Post by O.H.Lee on Jan 31, 2004 9:46:42 GMT -5
"A massive figure stumbles from darkness. It is humanoid but towers above you; its arms are grotesquely massive, ending in fleshy sacs. Its skin is leathery, stained with blood and grue. And its head is a bizarre vertical-lipped mass that quivers almost faster than you can see. It gibbers constantly in a low, resonant voice that seems birthed from deep inside it. It slowly lifts one of its massive arms up and something (a sphincter?) opens at the end of it, revealing sharp and pointy rotten teeth covered with slime. It has no eyes or ears, but seems to know where you are and walks intently towards you..."
This could be something a DG keeper say during a game session huh? Yet, it's the description of one of the creatures from Silent Hill 3. (see below)
I'll not write a basic review for the Silent Hill series, since I don't want to discuss the plots, but rather the vibe!
The lonely lake town of Silent Hill, with its deserted, fog-filled streets should ring a bell to any CoC fan, a name coming to mind: Carcosa. Silent Hill could be any town on the verge to slip into Carcosa... However, Silent Hill didn't just fall off the map into another dimension, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that there are three fundamentally different versions of the town that all overlap one another.
The real Silent Hill is the normal, happy (relatively) world that we all live in. It's the resort town that people come to for a nice relaxing vacation, sitting up by a nice lake in the moutains, full of happy tourists and less happy people who ended up here because of their bad health. It looks like any mountain resort in the world, even if the city's history is full of 'strange facts' (violent murders, etc...)
The second world is the foggy realm. Think of it as the white filling in the middle of an oreo. The foggy realm is a transition world. It is were people with a certain "sensitivity" end up when they come to Silent Hill, being pulled into a mental Jacob's Ladder. It is a almost deserted, degenerate, dirty setting, with brown-stains covering the walls and barks of devil dogs echoing somewhere below...
The third and final world, or realm, is the dark and evil place that "Samael" (the city's God) resides within. You usually enter this place after hearing a siren in the distance, which signifies that you either have, or are about to enter into this dark and evil place. In the dark world, Samael's power extends everywhere, which is why the monsters are so numerous and the scenery is so gruesome.
Not only the game is really fun, but it is inspiring for any keeper. The different settings (psychiatric hospital, prison, amusement park, etc...) are so CoC that it should help you "fleshing up" your descriptions.
Also, since your players are likely to have played the games (and thus felt the "uneasiness" that one feels while playing) using "visual" references will quickly bring back this feeling... Make them enter a clean room, freshly painted, with large windows through which you can see a mignificent scenery, then their head aches, they close their eyes, hear a kind of siren in the distance (even if they can't be sure it's not an auditive illusion) and when they open their eyes again, everything has changed the walls are covered with blood stains there's no window anymore, but a rusted wire-netting opening on a foggy paysage full of moving shadows... They've just entered Carcosa yet they don't even know it...
I highly recommand the second opus, which, if not the best plot-wise, is the best in terms of settings... But the first and third (which tie up together) are must-haves too!
And now for the more usual review:
by: Konami
Type: Survival Horror
Synopsis: I don't want to spoil the plot lines, so I'll basically say that each of the opuses sees someone coming to Silent Hill, looking for someone or some truth...
Review: The best of its kind, this game series is a real good source of inspiration if you have problems with descriptions... The audio effects are also excellent for use during gameplay.
Ratings:
This could be something a DG keeper say during a game session huh? Yet, it's the description of one of the creatures from Silent Hill 3. (see below)
I'll not write a basic review for the Silent Hill series, since I don't want to discuss the plots, but rather the vibe!
The lonely lake town of Silent Hill, with its deserted, fog-filled streets should ring a bell to any CoC fan, a name coming to mind: Carcosa. Silent Hill could be any town on the verge to slip into Carcosa... However, Silent Hill didn't just fall off the map into another dimension, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that there are three fundamentally different versions of the town that all overlap one another.
The real Silent Hill is the normal, happy (relatively) world that we all live in. It's the resort town that people come to for a nice relaxing vacation, sitting up by a nice lake in the moutains, full of happy tourists and less happy people who ended up here because of their bad health. It looks like any mountain resort in the world, even if the city's history is full of 'strange facts' (violent murders, etc...)
The second world is the foggy realm. Think of it as the white filling in the middle of an oreo. The foggy realm is a transition world. It is were people with a certain "sensitivity" end up when they come to Silent Hill, being pulled into a mental Jacob's Ladder. It is a almost deserted, degenerate, dirty setting, with brown-stains covering the walls and barks of devil dogs echoing somewhere below...
The third and final world, or realm, is the dark and evil place that "Samael" (the city's God) resides within. You usually enter this place after hearing a siren in the distance, which signifies that you either have, or are about to enter into this dark and evil place. In the dark world, Samael's power extends everywhere, which is why the monsters are so numerous and the scenery is so gruesome.
Not only the game is really fun, but it is inspiring for any keeper. The different settings (psychiatric hospital, prison, amusement park, etc...) are so CoC that it should help you "fleshing up" your descriptions.
Also, since your players are likely to have played the games (and thus felt the "uneasiness" that one feels while playing) using "visual" references will quickly bring back this feeling... Make them enter a clean room, freshly painted, with large windows through which you can see a mignificent scenery, then their head aches, they close their eyes, hear a kind of siren in the distance (even if they can't be sure it's not an auditive illusion) and when they open their eyes again, everything has changed the walls are covered with blood stains there's no window anymore, but a rusted wire-netting opening on a foggy paysage full of moving shadows... They've just entered Carcosa yet they don't even know it...
I highly recommand the second opus, which, if not the best plot-wise, is the best in terms of settings... But the first and third (which tie up together) are must-haves too!
And now for the more usual review:
by: Konami
Type: Survival Horror
Synopsis: I don't want to spoil the plot lines, so I'll basically say that each of the opuses sees someone coming to Silent Hill, looking for someone or some truth...
Review: The best of its kind, this game series is a real good source of inspiration if you have problems with descriptions... The audio effects are also excellent for use during gameplay.
Ratings:
- Plot: SH1:4 SH2:3 SH3:4
- thrills: 5!
- Graphic: 5
- Overall: 4
) has posted a thread about the similarities between Silent Hill and Carcosa at the Silent Hill Heaven boards (