Shade's Review of Silent Hill 3

Silent Hill 3 was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2003.

The PC version was released in North America and Europe later that same year.

Silent Hill 3 never got a Xbox release like Silent Hill 2 & 4.

I have no idea why.

I tried finding information on why it didn't, but I cannot find anything.

KCET's Team Silent began developing the third game soon after the release of Silent Hill 2.

Some key members of Silent Hill 3 development are Kazuhide Nakazawa (director), Masahiro Ito (art director & creature designer), Akira Yamaoka (sound director & producer), Yukinori Ojima (program director), Hiroyuki Owaku (scenario writer), and Shingo Yuri (character designer).

Some members of Silent Hill 2 development were not involved in making Silent Hill 3.

Suguru Murakashi, Masashi Tsuboyama, and Akihiro Imamura were among the members of the Silent Hill 2 development that split into a second team to make Silent Hill 4 at the same time that Silent Hill 3 was being made.

Takayoshi Sato, CGI and character designer of Silent Hill 2, was not involved in either game.

According to his website satoworks.com, he eventually left Konami, and worked for Electronic Arts in Los Angeles for a few years.

He currently works as an art director for Virtual Heroes, Inc.

The storyline of Silent Hill 3 originally conceived by Team Silent was about a damaged person being called to the town.
Fans, however, wanted some resolution to the events of Silent Hill 1.
Plus, Team Silent thought their original Silent Hill 3 story was too similar to Silent Hill 2 to be a sequel to that game.
They decided to set their original Silent Hill 3 story aside as a future planned game instead, and made the third entry to satisfy fans' pleas.

The protagonist of Silent Hill 3 is seventeen-year-old Heather.

She is a typical teenager on a shopping trip at the mall when a man approaches her.

He introduces himself as Douglas Cartland, a detective.

He tells her that someone wants to meet her, and that she must know important information about her birth.

She refuses to speak to him, however, for she is not interested in what he has to tell her.

She goes to the restroom to sneak away from him, and the nightmare slowly takes over.

The nightmare shifts in Silent Hill 3 is similar to the nightmare shifts of Silent Hill 1, but Silent Hill 3 is a little more disturbing than the first two games in some ways.

I can't explain a lot about the nightmare because it will give away too much of the game.

The gameplay is primarily the same as the previous two games, and it carries on the improvements made in Silent Hill 2's gameplay.

Like James in Silent Hill 2, I have no problems with Heather running outside or inside.

The default controls of start and select buttons are now switched back to the start button pausing the game and select bringing up the inventory.

The other default control buttons are the same as the past games.

There is a little change to the inventory in Silent Hill 3.

In all three games, the inventory is a pause menu screen with the character's health, access to options and memos, and infinite amount of space of all items collected.

The inventory in Silent Hill 1 & 2 had players going through a long line of stuff when they were looking for something.

Silent Hill 3's inventory is a little more organized by dividing it into three sections: items (flashlight, radio, keys, and other important items), weapons, and supplies (healing items and ammunition).

Dividing the inventory makes it easier to find something especially when there are more special items available in subsequent playthroughs.

Silent Hill 3 brings back the separate difficulties from Silent Hill 2 for action and riddles.

This time there are three riddle difficulty levels, and fourteen action difficulty levels.

Yes, fourteen difficulty levels.

The main action difficulty choices are easy, normal, and hard.

If a player plays on easy mode and dies three times, the game will give the player the option to change the difficulty to beginner.

When a player beats the game on hard mode, extreme 1 is unlocked.

After a player beats it on extreme 1, extreme 2 is unlocked, and it goes on to extreme 10.

A new feature introduced in Silent Hill 3 is Extra New Game.

It unlocks after completing the game once.

As the title suggests, it has many extras that the regular games does not have.

Extras includes four new weapons, several costumes (most of which are unlocked through passwords), and a few small changes to the game that I will not give away.

I think the extreme modes have to be unlocked through Extra New Game, but I could be wrong.

There are three endings this time around.

Playing regular New Game always leads to the Normal ending, but playing Extra New Game allows players to see the other two endings by fulfilling the conditions for them.

Silent Hill 3 has fewer endings than its predecessors.

Years ago, I remember reading an online article of an interview with one of the members of the Silent Hill 3 creative team explaining that there was going to be at least one other ending.

Unfortunately, I cannot find this article anywhere.

The only confirmation of the team considering a fourth ending that I could find is a quote from Silent Hill 3's writer Hiroyuki Owaku in the Book of Lost Memories.

I do have some issues with the Book of Lost Memories, but I will include this quote since it is from a member of Team Silent.

He is quoted saying, "The truth is that when we first started development on this project, we considered including an ending for this situation. However, in order to show another means of resolving this in a way that could be easily understood, we decided to show it in the form of a 'game over.'"

Owaku is talking about a part at the end of the game where Heather must perform a certain action within so many seconds, or it will result in a game over.

Team Silent was thinking about making this into a fourth ending, but they made it as a game over instead.

I will put the link to Owaku's quote at the end.

Fair warning to anyone who has not played Silent Hill 1, 2, & 3, this page of the Book of Lost Memories has storyline details of those games.

