*****Review*****
Well here we are, Silent Hill 3, the sequel to the original Silent Hill, back on the original PlayStation.
Silent Hill 3 starts of with you controlling a young girl. At first you have no idea where you are, or who you are. Your just a girl standing in the middle of an amusement park you suppose is in Silent Hill. You notice a blood knife in your hand and your surroundings are disgusting and disturbing. You notice adult sized bunny costumes covered with blood lying on the ground, on a bench and it looks like someone is actually underneath the costume, lifeless. After a short moment you then wake up in a café having it being a strange dream… welcome to Silent Hill 3.
This is the true sequel to the original. 17 years from the events of the original Silent Hill. The first thing you'll notice is that the game doesn't start off with you being in Silent Hill, the town we all know… and love. You play Heather (a female character) the heroine of the story, just an ordinary girl (to the eyes) with a bit of a sharp tongue and quick temper. On a typical Sunday she went shopping to the local mall and stepped without warning into a world of nightmares. Terrified of the bizarre situation she finds herself in, she nonetheless has the courage to fight back and survive. All Heather wants to do is go home to her father. Heather is an interesting character because her life is a lie. Of course you want find this out till you progress through the game, but Heather true secret it the key to the Silent Hill story, making Silent Hill 3 a vital game to play in order to understanding the true origins about Silent Hill. Throughout the game Heather meets some new character. Douglas, a middle aged man whom, as the start of the story seems untrustworthy. For whatever reason, he was following Heather through the mall. When Heather confronts him, he claims to be a detective and that someone wishes to see her. As stubborn as Heather is she ignored him and with Douglas's persistence, he finds himself traps in the same nightmare.
Claudia, is a mysterious woman who Heather meets in the distorted shopping mall. She slips through the darkness, leaving behind words fraught with hidden meaning. A very mysterious character that hold a strong key in the story.
Vincent, apparently claims to be a priest. Vincent is a very two-sided character. You want know whether to trust him or conceder him a threat. Vincent appearance seems like he could not pose a threat but there's something about him that make him anomalous.
The character's in Silent Hill 3 are interesting enough, but not as interesting as the previous Silent Hill character. Sometimes Heather can be a little hard to adapt to, but in the end she is still one of the most interesting characters in the Silent Hill world, more due to her back story than anything else.
The creatures are just as disturbing as ever but they don't have the same impact as the previous Silent Hill creatures. You'll face the same old classic creatures such as nurses, as well as new once. But unlike the original Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2, the creatures in Silent Hill 3 don't really feel as if they're there for a reason. Most of the boss fights have no meaning behind them as they did with previous Silent Hill's. In the original Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 when you fought a boss it felt like you had to fight this boss in terms of the story. In Silent Hill 3 it feels like you have to fight this boss just for the hell of it. The Split Worm boss fight for example is the first boss fight and even though is was an interesting boss fight, it just didn't stand out from the others. Don't get me wrong the boss fights in Silent Hill 3 are great and just as disturbing as the pervious Silent Hill's, just not as memorable.
The game-play is pretty similar to the previous Silent Hill's. Again Silent Hill is a survival horror game that revolves around you solving puzzles, and using hand-to-hand melee weapons. The game features the usual guns, like a handgun, shotgun, rifle and so on, and again like previous Silent Hill's ammunition should be kept for tougher creatures. The controls are fluent and the puzzles normally consist of you finding certain key items.
The sound-effect and the soundtrack is done by once again, Akira Yamaoko and is just as great as the ever.
Overall Silent Hill 3 is another brilliant game in the series. Great disturbing atmosphere, impressive visuals even to this day, great creature design and animation, fantastic story and is just as scarier as the previous Silent Hill's.
*****FINAL OVERALL SCORE*****
- Story – 9/10
- Life Value – 7/10
- My Thought Score – 9/10
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- Presentation – 9/10
- Graphics – 10/10
- Game-Play – 8/10
- Sound Design – 9/10
- Originality – 8/10
*****EDITOR'S OVERALL THOUGHT SCORE – 9/10 *****
Silent Hill 3 Review by Simon a.k.a. [TheDevilDweller]