OXM recently reviewed the upcoming horror game Silent Hill: Homecoming and they weren't very impressed, giving it a mere 6.5/10. Their main complaints were the gameplay's cheap hits, the abundance of respawning enemies, and that the first half of the game "feels uneven and unbalanced". They also noted that Joshua (the protagonist's 12 year old brother) seemed to act more like a 4 year old than a 12 year old.
Although OXM were happy with the game's creepy atmosphere. At least fans will be happy with that!

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Review from OXM:

"Very good things come to those who wait, bludgeon, and patiently endure the sixth chapter in the Silent Hill series. But right from its plodding start Homecoming's stab in the soupy fog does itself no favors by committing a number of grievous sins. From its leaden, cheap-shots-aplenty combat to its wild-goose chase through gray, same-y hallways filled with useless, placebo doorways to a story that takes much to long to get off the ground, its entire first half feels like a death march through a clunky hot mess. Yes, we get that we're Alex Shepherd, a discharged soldier hot on the trail of his mising brother. In his path is a spaced-out mom and his mysteriously deserted hometown of Shepherd's Glen - a town with the motto "Where family comes first" rather than the more appropriate "Where broken locks and respawning enemies come first.". And we appreciate that there's something bigger and more sinister going on behind the occult-happy scenes that somehow involves the dark neighboring city of Silent Hill."

"But Homecoming puts all the intrigue and genuine spooks on hold until its second half, which genuinely ramps up the creep factor. And thankfully, by then, you may have gotten a grasp on the games revamped combat scheme - one that forces you to avoid as much conflict as possible due to quick enemy patterns and a somewhat slow-to-respond dodging/counterattack mechanic that usually ends in your taking cheap hits galore. Put those fights in cramped corners with a protagonist that controls to much like circa 2000, Lara Croft-ian tank, and we've suddenly got the urge to punch our TV set in low-hanging you know whats."

"But the good... no, great news is that Homecomings second half saves its bloodied bacon by more thoughtfully pacing out enemy encounters, giving you more than just one health drink and one box of pistol rounds to survive, and cranking up the foreboding atmosphere to breaking point. Once this happens, you'll immediately know - and from that moment on, it's a tense, bloodcurdling trip to tear the curtains off of Alex's unhappy, plot-twisty ride into hell. Sure your enjoyment relies heavily on whether you guess the story's big end reveal in the first 30 minutes (we didn't), but Homecomings half-hidden, melancholy little heart is shown only to those who look past its incredibly M-rated gory kicks and often frustratingly lopsided, questionably balanced exterior."

original source

Miss Razz via silenthill5.net »