Silent Hill

"Silent Hill is one of the most creepiest games ever created"

Silent Hill 1 for the PSX is one of the scariest games ever released! In Silent Hill, you play as Harry Mason, going on a vacation to Silent Hill! Then all hell breaks lose when you get there. You lose your daughter, and there are all types of demons trying to kill you! So you must find your daughter Cheryl. Easier said, than done. Silent Hill makes you use your brains, to solve the hardest puzzles ever on a horror/survival game. It really takes time to solve these puzzles too. So write down things you think are important! Or else you might as well get a guide. But the puzzle solving does add a little mystery to the game. The game has great concepts. Well the basic concepts are: Scare the hell out of gamers, while making a great game. And that's exactly what Konami did! The game has four difficulty settings, Easy, Normal and Hard, I won't spoil the other, cause you have to earn it. The enemies in Silent Hill will freak you out. You have a flashlight to illuminate the dark, and you have a much needed radio that tells you when enemies are nearby.

There are plenty of enemies trying to kill you throughout the game. You can either shoot, stomp, or beat the enemies with hand weapons. The game does have a little realism too. You'll visit schools, hospital, sewers, amusement park, and other places in the game. If you turn your flashlight off, most enemies won't be able to see you, unless you make noise by running. Where else, some enemies will hunt you down, this sure adds a different type of fear to the game! The controls are very nice and responsive. You can also change the controls for the best experience. The sounds in the game will scare the crap out of you. Every moan, groan, and scream will have you sleeping with your bedroom door open with the lights on I feel sorry for those who played this game and live alone. The bosses are scary as well. Silent HIll has it's fair share of enemies and bosses. So for a place that's so scary, Harry Mason doesn't even get scared! He just asks about his daughter the whole game, he doesn't even break a sweat half the time, when there are enemies surrounding him. He just sounds so casual. This make the game feel a bit unrealistic (although it is!). The game does have an interesting and great storyline. There are 5 different endings. So what you do while playing the game will effect the game ending. Silent HIll does have high replay value, because it has multiple endings, a great storyline for you to figure out, and a ranking system that explains how well you did in the game.

You will probably never experience fear like Silent Hill has. The enemies have their weaknesses and strong points. Harry also has a few weapons to choose from (handgun, shotgun, rifle etc.). Harry can also use hand weapons, such as a knife, hammer, axe, you get the picture. The controls are o.k, but you'll have to get used to them. Every button on the controller can be re-assigned, Seriously. You can save plenty of data with only one block also. The graphics might seem old at first, because it's an old generation game, but give Silent Hill a chance, and the graphics will either impress you or scare you! The ambient sounds and music will scare you throughout this horror game. Play with your lights on, cause Silent Hill is no joke. It will make you lose your sanity from time to time. So if you haven't played this classic, buy it before it's too late and play it at night.
Silent Hill will most likely have you playing it for years. (5 years+ for me)
Silent Hill 1 for the PSX get a 9/10

*SKNMAK BREAKDOWN*
Graphics: 7/10
Pretty good for a playstation 1 game. It's obvious that the flashlight feature was used to break down the polygon count on screen. The lightning (flashlight) effects is very nice in the game too. It looks very realistic, for a PS1 game. Enemies look scary, as well as the bosses in the game. The blood looks good as well. Even Harry bleeds when he's attack. There aren't too many bad graphic glithes in the game. But these most certainly are not the best graphics for a PS1 game, but SH looks good overall. So the game's graphics are well above average, for the PS1. The blood look real enough for anyone because the game is so damn scary.

Controls: 8/10
The controls are very nice in Silent Hill 1. The controls feel comfortable too. So, if you don't like the controls you can customize all the buttons to your likings. You can even combine buttons if you choose too. The Analog is just as good as the D-pad, but sometimes the controls lag a little, especially on tight turns. But overall the controls are nice and easy to use. The analogs fit the game perfectly. The vibrations are very responsive to whats happening on screen. So expect a few bumps and jumps. The controls are nice, so you don't have to worry about the controls at all.

Gameplay: 8/10
At first the gameplay will seem different from other games; That's because it is different from other games! Seriously, the game runs smooth. When you play the game often, it runs even more smoother. Everyones eyes are set to FPS (Frames per Seconds) at any given point (point of a second) or time, especially while playing games on TV's (especially LCD TV's and plasma TVs), so if you play Silent Hill very often the game will feel comfortable. It's easy to get hooked on Silent HIll, because the gameplay is some of the best on the PS1. Horror titles anyway. The speed in the game is smooth. Characters, NPC, and enemies looks just as fluid (not really). I have never encountered any slow downs while playing this horrific game. Unless your disk is badly scratch, there shouldn't be any problem with the gameplay at all. Did I mention the game loads fast, and really really fast on a PS2!

Fun Factor: 10/10
Or should I say Scary Factor: inf/infinite! This game is very, very, very scary. I haven't meet anyone who wasn't scared of Silent Hill 1. The game, on the other hand, does have an interesting storyline plot. The multiple endings will have you wanting to get them all. There are also secrets in the game waiting to be unlocked. And there is a Ranking System that will let you know how well you did while playing through the game. Silent Hill 1 has the best original soundtrack so far in the Silent Hill series, but some fans might think other wise. There are plenty of weapons to choose from. This is a good game and a remake could happen one day maybe. Everyone hopes a remake will come out, but who knows?? Silent Hill will no doubt scare the hell out of you, no matter how old you are!! Play with your lights on, or better yet off! This is a must have scare! Pretty nice Original Soundtrack too.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/07

Game Release: Silent Hill (US, 01/31/99)