Silent Hill Games

[H Thompson]

Thought they deserved their own thread since the speculation about the movie got quite a bit of traffic.

I sadly never played the first one in the series besides a demo but as for the others.

Silent Hill 2
Easily the best in all departments, nothing since quite matches the mood and horror of this game, even just walking through the fog and opening doors is scarier than the actual fighting. one of the cool things about it is the amount of time you spend just running through the streets looking for clues for where to go next. It makes it feel a little more free roaming and less about exploring one location after another.
Of course the story is what really makes this game great, It's easily the most mature, dark, twisted yet emotionally resonating story in any game ever, and would beat a lot of hollywood movies as well. What other game would explore themes such as Suicide, Euthanasia, Child Abuse, Insanity and Bullying.
The Voice acting is competent enough for a game, it does falter on occasion but to me it mainly seems it's because these are some pretty tough characters to play.
So it's easily the best in the series and one of the best games ever.
9.5/10

Silent Hill 3
I find this one to be the weakest in the series, to be fair to it, it's not helped by coming after 2, but you can still criticise it for not doing enough to reinvent itself, it just sort of reuses a lot of the tricks that have already been used, so you know what to expect So I really didn't find this one scary at all. It does also make things a lot more action driven, with a huge variety of weapons which sort of undermine what's great in other games about you being a regular person grabbing whatever you can to defend yourself. The monster design seems a little uninspired too, with a lot of them being more obviously grotesque as opposed to the more obscure symbolic designs of SH2.
The story is far less intresting as well, I didn't play 1 but I did read the back story so I sort of knew what was going on, but it was hard to really care that much. And the plot doesn't really start going untill about halfway through the game anyway. It also seems very short in comparison to others, before you know it you at the end of the game. There's just not enough depth to it.
7/10

Silent Hill 4: The Room
To me this one seems to be very underated, it took a lot of harsh criticism and I don't always understand why. It's certainly true at times that maybe Konami weren't matching their ambitions and that a few of the concepts were a little misguided, If they had planned things out better and spent more time on it, it could have been excellent as it is it's merley very good. It's not all that scary again, but it seemed like they were going for something different rather than just horror it seems like there's more of a bleak and harrowing tone to it.
One of the best changes from 3 is to make there be a lot less guns and swords. Combat is a lot more grim and dirty, and the unseperated baby siamese twin monster is 2nd only to Pyramid Head in design. The idea to give you limited inventory space isn't a completley bad idea but surely the size of items should be a factor, you really shouldn't have to carry each gun clip seperatley it's just annoying.
Another thing is the zombie ghosts, which another idea that'd both good and bad, the problem with them being is that sometimes when you beat them to the ground they get up again 1 second later, before you've even had time to stick the sword of obedience in or run away, they should have a set time that they stay down, so that you get some breathing space.
A lot's been said about the concept of the first person view in the room in other reviews so I won't cover that.
The story though is excellent and makes me forgive a lot of the shortcomings of the game, because much of the gameplay seems to be dictated by the plot, so even though the game can be frustrating, a lot of it enhances the story. It really is facisnating the way that little by little more and more of the story is revealed to you. The only thing that annoys me about it though is that Henry doesn't talk more. There really just needs to be a few more cut scenes with him talking to the different people and with Eileen. It's especially a shame because the actor playing him seems to be very good.
8/10

[skittlebrau]

Ooh, Silent Hill thread. I loves me some Silent Hill games.

Where do I start?

