If you just want to chase XP and wail on stuff, Silent Hill: Book of Memories fits the bill, but you're never so into the experience that the many shortcomings of Book of Memories don't stand out. The combat isn't hard for the most part, so the game can be a distraction while you do other things. The levels aren't vast, so a 15-minute train ride ends with results. All of this is really simple stuff, so don't expect the in-depth workings of your favorite RPG, but it has the Diablo feel, and that's a proven formula. The desire to level your character, discover all of the map, and fill out the weapons portfolio - it's engaging enough to keep you fooling around with the game. This is the kind of setup that nerdom is based on, and it can hook you in Silent Hill: Book of Memories. As you get deeper into the game, Karma Abilities become more important and allow you to sap the health of bad guys using the rear touch screen and so on. As you level up, you begin finding and equipping artifacts that augment your stats and get rewarded with special weapons like giant cleavers and fire swords. Turn on your flashlight, and you can see desks and cabinets that you can loot for keys, weapons and Memory Residue (which looks like piles of gold and can be exchanged for items). Enemies get in your way, and you beat them to death. You can jump into the game and immediately start marching toward the level cap. In some ways, Book of Memories delivers that, and in others, it's a total mess. I have no attachment to the Silent Hill franchise, and I've been craving a deep RPG-like experience on Sony's handheld. For lots of people, this is blasphemy, but for me, it's the setup I've been looking for. You aren't trying to run from the things that go bump in the night you're trying to run through them and collect their loot. You pick a character and go through level after level of nurses, butchers and creepy crawlers while hacking and slashing. Rather, Book of Memories is a multiplayer dungeon crawler. This isn't a tense, single-player adventure. Play Book of Memories is nothing like the Silent Hill games that have come before.

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