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Silent Hill: Homecoming: Difference between revisions
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The [[Franchi SPAS-12]] is featured ingame as the "BlueSteel Shotgun," and replaces the 12 Gauge Shotgun on pickup. Like the "Chrome Hammer" handgun, the SPAS-12 is also optional and can be obtained when Alex unlocks his father Adam Shepherd's (who bears a distinct resemblance to [[Terry O'Quinn]]) hunting supply and butcher room with the right key. The BlueSteel' Shotgun has a slightly higher tube magazine capacity of five shells (four on Hard mode), and deals more damage per shot than its predecessor. | The [[Franchi SPAS-12]] is featured ingame as the "BlueSteel Shotgun," and replaces the 12 Gauge Shotgun on pickup. Like the "Chrome Hammer" handgun, the SPAS-12 is also optional and can be obtained when Alex unlocks his father Adam Shepherd's (who bears a distinct resemblance to [[Terry O'Quinn]]) hunting supply and butcher room with the right key. The BlueSteel' Shotgun has a slightly higher tube magazine capacity of five shells (four on Hard mode), and deals more damage per shot than its predecessor. | ||
There are some differences between the real-life weapon and its ingame version. First, the rear aperture sight used by the real SPAS-12 is not modeled in game, being replaced with a notched rear sight to see the front blade sight through. The real-life SPAS-12's semiautomatic firing mode is also not emulated in this game, and Alex is forced to use it in a pump-action mode only. | There are some differences between the real-life weapon and its ingame version. First, the rear aperture sight used by the real SPAS-12 is not modeled in game, being replaced with a notched rear sight to see the front blade sight through. The real-life SPAS-12's semiautomatic firing mode is also not emulated in this game, and Alex is forced to use it in a pump-action mode only. Unlike many media depictions, the ingame version of the SPAS-12 is depicted with a full-size, fixed, and rifle-style buttstock, which could be because the development team didn't want to have to animate Alex extending or folding the real-life version's folding buttstock each time he took it out or put it away. | ||
[[Image:Franchi-SPAS12.jpg|450px|thumb|none|Franchi SPAS-12 - 12 Gauge]] | [[Image:Franchi-SPAS12.jpg|450px|thumb|none|Franchi SPAS-12 - 12 Gauge]] | ||
Revision as of 17:40, 18 July 2013
Work In Progress This article is still under construction. It may contain factual errors. See Talk:Silent Hill: Homecoming for current discussions. Content is subject to change. |
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The second Silent Hill title developed by a non-Japanese team and the sixth installment in the video game series (the first four having been developed by the now-disbanded Team Silent), Silent Hill: Homecoming centers around a Special Forces soldier named Alex Shepherd (who incidentally bears a striking resemblance to David Boreanaz), returning to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen after being wounded in battle and eventually discharged from hospital. Upon arriving home he discovers his mother catatonic and only able to ask for the whereabouts of his younger brother Joshua, who apparently has been missing for some time, along with inhuman monsters inexplicably stalking the streets. Setting out to find his brother, he embarks on a dangerous journey as he follows the trail of clues to the nearby town of Silent Hill, all while being haunted by hints of secrets best left buried.
Overview
Taking a cue from Silent Hill 4, the firearms in this game all have different magazine capacities depending on the difficulty level selected at the beginning of the game, the specific details of which are noted in their descriptions. This title is also the first in the series to allow for manual aiming of firearms via an "over-the-shoulder view" along with weak spots on enemies that players can aim for while shooting, and also the first to allow the use of firearms in melee attacks. Compared to the game's dedicated melee weapons, however, using firearms in this manner is slower and less damaging, and is best reserved for knocking back enemies to give one more breathing room to shoot.
