Silent Hill

"The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh"

Someday, someone may experience these bizarre events. Hopefully, they will find my notes useful.

When I first bought Silent Hill, it was a long time after I had first bought Silent Hill 2. But after having SH2 for awhile, I became a big fan of Silent Hill. But I didn't know the whole story about it without SH1. So I bought it off eBay and couldn't wait to play it. And then I did and it was better than I thought it would be.

Storyline - 10/10
Another great story. That's what a game like Silent Hill needs, and Konami did a great job. Anyway, here's the story: Harry Mason is going to a vacation spot called Silent Hill, with his daughter Cheryl. Because of troubles, they arrive at night. On the way to the middle of the town, a shadow appears in front of Harry's Jeep, and he swerves out of the way and crashes. he then wakes up and it is day. But Cheryl is gone and he has to find her.

Gameplay - 10/10
The gameplay in Silent Hill is awesome! The game is very fun to play and the fact how it's scary is even better. I really enjoy games like this. I'm the kind of person who likes solving puzzles, finding keys, thinking of where to go and I thing it's very cool. Silent Hill consists of many areas including the Streets, the School and more; I don't want to ruin the game for you. I feel good when I solve a nice puzzle all by myself. Some are challenging but try to do them by yourself, you'll feel better once you've solved it. Also, I think this is is amazing, and I'm writing a FAQ/Walkthrough for it right now. I'm done my SH2 FAQ/Walkthrough anyway.

Graphics - 10/10
What? 10 out of 10 graphics? Are you kidding? No, the game actually has very good graphics for the 32-bit PlayStation console. You might be used to the Next-Gen consoles' graphics and frame rates, but a real gamer wouldn't really pay to much attention to the graphics, and just enjoy the game. That's what I did and found the game amazing. The buildings and inside areas are very realistic, along with parked cars and the road. The fog adds a cool effect to the game, too.

Sound - 10/10
Sound in a game like Silent Hill is very important. A good game has good sound affects, good songs and other things like that. Songs is really important. I think most of the songs in Silent Hill are great! I downloaded a lot of them because I like them, that's how good they are. The sounds that the demons make are pretty well done too. Some of them make pretty freaky noises. Also, the other sounds in Silent Hill, like a girl crying in the washroom and things like that, they did a real good job on that too. The sound in Silent Hill was one of the best things.

Control - 8/10
The control may be a little ''sluggish'' to some people. But for me, I think it is ok, but it could be better. It was better in Silent Hill 2. I like it like that. Going from the control of Silent Hill 2 to Silent Hill was a little bit different, but it was pretty much the same. In Silent Hill, to get in the menu you press Select, and Start pauses the game. In Silent Hill 2 it is the opposite. Start goes to the menu, Select pauses the game. I think it was better in Silent Hill 2, but the game was made after Silent Hill so it's reasonable. And when you run in Silent Hill you have to run about a meter, every time you press forward. But in Silent Hill 2 you can run as little as you want. It can e somewhat hard to go in small places in Silent Hill but it is ok. I guess they learned that after Silent Hill. Other than that I think the control totally fits the game. And I like how you can reposition the camera behind the character.

Atmosphere - 10/10
Ah... the true quality of Silent Hill games. The atmosphere, it is very important in the Silent Hill series and they pulled it off perfectly in both games. I bet they will do the same in Silent Hill 3. the fog and the snow out of season really tells that the town is messed up. You can only see about 3.5 meters ahead of you. Although you can't always see exactly where you are going, it really does add to the atmosphere. Also, how the game is lonely, that makes it better too, which is great in Silent Hill. To me, I love the fact the I'm playing a scary game and this one is really scary. It may disturb some gamers. Some hallways and areas can really scare you. Honestly, sometimes I don't really want to play the game, not because I don't like it, it's because it's scary. I love the game though. The Atmosphere is probably the thing that Silent Hill does best.

Replay Value - 9/10
In Silent Hill there are 5 endings. The first time you play the game you can only get 1 of 4 endings though. But the second time through you can get 1 of 5 endings. The endings are great and are worth the playing time. Also, you may learn a lot more by replaying the game a few more times after you beat it once, because the town of Silent Hill has a pretty freaky history. I certainly find it very interesting. You should expect to play the game at least 5 times. Or if you wimp out, maybe once, maybe not even once. My advice to you is, if you're gonna play the game, you gotta beat it. If you wimp out, then you are probably a weak gamer, although Silent Hill isn't for everyone.

Rent or Buy?
If you have Silent Hill 2 and not Silent Hill, you should definitely buy this game. It's worth the money. I liked it so much, I thought, hey, why not write a FAQ for it? And that's what I'm doing now. If you've played a Silent Hill demo then that's nothing, you need to buy the game. But if you are slightly interested in the Silent Hill series then you should rent it to try it out. If you like it, then buy it and I hope you enjoy it.

Overall - 10/10 (9.5 but closer to 10 so that's what I'll give it)
Overall, Silent Hill is a totally above average for a PlayStation game. If you are wondering if you should get it, get it, it's definitely worth it! I first got Silent Hill 2 then almost a year later I bought Silent Hill off eBay. And I really enjoyed it. I great start for the Silent Hill series. I just love Silent Hill.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/03, Updated 03/26/03