I will also include a link to the Making of Silent Hill 3 video since I did so with my reviews of the first two games.
Once again, the Making of Silent Hill 3 video is best to be watched after finishing the game at least once.

Silent Hill 1 & 2 have five endings each (SH2 has a sixth ending in the Xbox and PS2 Greatest Hits versions).

The many endings in both games is one of the reasons why they're highly replayable.

Silent Hill 3 does have fewer endings, but it has more extras than its predecessors making it just as replayable.

I've always thought the complicated way that Silent Hill 1-4 told their stories is another motive for people play them over and over again.

Some fans have commented through various forums and websites that the story of Silent Hill 3 is more forthright than the first two games.

I've also read some comments saying that Silent Hill 3 is not as well told as Silent Hill 1 & 2.

It is true in some ways that Silent Hill 3's story a little more straightforward than the previous games, but that's only because it's a direct continuation of Silent Hill 1.

If you have a good understanding of Silent Hill 1's story then the main story details of Silent Hill 3 will be easier to follow.

There are details about Silent Hill 3's story, however, that are not straightforward.

It will take multiple playthroughs and some examination of information in the game to better understand the entire story.

The story of Silent Hill 3 is definitely well told.

Silent Hill 3 is a wonderful entry to an amazing series.

If you like Silent Hill 1 & 2 then Silent Hill 3 is a must own.

It is best to get the game on the PlayStation 2.

The PC version would be great as well, but it seems to be difficult to find.

Like I mentioned in my Silent Hill 2 review, there has yet to be Steam or GOG releases of the PC versions of Silent Hill 2, 3, & 4.

An HD Collection of Silent Hill 2 & 3 was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.

As I said in the review of Silent Hill 2, I strongly suggest that anyone who has not played these games to NOT buy this version.

I know the HD Collection is more convenient to get if you have a PS3 or 360, and you don't have a PS2.

But, it is not worth wasting your time and money due the numerous issues these ports have from graphical glitches (some are pretty bad), freezing, stuttering, missing or wrong sound effects, missing or wrong music pieces, problems with fog effects, and much more.

The character's voices were also re-recorded with new voice actors.

Silent Hill 2 has the option for the original voices, but Silent Hill 3 does not.

The new voice acting does not match the fantastic job done by the original actors.

Silent Hill 2 & 3 are perfect on PlayStation 2, and Silent Hill 2 has a great port on Xbox.

The Silent Hill HD Collection is a mess, and it's a terrible way to experience Silent Hill 2 & 3 especially if it's your first time playing them.

If you want to experience Silent Hill 3 in the best way possible, the PlayStation 2 version is the one to play.

Hiroyuki Owaku's quote on a 4th ending (Book of Lost Memories pg 111)
http://www.translatedmemories.com/bookpgs/Pg110-111.jpg

Making of Silent Hill 3 video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiH4wOkSzGs

Shade's Review of Silent Hill 2

Silent Hill 2 was released on the PlayStation 2 on September 24, 2001 in North America.

It was released in Japan and PAL regions at later dates.

Unlike Silent Hill 1, Silent Hill 2 is multi-platform.

It was released on the Xbox as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams with extra content in late 2001 and early 2002 depending on the region.

A Greatest Hits re-release hit the PlayStation 2 in 2002 (2003 for Europe).

There was also a PC version, which seems to be a little difficult to find at a decent price now.
Unfortunately, the PC versions of Silent Hill 2, 3 & 4 have yet to be released on Steam or GOG.

Team Silent of Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET) increased from a team of 15 people for Silent Hill 1 development to around 50 people for developing Silent Hill 2.

The team for the sequel include: Masashi Tsuboyama (Director), Masahiro Ito (Art Director & Creature Designer), Hiroyuki Owaku (Scenario Writer & Drama Programmer), Suguru Murakashi (Drama Director), Akira Yamaoka (Sound Director), Akihiro Imamura (Producer), and Takayoshi Sato (Character and CGI Designer).

Keiichiro Toyama, writer and director of Silent Hill 1, left KCET after the development of the first game was finished.

He currently works with Sony Computer Entertainment Japan where he founded Project Siren, and created the Siren series and Gravity Rush.

Many fans name Silent Hill 2 as their favorite in the series.

I'm sure it's due to the surprise revelation towards the end of the game, and everything leading up to that revelation is so well done.

I know the game was released years ago, but I'm doing my best to keep this review spoiler free just in case anyone reading this has not played it.

I will say that the plot is centered around new characters with the protagonist being James Sunderland who is grieving over the death of his wife Mary.

One day, he gets a letter claiming to be from Mary, and it says that she is in Silent Hill.

The letter prompts him to go to Silent Hill to find his wife who supposedly died three years prior.

It is a wonderful game, but it's not my favorite.

I think Silent Hill 1-4 are all wonderful games, and I cannot pick a favorite.

I love all four of them.

I don't think I got to play Silent Hill 2 until about a year after its initial release because I did not have a PS2 until then.

I know it was one of the first games I got for the PS2.

The only thing I really remember about my first time playing is that it took me weeks to play the entire game because it was so good at scaring me.

I would get to a certain part that would make me so uncomfortable, usually due to a sound effect, and I would turn off the game.

