It's a shame that Silent Hill 4: The Room feels like a step backwards from its predecessors in almost every way. This newest edition should be applauded for trying so many new things, but the end product simply feels rushed and incomplete. The Silent Hill games have always relied on minimalistic flashlight-aided lighting to convey the series trademark sense of dread that pervades the environment. But in Silent Hill 4, there is no flashlight to be found because most of the areas in the game are lighted very nicely. So it isn't surprising that with these better lit levels much of the fear that accompanied the exploration of the previous games is lost. The new lighting also reveals how drab most of the textures on the enemies and levels are. Still, the game is very detailed, especially the apartment. The character models also look great. But too much of the ambience is traded for the ability to see more. Silent Hill games simply look better in the dark, when most of the horror is left up to your imagination. The new first-person perspective that you play in while you're inside your apartment is another neat idea not taken far enough. There aren't any real scares that take advantage of the new perspective that stick out to me. This was something I was sure the Silent Hill team would utilize to the fullest effect, but it just becomes a dull contrivance to plod around your claustrophobic and increasingly possessed apartment. Speaking of your possessed apartment, ridding your walls of demons and the like becomes more of a tedious chore than it should be. Witnessing all of the ways in which your apartment can become possessed is neat at first, but it quickly becomes nothing more than a headache. Outside of the first-person mode, the rest of the game plays out pretty much like a normal Silent Hill game with the following exceptions: there is a noticeable lack of boss encounters and puzzles, and you now have to worry about space in your inventory. The addition of a charge meter doesn't make combat any more interesting since your enemies are brain-dead. Even your non-animalistic foes (being careful not to spoil anything) aren't much trouble to deal with because of the lame AI. The only enemies that will give you any trouble are the tremendously ill-conceived ghosts. The ghosts can't be killed and they harm you just by being near you. They can only be pinned in place by one of five Swords of Obedience hidden throughout the game. Most of the time it's easier just to run by them but that becomes a real pain when you have someone accompanying you. There are ghosts and other enemies scattered throughout the entire game (the game told me I had killed over 300 enemies when I finished it), this is a shame when you consider that most of the scarier moments in previous Silent Hill games occur when you've already killed all the enemies of a given area. All the ghosts do is force you to keep up an unnatural pace that hinders the experience. One other aspect I felt was disappointing that I won't dwell too long on (since it's the most subjective of the already subjective opinions that make up my review) was the story. Saying almost anything about it would give too much away and it's probably the only reason you'll see this game through to the end, so, to put it succinctly, I'll just say that Henry, the protagonist, is bland. There are no grand revelations about him other than the fact that he visited Silent Hill once (not a spoiler, you learn that within minutes of starting the game). The characters in the last two Silent Hill games had very poignant backstories, but Henry doesn't mostly because this isn't his story. Most of the other reviews I've read make an issue out of your "sidekick," but I really didn't find her to be that much of a problem. She does a pretty good job of keeping up with you and can even help out in a fight if you equip her with a weapon. If you don't want her to attack anything, just unequip her weapon and she'll keep following you. There were only a few instances involved the ghosts, as mentioned above, that I cursed her existence. In true Silent Hill fashion, the game is filled with lots of memorable music and good sound design. The soundtrack is really great and worth hunting down if you didn't preorder the game and get it as a bonus (although, compared to the US version of the soundtrack, the Japanese version has more of that neat ambient "anti-music" that Akira Yamaoka does so well). One thing I did notice, though: Is that a public domain sound effect being used for the growling dog-things? As it stands, Silent Hill 4 is just okay. Unless you're fanatic about Silent Hill, you'll have seen all you want to see of The Room with a rental. Silent Hill 3 is still the highest point in the series so far.
This game is crazy. This is the only game I can ever think of that acually gave me anxiety . And wait till you see this dudes bathroom.Its like a bad dream that you can't escape. Thank god theres a power button. It has a... Read Full Review
The greatest asset of the Silent Hill series is how each installment is unique in its own way. Most of the time, this can provide an entertaining, suspenseful, and deep experience for the player. However, some alteration... Read Full Review