Silent Hill:
The originator of the series and a damn fine game. I remember buying this the day it came out and playing it with a friend in total darkness. We literally screamed like little bitches during the beginning in the dark alley when you get a glimpse of what's to come (won't mention it since Thompson hasn't played this one yet, but veterans of this game will know what I mean). Anyway, about the game. Like I said, the first one I played, and the first one fell in love with. Many people at the time compared this to the Resident Evil games and blasted it for being a clone, but it truly deserves a genre all its own. More than just some "survival" game, this one deals with not one, but two aspects: a father merely looking for his lost daughter, and the town of Silent Hill itself. Not much "survival" to it, really (well, there is, but you catch my drift, right?). The atmosphere of this game is downright nerve-wrecking, and can psychologically fuck you over if you haven't played it before/haven't played it in awhile. It's that scary. Plotwise, it's quite decent. Nothing really gives you an answer as to what happened to Cheryl and how she ties into the town until around the time you get to the hospital, so it makes it all the more gratifying to keep playing, even though you're scared out of your mind. Characters, monsters and such are good, too. Harry is a wimp, but a determined wimp, Cybil is a badass cop that can take care of herself (except in the amusement park :-X), Dr. Kaufman is somewhat of an asshole with other things on his mind, Dahlia just spouts gibberish you don't understand and quickly label her a loon, and Lisa...poor, poor Lisa :'( All these characters really make the game what it is, and I really don't dislike any of them. And man, I really do hate those human-like creatures on all four that grunt and chase you in Central Silent Hill. Those, and the "deluxe" winged creatures in dark Silent Hill because I hate the noise they make when you shoot them. Wow, I'm really shooting for filler here, so I'll just wrap this review up with two words on something I forgot to mention: the sirens :bang:

Rating: 10/10. Still a solid classic and possibly the best in the series.

Silent Hill 2:
Wow, this game had a profound effect on me because of the many things it tackled such as Thompson stated. James Sunderland really is a tortured soul, and I felt for him throughout the game. Plotwise, I thought this game was solid, and the many obstacles James encounters really make it better. When he finally comes to terms with what he did, it actually made me feel heartbroken inside. The characters James meets along the way add to the game, as they're also lost souls drawn into the town for some reason, too. Angela finally accepting her guilt in the hotel was another heartbreaking moment for me ("For me, it's always like this."). Let's just say there were plenty of moments that made me feel sad. The visuals and symbols in this game were ingenious, too, as all of the creatures and surroundings constantly remind James and the other characters (Angela and Eddie) of what they did. Atmosphere wise, not as visually scary as the first game, and this version of "dark" Silent Hill wasn't as grotesque as the first game's (with the rusty walls and chain-link fences), but it fit the theme of symbolism to James (bedsheets draping the walls, signifying his dying wife in bed). Eh, here I go rambling again, so I'll kill this review with "There was a hole here. It's gone now." Oh man, and how could I forget Pyramid Head? Two headbang emoticons for him :bang: :bang:

Rating: 9/10. Could actually tie the first game for awesomeness, but I must say 1 is just slightly better.

Silent Hill 3:
Hmm...where do I start with this one? I guess this is where the series starts to slip some. Although it's an enjoyable game in its own right, it just didn't have that oomph as the first two games. I did, however, like the change of pace of playing a widowed man looking for something and instead taking charge of a female heroine. I also like the throwbacks to the first and second games, and how Heather ties it all together, although it takes you awhile to accomplish that. Oh, and the transformation costume/sexy beam is always good for a laugh. One thing that disturbs me about this game is they had to kill off Harry Mason :( Why? :'( Oh well. At least the visuals in this one were the best of the series, and the writhing, bloody walls were insanely creepy. Hated walking around those particular moments. As far as wrapping this review up, I really have nothing to say here. I honestly can't remember too much about this game...

Rating: 7/10. Great game, but forgettable.

Silent Hill 4: The Room:
As much as I loooove the Silent Hill franchise...I've never played this one :-X I've had many a chance to buy it and play or to go to a friend's house and play it...but I haven't. Why? Don't ask me. I don't know. Maybe it's the so-so reviews I've read online, or maybe it's the word of mouth from friends (mostly online) that have kept me from buying this...although I usually just buy what looks interesting to me and will play regardless of what friends/the internet tell me. I will play this someday, honestly, but I can wait. Can't give a review on this game since I've never played.

I'll wrap this long-winded post up by saying that the music in every one of these games is fantastic (although I love the first two game's soundtracks much more than the last two) since I didn't mention it in any of my reviews. I own the Japanese soundtracks to the first two games, have the soundtrack that came with 3 and downloaded 4's for shits and giggles, I love the music that much. Akira Yamaoka is a great composer :nerdb:

[Haoie]

SH1 and 2 are usually considered the best within the series, for obvious reasons. I have to say, SH1 is like the horror game for the PS, apart maybe something like Clock Tower: The First Fear.