I was too scared to even care when I last saved my progress.

Once I did finish it, I loved the game just like the first one, and I loved that it brought something different.

Also like the first game, I did not understand what was going on.

I understood the surprise ending, but I did not know how the presentation of the nightmare and storyline led to the ending.

Once again, that intrigued me to replay the game many times.

In subsequent playthroughs, I understood the game better, and loved it even more.

The controls and gameplay are pretty much the same as Silent Hill 1.

They have been improved.

In my review of Silent Hill 1, my only complaint about the controls was that I had trouble with Harry running inside buildings such as the school and hospital.

Harry running on the streets is not much of a problem.

When he runs inside, though, I had problems with him running into walls.

I don't have that problem in Silent Hill 2.

James seems to run more gracefully than Harry.

I do have a little complaint about the controls in Silent Hill 2.
The pause and inventory buttons are switched.

In Silent Hill 1, the start button pauses the game and select brings up the inventory.

By default in Silent Hill 2, the two are switched and it's confusing.

Many times I will press select intending to bring up the inventory, and it pauses the game instead.

You can re-map the buttons in the options menu, but I usually forget about it while I'm playing.

It's very annoying that the two buttons were switched by default, but I can't count that as a negative since players can switch them back.

The graphics in Silent Hill 2 are very good.

It's obviously an upgrade from Silent Hill 1 on PS1.

Both games have good graphics for the consoles that they were released on.

One thing I notice about the graphics in Silent Hill 2 is how well shadows are done.

When it came to the character and monster animations, Team Silent took advantage of both full body motion and facial animations.

They tried to make movements as realistic as possible.

In the Making of Silent Hill 2 video (originally released as an extra for the European release of the game), Team Silent explains how they achieved this.

I will post the link to the video below.

It is a great video of the team talking about making the game.

I strongly suggest, though, that anyone reading this that has not played Silent Hill 2 should play the entire game before watching the video.

Some people claim that the voice acting is not very good.

If you ask me, the acting is just right.

Acting in a lot of films and TV shows can be a little too dramatic at times.

The characters in Silent Hill 2 seems like everyday people, and the dialogue is like normal conversations.

Of course, Silent Hill 2 has drama, but it is not overdone.

The horror is presented differently than the first game.

In Silent Hill 1, the nightmare was constantly shifting.

In Silent Hill 2, the nightmare shift is more gradual, and the environment changes as you progress through the game.

Silent Hill 2 also has different techniques to scare players most of which have to do with the theme of the game.

There are new monsters that also reflect themes of the game.

Silent Hill 2 has good replayability like its predecessor.

It has 5 endings depending on the player's actions (6 endings in the Xbox and PS2 Greatest Hits versions).

There are two extra weapons that are unlocked after completing the game once: chainsaw and hyper spray.

The difficulty level is divided between action difficulty (combat) and riddle difficulty (puzzles).

There are four difficulties levels for each.

Action difficulty has beginner, easy, normal, and hard.

Riddle difficulty has easy, normal, hard, and extra hard.

The extra hard riddle difficulty is hidden however.

I think it's a great idea to divide the difficulty level for combat and puzzles.

It gives players more options.

The game can be played on an easier action level but harder riddle level and vice versa.

Again like the first game, the story presentation can make players replay the game many more times as well.

The story is not told outright.

Players must pay attention to the information in character dialogue, memos, and images.

Then put the information together like a puzzle.

All four games are like this, and it's another reason why I love the games so much.

I highly recommend Silent Hill 2 to anyone especially survival horror fans.

A lot of people will recommend Silent Hill 2, and say that you don't need to play Silent Hill 1 before playing the second one.

That is true, but I recommend playing Silent Hill 1 and then 2.

If you want to better understand the Silent Hill storyline then Silent Hill 1 is a good introduction to the town, and Silent Hill 2 adds to it especially information on the town's history.

Keep in mind that it will probably take multiple playthroughs, and some examination the information in the games to better understand what is going in the town.

For anyone looking for Silent Hill 2, you're probably more likely to find it on PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

If you want the extra content then the Xbox version and the PS2 Greatest Hits re-release are the best to get.

There was a Silent Hill HD Collection containing Silent Hill 2 & 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 released in 2012, but I do not recommend that version.

Both games in the collection are bad ports with so many glitches, missing or messed up sound effects, and many other issues.

The characters voices in both games were also re-recorded with different actors, and the characters don't sound the way they should.
The good thing is that Silent Hill 2 has the option for the original voices.

Silent Hill 3 does not unfortunately.

Despite Silent Hill 2 having the option for the original voices, I still cannot recommend the HD Collection.

The ports are just too bad for me to suggest it to anyone interested in the games.

If you're interested in playing Silent Hill 2, definitely buy it on PlayStation 2 or Xbox.

Making of Silent Hill 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1VKvED76WQ

Shade's Review of The Evil Within

I just finished The Evil Within.

I have to say that it's a fun game, but it's not scary.

It's definitely a survival game, and the horror is more blood and gore than anything.

Some reviewers say that The Evil Within is what Resident Evil 5 should have been, and that it's a return to old school survival horror.

