Fortunately, brand new on Wii, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is not just a sequel of a sequel of a withering brand, nor is it a true "redux" - it just looks that way. Rather, it's a new, decidedly Wii-centric approach to Konami's celebrated interactive-psychosis-on-a-disc.
First is the lesser-of-two-evils town of Silent Hill, deserted save for a few maybe-helpful saps, otherwise haunted, enshrouded in gloom.... eerie. As always, this godforsaken hamlet also has a nasty habit of spontaneously transmogrifying into the greater-of-two-evils town all sick and twisted, populated by those celebrated, Jacob's Ladder-esque nightmare creatures relentlessly on the hunt for you.
But where other Silent Hill games had the decency to equip you with a measly arsenal of weapons, at least a crowbar if not a derelict gun and a handful of bullets, Shattered Memorioes coughs up none of that. Instead, you run a lot, flail madly on the off chance some hideously malformed beastie gets all up close and personal, run some more. Optionally, you die and try again. Having fun yet?
Also new to the series is a curious and surprisingly effective algorithm that manages to change the intensity and even the outcome of the game based on your actions, deeds and problem-solving prowess. You are initially quizzed on your disposition for just that purpose; a flash forward to a comfy seat at your shrink's office where you admit to certain pseudo inclinations via Q&As, Rorschach tests and such. This element alone make playing Shattered Memories more than once a worthy endeavor; it only lasts a few hours otherwise.
The mechanics of it all, meanwhile, are remarkably intuitive. The Wii Remote controller (Wii-Mote) is your darkness-and-gloom-penetrating flashlight, which you point at the screen and the in-game scenery within by extension, pulling the trigger to zoom in and/or manipulate objects as needed.
You're also equipped with a Smartphone, which you'll whip out every so often for its ghost-revealing camera, its GPS map and for making maybe-helpful phone calls.
You move about, meanwhile, with the thumbstick on the attached Nunchuck. It's all very natural and you'll actually feel like a nerve-wracked dude with a flashlight instead of just playing one on TV.
And that's pretty much the meat of it, it's a game of wandering through a maze of point & click adventure, of solving a mystery wrapped in the enigma of your own psychosis, so to speak, of bolting and flailing every so often as transmogrified nightmares demand. What a trip.
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Cheat: To unlock the secret UFO ending, photograph 13 UFOs hidden throughout the game with your smartphone.
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