To emphasize the "survival" aspect of its "survival horror" genre, Silent Hill: Homecoming is also the first to severely restrict the amount of ammunition the player character can carry. Alex can have no more than 2 full loads of ammunition per firearm plus the load that specific firearm carries, for a total of 3 full loads of ammunition (if he finds more ammunition after having reached this point, he will simply exclaim "I can't carry anymore"). This restricted ammunition load is compounded by the previously-mentioned decreased magazine capacity depending on the difficulty level, forcing players to make their shots count or otherwise rely on melee attacks once their ammunition supply runs out. Each ammunition pick-up item also gives only enough ammunition to fill up its associated firearm once.
Another firearms-related feature this title pioneered for the series was the appearance of "upgraded" firearms obtainable by the player, or in other words, improved versions of firearms that would replace the older versions when picked up. These improved versions all have larger magazine capacities (which ammunition pickups will thankfully match) and better damage stats than those they replace, the latter of which is unrealistic because a firearm's "damage" is a function of its ammunition and not largely dependent on its design.
The following weapons are featured in the 2007 video game Silent Hill: Homecoming:
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Handguns
Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army makes a return from Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, simply dubbed "Old Revolver." Like those earlier series titles, it cannot be used by the player. Unlike those titles, no enemies use it either. It is the first firearm available in the game, and one of three that the player must obtain on every playthrough.
Alex first finds it in the lap of his catatonic mother after first coming home, and takes it from her as he fears what she might do with it. Upon finding it to be nonfunctional, he eventually discovers Curtis Ackers' salvage yard in Shepherd's Glen where he then trades it with the yard's owner for the Mk. 23 handgun. The gruff and unfriendly Curtis claims that he can fix the gun eventually, but it never appears after this point in the game. Its deteriorated state implies that it may be a period piece, improperly stored and long forgotten.
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Curtis Ackers examining the Single Action Army. Oddly enough, he thinks Alex stole it from his father (when in fact Alex took it from his mother), and Curtis is also heard (though not shown) to be rotating the gun's cylinder in this cutscene, despite the gun's inventory description claiming that its cylinder can't turn. Clearly this was the result of confusion or miscommunication amongst the development team.
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Custom M1911
Dubbed the "Chrome Hammer Pistol" ingame, this handgun resembles the various M1911s configured for competition shooting produced by companies like Strayer Voigt, Inc. or STI International. Its customizations include a compensated barrel with venting holes in all directions except towards the magwell, holes in the slide to lighten it, and a large external magwell to facilitate quick reloads (though Alex's reload speed is not enhanced by this feature).
The Chrome Hammer pistol has a magazine capacity of twelve rounds on Normal difficulty, and seven on Hard. It can be obtained if the player has Alex hack away at wooden planks blocking off a crypt in the Rose Heights Cemetery with the Fire Axe. Obtaining this weapon is optional, and Alex will still use the Mk 23 handgun in cutscenes.
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Taurus PT92
Named the "Mk. 23 Handgun" in-game, it most closely resembles a Taurus PT92,. The gun itself is also very similar to that of the Beretta 92FS "Samurai Edge" featured in Resident Evil, another popular survival horror video game series, although without the stainless barrel and slide-mounted safety. Despite Alex describing the gun as a "9mm pistol", it has apparently been converted to use .45 ACP ammunition as evidenced by the ingame pistol ammunition items. It is safe to assume that Double Helix Games must have mixed the appearance of the PT92 with the caliber and name of the Heckler & Koch Mark 23. The Mk. 23 handgun has a magazine capacity of nine rounds on Normal difficulty and five on Hard, and is one of three ingame firearms that Alex must obtain.
This handgun is the first usable firearm available to the player, and it is obtained after Alex gives the Old Revolver to Curtis Ackers at the Salvage Yard in Shepherd's Glen in return for his information. Curtis then gives the Mk. 23 Handgun to Alex because he likes "a fair trade." It can also be found near the end of the game in a specific room in the Order Cult's Lair, which is useful because the moment Alex enters that level all his weaponry and healing items are stripped from him. The Mk. 23 handgun is also used by Deputy James Wheeler after he hands his shotgun to Alex.