The gameplay is very much like Resident Evil 4.

It has over-the-shoulder shooting, which many games nowadays have due to the success of RE4.

There are also hordes of enemies that come after you, and tough bosses to fight.

I think The Evil Within has some improvements of the RE4 gameplay.

Unlike RE4, the camera can be moved independently of moving the main character Sebastian.

The melee is a little better.

The only melee in RE4 was using Leon's knife, and kicking enemies when a button prompt appeared on the screen.

Sebastian can punch or hit enemies with whatever weapon he has equipped.

He can also pick up weapons such as a hatchet or torch.

The problem is that as soon as you hit an enemy with it, Sebastian drops it or it breaks.

That is one thing about the game that really drove me nuts.

I understand that melee weapons cannot be kept in the inventory, but I hate breakable weapons or just dropping it after one hit.

Sebastian could have at least carried the weapon until he equipped a firearm from his inventory.

You can use stealth and sneak behind certain enemies to perform a stealth kill.

You can also hide in some places such as a locker or under a bed, but I only did that in the very beginning.

I agree that The Evil Within is better than Resident Evil 5.

One big issue that Resident Evil fans have with RE5 is that Chris has a partner, Sheva, with him at all times, and a second player can control Sheva turning RE5 into a co-op shooter.

There are parts in The Evil Within where one or both of the other detectives team up with Sebastian, but it's only for short periods of time.

For the most part, though, Sebastian is on his own so there is no co-op.
Now that I think of it, there are no quick time events in The Evil Within like there is in RE4, 5 & 6, which is a huge plus.

The fact that it has RE4 gameplay, makes some improvements on that gameplay, and does not have co-op/partner from beginning to end, The Evil Within can be thought of as a game that Resident Evil 5 should have been.

I do, however, have to disagree with the statement that The Evil Within is old school survival horror.

I think of old school survival horror as Silent Hill 1-4, Pre-RE4 Resident Evil games, the Fatal Frame series, Dino Crisis 1, and other horror games on the 5th and 6th generation consoles.

They're slower paced, you fight a few enemies and bosses here and there (not many hordes of enemies), there seemed to be more puzzles in those games, and you could spend time exploring the environments.

Of course, some people don't like slower paced games.

I like the slow paced horror games especially when such games as Silent Hill and Fatal Frame use atmosphere and sound effects to make players feel uncomfortable.

Another point is that sometimes it can be more frightening to be attacked by less enemies because it can make players anticipate when they'll be attacked again.

Resident Evil 4, on the other hand, changed the survival horror genre to be more what I call survival action with horror elements.

That is the type of survival horror continues through The Evil Within.

It is fast paced, many enemies come after you, and the bosses are tough to fight.

There isn't much inventory management, but you can only carry firearms, the agony crossbow, grenades, ammo, and health items.

The game limits how much ammo you can carry for each weapon as well as the amount of other items that you can have in your inventory.

It does have an upgrade system, which can be used to increase health, increase the number of ammo and health items you can carry, make your weapons stronger, and much more.

You collect green gel throughout the game, and the green gel is worth so many points for upgrades.

There is nothing wrong with this type of survival horror.

I just don't find it to be like old school survival horror.

I've read some review comment sections that The Evil Within is a RE4 rip-off.

Despite how similar it is to RE4 in gameplay, I have a hard time calling it a rip-off of RE4 since both games are directed by Shinji Mikami.

The horror in the game is nothing new unfortunately.

It has a lot of blood and gore.

The enemies remind me of the enemies in Resident Evil 4 & 5, and they sometimes eat people like zombies.

As I mentioned, fighting hordes of enemies and tough bosses is very reminiscent of RE4 & 5.

The nightmare experienced throughout the game makes me think of the nightmare in Silent Hill.

I will admit that I prefer the way the original Silent Hill games present the nightmare better.

Sneaking past enemies and stealth kills is similar to the Siren games.

The option to hide in lockers, closets, and under beds is also like Siren as well as indie horror games where all you can do is run and hide from enemies.

There is too much familiarity in The Evil Within for me to find scary due to the mixture of elements from other horror games.

One could say that that the mixture of elements such as the gameplay, enemies, nightmare, etc. is a love letter to survival horror.

Despite feeling like I've experience so many of these elements in other games before The Evil Within, I still appreciate it as a dedication to the survival horror genre.

Plus, I never thought fighting hordes of enemies to be frightening.

Fighting hordes of enemies makes the game intense and frustrating at times.

The only part of the game that I found a little scary was chapter 9 when you're in the mansion, and Ruvik (the main antagonist) comes after you at certain points.

I also noticed that every time Ruvik chases you, the lighting in the environment turns blue.

I think this was probably taken from one of the scrapped versions of Resident Evil 4, which fans have called Resident Evil 3.5.

This version was meant to be like the typical survival horror Resident Evil except it was more paranormal than previous games.

Footage of Resident Evil 3.5 can be found on YouTube.

Speaking of hordes of enemies being frustrating at times, The Evil Within is not an easy game.

I played the game on casual, the lowest difficulty level in the game, and I still died a lot.

It may have been the easiest difficulty provided in the game, but it sure wasn't easy.

