Silent Hill
MSRP: $19.99
Number of Players: 1
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Reviewer: Andrew Broas
While the world waits for Capcom to release its next installment in
the Resident Evil series, Konami takes advantage of the long waiting period to
unleash Silent Hill upon the unsuspecting public. Some people may write Silent
Hill off as a Resident Evil clone, but its clear to anyone who has played
the game that this is not the case at all. Silent Hill goes where no game
has gone before and places itself next to such classic horror films as "The
Exorcist", "The Shining", and "In The Mouth of Madness".
The story revolves around a writer named Harry Mason who decides to go on a vacation in
order to spend more time with his daughter, Cheryl Mason. Late one night, while
Harry is driving down the highway, a girl appears in the middle of the road. Harry
jerks the steering wheel to the left in order to avoid hitting her and ends up rolling his
jeep and getting knocked unconscious. Harry later awakens to discover that it is now
daytime and his daughter is missing. Harry exits his jeep and starts to search for
his daughter in a nearby town. The rest of the game is spent searching for Harry's
lost daughter in the horrific town of Silent Hill.
While Silent Hill may have some similarities to Resident Evil, it sets
itself apart by manipulating the player's imagination. Most of the game is
spent in the dark with only a pocket flashlight to help you see. Because of this,
you'll almost always hear your enemies before you see them. You will often find
yourself frantically looking around to see where that noise you just heard came from and
sometimes you will even see enemies where they don't exist. Chairs and tables that are
just beyond your circle of vision will look like demons or zombies causing you to stop
dead in your tracks and say, "Wait....what is that? There's something
there..." This kind of thing is common in Silent Hill and every trick
in the book is used to keep you on your toes with your finger on your gun button.
Everything from the crying of an unseen child in a dark bathroom to the door on the second
floor that mysteriously warps you back to the first floor will be used in order to keep
you afraid of what lurks around the next corner.
Perhaps what really makes the game so believable is how incredibly
ordinary the main character is and how realistic the town is. Harry is just an
average guy. He can't aim a gun very well, he can't run that fast, and he reacts to
situations in ways that you might react to them yourself. He pants heavily after
running for a while, he occasionally trips, and during the remarkable Full Motion
Animation sequences, his face displays some very distinct facial expressions. When
Harry is wounded, the dual shock controller vibrates to simulate Harry's heartbeat.
With this little trick at work, you'll feel like you ARE Harry. With all his little
shortcomings and his humanitarian attitude, Harry is probably the easiest game character
for people to identify with of all time.
That said, the town also stands out and demands your attention. This isn't just some
"game town" with repetitive textures where everything looks similar. The
town of Silent Hill resembles a living, breathing town. It has one hospital, one
police department, one fast food joint, one gas station, and one church. You won't
walk down Bachman Street and
see the same building you saw on Sanford Street. There aren't any rocket launchers
or bazookas laying around. This is a normal town. Harry will be lucky to find
a hunting rifle or shotgun in somebody's house rather than an Uzi or grenade launcher.
Silent Hill tries hard to pass its setting off as a realistic town and it
does it successfully.
Graphically, the game looks like a second generation PlayStation title rather than a
fourth generation one. The textures aren't grainy or ugly, but the characters and
enemies are still a bit on the blocky side. That doesn't stop them from being very
detailed though. Everything in the game is very detailed right down to the cracks in
a sidewalk. However, while the in-game graphics are detailed and very believable,
the real impressive graphics are shown off in the Full Motion Animation sequences that
push the story along now and then. Silent Hill's FMA is probably the best in any
game right now. Its right up there with Legacy of Kain and Final
Fantasy VII. Facial expressions and character animation simply haven't been
done better than they are done in Silent Hill.
Now, the graphics may be a bit on the average side when compared to other current games,
but the sounds in Silent Hill are unmatched. The soundtrack consists of
ambient music that slowly builds up at just the right times to heighten tension at key
moments. Say you want to venture down into the basement of the elementary school,
but it's really dark down there and you're low on ammo. The music isn't going to
make it any easier because with each step down, it's going to get louder. When you
eventually get inside the basement, the music is going to be going at such a frantic rate,
you're likely to turn around and run back up the stairs. Later, when you have enough
ammo and you come back to that basement, you'll venture down there only to find more ammo
and some health. You could've had that stuff a while ago, but the game psyched you
out and made you think there was trouble where there was nothing. Silent Hill
is just littered with tricks like this to screw with you and if the music doesn't do it,
the moaning of zombies or the giggling of demon children will.
Another good example of how sound is used are the "phantom
noises" that are placed throughout the rooms in the game. Certain rooms will
have noises like the crying of a child or the shattering of glass just to throw you off
guard. When you look around to see what made the noise, you don't find anything
because the game pulled a fast one on you. You can almost hear the game's designers
saying, "Made you look!"
In the end, Silent Hill is definitely worthy of purchase. With four
different endings and different scenario possibilities each time through, there is quite a
bit of replay value in this game. You may finish it once and not be tempted to play
it again right away, but in a couple weeks to a month, you'll be more than happy to play
through the game again like it was new. Go on and buy the game, bring it home, and
turn off the lights. Make sure to turn up the volume as well. This isn't just
a game. Silent Hill is an experience.
Graphics
7.5
The graphics are enough to get
by, but there have definitely been more graphically impressive games. The FMA is top
notch though.
Sound & Music
10
Moaning zombies, mysterious
noises, creepy music, and decent voice acting make this game a real winner in the sound
category.
Control
7.0
Tight corners that get crowded
with enemies can be frustrating, and the character moves a little slow at times.
Replay Value
7.0
Four different endings and
special weapons are available, but you probably won't play this game again right away.
Fun Factor
9.0
This game is really fun.
It will scare the bejeezus out of you and you'll love it.
Overall
9.0
This isn't just a game. Silent
Hill is an experience.
While the world waits for Capcom to release its next installment in
the Resident Evil series, Konami takes advantage of the long waiting period to
unleash Silent Hill upon the unsuspecting public. Some people may write Silent
Hill off as a Resident Evil clone, but its clear to anyone who has played
the game that this is not the case at all. Silent Hill goes where no game
has gone before and places itself next to such classic horror films as "The
Exorcist", "The Shining", and "In The Mouth of Madness".
Perhaps what really makes the game so believable is how incredibly
ordinary the main character is and how realistic the town is. Harry is just an
average guy. He can't aim a gun very well, he can't run that fast, and he reacts to
situations in ways that you might react to them yourself. He pants heavily after
running for a while, he occasionally trips, and during the remarkable Full Motion
Animation sequences, his face displays some very distinct facial expressions. When
Harry is wounded, the dual shock controller vibrates to simulate Harry's heartbeat.
With this little trick at work, you'll feel like you ARE Harry. With all his little
shortcomings and his humanitarian attitude, Harry is probably the easiest game character
for people to identify with of all time. 
Another good example of how sound is used are the "phantom
noises" that are placed throughout the rooms in the game. Certain rooms will
have noises like the crying of a child or the shattering of glass just to throw you off
guard. When you look around to see what made the noise, you don't find anything
because the game pulled a fast one on you. You can almost hear the game's designers
saying, "Made you look!"