What the hell are all the critics complaining about? This game is sweet! Read on.
First I'll start with the gameplay. I have to say, not bad! You got some pretty slick controls that are pretty easy to get used to! Enemies are a little easy, but killng them feels really good, especially those Schisms. Now I don't understand why Gamespot says that Alex's good fighting skills reduce the fear factor. I don't think so, I mean Alex was supposedly discharged from the army right? Soldiers know how to fight and protect themselves don' they? Plus, you get this really satisfying feeling after finishing off an enemy. It kinda makes you say: "Yeaaaah, he ate it good!" especially if the enemy jumps you from out of nowhere in the dark! Oh, and the boss battles are nicely done! They're not that hard, but they're not that easy either. Getting hit by them might feel a little annoying, but when you hit them back or shoot them and then violently finish them off, it is satisfying in some sort of way. I mean sure, Alex is stronger than the other characters in the series, but does different mean bad? Not necessarily! And what stands out just like every game in the series, is the puzzles. Nicely done, Konami! They're pretty dang good! They're not that hard if you put your mind to them. One easy hint, just search every nook and cranny. However the symbolic ones could be a bit of a hassle, but they're possible to solve and are pretty satisfying. One problem would be a slight mistake in the programming. I mean like cutting through portraits for example. You have an axe with you and Alex thinks:" This weapon won't help me cut through this." A knife and an axe are both sharp, so they should both cut, not just the knife, but whatever that doesn't take from the fun.
Graphics. Easily the best looking Silent Hill game to date. In addition to an amazingly creepy atmosphere, so much attention was paid to the amount of detail! Props to the guys at Konami for those insane graphics! My God, cracks through walls, rust, realistic looking environments, bloody rotten corpses with flies buzzing around them, gore, enemies, every dang object in the game, this is truly commendable! Totally makes you feel like you're there, especially when you're playing the game at night when no one's home! Oh and the cinematics! Pretty movie like, with Alex standing out. The facial expressions are so very well done! Even the face itself! Very realistic! Some characters don't really look as good and realistic, but whatever, the graphics are just superb! And it always runs at a pretty good framerate, especially for a horror game.
Sound: Not much to say here, though it has been done quite nicely! The soundtrack is very original and movielike, the music really adds to the show and totally packs a wallop! Nice and creepy! Not to mention the voice acting is pretty impressive and the enemies sound amazing and real too!
Overall I totally enjoyed this game and I beat it with the good ending. There are five different endings, each ending is a reprecussion of certain choices you do near the end of the game. Like many games in the series, this one is pretty short, but fun nontheless, and you might like to try it later on the harder difficulty. If you still don't really trust my review, I'd recommend you just rent the game in case you might not like it, because you'd probably beat it before having to return it. This is a totally honest review, and thanks for reading.