Interesting point of trivia. PAL versions of SH1, for some reason, don't have the little demon children anywhere in the game. They're instead replaced by 'mumblers', those teddy bear esque monsters. It kind of sucks.

[H Thompson]

Oh yeah I remember hearing about that. I think it's because it was released around the time of the dunblane tragedy, where some guy shot about 20 kids and then himself in a school in the scottish town of dunblane.
So it wasn't thought appropriate to have a game that involves you killing demon children at the time.

[Haoie]

Well, we got a gipped deal. Still, I believe everything else is intact, apart from that little nuisance.

I recall in the demo disc of SH, the demon kids are still present, however.

[Channel Surfer]

Like Skittle, I've never played 4, so I'll reserve (some) judgment on it. I might comment on Silent Hill 1 or 2 later but Thompson/Skittle already covered a good amount of what I would say anyway.

Spoilers on Silent Hill 3 below BTW.

Silent Hill 3
I find this one to be the weakest in the series, to be fair to it, it's not helped by coming after 2, but you can still criticise it for not doing enough to reinvent itself, it just sort of reuses a lot of the tricks that have already been used, so you know what to expect So I really didn't find this one scary at all. It does also make things a lot more action driven, with a huge variety of weapons which sort of undermine what's great in other games about you being a regular person grabbing whatever you can to defend yourself. The monster design seems a little uninspired too, with a lot of them being more obviously grotesque as opposed to the more obscure symbolic designs of SH2.
The story is far less intresting as well, I didn't play 1 but I did read the back story so I sort of knew what was going on, but it was hard to really care that much. And the plot doesn't really start going until about halfway through the game anyway. It also seems very short in comparison to others, before you know it you at the end of the game. There's just not enough depth to it.

I think the fundamental problem with SH3 is that it misses the point of what made the first two Silent Hills to begin with, yet is so bound by its conventions at the same time that it can't innovate either, failing either way.

Probably the most annoying thing about the game to me was that any sense of subtlety, ambiguity, or mystery is dropped almost entirely for drawn out exposition and explanation. Not only does giving away every little secret betray even the most basic idea of the franchise (if not good horror in general), indulging in these explanations is just really lame to begin with. Because listening and learning in great detail about how to split a soul in half or how Claudia really wants to save the world by creating the Silent Hill paradise and such is certainly crazy, but taken at face value is crazy only in the most ridiculous, goofiest way possible. Even sticking with the Silent Hill theme of manifesting real horrors like child abuse, insanity, and sexual perversions into its nightmarish world it falls comparatively flat because so much of it is spelled out, as if the audience needs direct assistance putting 2 and 2 together.

It doesn't help that when the game isn't content with over-explanation, it has a narrative barely strong enough to understand why the hell you're doing anything. The locations were more like levels than actual areas explored with meaning to the story, with many (especially in the first half) there just to get to point A to point B, often with an obligatory second world with no point other than fitting with the title. You didn't even get to explore the town for the most part, it was just a bunch of area hopping. There was never any point in trying to understand any of the metaphorical ideas to the imagery, or the monsters, or how everything connects beyond a literal explanation. Nor was there much of a point to playing detective like the first two games and figuring out what all this is all about. And even with a literal explanation, the game still doesn't always make sense. After seeing the mall go from hell and back, just why the hell is Heather seriously trying to board a subway train? A Silent Hill game where you're expected to turn off your brain is not a Silent Hill game.

Plus, since I felt the gameplay in the first two was carried more by taking in the town itself and solving the game's mysteries, the gameplay does take a nosedive. Not to mention my point of the areas behaving like levels becomes more blatant when you start fighting bosses at the end of areas that have next to no story significance. What does the giant worm have to do with anything? Or even Leonard transforming into some lame demon?

I could rant more (I did write more than I wanted here), but my point is made. It's frustrating that perhaps the most intelligent franchise for its time had to fall so far, so fast. And though I can't speak with certainty on the 4th game or the movie, it doesn't sound like either of them come close to matching the first two games' ambition either.