I also ran out of ammo many times, but that's expected in a game about surviving.

The game can get very frustrating, which is why it took me over a week to finish it.

I played The Evil Within slower than I usually do with games.

I don't understand why video games are criticized for being difficult.

Many video games are easy to play, and there is nothing wrong with that.

At the same time, some video games need to provide some challenge too.

Yes, there are some games that are unfairly difficult, but there is not much unfairness in difficulty in The Evil Within.

I will say that it did overstay its welcome a little bit towards the end.

At least, it did for me.

By the time I reached the final chapter, I was ready to fight the last boss and beat the game.

But, I had to fight a bunch more enemies before I could battle the final boss.

Not surprisingly, I died several times fighting all the enemies in the last chapter.

Once I did beat them all including the last boss, I felt like I accomplished beating a difficult game, but I was also getting a little tired of playing it.

Lastly, the plot of The Evil Within is not bad.

I will not give anything away, although I will say that I'm not sure why people claim that the storyline is non-sensical.

My guess is that some people could not follow the storyline.

I didn't find it hard to follow.

The characters don't explain every detail, and no one sums up the story at the end.

The Evil Within is a little indirect with it's storyline, but I like it when stories aren't always direct.

The criticism that I have is the characters.

They have very little personality.

The voice acting has little emotion, the characters don't have many gestures, and they don't have much character development.

You do learn about Sebastian's background through journals.

Without spoiling anything, I will just say that his backstory is a little predictable.

All things considered, The Evil Within is a difficult but fun game.

I don't see it as an old school survivor horror game because it continues the survival action horror brought about by Resident Evil 4, but it's a great love letter to the genre.

For anyone who has yet to play it, I would suggest renting The Evil Within before buying it, or wait for the price to drop just in case it's not a game for you.

I don't regret getting the game at full price with 15-20 hours worth of gameplay that I found to be challenging and fun along with decent replayability of collecting items and four difficulty modes.

I also want to support good horror games released on consoles since there are so few of them these days.

But, not everyone will agree that those are good reasons for a $60 purchase.

Furthermore, there might be things about the game that will cause you to not like it especially if I described some aspects about the game that you already know might not appeal to you.

That's why I suggest to renting The Evil Within before buying it even if you're a big survival horror fan.

Shade's Review of Silent Hill

During the week of Halloween this year, I played Silent Hill 1-4.

When I was a teenager, I loved playing all four games (one Silent Hill a day) for four days straight during summer breaks from school.

I have played these games so many times it's ridiculous.

After writing about my impressions of the upcoming Silent Hills as well as just finishing these games for the umpteenth time, I thought I would write a blog on each game.

I also hope to write plot analyses of the games in the near future.

I will write about the western Silent Hill games soon when I get the chance to play them again.
As for now, I will focus on the original four games starting with the first Silent Hill.

In this post, I will give some information on Silent Hill 1, I will briefly talk about my experience with the game, and provide my of review for it.

I will also not provide many plot details in case someone who has not played Silent Hill reads this review.

Silent Hill was released for the original PlayStation in 1999, and published by Konami.

It was developed by a creative team at Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET) that Silent Hill fans call Team Silent.

According to the short Making of Silent Hill video (I will post the link below), Team Silent had 15 people working on Silent Hill including Keiichiro Toyama (Writer and Director), Hiroyuki Owaku (programmer; writer of SH2&3), Masahiro Ito (creature designer), Takayoshi Sato (character designer & CGI creator), and Akira Yamaoka (sound director & music).

In an article from Polygon (I will also post the link below), Toyama says that he was influenced by stories of occults and UFOs, and David Lynch films in creating Silent Hill.

He did not think the game could be considered horror, and was surprised when people that played it found it scary.

It is definitely a scary game, and the start of a wonderful series.

Silent Hill is the game that not only made me a big fan of this and the next three games, but it got me into the survival horror genre.

I received Silent Hill as a Christmas gift a year or two after it was released.

I was around 12-13 at the time, and I was too scared to play it.

A family member ended up playing it first so I watched them play.

Just watching the game being played made me uncomfortable.

I would close my eyes or hide behind a pillow when I thought something bad would happen.

One scare in particular scared us half to death.

I will not say which one it was in case anyone reading this has not played Silent Hill.

It took me a long time to play the game myself.
I would start playing it, but I would get too scared and shut it off.

After a few tries, I finally built the courage to play the entire game.

The game still made me uncomfortable, and I would have to take breaks from being scared.

Once I finished the game, I realized how much I enjoyed it.

Not only was it very successful at scaring me, but it was very fun to play.

The story was intriguing even though I did not understand what was happening at time, and what exactly the nightmare was due to the story being presented like a puzzle.

The fact that the story was not easy to follow made me even more fascinated with Silent Hill.

I didn't replay the first game until after I played Silent Hill 3.

After playing Silent Hill 4, I played Silent Hill 1 and its sequels over and over because I enjoyed them so much.

That is my experience with Silent Hill 1, and now I will give my review of the game.

The game itself plays very similarly to old school Resident Evil.

Like Resident Evil, Silent Hill uses tank controls.

