TGS 2002: Hands-onSilent Hill 3

Konami has a build of the next installment in the Silent Hill series playable on the PlayStation 2 at TGS. The demo of the game shows off a new environment for the game, a rundown amusement park, and gives players an idea of what to expect from the upcoming game. Featuring bigger scares, a creepy atmosphere, disturbing CG, and familiar control, Silent Hill 3 is shaping up to be a disturbing addition to the franchise.

The game opens with the new main character, a young girl named Heather, entering an amusement park area. She is confused as to what happened to her and unsure how she came to be at the park. As she slowly gains awareness of her surroundings she realizes she is holding a knife. You take control of her shortly thereafter and can then head out to have a look around her new surroundings.

Graphically, the game is clean and manages to offer a better visual experience thanks to the combination of the new environment and an improved graphics engine. Heather's character model is generously modeled and features an impressive amount of fine detail in her face. However, as attractive as she is, the game's environments also look very nice. Heather will be able to explore new areas using a flashlight. The light cast from it is an effective device to show off the capabilities of the graphics engine as it creates warping shadows as she pans it around the interior of a room.

In terms of gameplay, Silent Hill 3 looks like it will stay true to its predecessors. We explored the park area and had to contend with some new, twisted enemies. We were alerted to their presence thanks to Heather's radio, which, like in the rest of the series, starts blasting static when enemies are nearby. When confronted with freaks of nature in the game, you'll have at least two options of dealing with them: attacking them with Heather's weapons or running like the wind. In addition to the standard gameplay that fans of the series will be familiar with, there's a new, sadistic addition that caused us quite a headache. You'll now have the option of jumping into the holes in the ground you come across--whether that decision is good or bad depends on where the holes are. This option definitely adds to the tension in the game and should keep even seasoned Silent Hill players on their toes.

Judging from what we were able to play, Silent Hill 3 should please fans of the series and further unnerve those who aren't. The new gameplay element, the creepy atmosphere, and the new story bode well for game's final release.