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OXM reviews Silent Hill: Homecoming ... Gives it a mere 6.5/10 ?!

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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IGN's Silent Hill: Homecoming Review - Only 6.7/10?

Today IGN reviewed Silent Hill: Homecoming and they were not impressed, giving it an overall score of 6.7/10!

Their main complaints were that the game felt more like an action game than a horror, that some graphic models and textures looked odd, and that the plot itself "came across more like a subplot than a full extension of the Silent Hill franchise". Although they praised the game's amazing locations and Akira Yamaoka's incredible musical score.

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As a fan of the entire Silent Hill universe and someone that has every game associated to the property, I was hoping that Homecoming would be an excellent step forward for the franchise. Unfortunately, I admit that the game feels like a bit of a letdown. The gameplay has been reduced from a tense psychological experience fraught with spine tingling jumps and scares to a generic, predictable action title set in the location with good graphics and a great soundtrack. If Alex had been limited in some way, or even if there was an adjustment to the fearful aspect to the title, this could've been a solid game.

full IGN review

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Silent Hill: Homecoming In-depth review!

Adam Rosenberg of UGO.com's Gamesblog sounds off with this well written and in-depth review for Silent Hill: Homecoming. From the sound of it, this may be the best Silent Hill game to date!

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In Homecoming Double Helix have crafted an experience which is a uniquely modern take on survival horror, incorporating now-standardized game elements such as 3D camera controls and smooth character interactions into the genre’s basic tenets, bending them where necessary but never breaking them outright. In Homecoming, fear comes from keeping players in a constant state of high tension, achieved through combination of deft level and art design, unsettling audio cues and perfectly paced proceedings. In short, this latest Silent Hill, new developer and all, is at once a return to form and a bold step in a new direction.

full UGO review

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1UP Reviews Silent Hill: Homecoming - Gives it a B

The Silent Hill: Homecoming reviews are starting to pour in, and it appears they are rather mixed. It seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it game.

1UP has reviewed Homecoming today, and they were impressed.

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Ever since my first encounter with Silent Hill 2, something about this survival-horror franchise really got to me. Not that running from zombies wasn't terrifying when I played the original Resident Evil -- it's just that Silent Hill's themes of sin, punishment, and forgiveness (not to mention the nightmarish abominations) drew me in on a deeper level. While I'll always associate earlier series games with clunky combat, hard-to-follow stories, crappy camera positions, and load times between every room, those imperfections became synonymous with the franchise for me -- even endearing. What can I say? We love games for their flaws and their strengths alike.

With Silent Hill: Homecoming, everything's changed. So many of my associations with the franchise simply aren't applicable anymore: The clunky controls are now streamlined, combat's much more intense (at times, a little too intense), and the storyline -- for once -- makes clear-cut sense. None of this is bad, just...different. Very different.

full 1UP review

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quote Seeker X

Meh, Silent Hill games are usually in the low scores.

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"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."

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quote RaidenXS

who is OXM?