PS3 Fanboy

Sorry Europe! Despite the fact that folks in the US have been playing Silent Hill: Homecoming since last month, you guys won't get your hands on the game until next year -- February 2009, to be exact. Konami did not issue a reason for the delay. CVG suspects it might be due to translation or certification issues, but that's as good as anyone's guess. Reviews for the title have been mixed, so maybe you Europeans aren't missing out on much.

Whatever qualms you may have with Silent Hill: Homecoming, which probably ranges from the awkward combat system to the absence of Team Silent, one thing that's undeniable is the quality of the soundtrack. Akira Yamaoka delivers yet another broodingly morose soundtrack that critics and fans alike have applauded since the first game. Those of you who ordered the game with Amazon were treated to 3 bonus tracks -- but now you can download them for free, even if you've never touched a Silent Hill game -- right here.

The three tracks included are The Sacred Line, Witchcraft and Cold Blood. We are pretty sure that's frequent collaborator Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's vocals on The Sacred Line, but you can be the judge for yourself after you listen to the track.

[Thanks, anonymous!]

Usually, a venue like E3 proves to be a bad venue for a game like Silent Hill Homecoming. The usual hustle and bustle of the E3 show floor makes for a game focused squarely on atmosphere to suffer. So, why was our playtest of Silent Hill Homecoming in a closed room with headphones so uninspiring? There are a number of issues that come to the top of our minds: the lackluster graphics stand out, for once. However, the most frustrating aspect of Homecoming is how familiar it all felt. Returning to Silent Hill on consoles after an adventure like Silent Hill IV: The Room is strange. Regardless of the execution found in that last Silent Hill title, one couldn't deny the interesting premise which took the series in a slightly different direction. Homecoming, on the other hand, plays it safe and feels like an HD remake of Silent Hill Origins (PSP).

For those that are hankering for a new Silent Hill game, perhaps this by-the-numbers offering will satiate that itch. However, the setting is much too familiar, and the setup is just not that compelling. Waking up strapped down in a hospital bed, our protagonist Alex Shephard must break free and find clues on his missing brother. Combat works just as it has before: lock on and swing various melee weapons found in the environment.

Love it or hate it, the second issue of Qore hits the PLAYSTATION Network today. Here's what you can expect:

• Resistance 2 - The big cover story for this issue is Insomniac's upcoming PS3-exclusive FPS. Bonus! You get to see host Veronica Belmont don a mo-cap suit just for this game.
• Silent Hill: Homecoming - A look at Konami's upcoming horror game.
• Madden Twenty Year Retrospective
• Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm - Exclusive first playable demo.

Qore is available for $2.99 each episode, $24.99 for a 13-episode subscription. (Also, for those waiting for the SOCOM Confrontation beta, you'll need to keep Issue 1. We'll tell all of you when the beta will be available.) Do you think this second issue is worth it?

Are you still worried about Silent Hill: Homecoming being in the hands of a Western developer instead of Team Silent? Konami producer William Oertel put it pretty well: "Much of it is very deliberate. You don't have to go into every single detail. You leave it to the fans to decipher...In a sense, the whole game is like a puzzle." This is part of the ideology of the development staff -- to keep the game more on the psychological level like the legendary Silent Hill 2 and less on the literal side, like the first and third installments. We support this move.

A preview of the game doesn't go into the storyline very much, since they claim it is quite on-track with previous titles and wish to refrain from spoiling anything. However, they do comment on the new battle system and how it, actually, works in favor of the Silent Hill style of play. Every weapon as a finishing move, dodging is challenging ... combat is, essentially, more difficult. Enemies detect sound and light pretty viciously now -- they reacted before, but now it's clear when you knock over any of the surrounding stuff, the enemy comes running.

Conversations branch, too. During some of the games discussions between characters, you can choose from a couple of different answers that will yield different reactions or get you a little more background information. It doesn't sound overly complex, but it'll be interesting to see if these branches actually influence the type of ending you get. All in all, it's sounding pretty well done.

The new Silent Hill game isn't completely abandoned by the original Japanese devs: long-time composer for the series, Akira Yamaoka, is still on board and singing praises to the new staff and the new game. Yamaoka sat down with Gamasutra at a recent Konami event and spoke a bit about the game. Let's listen in.

Yamaoka thinks it's a natural step for the game to move on to Western developers -- it had originally been a game whose horror is derived from American cinema. Plus the franchise is more popular in the US, he says. Yamaoka is also trying to move away from the horror genre, saying he "worked on some other titles that are not horror titles. But also I have something, another project in mind, that I'm trying to develop." If you're looking for what influences the Silent Hill team, he says it's probably David Lynch (The Elephant Man, specifically). So there you go. At least we can expect his white-noise style of music to scare us silly in Silent Hill: Homecoming, right?

It's 2AM on the east coast. As we go to sleep, we thought we'd curl up and sit down with new images from Silent Hill Homecoming. The upcoming survival horror game for PS3 comes from new developer Double Helix, and will be available this September.

The franchise has always been known for mood and atmosphere, and that's exactly what we see in these new shots. But, will this feel like more than just the same ol' Silent Hill, with a fresh new coat of paint?

Silent Hill Homecoming is the series' first entry into the new generation. From the new footage released from Konami's Gamers Day, we say it looks remarkably similar to previous incarnations. It's going to be gruesome, obviously -- too bad we couldn't hear the haunting score Silent Hill is so well known for in this video.

Returning home has never been such a creepy experience. Well, at least for Alex Shepherd, our main dude for Silent Hill: Homecoming. Perhaps someone should have warned him not to drive out during a misty fog. We guess he didn't get the memo. Anyhow, it's his fault for transporting himself to a place of silent, empty streets. On the bright side of things, if he hadn't done the big no-no, then we wouldn't have these screenshots to show you, or a game for that matter.

In these screenshots we have right here, we see some common Silent Hill scenery. We're talking about endless fog and bizarre symbols on the walls. Not to mention a glimpse at those unhelpful locals; they're usually way too busy looking like they haven't slept for weeks to even bother being friendly. Anyway, there's more to be seen, like faceless enemies, so check out the gallery.

The first Silent Hill game of the new generation is donning a new name. Silent Hill: Homecoming is coming to PS3 this September -- at least in Europe in both Europe and America.

Homecoming introduces series newcomer Alex Shepherd, who's trying to return home to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his brother. Of course, Alex will discover the truth behind his brother's disappearance only by confronting the horrors of Silent Hill.