Silent Hill

The Good
Egad, whatever you do, don't play this game alone! Not because it's scary as hell, but because you need someone to give you CPR when you have a sudden heart attack!

Seriously, most "horror" games rely on sudden surprises like Resident Evil. Silent Hill is like the movie Blair Witch Project (of which I haven't played), where the overall game itself is creepy...everything misty and mysterious...makes you wanna cuddle up somewhere warm with a lot of blankets. Yep, this is the type of game where even the audience needs a place to hide. Which is why I could barely continue with the game for more than several hours due to the lack of moral support and failing morale...turning down the volume didn't help either...

With beautiful cutscenes and detailed graphical background, this game has an A+ for graphics all the way...and dang those monsters are hard. Killer dogs, monster-like pterodactyls, how I managed the courage to play this game in the first place eludes me. A toy chicken has more guts than I do.

Anyway, I had to play the most difficult level (since I have my pride) and the fact someone told me the ending would be different...though that kinda backfired on me...

The Bad
First thing's first, killer dogs I get, zombies I get, flying pterodactyls in the beginning of the story? Come on!? The story just begin, don't start with the weird stuff at the front, maybe in the middle of the story but certainly not the beginning! The beginning of the story is more or less a mystery which kinda hard to explain what the hell are pterodactyls flying around without a reason. Sequencing please!

So I'm playing the hardest level of difficulty, doesn't mean you have to be so dang cheap with the bullets...I'm cheap already shooting those bullets, don't be cheaper than the player! Do you know how many bullets it takes to kill those "stay-down-will-you-dang" monster dogs? It even takes more bullets to kill those baby-like monsters. What I'd give for an AK-47...

The Bottom Line
Unless your a horror fan, wussies like myself should get full audience backup (and a medkit).

The Good
Well the games story line is great! This game is just creepy..no doubt about it. I saw videos of it on the internet and thought to myself that the game doesn't look scary. But man,was I wrong! The games voice acting is alright. Its better than the Resident Evil voice acting! The games lighting add on to the creepiness of the game. This game made me jump because some stuff I didn't expect happens. The game is full with scary demon dogs and these weird bats. You have a radio that detects when something is around you,in my opinion that's creepy!!! Then at times the whole games goes dark and the only thing that helps is your flash light! This is by far one of the scariest games I've played but there are some flaws...

The Bad
The games puzzles are hard! They're harder than the Resident Evil puzzles!!! Players will find themselves running in circles,going into the same houses over and over again,and more. the controls are clumsy. The character doesn't stop moving when you take your hands of the D-pad. Thus your character will run into walls or walk off ledges when you don't want him too. Konami has made some good games but this game is kinda rushed. The graphics are terrible and the environment is pathetic. The characters are blocky and the game is quite hard.

The Bottom Line
Well to put it in short: Konami tried to re-create a new Resident Evil but Failed. Silent Hill is scary and made me jump and has high points of terror. So overall this game would pleasure any player who likes horror games. But be aware, You must have patience with this game.

The Good
Silent Hill is truly disturbing. From the get go you are bombarded with horrific imagery like strung up corpses and half skinned dog carcases, this disturbing nature however is offset by the raw humanity conveyed by the characters in the game from Harry's ceaseless searching for his daughter to the sheer loneliness, isolation and despair felt by Lisa. The game itself is vast, you explore several districts of Silent Hill including one part of the game that is completely optional yet no less expansive. Weapon wise Harry can wield pipes, knives, axes, shotguns, rifles and chainsaws in his quest to find his missing daughter, an odd pick up you can find actually makes you pretty much invincible for a short period of time. Enemies are disturbing (obviously) one resembles a gorilla with it's skin pulled tight over it's body, another is a small child with razors for fingers - this sounds like a Clive Barker game but believe me it's not. For all of the blood and guts and chainsaws Silent Hill never looses it's sense of purpose, it never leads you off into corners you don't need to go to and you always know where you have to go thanks to the ingenious map which Harry draws on as he finds blocked or locked doors or impassable areas. Finally the soundtrack is simply amazing. Akira Yamaoka has struck a perfect balance between surreal, unsettling and frightening and tender, relaxed and calm tracks. Some tracks make you want to cry, others almost put you to sleep and other terrify you but they are all works of art.

The Bad
Very little in this game can be considered bad. At times some individuals may find the constant adventuring a tad tedious, others criticize the fog present in the game and at times the acting can be considered a little lame.

The Bottom Line
Silent Hill is the epitome of horror. It screws with your mind and makes you go to places you never thought of going to, the gameplay superb, character designs are excellent and the music is just so well dichotomised words cannot describe it. If you are a fan of Survival Horror and you have been avoiding Silent Hill then shame on you but it is still out there, I suggest you find it and savour the fear.