Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) Blu-ray 3D [Region Locked]

[hero878]

What a shame. It was originally going to be released late last year. Then they said summer 2012 and now early 2013 :/

Not surprised considering all the negative reviews that the new Silent Hill game got and also the HD remakes of 1 and 2.

[UFAlien]

I think it probably has more to do with not competing against the new Resident Evil movie coming out in October.

[Jsmith82]

UF - that's exactly the reason per Basset's blog, they didn't want the competition.

I'm predicting against my will, a fall 2013 release. Doubt they would want to drop this in the spring, or summer.

Who knows though, maybe this is just building up hype and anticipation and they'll drop it late this year - doubtful, but at this point nobody has a clue, not even the director.

Keep on reading... http://michaeljbassett.wordpress.com/

I'm sure it will be on there one day...

[hero878]

but the new RE movie looks rubbish! lol just like the last one.

I think they fear Prometheus so won't release it this summer for sure.

[umadbrah]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

I think it probably has more to do with not competing against the new Resident Evil movie coming out in October.

RE never was and never will be a horror film though. It's a pure zombie action flick.

[keb33509]

Originally Posted by umadbrah

RE never was and never will be a horror film though. It's a pure zombie action flick.

I beg to differ, the first film was more of a horror film than any of the sequels. It had an amazing soundtrack and ambiance. Sure, it had its action moments (what horror film doesn't), but it was not run and gun like a Modern Warfare match.

[Mrbrownst0ne]

Originally Posted by umadbrah

RE never was and never will be a horror film though. It's a pure zombie action flick.

well zombie movies also fall in the horror category. Unless it's a comedy like shawn of the dead.

[UFAlien]

Originally Posted by umadbrah

RE never was and never will be a horror film though. It's a pure zombie action flick.

So? It's still a big-ticket horror game adaptation in 3D - one with a much bigger fanbase than Silent Hill, at that. And it's from the same producer and distributor. Even if they're tonally different, it makes no business sense for Sony to cannibalize their own profits like that. I'm upset it's delayed, of course, but I can see why.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by umadbrah

For a live action hollywood adaptation, I'm surprised that they represented pyramid head accurately.... I mean, that almost never happens!

Yeah, Silent Hill got quite a few things right; atmosphere, music, sirens, falling ashes, fog, town, evil creatures, person chasing after their daughter, etc.

Originally Posted by umadbrah

Would be a big mistake not to release this type of film during October or pre-halloween season.

Who the heck is going to go watch this in, say, February?

I agree. They should take a chance a be proud of what they made, as competition is inevitable no matter when it's released. It's only March 2012 and they're going to delay into 2013? Why not just 2014?

I wouldn't let this sit too long. Maybe they're waiting for a empty slot in the winter season, when the snow falls, so people will associate snow with the falling ashes...

[Cevolution]

I'm looking forward to this release, it wouldn't matter if it's in 3d or not. The 1st Silent Hill is one of my favorite movies.

Originally Posted by evoll

I liked the 1st movie but never bought it on blu ray cuz i hear the PQ isnt so great

Originally Posted by evoll

So its worth upgrading from dvd?

That depends on what version you are talking about. The U.S version is an Mpeg2 transfer, and the PQ isn't great. The French version is the most superior version currently available. I own the UK version of Silent Hill on blu, and I'm quite happy with it, especially considering I only paid about $8 for it. Though not perfect, the PQ is way above my Australian dvd version. It would be nice if it had a dts hd ma track instead of a dts hd hr track, but the AQ still sounds pretty good. A mate of mine owns the U.S version, so after seeing both, I can tell you that the PQ of VC-1 transfer on the UK disc is much better than that of the U.S version.

[UFAlien]

Here's a special treat for ya - a four-way lossless screenshot comparison.

The images are in spoilers because they're large (full 1080p) and also from the movie's climax.

Here's the German BD, apparently a direct port of the VC-1 HD-DVD:

[Show spoiler]

The US BD, MPEG-2 and evidently from the same flawed transfer (blue where black should be):

[Show spoiler]

Here's the French version, a completely different MPEG-4 AVC transfer:

[Show spoiler]

Unfortunately I was unable to find a UK capture. I agree the French version looks the best, but it still has problems. Namely, it's too bright and the colors are too vibrant. This shot is set in

[Show spoiler]a dark church that has been taken over by the hellish Otherworld, extinguishing the outside light.

And yet the French version looks like it's in daylight, which doesn't help the atmosphere. The brightness level also exposes some imperfections in the CGI.

Here's something I did out of curiosity: the US version with the blue replaced with true black.

[Show spoiler]

Obviously, there's detail lost to black crush when compared to the French edition. However, it's not really anything important, and the CG actually looks better partially obscured like this. The overall brightness level seems much more proper and accurate considering the setting and circumstances. The colors, too, are appropriately subdued. I actually find this to be my preferred version of the capture.

So, basically, it's as I said several posts back: the US Blu really needs you to calibrate your display specifically for it in order to make it look good. It's not a disaster, but it's annoying. The detail is absolutely an improvement over the DVD, and I still like the colors better than the French version.

