Silent Hill: Downpour Gets Wet

Release date and first official screens for Konami's chiller.

Konami has unleashed a monsoon of screenshots as it details Silent Hill: Downpour, the next installment in the long-running survival horror series.

Having taken a brief sabbatical from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – in which time the impressive Silent Hill: Shattered Memories released on the Wii – Downpour marks a return to the HD consoles.

Czech developer Vatra is behind the game, first scant details of which came earlier this month.

Now the trickle has turned into a downpour (sorry) as Konami reveals official screenshots and details some of the philosophy behind the game.

"Having a compelling story is the key element to a good Silent Hill game," said associate producer Tomm Hulett, "It's what set SH1 apart from the other early survival horror games, why SH2 is so fondly remembered, and so on. Of course, an important aspect of this is how the story ties into the horrific things the player encounters."

Producer Devin Shatsky went on to explain how Silent Hill: Downpour's environment differs from that of previous games. "We have this huge city at our disposal, yet in the past, it was comprised primarily of locked doors," he said. "We wanted to give players a bit more incentive to search around and check those doors without facing a constant barrage of discouraging locks."

To that end Silent Hill: Downpour will feature side missions: "This gives the player a greater sense that they are 'exploring the town' and then rewarded with these mini-stories," saud Shatsk. "We've been very careful to keep these immersive enough to make the player feel like they're still a part of the main story, yet separate enough that they aren't forced into completing all of them in a linear fashion to reach the ending."

Silent Hill: Downpour releases this Autumn.

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