Tank controls is the term used for a control scheme in which the directional buttons move the character in the same direction no matter the camera angle.

Up on the d-pad/left analog stick always moves the character forward, down moves the character backward, and so on.

Some people hate tanks controls.

I found them to be difficult at first as well.

Once I got used them, I realized how well they work especially in a game where the camera angles are constantly changing.

The only problem I still have is that Harry (the character you control) seems a little difficult to control when he's running.

He always seems to hit the walls when I have him run.

Due to this, I only have Harry run when he's in the streets of Silent Hill, or I'm trying to get away from enemies.

The camera angles give the game a cinematic feel.

At some points such as running down a street or a hallway, the camera angle can be switched to move behind Harry by pressing L2 on the default control layout.

Other times, the camera will be fixed on a door, an object, or just to show the player which direction to go.

Nowadays, most games have button prompts to tell players which door to open and what items can be taken.
I think using camera angles is a more artistic way of showing players where to go and important items to pick up.

Silent Hill has combat, which involves using firearms and melee weapons to kill monstrous enemies.

To fight enemies, the player holds R2 to draw the weapon equipped, and presses the X button shoot (if a firearm is equipped) or strike the enemy (if a melee weapon is equipped).

Harry also carries a flashlight and a radio.

The flashlight helps Harry and the player see in the darkness, and the radio emits static when enemies are nearby.

It's very hard to see anything in the thick fog or when the town is dark.

When it is dark and the flashlight is off, Harry cannot see to look at a map, unlock a door, or pick up an item.

But, having the flashlight on can attract enemies to Harry.

The radio lets the player know when enemies are close even though they can't be seen.

Not only does this alert the player to be prepared, but the radio static itself can become frightening because the player knows that a monster that can't be seen is getting close.

Not being able to see what is coming close to you is very frightening.

There are no HUDs (Heads Up Displays).

Everything including Harry's health indicator, weapons, items, and options is in a pause menu inventory.

That's one of the things I love about the gameplay in Silent Hill.

There is nothing on the screen to distract players.

The only downside is that you have to remember to check your health status especially if Harry has been hit a few times.

I remember some people claiming that Silent Hill is a rip-off of Resident Evil.

I never understood that claim because Silent Hill is nothing like Resident Evil.

The only thing that Silent Hill has that is similar to Resident Evil is gameplay with the tank controls, camera angles, no HUDs, and pause menu inventory.

Silent Hill was using the gameplay standard at the time set by Resident Evil, and it was used by many other horror games during the 5th and 6th console generations.

That does not make Silent Hill a rip-off of Resident Evil.

Silent Hill and Resident Evil have more differences than similarities.

A big difference is that Silent Hill focuses more on psychological horror than survival horror.

Resident Evil is survival horror due to limitations in health items, ammunition, and inventory space.

The items you can't carry with you (which will be a lot) can be kept in item boxes throughout the game.

It makes players think about what items they should have with them.

Silent Hill is categorized as survival horror, and you do have to worry about dying.

But, it is more focus on psychological horror.

There are an abundance of health items.

If you play hard mode, though you might be using more of those health items.

Ammunition is not too much of a worry unless, again, you play hard mode, and you don't increase the ammo count in the extra options menu.

There are several melee weapons such as the kitchen knife, steel pipe, etc.

Of course using melee weapons means that you have to come in close range with enemies, which can lead to Harry taking more damage.

The inventory space in Silent Hill is unlimited.

There is no place to store items nor is there a need to because Harry carries everything.

That does seem unrealistic, but so does Jill or Chris carrying weapons, herbs, and other items in their pockets.

Silent Hill is more psychological horror due to the atmosphere, sound effects, and horrifying environments.

Jump scares are few and far between.

It is more about constantly anticipating something to happen.

The music and sound effects can make players feel on edge.

It plays on the fear of the unknown.
For example, a crash may be heard that can scare players (scared me the first few times), but you have no idea where the noise came from or what caused it.

The environments are always shifting from normal (fog and snow) to dark to nightmare, and the cycle repeats.

The shifting in the environment makes it seem unpredictable especially during the first playthrough.

It usually takes something to trigger the shift such as when Harry uses three keys to unlock the backdoor of a house, and the town becomes dark when he goes through the door.

I found the nightmare to be very disturbing with the blood and rust walls, grated floors, and disfigured bodies.

It made me want to get the hell out.

Harry questions reality throughout the game, and it makes players question what is real and what is just a dream.

There is a lot to the storyline of Silent Hill.

I will save most of the details for my plot analysis.

It begins with Harry driving his daughter Cheryl to the resort town of Silent Hill for a vacation.

A female motorcycle cop passes Harry on the highway to the town.

Moments later, Harry passes the cop's abandoned motorcycle, and the cop is nowhere to be found.

He then sees what looks to be a person walking in the road, and Harry turns the wheel in a panic causing the jeep they're in to run off the road.

He later wakes up, and finds that Cheryl is gone.
He goes to look for her in the foggy town of Silent Hill.

Lastly, the game has good replayability.

There are three difficulty levels: easy, normal, and hard.

There are five endings to achieve depending on players' actions during the game.

