A Portable Game Low on Scares and Story

User Rating: 5.5 | Silent Hill: Origins PSP
There is a growing trend out there that seems to believe that games for a portable device should be shorter than the console variety, this game bolsters this belief. A scant few hours long, this game builds on the lore of Silent Hill, but doesn't delve nearly as deeply or as terrifyingly as the previous iterations. It is, perhaps, unfair to compare every Silent Hill game to Silent Hill 2, considered one of the scarier entries in the series, but it is hard to ignore this.

The graphics and ambience, including sound, were perfect, but the level of involvement was lacking. The environments were dark and disturbing, the game allowing you to shift from one world to another, finding new items in each as you move from one to the other. The controls were a challenge at times, the movement laboured and the attack buttons limited by the weapon held by the protagonist. At many times in the game, I opted to run through a gauntlet rather than be outnumbered and cornered. As with most Silent Hill games, the choice is between health and standing and fighting. There is never a lot of health or ammo around, though there were a variety of melee weapons, all of which broke after a few uses.

This is a decent entry in the series, but didn't impress me in the least. I do admit I did not play the game in the dark or with headphones, probably increasing the scare factor, but the story ended in a way that made it the antithesis of a Silent Hill game. If you find this for under $10, then it might be worth it, otherwise, it probably isn't worth the investment of time or money.