One of the best series of all time, in now relased as a collection.
SILENT HILL 2
James Sunderland, is living a good life, besides that his beloved wife died 3 years ago. But suddenly, James get´s a letter from his wife saying that he can meet herin the town of Silent Hill, where they have a great time, years back. James finds out that there´s something wrong with the town, as soon as he get´s there. Everyone is gone, power is gone, and monsters roam the city. To help him, he has a flashlight, and a radio which makes static when enemies are nearby. The story is really something here, and there has been maked much of everything, such as when you encounter your first monster. One of the most special moments comes allready at the start, when you walk the long foggy, scary way to Silent Hill. Quickly you enter an aparment building, and it get´s like SH1 again. It´s dark, and you can barely see anything. Monsters are hinding in the dark so be carefull. It dosen´t help when you for the first out of many times meet The Pyarmid Head. He has a normal human body, by his head is covered by a big pyrarmid metal thing. The scary thing about him, is that you never get to know why he is here, and how he got created. The story is great, but it has it´s things that will disappoint fans. First of all, the game has nothing to do with the orginal ilent Hill. There´s a completely new set of locations, and a completely new cast of characters. It´s like the first game never existed. The story does make more sense in the end, than the orginal game did, but you never feel that you just need to know what´s happning to James.
The gameplay is much like Resident Evil, and the way to progress is similar. You get into a building, and you have to get out by solving puzzles, and finding keys. The puzzles are really good and clever, and it really makes you scratch your head, and it´s never too much, so that you need to go online for answers. The game is also very scary, as i said earlier. Sometimes you hear strange, and creppy noises, which incresses the tension. There is also times, when you walk outside, in the endless fog, which is very scary. Imange this, you run through the streets, you hear your radio making static, and noises come closer and closer. That is how Silent Hill 2 is. The bad thing here is that the game can be easy. Enemies aren´t that hard to beat, and you can easliy kill them from long-range. Sections that feels like boss battles will be easy for everyone, who has played Resident Evil.
The graphics are some of the best ever. There are moments where the game is very disturbing. The fog is fanstaic, and you really feel that you are in a foggy town. The locations are pretty, and it becomes even better when they turn into the alternatve world, and suddenly everything is replaced with old walls, blood, more locked doors, and such, which really is one of the games highlights. The frame-rate is always stable, and the character/monster design is wicked awesome.
The sound is also fantasic. There is great voice acting, and some great music, which really fits the game. The sound effects are awesome, and they are very scary.
The game is sadly short. It can be completed in 4 hours if you know what your doing. First time is more like 7-10 hours. There is 5 endings, which should keep fans busy.
Silent Hill 2 is a great game, it´s just that it has it´s story issues, and the game is remarkely easy, but it still do great, and you get pretty scared.
Score: 8.5
SILENT HILL 3
The best game in the series, and the highlight of this package.
Heather is a young woman, who spends the day at a shopping mall, when she meets the dectivcte Doglas. He says that he has been sent to find her. Heather escapes from him, to the back ally, but she can only return inside the mall again. But when she returns, monsters roam the place, and it becomes more like the Silent Hill we know. Later you get to a subway, and constructing site, and dance hall, and Silent Hill. After some time you meet Claudia, who is this strange woman, and she seems to be in control of the monsters. Heather must find home to her father. The story is much better then Silent Hill 2, mainly because you do need to find out, what happens to Heather, and it´s the ture sequel to SH1. But to get the most out of SH3, you really need to play SH1 in order to understand this game.
The gameplay is much like Silent Hill 2, and there hasen´t been many changes to the gameplay. Insted, the game is more action focused this time, and there is many key moments. The best through is when you are in an amusement park, and walking through a hunted mansion, which is really scary, and great. It´s one of the best key moments i have ever seen. SH3 also has more weapons. Most of them are meele weapons, which is a nice addtion to the series. The game is also not as easy as SH2, boss battles feel like boss battles, and enemies are harder to beat. In the end, the gameplay hasen´t changed much, but it´s still great, "If it ain´t broken, don´t fix it".
