Silent Hill

The Good
The atmosphere is undoubtedly my favourite part in Silent Hill. And to it there are three main contributors – the soundtrack (a horror piece in itself), the setting and the plot. The soundtrack is so eerily creepy that even standing still while listening to it can give me the creeps. The setting is wonderfully done, at all times conveying a feeling of loneliness and despair, with beautifully arranged camera angles – very cinematic indeed. The graphics, (even though they haven’t aged very well), still convey the message Silent Hill is trying to pass on, with the transitions between worlds very cleverly done. Finally, the plot is outstanding, making you gather bits of it throughout the game in order to fully comprehend what has come to pass – when I finally got it all, I was simply blown away.

The Bad
The gameplay in Silent Hill is, sadly, its weakest point. The controls are incredibly sluggish, and moving Harry around is not only a challenge but also very annoying, to the point where running from enemies seems much more tempting than to simply try and face them. I hate trying to shoot an enemy and suddenly finding myself with my back to them, without knowing why. And of course, one cannot mention Silent Hill’s flaws without referencing the god-awful voice acting – it is no Resident Evil by any means (“NO, DON’T GO!”…ugh), but it still sounds incredibly cheesy, and it doesn’t look like the actors are even trying (particularly in Harry’s case).

The Bottom Line
This game was the first of its kind to truly tackle horror from the psychological perspective, and able to do it successfully. If you have the patience to deal with the cumbersome controls, it is a must-play of the horror genre, and would have been the best of the series if not for its immediate sequel, Silent Hill 2.

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
It took me a year to finally agree to get Silent Hill 2 (I'm not much into any kinda horror, but when the story beats it to second place, I'm always in), but wanted to try out the original prior to immerse myself fully into the psychic twist of the second. Starting with a great pening, Silent Hill puts you in a story as swiftly as possible, due to a crash, your daughter Cherryl has gone missin'. Now you have to explore the dead town of Silent Hill following her traces, to unravel the mystery that lies in the finale, and background story between you and your daughter.

As this is Konami's first attempt to enter the world of horror-survival, they entered it in a style, making it a PSX game only, they achieved amazing graphical effects from that little console, and put creepy sounds and effects in main use of creating an atmosphere instead of music, which was in use mainly for opening and end credits. Alone in the Dark series created the genre using a mansion as a point of all conflicts, Resident Evil series recreated the genre employing more open fields and non-stop action in use, and Silent Hill added the real emphasis on the world 'horror' in this survival genre.

Like it goes with these games, they ain't as adventure to have many dialogues and characters, but use couple of them throughout the entire game, making a random appearance to upgrade the story. Characters in SH are as mysterious and unqieu as you may possibly want them (only surpassed by those in SH2 with their depths of backgorund exploration). Bottomline, this just starts as "father searching for his daughter" story and it unveils unto mystery and suspense to its utmost experience.

Sometimes, it was just begging me to turn off the console and take a break from all the suspense the game gave me. But it wasn't so psychical like in its sequel, it is just pure, normal, horrifying situation the game constantly gives you. Switching from reality filled with predatorian animals from hell to some alternate world filled with monsters and killer nurses. Yeah, this hospital in 'ere will kill ya. But hey, whoevere said what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ;)

The Bad
This game simply took both words that define its genre way too seriously. In attempt to enter the world of horror-survival, they made one steap ahead and make it too real for players with a weak heart. So heed the warning.

And I never know wether to quality multiple ending in a game as plus or a minus. Sure, it extends replayablility level, but sure shortens the gameplay time. And frustrates if you achieve an ending that is not supposed to be original and must replay it again and know exactly what to do to achieve the right or desired one. No, multiple ending isn't a bad thing, but I can't see how it can be an entirely good thing either.

The Bottom Line
With Silent Hill Konami made their entrance into horror-survival genre and they've proven they can compete and even to surpass the fittest of its kind. Silent Hill is not just a horror game with no point like many out there. Silent Hill has the spirit which will keep you want for more, keep you under suspense 'til the very end. And while Silent Hill made their entrance, Silent Hill 2 placed Konami on top of the sole throne. I was intrigued by the second, and hence opened the gate to both worlds of SH, normal and alternate. And there's a thing I can say about it, some fears are worth experiencing.