Homecoming is many things: Amateurish, unoriginal, short-lived, frustrating and dated. One thing it isn't is a serious contender for your money, particularly not at full price.
You may well have heard about the new combat system, how it -changes- things. Actually, this oft-repeated view held by journalists is puzzling - Homecoming is totally derivative of the entire Silent Hill franchise. The tweaked combat doesn't alter that, it's just derivative with tweaked combat.
Rip-offs and outdated baggage include: a kid running away for no apparent reason while the player-character just stands and watches in a cutscene (cute a decade ago, irritating as sin now), an unseen person wanting something retrieved in order for the player to progress (was done a heck of a lot better in the 'extra' Maria bit in Silent Hill 2), sparse restoratives and ammo placed at specific locations (renders replays exceedingly tedious) and a lack of genuine rewards for exploration (there's no reason to 'explore' whatsoever). Pyramid Head's appearance is totally naff and irrelevant, references to the film's cult don't sit well. The big problem here is that not only have they sidelined an opportunity for a clean break and a fresh story, the developers have not handled these rehashes as well as the originals. Inviting direct comparisons like this is more than a tad silly when you're finding your feet with a series.
Combat.. what a mess. Despite the game being chained to decade old limited item mechanics numerous monsters are thrown at you. "You play a soldier who's more combat effective" chorus the journos, cobblers. If you use a firearm, you get a cross-hair view and it -is- a lot easier to aim, but you're no more given a heap of bullets in this game then any other Silent Hill.
In melee combat you first must lock onto an enemy so you can circle them, and cannot swing your weapon until you have done so, no dashing past and swiping. Melee combat involves circling an enemy and swapping slaps, trying ot avoid their attacks by rolling away or moving out of range. This comes with a host of issues. For a start, this comes with a game which limits your restoring items yet throws multiple enemies at you. You are totally vulnerable to attack if more than one enemy is present, as you circle one while getting torn at by the other. It is very easy to circle an enemy and run out of room in a narrow space, leaving you open to attack. Young Sheperd is also very finnicky in response to roll attempts and only blocks when he feels like it, some monsters are darn near impossible to avoid getting hit by. By the time you've got close enough to attack you need to start rolling away again in order to avoid getting hit. Last but not least, melee combat revolves around getting in first, if your enemy hits you once they can easily do it again while you stagger, more damage and limited supplies to heal it.
Wandering from A to B in this relatively small game world is joyless, swathes of it are devoid of enemies, navigating the junk yard for instance was almost sleep-inducing. At other times the computer chucks endless enemies at you when out on the street. I don't mean a good few of them, I mean more monsters will actually come out of the drains to replace the horde you just slew. Idiotic.
You drag yourself around waiting for the game to happen, then it ends. Ugh.
It's hard to dredge up strong feelings about Homecoming, it's such a damp squib. To rent or buy? If you still haven't then don't bother. The franchise has become irrelevant to the gamer masses these days anyway, what with Dead Space and Resident Evil. A shame, yes, but the series peaked with Silent Hill 2 and is suffering a long drawn-out death.