The graphics are awesome. Even through it looks very much the same, as in SH2, a new graphic engine has actulley been created here. There´s improved lighting, Heather´s flashligt, looks better, and so on. The character/monster design is way better then SH2, and the frame-rate is stable. The locations is looking even better when entering the alternative world, which is even more scairer.
The sound is just as great as in SH2. Better music, better sound effects, and better voice acting, it just dosen´t get any better then this.
The game is more like 15-20 hours like SH1 was. The game has 3 endings, but there lot´s of stuff to unlock, which should keep you at the game for a long time.
Silent Hill 3 is a great game, it´s the best game in the series. This is perfect, cause nothings wrong with the game. This game should belong in your collection.
Score: 10
SILENT HILL 4: THE ROOM
The weakest game in the series.
This time the story is more claustrophobic. Henry Townshed lives in South Ashfield, in aparment room 302. He is living a good life, but one day, things begin to be bad. He has nightmares at night. When he wakes up, and strange sight meets him. The door leading out of his is room is chained up, with diffirenet chains and locks, and a message on the door saying "Don´t go out, Walter". The windows can´t be opened, the power is gone, and no matter how much he screams, no one can hear him. Then 3 days after this began, a hole appears in his bathroom. Henry climbs through it, and suddenly appears in a subway. Henry must find out what´s happening. The story is good. There is some good twists, and a great scary plot, but in the end, it dosen´t devlier quite as good as the other SH games. First of all, there isen´t much character developments, and Henry is cold as hell. He never has any emotions. You don´t get to know about his past, he dosen´t feel anything for the other characters, he rarely speaks, and he has done nothing wrong. He is just a bystander, who is unlucky involved in this.
The gameplay has undergone some major changes this time. First of all, you have neither flashlight nor radio. There isen´t any fog, or dark rooms. You don´t even get to Silent Hill The cloest you come to Silent Hill is the forrest. There is 6 levels. Room 302, a subway, a forrest, Downtown Ashfield, aparment building, and a hospital. Each of these levels has a character, the always end up dying. In room 302, you play in first-person, and you really can explore Henry´s little, but nice aparment. Later your room get´s overwrelmed by ghosts, and it´s your job to kill them, by placing candels in front of them. When etnering the other wrold, you play in thrid-person. You enter the standard procedure of Resident Evil. This time, you won´t get into dark areas, and the fighting has incressed much. The weapons are many this time. There are through only 2 guns, a handgun, and a revolver, and then there´s meele weapons. The developers fought that they took the meele battles from SH3, and expand it, and whatever it´s a good, or bad thing, can be disucced. The puzzles aren´t as good, or clever as they where in the other games. The puzzles think they are clever, but they are suprisingly easy. A new item system has been created, and guess what, it´s like Resident Evil. You can only carry 10 items at a time, and you select them all in real-time, and you store items in a box, just like Resident Evil. But doing this, they have created a whole new issue. Want to carry to health drinks? Each of them take a seprate spot, so you could have 1 weapon, and 9 health drinks, and then you can´t carry anymore. Wired. The gameplay is also more furstrating this time. Enemies do a lot of damage to you, and some enemies don´t even need to attack you, in order to damage you.. So you die pretty easily. You can only save your game, at your aparment which you get back to, by climbing through other holes, and those holes are ofen guared by enemies, and since your aparment get´s unsafe later, it can really be furstrating, again just like Resident Evil.
The graphics are just as nice as in SH3, and there really isen´t nothing wrong here. Simpley perfect.
The sound isen´t a good through. Sound effects are reused many times, and there´s less scary effects. The voice acting is still good, but it loses a point, since the main character never really talks.
The game is 14-16 hours long, or longer depending on how much trouble you have. There is 4 endings, and few extras, but there is litlle, or nothing to make you wanna go through it all once again.
Silent Hill 4: The Room is disappointing. It´s a shame since the series was begining to be perfect after Silent Hill 3. You actulley don´t need this game, cause it has nothing to do with the other games, but if you like action horror, you might want to look at this.
Score: 7,4
PACKAGE OVERALL
Which the collecting, you get what can be one of the best series around. Even through the foruth game is disappointing, this package is still great. If you want to scare yourself. IF you don´t have Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, or Silent Hill 4: The Room, you should get this.