Hello and welcome to ToriJ's Video Game
Reviews. We're coming up on the last week of Halloween Month, and I
thought we'd end on a high note by looking at another fan favorite in
the survival horror genre. Silent Hill!
Silent Hill is a series
of games created by Konami that debuted in 1999, inspired by the
Resident Evil franchise. It
introduced us to a mysterious town drenched in fog that, as of the
second game, shaped itself according to the visitor's psyche
creating horrible abominations hell bent on killing you. The first
game in the series is largely overshadowed by the second and third
games which put Silent Hill on the map. Ever since Silent Hill 4:
The Room, fans believe the games to have dipped in quality. So much
in fact that Konami brought in Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo
Kojima, and film director, Guillermo del Toro, to help revive
the franchise, and I... And I...
I have never played a
Silent Hill game.
Despite my love for the
genre, and being around when these games came out, they just always
eluded me for one reason or another. No longer! Today I look at this
game not through nostalgia, or shaded lens, but as a new experience,
and to be fair I'll only compare it to games that came out around
this time.
The game opens up with a
cinematic intro highlighting several cut-scenes in the game,
something that was common place for survival horror games at the
time. Only I can't say the opening of Resident Evil 3, and Dino
Crisis gave me such a chill from the music. We also keep cutting
back to the main character and his daughter driving in the car
leading up to crashing in Silent Hill. As soon as you start the
game, the main playable character is waking up and his daughter is
gone. Makes more sense than vanishing into a puff of smoke on your
way to a mansion.
You play as Harry
Manson, professional writer (hey, he's just like me!) and adoptive
father of Cheryl Mason. Your goal is to find her in the foggy maze
that is Silent Hill. Sounds easy enough, right? Right.
Silent Hill's controls
are smoother than Resident Evil's. Harry turns a bit more naturally
and can even sidestep. You even have more control of the camera as
it follows behind Harry, except in certain areas for dramatic
effect. There's also a first-person view mode so you can look around,
as well as a button to hold your gun at the ready like in Dino
Crisis. The Dual Shock feature is utilized by having the controller
vibrate in line with Harry's heartbeat when he's low on health. That
really helps you feel his pain while desperately looking for
something to replenish it.
Sidestepping comes in
handy for dodging monsters while holding down the run button, but be
careful since you can actually run into a wall. Monsters
appearances will be activated after hearing the siren in the city go
off. When you hear that noise, run! Run like your life depends on
it, because it does! These things will come out of nowhere. Can't
tell you how much I've swore already from a dog jumping me. I hate
the sound of the wings of the Air Screamer every time I hear it.
And I thought
London was foggy.
I love how
explorable the city is while still maintaining that sense of
isolation. Other games will usually limit you to a building, and
even the games that let you into a city feel a lot more secluded,
but here? Here you can explore right after leaving the cafe. You kind
of have to if you want to figure out where to go next.
While the
voice acting isn't Metal Gear Solid
style of quality, it's nowhere near as bad as Resident Evil or
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I'd say it's about average,
passable enough to not ruin immersion. Harry is also voiced by
Michael G, the same man who did Richter Belmont in
Castlevania, so it's nice to see him be more grounded this time
around.
If I wasn't
afraid of the dark before, I am now.
The horror
is phenomenal and just blows the other survival horror games I've
played out of the water. I've never been so paranoid playing a
horror game. Silent Hill had me thinking I was going to get a game
over when I was in Finney alley, only to watch a cut-scene play
instead. You can't even turn a corner in this game without being
scared senseless, and some of the enemies can't even hurt you.
Harry's aim
could use some work. You can be at close range with a monster and
Harry will still miss a couple of shots while shooting. Good thing
there are plenty of places to stock up on ammunition. I guess if
Harry never had much experience with guns it'd make sense that he'd
miss on occasion. There are even cops who will miss every once in a
while.
Conclusion:
Silent Hill is everything a
survival horror game should be. Scary, suspenseful, and mysterious.
If you're a fan of the genre I definitely recommend it.
Get
it.
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