Silent Hill Origins attempts to explain events preceding the original Silent Hill with moderate success.
Silent Hill Origins begins in the traditional ambiguity that you would expect from the franchise. The story's protagonist has some unexplained connection to Silent Hill via vague dreams that seem oddly familiar. When a mysterious figure steps in front of his truck Travis is forced to stop suddenly; upon further investigation Travis finds that the mysterious person has vanished. After a few "canned" now you see me now you don't moments thanks to one cleverly placed reflective surface namely Travis's door mirror, the figure, a young girl finally emerges in front of the truck and takes off into the fog. Travis's persistence and undying need to find out if the girl is okay leads him to discover that the fog is actually smoke coming from a burning house. Hearing a scream he realizes the girl is actually in that house, thus the story begins.
Gameplay was much to be expected following generally the same mechanic as other Silent Hill games. The PSP button configuration is no exception; in fact the translation was a lot smoother than I expected. Mainly using the left analog to move, the left shoulder button to reset camera, and the right shoulder to ready your weapon while the X button executes the attack, all operate rather seamlessly. You also have easy access to maps using the triangle button and items using either the D-pad or select button; all in all a very comfortable game to play on the PSP.
Attacking is something I did a lot of in this game. The creatures are more aggressive in Origins and are not as apt to let you evade them as in other Silent Hill games. The developers utilize a "breakable weapon" mechanic that truthfully I can't stand. How the hell do you break a wrench? At any rate, the mechanic definitely adds to the survival horror aspect of the game which really forces one to use some strategy when dealing with the unfriendly. There are a variety of different items used as weapons ranging from items you can throw like portable TVs to melee such as, a katana, to ranged weapons like the shotgun. However, if evasion is your thing you'll notice that the developers added a stamina parameter to Travis which turns our hero into a little girl with asthma after only a few seconds of running.
A few significant changes have been made to feature a "grapple system" that allows enemies to grab you then the screen will display a series of button combinations, hitting the correct combination will allow Travis to escape. Another new feature is that the Otherworld is now accessible by touching mirrors and can be done at will. I was on the fence over this one but I am really in favor of this now. It adds a great layer of strategy in negotiating the map as finishing some parts of the story can only be accomplished by accessing the Otherworld and vice versa.
The environment will seem right at home to veterans of Silent Hill with all the urban blight, fog, rusted metal, and blood that you know and love. A few new locations have been added to the mix along with some old favorites like Alchemilla Hospital; there is a sanitarium, the Artaud Theatre, and don't forget to check out the butcher shop on the way to the sanitarium to get a first glimpse of a new character.
With some minor annoyances such as, breakable weapons, the stamina parameter, and unlike this review, relatively short story. Silent Hill Origins is a much needed and long awaited addition to the Silent Hill franchise. As a long time fan of Silent Hill I was thoroughly pleased with this game as a PSP title.