Silent Hill

Written by Tom Clare in PSOne Game Reviews, Friday 25 July, 2003

Released: 1999
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Sony
Genre: Survival-Horror
Platform: PSOne
Region: US

Much like Konami's other big game of 1999, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill got plenty of hype in the months approaching its release. But unlike the stealth classic, views on Silent Hill have always been split.

It seems that anyone who has really got into the game has found it an incredibly unnerving, psychologically challenging horror marathon that really livens the players desperate instinct to survive. A few claim the game isn't scary at all - perhaps not allowing themselves to get really involved because they either got stuck early on or simply kept telling themselves it wasn't scary (or something along these lines).

Silent Hill has the edge on the Resident Evil games. Whilst Capcom's games rely on set-pieces designed to make you jump, Silent Hill delivers not only shocking and (at the time) original surroundings but a constant and very apparent fear for what might or might not be just beyond your view. The game switches between dark and fairly light areas quite regularly and so adjusting to your new surroundings is always a dilemma. The developers have skilfully covered any graphical draw-distance problems the PlayStation would have thrown up by simply adding thick fog or darkness a few metres in front of your view when required.

Anyway, the story centres around Harry Mason who crashes his car in the mist of Silent Hill, knocking him unconscious. When he comes to he finds his daughter, Cheryl, has wondered off into the fog. this is where you come in and you have to go to hell and back to try and rescue her!

The beginning of the game is fairly underwhelming. There is a lot of trudging around the streets of Silent Hill to be done and the dogged enemies prove more of an annoyance than something meant to scare. However, things soon step up a gear when you reach the school - darkness and danger suddenly become a lot more apparent and the fact you can never see a great deal of the scenery at any one time adds greatly to your tension. much like in Resident Evil, you will come across a few very taxing puzzles, an aspect that put many gamers off this title because you could be stuck on the infamous piano puzzle for hours on end.

Silent Hill's best feature as a survival horror game is it's alternate realms. These are basically similar to normal (if that's a word you can associate with Silent Hill) areas you explore, but shown in a much darker, more twisted manner. Walls are replaced by big rusty grills, bodies can be seen hanged, blood drenched fans populate certain rooms and you will also come across a few extremely nasty creatures. The developers have not held back - grey babies stalk the classrooms and corridors of the school brandishing little knives, and even once you have killed them, they give you one heck of a fright when you meet their ghosts! Things get even nastier in the hospital, sewer and amusement park, but I won't spoil anymore of the plot for you.

Though it is undeniably a very graphic game, it also leaves a lot to the imagination - both in plot and in action. The camera is expertly placed in each room, and purposely neglects to show you much of your surroundings when you hear/sense danger up ahead. Thankfully though, the camera behaves when you are fighting boss battles. The storyline sees many mysterious characters brought into the limelight, and though it seems initially confusing, Silent Hill warrants a second play to see why some characters acted like they did at certain times.

It's really nice looking too, I was very impressed with the lighting effects given off from Harry's cheap torch, and there are some gorgeous and often alarming full-motion-video clips and whilst some areas are a little samey, the quality of graphics and detail on offer is very high.

Yet another magnificent part of this game is the soundtrack, which is crucial in creating the atmosphere. It ranges from being quiet and ominous in the beginning, deep and foreboding when things start getting dark and finally launches into harsh, warped melodies in the alternate realms that never fail to cause anxiety, even having played the game through a few times. Background noise is also used well - I nearly had a heart-attack when I heard a girl crying in the school toilets! One slight disappointment with the game is the dialogue. Cut-scene conversations have no tension at all because they are constantly being broken up by huge pauses, and the speech usually has little emotion in it.

As there is a fair emphasis on plot the adventure was never going to be huge, but there are five endings to discover, including an amusing UFO finale, plus a few extra weapons unlocked after finishing the game. Judging from the opinions of many gamers, I think you would just have to play this to find out if it is your cup of tea or not, either way the overall quality of the product is immense and hugely recommended to anyone who likes horror and/or adventures.

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