A statistics results screen is shown after the credits giving the players a star rating based on the time it took to beat the game, number of deaths, endings achieved, etc.

The statistics can be an incentive for players to attain a better star rating.

Afterwords, players can save their results to play Next Fear on their second playthrough.

Next Fear has extra items and weapons based on the endings accomplished.

It's also the next level up in difficulty.

If a player plays on easy the first playthrough then Next Fear will be on normal, and so forth.

I think the puzzle-like presentation of the storyline adds to the replayability as well.

It certainly made me replay it over and over so I could I figure out the story through character dialogue, memos, and images within the game.

I think this is a great place to end the review.

I love Silent Hill.

I don't have anything bad to say about the game.

The only criticism I have is the clunky controls with Harry running into walls at times, but the next two games improve on it.

I have the played the game so many times that I'm not scared of it anymore, but I still love the game due to the creativity of Team Silent.

I don't like giving number ratings so I won't do that.

I will say that anyone who loves horror games and especially Silent Hill, Silent Hill 1 is definitely worth keeping forever.

For anyone who has never played Silent Hill 1, but has played other Silent Hill games or liked the Silent Hills P.T. demo then don't hesitate to buy a used copy.

A digital version is also available for PS3 and PSP through the PlayStation Store for $6.

Making of Silent Hill 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoIJ2EzUtpo

Silent Hill Creator Discusses How He Joined the Game Biz
http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/30/5048140/silent-hill-creator-discusses-how-he-joined-the-game-biz-and-why

Silent Hills: My Thoughts on the Upcoming Silent Hill

First off, I have yet to play the Silent Hills demo myself because I don't have a PS4 yet.

I have seen it played through YouTube videos.

It is best to watch it without commentary if you don't have a PS4 because it can be much more immersive.

When the Silent Hills teaser demo was originally announced as P.T., I really didn't have much interest in it.

Then hours later, it was revealed that it was actually a teaser demo announcing a new Silent Hill game being made by Hideo Kojima with Guillermo del Toro, and Norman Reedus as, presumably, the main character.
P.T. just stood for Playable Teaser.

Silent Hill 1-4 is one of my favorite video game series of all time.

Of course, I had to check out this demo, and the best way I could do that was to find it on YouTube and Twitch.

The demo itself was great.

It's a constant loop of a hallway in a house, which works really well because something different happens every time you go through.

It scared me just watching it.

At times, I would cover my eyes when I thought something bad was going to happen.

I found some parts to be very disturbing like the creature in the sink that looked like a human baby, and the ghost, Lisa, especially when she grabs you.

I'm guessing her name is Lisa from the message "Forgive me Lisa, there's a monster inside of me" above the door at the end of the hall.

What made me the most uncomfortable was the refrigerator hanging from the ceiling, and hearing sounds of someone screaming like they were trapped inside.

It made me think of the hell it would be if I were trapped in a very small space with no way out.

It has been a long time since a horror game has scared me like that.

It also amazes me that anyone that has played the demo has yet to figure out one solution of finishing the final puzzle.
Everyone seems to find a different method of doing it.

It makes me wonder if Kojima intended the game to have one solution that no one can figure out exactly what it is, or did he intend to have many solutions that would be different for each person?

Kojima said that he thought it would take at least a week for someone to finish the game.

Either way, it's obvious that he intended to make the demo difficult to finish.

There were also a few parts that reminded me of Silent Hill.

The first thing that I noticed is that a lot of weird stuff happens in the bathroom.

Bathroom scares or just plain weirdness in bathrooms are very common in Silent Hill 1-4 because Japanese children were told horror stories involving toilets.
Due to these stories, members of Team Silent (the creative team of Silent Hill 1-4) associate bathrooms with horror in some ways.

Masahiro Ito briefly explains the scary bathroom stories in the Making of Silent Hill 3 video.

I also noticed that Lisa can sometimes be seen with her head twitching like Valtiel in Silent Hill 3.
The head twitching was an influence from the film Jacob's Ladder.

Her head twitching is most obvious when she is seen in the bathroom mirror and the window.

Something else I took note of is that the nightmare in the demo plays out similarly to the original games.
I sometimes find it a little difficult to explain how the nightmare in Silent Hill works, but I will describe it the best that I can.
The area you're in starts out normal, but a little unsettling such as Silent Hill being a foggy town that seems to be deserted.

In P.T., the house seems to be deserted with sounds of rain and a person on the radio talking about recent murders.
In Silent Hill 1-3 (and SH4 in some ways), it progressively becomes a disturbing nightmare with monsters attacking the player, weird things happen like noises with unknown causes, and the environment usually gets darker with only a flashlight to see.
Sometimes the environment becomes grotesque with grated floors, blood and rust walls, hanging bodies, etc.

This is demonstrated very well in P.T. with strange noises, changes in lighting, Lisa's appearances, etc.

Once the nightmare is at its worst, it goes back to a more normal state.

Usually the grotesque nightmare shift, or Otherworld as Harry calls it in Silent Hill 1, is triggered somehow especially in Silent Hill 1 & 3.

One example is in Silent Hill 3 when Heather is at the Hilltop Center, and she turns the knob on the bathtub.

