Few franchises can put out three subsequent equally good games. Silent Hill 3 is excactly what you want it to be.
I should say shame on me but actuallt it felt good. PLaying this i instantly felt at home. Even 10 years later i still knew how to play Silent Hill, how to avoid enemies rather than fight them. Silent Hill 3 is a pure sequel, it is purely rooted in the SH mythos and doesn't even try to do anything different. Fo that, check SH4 or Shattered Memories.
SH3 is textbook survival horror. Maybe the last of a golden age that started with Resident Evil. After that, Konami and Capcom decided they needed to try something new, and while it seemed promising at first, we completely lost the classic gameplay we al love until an american company decided to revive it in Dead Space.
If you played Silent Hill before you know what you're getting. No surprises, and to me that's a good thing and that's why i felt at home.
What makes silent hill great is the extremely disturbing atmosphere. It's not as much scary as terrifying ! The game looks pretty good even 10 years later. Environments like the amusement park or the hospital are beyond creepy, and you don't want to put the controller down because you need to see the end of it. In fact the game is so addictive that i started on morning and didn't stop until the end (that's 7-8 hours). Just couldn't stop.
The enemies design is absolutely creepy, as good as SH2. New monsters like Insane Cancers or Missionaries are strong and not worth fighting, and make you feel so weak and helpless. The caracter models are really good, even now. Voice acting is ok, not the best but doesn't hurt either.
The controls are pure Silent Hill, which means clunky but works great in the context of the game. Once you get used to it you'll forget about it except on a few awkward occasions where you have to avoid enemies while walking on a ledge.
The story is really good and actually explains a lot of what happened in SH1, which was always mysterious. It might actually be worse than anything you can imagine.
If you're a real nerd you will be delighted with alternate costumes such as salor moon outfit (which includes a cutscene where heather transforms), and hidden weapons as the lightsaber.
Although this is fun, it kind of takes away the scare which is the whole point of the game. So u know, nice to have bonuses, but the 1st play through will give you all you need, and there not really any reason to go back. I doubt i'll play again soon, i have so many other games to beat.
The only thing i didn't like was not being able to roam freely through the streets of Silent Hill. The game is structured as a platformer, once you finish a level you can't go back, on to the next.
SH3 is a classic. It's just as good as SH1 and SH2, just better looking. It's the definiton of a survival horror game, anything you do different might result in failure.
A "HD" version of this game has been released recently for PS3 and XBOX360. I heard the port was not great and had issues. Honestly this game looks pretty good on PS2 even on my 32" screen with the widescreen "zoom" option. There's no need to upgrade it to HD, it's so dark you don't really see much anyway, so the graphic flaws of the PS2 are not as much a problem is this game as in say, GTA SA or FFXII. Plus you'll find it for 9,99 easily.