For Those Of You Who Live In The West

By Author: Jennefiy
Total Articles: 197
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Those problems aside, Konami gives you a simple inventory system to work with that isn’t heavy and doesn’t get in the way. It feels more like playing a movie because there is no HUD, no health meter, and no ammo counter (though guns are in the game, they are few and far between). However, you are given visual clues as to the health of Mr. Pendleton. His clothes will get bloodier and he will walk with a limp, the more he is hurt. If you really need to know his health percentage you can find it in the start menu.

Another issue arose, however, in the form of lag. Frame rate became a problem at a few points in the game, causing death. In a few spots, I thought the game was going to freeze, only for it to unexpectedly return to normal. Surprisingly, this happened in scenes with minor action rather than heavy-action areas. Most often the lag occurred inside a building while turning or running through doors, which seemed very odd. Installing the game directly onto the Xbox helped to fix this problem a bit. It also fixed the other problem: long load times.

Loading seemed to take forever in certain areas. ...
... With today’s game engines, loading should be a breeze; some games even skip load scenes altogether. Silent Hill will sit you on a loading screen for a good minute before continuing the game. It may not sound like much, but a minute is enough to break you away from the game. If you have the luxury of hard drive space on your Xbox (sorry, PlayStation users) installing the game shortens load time.

Despite its small flaws, I can honestly say that Silent Hill: Downpour is one of the scariest games I have ever played, but also one of the most creative and addicting. The puzzles are ingenious and actually take time and thought to solve. The environment gives you the sense of being alone and terrified. Side quests will keep your achievement hunting, and, if that isn’t your thing, the exploration alone is good for more than a single play through. With fifa coins the amazing lights and sounds, the bugs were easily forgivable. Downpour is recommended for anyone who is a fan of the series and even for those who have never played. Just make sure the sound is up and your lights are off!

For those of you who live in the West, chances are that the only exposure you may have had to the Fist of the North Star series (if you’ve had any exposure at all) has come from 2010’s Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage. However, as the loading screens in Ken’s Rage 2 (recently released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U) like to remind us, the Fist of the North Star series has been around for 30 years, and encompasses many different media, including manga, TV series, films and novels. It isn’t even as if the Ken’s Rage games were the first to be tied to the Fist of the North Star series either, as related game titles have been releasing since 1986.