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Alex: "Thanks."
Curtis: "Yeah, I like a fair trade."
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Handgun Ammunition
These cartridges are labelled to be .45 ACP, and are scattered throughout the game. Each will give a full magazine's worth of ammunition when picked up, appropriate to the player's currently-equipped handgun and difficulty level.
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Shotguns
Franchi SPAS-12
The Franchi SPAS-12 is featured ingame as the "BlueSteel Shotgun," and replaces the 12 Gauge Shotgun on pickup. Like the "Chrome Hammer" handgun, the SPAS-12 is also optional and can be obtained when Alex unlocks his father Adam Shepherd's (who bears a distinct resemblance to Terry O'Quinn) hunting supply and butcher room with the right key. The BlueSteel' Shotgun has a slightly higher tube magazine capacity of five shells (four on Hard mode), and deals more damage per shot than its predecessor.
There are some differences between the real-life weapon and its ingame version. First, the rear aperture sight used by the real SPAS-12 is not modeled in game, being replaced with a notched rear sight to see the front blade sight through. The real-life SPAS-12's semiautomatic firing mode is also not emulated in this game, and Alex is forced to use it in a pump-action mode only. Unlike many media depictions, the ingame version of the SPAS-12 is depicted with a full-size, fixed, and rifle-style buttstock, which could be because the development team didn't want to have to animate Alex extending or folding the real-life version's folding buttstock each time he took it out or put it away.
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Winchester Model 1912
Simply called the "12 Gauge Shotgun" ingame, this weapon best resembles the Winchester Model 1912 pump-action shotgun in 12 Gauge. It has a tube magazine capacity of four shells on Normal difficult, or a paltry three on Hard. The Winchester Model 1912 can first be seen in Shepherd Glen's Salvage Yard, but cannot be obtained there. Alex instead first obtains this shotgun at the Shepherd's Glen Police Station after Deputy Wheeler hands it to him. It appears to have a rifle-style front sight, but no rear sight (which would be required to make full use of a rifle-style front sight, rather than the standard shotgun bead sight).
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Shotgun Ammunition
Rarer than handgun ammunition, boxes of shotgun ammunition can be found throughout the game. The shells inside also aren't modelled to reflect the enlarged rim that shotgun ammunition possesses (strangely enough, the spent shells ejected by the ingame shotguns are in fact modelled with enlarged rims). In reality the shells' rims would preclude storage of them side-by-side with their primers facing the same direction without any spacers as the game depicts; the box would either need spacers to keep the rims from butting up against one another, or otherwise the shells inside would need to be placed so that all adjacent shells have their primers facing opposite directions.
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Rifles
M14
The M14 rifle is surprisingly called the "M14 Assault Rifle" ingame (despite its cartridge making it a battle rifle), and has a magazine capacity of 5 rounds (real-life versions carry 20 rounds). Its stopping power is higher than the ingame handguns, but less than the shotguns. The M14 is an optional weapon, and can be acquired in Silent Hill's Dargento Cemetery if the player completes the Janus statue puzzle and loots it from an otherwise-inaccessible area of the cemetery.
Regardless of whether or not the player obtains the weapon, a few soldiers from Silent Hill's Order cult can be seen using it, though it cannot be looted from their corpses.
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Accuracy International Arctic Warfare L96A1
The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare L96A1, known in-game as "A Police Marksman Rifle", is featured without a scope and located towards the end of the game in the Underground room 113. It is similar to the M14 in terms of ammunition and capacity, however it is more powerful. Due to the weapon being located in close proximity to Deputy Wheeler and lacking any form of attachments, it may be possible the L96 was bought as a civilian model for use by the Shepherd's Glen police.
Other Weapons
Laser Pistol
Like in many previous Silent Hill games, this weapon is unlocked after getting the "UFO Ending". The weapon has unlimited ammunition and is able to kill enemies with rather ease.
