Silent Hill is Konami’s first step in the door for the survival horror genre and really gives Resident Evil a run for its money in terms of scares. While Resident Evil has been about pop-out scares, Silent Hill breaks this trend by immersing the player in a nauseatingly twisted trip down Psychological Lane. If you seen movies such as Jacob’s Ladder, Hellraiser, or Angel Heart, you’ll have a pretty good idea for what’s in store for you. In fact, Silent Hill is so different from Resident Evil and is so good at what it does that it’s a classic and should be in everyone’s survival horror collection. In the game you play as Harry Mason, a writer who decides to take a late vacation to Silent Hill with his daughter Cheryl, but all does not go well. While Harry’s driving at night, a woman darts into the road and Harry swerves his jeep into a gully to avoid hitting her. When Harry awakens after the crash, Cheryl is missing from the passenger seat and he must find her. However, there is something seriously wrong with the town when Harry discovers that besides the weather snowing out of season, there are monsters inhabiting the town and every exit is blocked, trapping him and others within the town. What separates this game from Resident Evil is the fact that not only do you have your basic firearms but also a variety of melee weapons to bash creatures with (and yes, there’s more than that puny Resident Evil knife!) Melee weapons range from a steel pipe to a huge hammer that takes most enemies out in a couple of blows. Firearms include the standard sidearm, shotgun, and hunting rifle. Most of the environments are pitch dark and you have to make use of a pocket flashlight to guide your way around. You also have a radio that blares static when monsters are near that’s apparently inaudible to the monsters. There’s also a search-view which you use to locate items and enemies. It’s also good to note that when you have a firearm or melee weapon drawn, you can move around unlike in Resident Evil where you can only pivot. Controls are a little tight but it’s very forgiving how in later parts of the game you can use them to escape danger, there’s even strafing! The graphics are very good because of how there are no pre-rendered backgrounds and everything is 3D. There are enough satanic imagery and blood that it will DEFINITELY have your hairs standing when playing at night. Its claustrophobic interior environments won’t help too much either as they get pretty crowded with enemies during your adventure. CG cut scenes are very top-notch and comes close too the quality of high-caliber games like the Final Fantasy series. As for sound, it’s respectable and very similar to other survival horror games. The music consists of a lot of industrial and distorted recordings done by Akira Yamaoka. When combined with the environment and the setting, it’s very scary and in puts you in the realm of the macabre and the unknown. With four endings, the ten-star ranking, and secret weapons, there’s plenty of replay value here. It takes on average 10-15 hours the first time through but about half the time for a veteran player. Konami has created a masterpiece of the macabre and terror. If you’ve grown tired of Resident Evil, there’s another series that’s fresh and unique enough to satisfy your horror craving that gets better with every play-thru.
The first game of the series and the most unique of course. While today seems that Silent Hill suffers in the graphics part,don't let that fool you.It is an excellent game!!! When it was first released it gave a ne... Read Full Review
During the Playstation era of video games, Konami created an array of classic titles for just about every gamer. For the person who loved complex plots and Hollywood production values, there was Metal Gear Solid; for the... Read Full Review