Instead of water coming out of the faucet, blood fills the bottom of the bathtub from the drain, and the environment becomes a blood and rust nightmare.

In both Silent Hill 1 & 3, the nightmare will sometimes go back to normal after a boss fight.
I don't remember how the otherworldly nightmare is triggered in P.T., but I do remember what seems to makes it go back to normal.

There is a part in P.T. where the hallway has red lighting, pictures on the wall are eyes that move, and your character seem to be moving very fast through the hall.

When the player finds a hole in the wall, they can peep into the bathroom, and hear sounds of a murder happening.

Afterwards, the hallway goes back to normal as the player walks further down the hall.
The environment shifts in P.T. just like the original games.

It makes the environment seem unstable, and people often fear instability in their environment such as weather or crime.

Kojima has the ability to lead a creative team to make a great horror game as shown by the P.T. demo.

He is already well known for making wonderful games such as Metal Gear Solid and Snatcher.

P.T. also demonstrates that the Silent Hill game he makes may be amazing.

There are also members of Team Silent that now work for Kojima, which boosts my convince in his team making Silent Hill.

At the same time, I can't help but be a little nervous about the new game in some ways.

The new game has already been a little hyped especially by how the game was announced even though we know very little about it.

Releasing a teaser demo disguised as a new indie horror game with the intent to have players finish it to see the announcement trailer is an awesome way reveal a new game.

But, the hype worries me.

Games don't always live up to the hype, and I'm afraid that the same might happen to Silent Hill.

It's possible that there might be so much hype around the game that it's hard to live up to it.

I hope that doesn't happen.

I'm also not sure how Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus can contribute to making a wonderful Silent Hill game.

I'm not very familiar with Guillermo del Toro's work.

The only film of his that I've seen is Pan's Labyrinth.
From what I remember, some of the scenes such as the creature designs were very creative.

I will not decide whether or not he's good for his part on Silent Hill until I play the game, and I understand what his role is in making the game.

I will say that I'm not too sure about Norman Reedus in Silent Hill.

I don't watch Walking Dead, but I know that his character in the series, Daryl Dixon, is popular.

My issue is that Silent Hill has never been about celebrity characters.

It has always been about typical every day people experiencing theirs or another person's nightmare in Silent Hill.

It makes wonder if it will make players think more about playing Daryl Dixon in Silent Hill than playing a new character.

I would think that Reedus and the people directing him would be focused on him portraying an original character for the game, and not make him as a Daryl Dixon clone in Silent Hill.

I hope casting Norman Reedus works out for the game, and it ends up that I didn't need to have doubts in the first place.

Of course, the fact that recent Silent Hill games made by western developers have not been up to par with the Team Silent games makes me cautious in getting too excited for the new Silent Hill.

The western Silent Hill games aren't terrible, and they can be fun to play at times.

They are just not scary like the original games were, and they also don't always make sense with the narrative established by the first four games.

I think of Origins, Homecoming, Shattered Memories, and Downpour as more of western horror games influenced by Silent Hill or western versions of Silent Hill.

I have to admit that the name Silent Hills doesn't sound right.

Having the S at the end just seems weird.

Kojima says that the S is for plural scariness.

I'm not sure what he means by that.

I like to think of it as another way of calling it Silent Hill 5.
I know that sounds kind of dumb, but I've been waiting for Silent Hill 5 for 10 years now.

As enjoyable as the western Silent Hill games can be, I don't think of them as true sequels to Silent Hill 1-4.

I really hope that this is the Silent Hill 5 that I've been waiting for, but I'm also trying not to let my hopes up especially since not much is known about the new game.

One last thing.

I've read that some people would like the game to be in first person since the demo is in first person.
Some have also stated that many horror games nowadays are in first person, and it can make players feel more like the scares are happening to them rather than the character they're playing.

I have to disagree with that.

First of all, not every horror game has to be first person.

Second, I'm sure the demo was in first person because they were trying to make it look like an indie game, and possibly to hide the fact that you're playing Norman Reedus until you see the trailer at the end.

Third, Silent Hill has always been a third person series, and they did a great job making players feel like the nightmare was happening to them especially with the different camera angles.

Silent Hill 4 has a mix of first and third person perspectives.

You play in first person when you are in Henry's apartment, and third person outside of his apartment.

I wouldn't mind if they did something like that for the new Silent Hill.

The game could be in third person for certain areas, and first person in others.

I also read that the game may give players a choice to play in first or third person.

That's fine too.

I just don't think the game should only be in first person when the series has always been in third person perspective.

My current thoughts of the game are very positive, but I have a few concerns that I hope will be proven wrong.

I am excited about it especially after seeing the demo that shows what Kojima is capable of in making a horror game, and the series is back in the hands of a Japanese creative team.

Hopefully some Team Silent members are working on the game as well.

It would be awesome if Hiroyuki Owaku (story writer for Silent Hill 2 & 3), Masahiro Ito (creature designer), and Akira Yamaoka (sound effects and music) would have roles in developing the game.

Kojima says that the new Silent Hill will come out in 2016 at the earliest.

Hopefully we will have more information about the game in the coming months.

Until then, I will be excited for the new Silent Hill game while bracing myself for the worst just in case.