustrating part of the game -- you basically run through confusing maze-like areas while being chased by monsters who grab you. When they grab you, you have to shake them off and then continue to run. If you get grabbed enough times you die and must start the chase over. I didn't have much issue with these sections: they are very short and I'm good at navigation but I've heard a ton of complaints from people getting lost or having to replay them over and over. I actually really enjoyed these sections instead of the stiff combat from the older games but they are definitely the section that needs the most improvements if another another Silent Hill game is made.

Once you realize that these chase sections are the only sections your character can really come to psychical harm you start to not be scared while exploring. I wish the developers had thrown in some random monsters during exploration sections; just to spice it up a bit. I don't want a ton of monsters like the old games where I'm frustrated to explore, but zero monsters means zero tension. Sure, it's a creepy environment to explore but again, once you understand the fact that you're completely safe until everything freezes over, it loses all tension.

The game is also very short -- you can do your first play through in about six hours. But because the game changes based on your choices to the questions it asks you it extends the game due to multiple play throughs. Basically throughout the game there are therapy sections that quiz you and, depending on how you answer, will change where and what you do. For example at the beginning of the game, if you put you like drinking you will end up at a bar, if you don't you end up at a diner and depending on how you answered you either get a sexy women cop or a realistic looking normal looking cop. It also changes what ending you get so be careful how you answer.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a great game. It really uses the Nintendo Wii to it's fullest. It is one of the only Wii games to really utilize the control scheme and (I actually can't believe I'm saying this) on any other system it would lose something (so please get this on Wii not PSP or PS2).  This game is going to split fans, if you're a purist of Silent Hill and your favorite game is part 1, you're probably going to hate that they changed your favorite game's entire story and universe.  If you loved the psychological adult stories of the Silent Hill series more than the actual "story" than you'll probably love Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. If you're new to the series this is the best place to start. I'm serious really, I love the old games their actual gameplay has not aged well. This is the perfect place to start and see what all the other fans love about the series.