[H Thompson]

Yeah I think that's well explained. I think the lack of motivation in the first half of the game was my biggest problem. I also still don't quite get how the cult of Silent hill have the power to transform other towns either, it doesn't quite sit right with me.
One thing I wonder though, was anyone able to complete the hard riddle mode without consulting a guide. I didn't have a clue about them. That Shakespeare riddle and the Hospital keypad face puzzle is the most ridculously obscure and complex thing I've ever seen.



I would encourage people to check out 4, in spite of some of it's heavy criticism. there's a lot of technical flaws and some badly concieved ideas and yes it has some frustrating gameplay. And although it doesn't quite capture the feel of 1 and 2, it's not really trying to, they've ditched the flashlight and radio noise, it was orginally planned to be a different series to Silent Hill so it does a feel a bit different,while still having a few of the trademarks.
But it does have a compelling enough story to keep you going, slowly revealing the mystery behind what's going on, but still not explaining every little detail.

[kupomog]

I'm too lazy to write stuff on the first 3 because I would have a loooooot to say and I want to reserve that for game 4. Just know that I loved 1 and 2. 1 is my favorite but I think 2 is really well executed. 3 was all right, if only for being a sequel to 1. Music wasn't as memorable as 1 or 2 (I love "End of Small Sanctuary, though"). Heather was a nice change of pace for me being a chica, but she like, always looks high and stuff. The game has a bit of appeal to me still but it wasn't quite the OMG feeling of the first two.

Now for 4, I saved all my finger energy for this one since not a lot of people here seemed to play it.

I don't really think it's underrated at all. Things like "hey this isn't SH you lied to us!" is dumb bullshit and should be kept out of it, to me. But even when I don't think of it as an SH game, the frsutration doesn't go away for me. As a game that didn't even start out as a SH title....it was really just okay to me.

The story itself is a bit contrived if only for the forced attempts at connecting it to SH2 (oh James ... :( )and the stuff about Walter's "death" and whatnot. The idea of the 21 Sacraments is great, and I love the stuff in the "alternate" apartment building where you're going through everyone's rooms and seeing how they lived. It just ties things together with the characters. The story really is the only reason I bothered finishing the game, but it's not enough to make me just not care about the other stuff unfortunately.

Henry is meh, I don't give two shits about him as a character, all he does is walk around going "what the hell??" anyway. Eileen is probably the only character I ever really "liked" but leading her around was a pain. However, as far as the anxiety level/fear of SH4, I suppose it's nice to have company. But it makes things a little more difficult, too, 'cause now I have to keep two people alive, but at least Eileen is nice enough to help out once in awhile. Walter is neatest guy in the game since it's like...about him. Every other character in the game is just meh, didn't give a rip about them, but they were meant to be expendable in the first place. At least in SH3, I wanted to know what the deal with Claudia was and whatnot.

I like the apartment room sequences of course, the FPV stuff. It was always fun just running around the room, checking things out, wondering if any new haunting was waiting for me. I've never been so happy to find some creepy new thing outside my door. It's like fat Homer being all "the mail! the mail is here!!"

Gameplay-wise, meh. The trunk was annoying because if you didn't have a specific item you needed at the time, you had to backtrack to whatever hole is the closest, and I hate unnecessary backtracking, especially hated it in this game because of certain nondisposable asshole enemies. Combat wasn't the greatest but after you got used to it, it was workable. Something about the smooth, floatiness of the running irritated me, but that's a nitpick, I guess.

k, enemies. Double-headed enemy that's supposed to be those two little kid victims? The best thing ever in the game. Running in the water prison, and seeing THAT thing standing still around the turning, pointing at you, and very quietly whispering...wow. I didn't know whether to run for my life or gun it down before it started moving, but that's cool stuff. All the other enemies can suck my phantom nuts. WTF were those burping Amazon nurses, I mean seriously. Okay, so that's a sound nitpick, just like how I hate the friggin' stock sounds of the ape monsters that you hear whenever you see a monkey on TV ever. I mean, they used the same monkey sound in the GTA3 Pogo the Monkey commercials. Oh, and GHOSTS. FUCKING GHOSTS. Most irritating enemies I have ever encountered. They really made me hate the game at points. Finding a sword of obedience was like Heaven, despite the fact that they were limited. So strategically, you'd use them on the "head honcho" ghosts of each level (which I thought were the only "good" ghosts because of who they represented) but then all those millions of other asshole ghosts would still be floating about...