Hopefully when the sequel comes out, we'll get an improved double-dip that sorts out the issues and has some actual special features.

[Zivouhr]

They probably feel they have a very narrow window to release this movie in where it could make good money, and likely feel Earlier in the year is a less crowded, safer bet. Guess that means they don't think they can compete in the Halloween season, or don't want to compete, even though the film deserves the chance.

The thing is, movie go-ers mostly spend money on one movie per week or per month sometimes, so I can imagine why they're worried when to release this, as is the case with most movies in the horror genre.

I still say August 2012 or by October 2012.

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

Here's a special treat for ya - a four-way lossless screenshot comparison.

The images are in spoilers because they're large (full 1080p) and also from the movie's climax.

Here's the German BD, apparently a direct port of the VC-1 HD-DVD:

[Show spoiler]

The US BD, MPEG-2 and evidently from the same flawed transfer (blue where black should be):

[Show spoiler]

Here's the French version, a completely different MPEG-4 AVC transfer:

[Show spoiler]

Unfortunately I was unable to find a UK capture. I agree the French version looks the best, but it still has problems. Namely, it's too bright and the colors are too vibrant. This shot is set in

[Show spoiler]a dark church that has been taken over by the hellish Otherworld, extinguishing the outside light.

And yet the French version looks like it's in daylight, which doesn't help the atmosphere. The brightness level also exposes some imperfections in the CGI.

Here's something I did out of curiosity: the US version with the blue replaced with true black.

[Show spoiler]

Obviously, there's detail lost to black crush when compared to the French edition. However, it's not really anything important, and the CG actually looks better partially obscured like this. The overall brightness level seems much more proper and accurate considering the setting and circumstances. The colors, too, are appropriately subdued. I actually find this to be my preferred version of the capture.

So, basically, it's as I said several posts back: the US Blu really needs you to calibrate your display specifically for it in order to make it look good. It's not a disaster, but it's annoying. The detail is absolutely an improvement over the DVD, and I still like the colors better than the French version.

Hopefully when the sequel comes out, we'll get an improved double-dip that sorts out the issues and has some actual special features.

I've seen quite a few screenshot comparisons between the different versions, and while the French version has the superior encode, allowing for more visible detail, you are correct, the contrast has been slightly boosted on the French release, and as a result, although not too bad, it doesn't quite represent the original intended look of the film. Though comparing the screenshots you provided, kind of gives the misleading illusion that the contrast in the French release has been heightened by quite a bit, when that's not the case (they weren't the greatest screen shots to use as examples, there are many other scenes which demonstrate how big the differences are in favor of the UK, German and French releases over the U.S version), because with the other releases, the black levels are a bit darker than how it is supposed to be, particularly with the U.S release, which is noticeable throughout. The U.S version by far is the worst blu version of Silent Hill out there, which is even more apparent when you see the image in motion.

[UFAlien]

Darker? The black levels through the US version (and German version, which is the same transfer) are far too light. Not saying it isn't the worst one, which it probably is. That just perplexes me.

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

Darker? The black levels through the US version (and German version, which is the same transfer) are far too light. Not saying it isn't the worst one, which it probably is. That just perplexes me.

Sorry my mistake, I accidentally wrote black levels. What I mean to say was the entire image of the U.S and German releases have a darker tint to them, which isn't quite identical to how it was presented in cinemas, and as a result you lose some detail in the shadowing. The film was dark and gritty in cinemas, but not quite that dark. The black levels are a seperate issue, but the French version does a far better job of being true to the sourse in that regard. Yes the U.S and German blu versions are from the same transfer, but they are different encodes, which it's noted in comparisons all over the Internet that the German and UK VC-1 releases are superior to the U.S Mpeg2 release. There are also other factors which can make one version better than another, such as DNR and EE etc, so comparing versions based on them coming from the same transfer in many cases can be irrelevant. It's often how films get altered from the transfer that can make the biggest difference between versions.

[UFAlien]

IIRC, DNR and EE are part of the transfer... I think you're thinking of master. But yeah, the encoding on the German release is probably better.

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

IIRC, DNR and EE are part of the transfer... I think you're thinking of master. But yeah, the encoding on the German release is probably better.

Yeah sorry mate I was referring to the master . I haven't had much sleep over the last 72 hours, so it must have brought on a couple of brain farts .

[Jsmith82]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

Let us know how the 3D is if you buy this. I'm a little afraid that the game will be too dark to benefit much from 3D. If it has some cool effects though, I'd move it up on my wishlist..

So I bought Downpour last Thursday and have been putting in hours on it, thought I'd share a small review - I'm not all the way through and there will be no spoilers.

The atmosphere of the game is really awesome, great mapping and textures, definitely creepy and holds true to the Silent Hill feel. There (at least so far in my journey) has not been any ash but instead rain, then randomly when you're in Silent Hill a thunderstorm will roll in and it becomes very unsafe to be out on the streets, the monsters (mostly "screamers") tend to come out in storms. As for capturing the feel of the town, I think they did a great job.

