Silent Hill

"Evil Puritans... What a Concept! Wait, where am I?"

Here is the Jesterex review of one of the largest survival horror franchises in gaming history. Silent Hill is, to some people, one of those games that is supposed to scare you out of your mind, solve some puzzles, have a happy ending, and all that jazz. In reality, Silent Hill is much more than that. What some gamers found Resident Evil a little too american for their taste by making things jump out at you and scare you like the movie Dawn of the Dead, Silent Hill turns around and introduces us to the japanese side of horror with a gruesome environment much like the MGM sponsored movie Infection. In fact, playing the game, there's nothing that will make you feel safe. Once again, Gameplay, Graphics, Story, and Replayability take a part in each of my reviews. This game was reviewed in 2008, so be aware that the release for this game was back in th day where I was 13 years old and on Playstation 1.

STORY :: 9/10 ::

Where other survival horror games go in one sweet simple direction (survive), this game takes a completely non-linear approach. Yes, you start out as Harry Mason, a guy who wanted to take a trip back to Silent Hill (god knows for WHAT reason...), and takes his adopted daughter with him. Unfortunately for you, there's something wrong when a police officer drives by in her motorcycle with her lights on (her name is Cybil Bennet) and you find her bike crashed a few miles later. Then, out of nowhere, a little girl is walking across the highway and you swerve to miss her only to swerve into downtown Silent Hill in a car accident. Waking up, you find yourself in the misty town with your daughter missing. The town itself, likes to change on you from one world to another meaning you go from foggy desolace to hellish underworld.

Oh crap. That's where it starts. So now you're running around town unraveling a mysterious plot towards a cult that doesn't exist in the real world, but makes the story compelling and attractive to even Stephen King fanatics. The story itself gets a 9/10 for best canonical ending in my opinion. For some reason, I can't help but relate the entire story to having an "Evil Puritan" effect. You can totally pick apart the bloody story and make sense of everything once you're done with it. Sorry Christopher Gans, you can't beat the original.

GAMEPLAY :: 8/10 ::

Okay, the gameplay is actually really simple. Forward, back, duck, dodge, left, right, it seems basic, but the way Harry really interacts with the environment makes it feel like he's actually in a virtual reality. Okay, there's no gripes here. It's just that there's a lack of functions you can use with each weapon. The melee weapons aren't quick enough, and you end up using your ranged weapons a lot. Save for the stoic subtitling, we have a very basic character gameplay system. There's nothing special really about it. Sometimes it seems like you're really heavy and you can't move fast enough. While the camera angles were nicely thought of in the beginning of the game, it seems to start lacking later on especially in the hell level where all the other world levels combine.

The environment of Silent Hill is the true setting for this game, and maneuvering around it is what makes the game scary. At parts of the game you'll go into the Hellish Dream World concocted by the antagonist in the game, Alessa Gillespie. That's where all the creepiness and unsettling nervousness arises from. You'll never go through another survival horror game and be this uneasy about anything. Even the freaking stapler looks scary.

GRAPHICS :: 9/10 ::

Okay, I know this is on Playstation One, but that's actually saying that the system is capable of really producing some good textures and really is a powerhouse compared to the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64, which the system was competing with at the time. While the PS1 isn't as graphic savvy as the other two systems, Silent Hill really took a lot of the capability with some increased load times. It's not as polygonal as Resident Evil, and definitely wasn't built on 2D graphics. The thing is, who is going to care about the graphics if the game itself is scary? Well, Team Silent definitely made the fog, streets, cars, even character models worthy of a gold medal to scare your face into a wreck. Once in awhile, it would take you to a beautifully graphic CGI movie that's similar to the CGI's in Silent Hill 2 for Playstation 2, where we all know that the PS2 graphics card is incredible.

There aren't too many gripes in the graphics. One notable aspect of the graphics is the use of the Camera. The camera is almost flawless when applied into the game. Silent Hill pretty much did away with the entire "The Camera is here, and stays here" idea that Resident Evil used. You're taken into a world where you're following the protagonist almost everywhere. If they did need the camera to stay put, they would angle it and make the camera move to a very intriguing position. On the last note, for being a PS1 game, the graphics are top notch compared to most 3D games for the system.

REPLAYABILITY :: 8/10 ::

There is a lot to replay when you're done scaring the crap out of yourself. The game has four unique endings including the trademark UFO ending. There's a few extra weapons and, if I'm not mistaken, an extra costume. I, myself, have gotten the S ranking with all items found. I can now play the game like it was a movie knowing what to do with everything. It's very fun to replay the game with a bunch of people who watched the movie, and then watch me play the game to get the full experience. Then, when I'm done playing the first time, I'm going around town hacking things with the Katana that's unlockable. Mwahaha!

OVERALL :: 9/10 ::

This is a very big step in PS1 graphics and an even bigger step into Survival Horror. All the twists and turns the story takes as well as the relevance to some scenes from Jacob's Ladder all fit into play as this psycological thriller hits you in the back and scares you into a room where... well... even that safe room is scary. With a lot to replay for, and a challenge to beat, there's always room for more in this game. That, and the long line of sequels and side stories that make up the entirety of Silent Hill is growing larger and larger with the recent installment of Silent Hill: Homecoming and the upcoming Silent Hill 2 due out in theaters in a couple years. Don't rent, BUY. Don't be afraid... wait, be afraid. Okay, I'm going to turn on the lights now. Wait, it's still scary with the lights on. ARRRGHHH!!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/08

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