Oh yeah, Walter...is basically acting like Scissorman from the Clock Tower series near the end. I found that to be exhilirating if only for reminding me of CT. That kind of anxious gameplay is neat to me.

Argh, just thinking about the game pisses me off...but, I mean...on some level I also enjoyed it. There are some neat little puzzles in the game that make it fun, and as I said, the story is the most interesting part. None of the music really interested me other than the title theme. But I mean, I'm not gonna be trading this game in or anything. It's not an utter piece of shit, just an average game. Kind of like SH3 for me, but a little less polished.

[Kiyosuki]

I'm a huge fan of this series. I've liked it since the beggining for its distinct Lovecraftian setting and the psycho-analytical style of storytelling.

The third is still my favorite, not only because of its direct ties to the first but its distinct style of horror and atmosphere I guess was distinctively feared by my subconscious because I found it the most freightening.

http://sen.hiho.jp/db/works/sh/img/050311.jpg

The main protagonist is also my favorite. I wouldn't mind seeing her again considering her origins are so central to the overall mythos.

I liked the fourth game a lot too. It was the "lets try something different" game and it could of been a lot better, but I liked it a lot for its very distinctively creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere. The kind of uncertainty it was going for was really clever. Your room is originally your place of safety, no matter how crazy the outside world is you can always come back to it. But as the story progresses, that starts to reverse a bit and your room becomes a place you HAVE to go back to, to save etc...not necessarilly something you want to go back to. Its backstory is also pretty cool, and I sort of liked the main protagonists. Henry and Eileen had this sort of innocent, hapless quality being the most uninvolved and innocent of the SH leads.

2 is still the most Psycho-analytical of them all though, and 1 is in many ways still the scariest.

The new PSP one looks pretty interesting. The main lead is quote and quote, supposed to not be quite so "emo", and a lot of it is in first person.

Check this rearranged album out, I believe its still available for download. Its a great musical composition inspired by SH's music. Not stuff you may want to listen to on a nervous night though. http://www.brokennotes.com/

[H Thompson]

Heather was a good character, a strong likeable mildly attractive female lead.
I just read an article in Edge magazine about the lack of female leads in games. But Heather definatley has to be one of the most well balanced females in videogames.

I watched My Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind DVD yesterday and noticed that Joel, is a very similar character to Henry. Both very quite and reserved, but also quite artistic and they both have messy hair and stubble. I do agree they should have given Henry more depth and given him more to say, but I think the reason is that despite the fact that you control him, he's not the main character. The story is about Walter Sullivan, he's the main character and it's him that the game explores. It wouldn't add anything to look at Henry more, because unlike previous protagonists, he and Eileen are just dragged into things by sheer bad luck.
So I still sort of liked Henry, it was nice to see a sort of introverted and reserved character as a game hero.

[Kiyosuki]

Heather's just very interesting to me. She's like that facinating, quirky girl you once saw and wished you got to know better just because she seems like such a unique person. She's not the prettiest girl ever, but she's got a very unique quality. All the characters look very human, I love the distinct grainy thing they all have going. Even Henry, who's actually a pretty good looking guy compared to the other male characters, looks like he's a bit of an insomniac. Those little things tell a lot of story, I like that.

This upcoming game called Rule of Rose has a similar design style, but with a sort of childish creepy thing going.

Eternal Sunshine is one of my favorite films.

I think the actual Silent Hill film could of learned a lot from Eternal Sunshine. Especially the scene where Joel's trying to shield Clementine's memory from the mind wipe...when the whole place goes dark and a dimly lit camera follows him to find that faceless guy.

That kind of mind trip cinematography to me was Silent Hill in film format.

[H Thompson]

I've read mediocore reviews of rule of rose.
I'm not a horror fan at all anyway it's odd that I decided to buy it but now I'm a huge fanboy of the series. Perhaps the powers of silent hill extend to the real world making me additced to the games.

I didn't see it, but it sounds to me like the problem with the film was that the focus was too much on creating an experince like playing and not enough on telling a good story. So the result was that it was like watching someone else play the game.