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Silent Hill: Downpour
DownpourLogo
Genre Survival Horror
Developer(s) Vatra Games
Publisher(s) Konami Digital Entertainment
Composer(s) Daniel Licht
Engine Unreal Engine 3
Series Silent Hill series
Platform(s) Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release Date NA October 25, 2011
EU November 4, 2011
AUS November 2011
Mode(s) Single-Player
Gaminglogo Silent Hill Wiki

Silent Hill: Downpour, revealed at E3 2010 as Silent Hill 8, is the next major installment in the popular survival horror series, Silent Hill. Like many of the past games, the game incorporates the traditional gameplay style of the series with a profiling system like Shattered Memories. The PS3 version will be the first in the series to be 3D compatible.

Plot[]

The game centers around the escaped fugitive, Murphy Pendleton, who escaped from the wreak of a prisoner transport bus that drive off a cliff while traveling on Interstate 95. During the course of the game, a female corrections officer, Anne Cunningham, is tracking Pendleton and the remainder of the prisoners. He meets several other characters too: [[[J.P. (Silent Hill)|J.P.]] who is an ex-our guide of Devil's Pit, Howard who is an African American mailman, and several other yet to be named characters. The game's plot is unrelated to the mythos seen throughout the series and focuses on Murphy and his ventures through the southeastern part of Silent Hill, which has never been explored in previous titles.

Gameplay[]

The game is said to return to the series's original roots and incorporate the traditional Silent Hill gameplay along with Shattered Memories's profiling system. Unlike Shattered Memories, the player has the option of combat or to flee. The latter, however, is given much emphasis. The game is in a third person perspective, in a matter similar to action horror titles like Resident Evil 5, as well as fixed camera angles.

The game brings back combat which Shattered Memories had abandoned in favor of chase sequences. The player will have access to firearms and many different breakable melee weapons. However, only a single weapon can be carried at all times. In addition to puzzle-solving, numerous side-quests are available depending on the player's actions and play style. Series staples, like the hospital, won't be returning and all areas explored will be completely brand new. Though, the hellish Otherworld will be making a return. Water will run down the walls transforming the current location into the industrial hell.

Development[]

In April 2010, Konami screened its first trailer of the project that would become Silent Hill: Downpour at a press conference in San Francisco, California, United States, and confirmed the game was being developed by Czech developer Vatra Games; it was given the tentative title Silent Hill 8 at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, an annual trade fair that focuses on the video game industry. A profile of Vatra by its video game talent agency Digital Development Management had led to speculation that Downpour would be a first-person shooter, which would have marked a dramatic shift from the usual gameplay format of the series.

Audio[]

For Silent Hill: Downpour, regular series composer Akira Yamaoka was replaced with Daniel Licht, the composer for the hit television series, Dexter. Regular series vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn announced in July 2010 that she would not be involved with the production of Downpour, but producer Tomm Hulett later confirmed in June 2011 that McGlynn will be providing music for the game. Downpour's main theme will be performed by American nu metal band Korn. In response to the criticism of this announcement, a group of fans created an online petition for the removal of the main theme from Downpour. Hulett felt that Korn "made the most sense" when finding a new performer for its theme, and also said that the main theme is not "an integral part of Downpour's gameplay".

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