Lighting is unique in this chapter, there are actually 3 different light sources. You have your flashlight which does occasionally go out so you'll find them randomly throughout the game. You have a zippo lighter at all times and let me tell you, it SUCKS when you don't have a flashlight b/c the lighter lets you see about 5 feet ahead - get creeped out, the monsters are there... maybe... Lastly you get at one point a forensics light, black light - this illuminates pretty well though a purple shade and can help find clues, blood spattering, etc.. While outside roaming the town it's about the same luminescence as the other SH games, inside it gets pretty damn dark (you also set your darkness accordingly when first starting the game so it adjusts itself for different sets).

Combat is not that great, I find myself sometimes struggling to fight and accidentally getting into my inventory during a fight (which shares the screen when used in realtime), therefore anything that was attacking you may still do so and you're helpless until you get back out of your inventory screen. This was and still is pretty annoying. There is no depth aside from a single button, no kicks or button mashing combos, there is just the "attack" button. If you have a mele weapon you swing it. Holding RT down and attacking allows you to throw it. Weapons break which is nice, you fight with a chair and it breaks with every smack against your enemies noggin. There are guns (though scarce), auto aim, you just pull the trigger while facing an enemy and you'll hit them. All said, pretty lame combat - the Monsters are strong, you're better off hauling ass running away (which is what I do / did, got an achievement for it too lol)

Monsters - I find a lack here, I'm hours and hours into the game and I can count the monsters I've encountered on one hand. I have seen no monsters from previous SH games either, this including Pyramid Head. I REALLY hope he shows up before the end of the game being a pivotal piece of the series history though I have a feeling he will not, instead I keep seeing sneak shots of a large figure carrying some sort of massive hammer looking thing - still not sure yet what "it" is, got a feeling I'll get to know it right before the end of the game.

Story - I'm not yet sold. Mercer doesn't seem to fit the SH puzzle yet, the only motivation of the game thus far is to escape the town - he has no ties to it, this leads to boring gameplay - part of the Silent Hill drive is to find out the whats and whys of your character, the "oh noes my bus crashed, now I'm stuck here, I need to get out" story so far has not kept me as interested as the last games. I'll update this later but right now I'm pretty disappointed and hoping something will give. There are decisions to be made that determine your fate, yet to see where mine are taking me (I'm playing the goody two shoes route and opting to help everyone I can) - we'll see what happens but this was a nice feature in the last SH game, glad to see it back (probably means there are multiple endings again). The puzzles are fun, classic in some points, no spoilers but one reminded me of the bird / piano puzzle of the original SH.

Finally, 3D. This is the first full game I've played / playing in 3D and I love it, so much fun and it really adds something to the atmosphere, this was a GREAT game to make 3d compatible. A nice effect they added, when you flip to the hellish realm of silent hill the 3D intensifies greatly, the depth increases, the parallax on both ends increase - then it kind of bobbles in and out making a very unstable environment, it's pretty awesome. There are parts where the second perspective rendering can make a small... outline? I guess you could call it, around the right eye view but it's rare and hardly noticeable when it happens. The realtime 3d gameplay rocks (there is an occasional lag when going from one room to a very detailed other since the textures are so detailed but this lasts only a half second and also is pretty rare). The movie sequences probably are the worst part of the 3d in my opinion, not that they are bad but that little outline glitch problem I spoke of above presents heavily during these moments. Nothing pops out, at least nothing yet, but the landscaping looks EPIC in 3d, every little branch and leaf of any tree visibly is its own layer, nothing is flat layered.

So overall, I'm sitting about center on the approval scale - as a big fan playing (almost, not the hand held MP sequel, yuck) every SH game before this, the story IMO is the worst yet but still has time to improve for me, the combat is lousy, the monsters are not yet impressively creative, but the atmosphere, texturing, creepiness, 3D is all great. If you're a die hard fan, go get it and get your fix, you wont be TOO disappointed. Otherwise, wait and grab this when it's down around 30 bucks. You'll feel much more comfortable with your purchase.


PS - found a cool little easter egg, finding a way to pull down and climb a ladder to a second story balcony, I entered the window of an apartment and it just happened to be the room from Silent Hill 4 lol, pretty fun throwback, the chains and locks were still on the door. No action in the apartment, couldn't open any doors or anything but it was a neat find, and you get a pistol.. OOPS! Okay, there's a spoiler slip on a weapon

Call me a nerd but SH4, your apartment was 302 (3, third floor). Not much sense that this egg was on a second story balcony..... [/nerd]

If I missed something you're curious about, shoot me a question and I'll answer to my best.

[Zivouhr]

Great SH Downpour review JSmith82. I want to get this one at around 20 bucks in 3D, so this will be a must buy at that point. Thanks!

[BleedOrange11]

Originally Posted by Jsmith82

So I bought Downpour last Thursday and have been putting in hours on it, thought I'd share a small review - I'm not all the way through and there will be no spoilers.

Thanks for the review! That was really helpful. Does the game have customizable 3D settings like a depth slider?