E3 06: Silent Hill Origins First Impressions

LOS ANGELES--At Konami's press conference today, the Japanese developer unveiled a trailer for the tentatively named Silent Hill Origins. The PlayStation Portable game is an original game set prior to the first Silent Hill game when, presumably, the town was less creepy and fatal to newcomers. Though there weren't many details given out, what was made known certainly sounds like a Silent Hill game.

The game will follow the adventures of Travis O'Grady, a truck driver who winds up hitting town and getting sucked into local weirdness while on a routine delivery. He discovers pretty quickly that the locals "aint quite right." To make matters more complicated, he'll have to deal with the hallucinations that have plagued him since childhood. From the sounds of it, the luckless truck driver will be hauling ass to get to his truck and get out of town before something horrible happens. Although, if you're familiar with the Silent Hill series, it's pretty much a given that some messed-up stuff will go down before the game is over.

In its press materials and presentation on the game, Konami mentioned a number of different elements to look out for. New visual effects are being implemented in the game. A new "barricade" system will let you block off rooms from enemies, which should make avoiding the insane critters that are intent on killing Travis interesting. The game will feature a camera system designed specifically for the handheld experience. The same holds true for the control scheme, which is being tailored for the PSP. The game will also feature an original soundtrack by series composer Akira Yamaoka.

Silent Hill Origins is slated to ship in 2007. Look for more on the game in the coming weeks.