Silent Hill

PlayStation (Konami 1999)

The big G-S-G-S-G

General opinion: A good beginning to a great series
Story: Not bad at all
Graphics: Good
Sound: Very atmospheric
Gameplay: Controls could be better, but good enough

Total:

The Review

Alone in the Dark created a whole new genre of 3D horror action/adventure, Resident Evil modernized it, and Silent Hill perfected it... Horror is a difficult genre to use successfully, particularly in video games. Older games especially tend to lean towards camp, whether intentionally or not. But there is nothing camp about Silent Hill. It's story, though in some ways perhaps a touch simple and cliched, is intriguing and well executed, and the atmosphere is truly awesome. Having played Silent Hill 2 and 3 before this game, I was worried that I might have been too spoiled by the power of the newer platform to enjoy it. I was, however, delighted to find it a worthy start to a great series.

Harry Mason is on holiday with his daughter Cheryl. Near the town of Silent Hill he suddenly sees a mysterious girl in the middle of the road, and slams the breaks... When he recovers, the car door is open, and Cheryl is gone. As he looks for her on the streets of Silent Hill, he realizes that something is very wrong. The town seems abandoned, a thick fog covers all. And there a strange monsters roaming the street... Harry must follow clues to find her daughter. But he is not alone in the town, as he soon finds out, running into Cybil Bennet, a police officer from a neighbouring town, who would also like to know just what is going on, and other, stranger people... The story of Silent Hill starts out slow, but is quite engaging and well told. Like the sequels, this is a story of mystery and psychological horror that moves along like a nightmare, often leaving you confused and wanting more (but in a good way, of course).

While the graphics are naturally much cruder than those of the PS2 sequels, they are still very good for the first PlayStation. The streets of Silent Hill feel quite realistic, as do the interiors. Unlike most previous survival horror titles, like the early Resident Evil games, which generally used prerendered backgrounds, this game uses realtime 3D graphics. One of the greatest benefits of this is the great, cinematic use of camera angles. The soundtrack adds very well to the atmosphere. For most part there is no actual music, but strange, ambient sounds, created by Akira Yamaoka.

The gameplay is familiar to anyone who's played later titles in the series, or other survival horror titles. You'll have to solve puzzles to get closer to your goal, and avoid being killed by the monsters. The puzzles are often as simple as finding the right item, but some of them require a little thought too. There was one point where I was forced to find the solution in a walkthrough, but mostly they can be solved by simple logic. Some of the bosses (of which there aren't very many) look cool, but are generally easy to beat. Well, in Easy mode, anyway... The final boss could have been cooler, though. The desing of the 'normal' monsters isn't quite as great (and freaky) as in the sequels, but they're still scary...

My one complaint about this game is its controls. These will be familiar to anyone who's played older survival horror titles: you push forward, the character moves in the direction he's facing. Push left or right, the character turns left or right. You get used to it soon enough, but it still feels very clumsy to me, particularly in combat situations. Harry aims automatically when shooting, but I found it very hard to hit anything with close range weapons. Not that the game is very difficult in Easy mode, at least, as there's plenty of ammo and restorative items to find, but it still makes the game a touch harder to approach by newcomers to the genre, and it has put me off from trying it in Normal mode, even second time around...

Silent Hill, like most games of the genre, isn't very long, only some 6-8 hours according to the game's clock. There are several endings, though, and other bonuses that add to replay value. And it's a good enough game to replay just for the fun of it. Well, that's my opinion. Silent Hill is certainly not a game for everyone. But if you share my taste for atmospheric, weird horror, then I can surely recommend it. And, of course, to a fan of the later Silent Hill titles, it's a must play.

Ben B. Bainton, 5 August 2006