Rather than being a good creep-fest like its predecessors, Silent Hill 4 actually makes you more pissed off than scared.
Though the graphics are not much in today's standards, the disturbing creature and scenario designs are already imposing enough to bring a nod to any hardcore Silent Hill fan. Gameplay, however, has some problems. The camera is notoriously frustrating where you can't see where you're going or what you're escaping from most of the time. Therefore, you may kind of turn your game into a frenzy bloodbath journey just to curb the frustrations.
Talking about bloodbath, there's also an impressive variety of melee weapons for your character, which sort of turns him into a gladiator. I mean, you have a Pickaxe of Despair later in the game. It's like getting Cloud from FFVII the Ultimate Weapon or the sword, Ragnarok. This is too much I think. Puzzle solving are less engaging I feel, and less interesting.
Unlockables are not much, but it does have some kinky costume stuff. How did Silent Hill come to this?! Well, as a hardcore fan of the series, I still find myself completing it at least twice even with all my grumbles, so it's still worth playing I guess, if you're also into horror-survival.
KingLim