3. Silent Hill - LA Noire
So the foggy little town of Silent Hill is a pretty creepy place, throw in a naive detective and youve got yourself a basic but interesting formula. There have been 9 Silent Hill games, including the PSP titles, and each tend to revolve around the protagonist either looking for someone or getting trapped in the town. To be honest Im kinda baffled that there hasnt already been a game in which a detective heads to the town to try and figure out why so many people have died or gone missing. Thats where Cole Phelps comes in. Im kidding, I am
not suggesting those two franchises cross over; it wouldnt make a lick of sense. I do think it would be really cool however if there was a detective style game like LA Noire set in Silent Hill. The game could start similarly to Resident Evil 4, with Leon travelling to this weird little village to investigate a lead on the kidnapping of the Presidents daughter. Resident Evil 4 kicks straight into the action with Leon shooting left, right and centre, whereas I imagine a Silent Hill detective game should be a slow build. The protagonist should arrive in Silent Hill, during the day, and begin by exploring the town and, a la LA Noire, question the residents. I really enjoyed LA Noire and thought the interview section of the game was really fun and unique. This should be a staple feature of any detective game, questioning and trying to seize the truth. This could be particularly entertaining in a world like Silent Hill where the locals could give cryptic answers and warn the detective to leave. Of course he would ignore the warnings and continue his job, only for night to come. Needless to say, the shit hits the fan and the detective is forced to draw his weapon. From here wed meet all the regulars, the Brethren, Pyramid Head, Robbie the Rabbit, and, of course, The Order. The simple over-the-shoulder style of both games would fit perfectly and allow for the pistol and flashlight as the only reprieve in the suitably horrific situation. The gameplay of the two series arent all that different, third-person shooting and exploring, with flashlights and puzzle-solving. Although they are obviously different I believe they could very easily be intertwined to get the best from both to create a really interesting, unique and, most importantly, scary experience. Silent Hill is a series thats had some hits and misses but with next-gen just around the corner and a new FOX engine, that looks amazing BTW, this could be the fresh start and return-to-roots kind of game that would re-establish Silent Hill as one of the greatest survival-horror series ever.