Return to Hell!

I was a big fan of the Resident Evil series on the Playstation and was naturally curious when another survival horror game emerged- the first Silent Hill game. Some think think the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series are fairly similar- but I thought the first Silent Hill game offered a different experience to gamers. No more navigating through government laboratories- Silent Hill pulled you in to a living nightmare.

I purposely went on to purchase a Playstation2 simply to play Silent Hill 2. I was not disappointed. Silent Hill 2 was more than a game- it was a masterpiece. The atmosphere was truly horriffic. The graphics, the sound and the monsters all contributed to produce an atmosphere like no other game had provided- not even Silent Hill 1.

Enter SILENT HILL 3- Konami's third installment in the Silent Hill series.

This time round- you take control of Heather- a 'normal' teenager who is swept into the mysterious events of Silent Hill.


GRAPHICS 5 out of 5
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Silent Hill 3 offers some of the greatest graphics to grace the Playstation 2- or in fact any console. The first thing that hits you is the unbelievable amount of detail on the characters. The faces are so brilliantly modelled that you can almost feel the characters emotions. The character animation is also spot on.

The monsters of Silent Hill are incredibly unique and simply disturbing. One of the regular monsters in the game (and my personal favourite from any of the Silent Hill games) is about twice the size of Heather and sports massive 'arms' that it uses to damage her. Meanwhile- its head seems to spasm uncontrollably independantly of the rest of its body. The effect is quite disturbing.

Even more impressing than the monsters etc. is the actual environments. Alot of care and detail has been put into the environments. Your first major building to explore is a Mall (not in Silent Hill- would you believe). Its quite weird in comparison to other Silent Hill games because monsters are roaming around the 'still normal' mall, at first. Later, it shifts into the 'alternative' mall in that wonderful Silent Hill fashion- everything becomes dark and distorted. Covered bodies lying on trollies litter the corridors. The walls become dark and rusted. Everything gets a little weird..

Even MORE impressive than the environments is my favourite aspect of Silent Hill 2 and 3- the lighting. The pocket flashlight creates perfect (and often disturbing) shadows. The shadows are, once again, terrific.

As a final note on graphics: Fans of Silent Hill 2 will remember the screen noise effect. The effect is alot less drastic than that of Silent Hill 2 and can be toggled off/on before you even play the game. I like it on though- since it creates an even more realistic experience.


SOUND 5 out of 5
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Much praise should also go to the sounds of Silent Hill 3- they are quite unlike anything you will hear in any other game. For a start- there must be hundreds of footstep noises. If you walk on the same surface for ages- each step will sound almost unique.

The noises of the monsters are very weird and disturbing. When you knock that big fellow (I was talking about earlier) to the ground- he emits even more disgusting moaning noises- you just want to kill the thing! Another monster uses blades to attack you. The screeching noises made by the blades really grate on your nerves- like fingers being dragged down a blackboard.

The voice acting for the characters is better for this Silent Hill game- my personal favourite being Claudia (who harks back to the weird Dahlia Gillespie from the first game). Heather has a pretty good voice over also.

The Silent Hill soundtrack is also pretty cool- when you start up the game you are treated to a collage of clips from the game with the soundtrack playing over it. For the first time in a Silent Hill game- we also have a (female) singer for the main theme tune.


GAMEPLAY 4 out of 5
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The action factor has been increased for this Silent Hill game. A complaint about Silent Hill 2 was that the enemies sometimes never posed as a threat and you could just run past them at points. No longer. There are alot more enemies in Silent Hill 3- and all of them will probably cause you to die at one point.

There are alot of melee weapons which are fun to use. In terms of guns- you get the standard handgun and shotgun and also- a sub-machine gun (instead of a rifle). Don't be fooled though- ammunition (even on normal mode) is hard to come by and should be used wisely. That's half the fun though- being forced to use a katana (which is really good fun to use) in order to save your ammunition.

IMPORTANT: The combat system in Silent Hill 3 is the best of the three games. Combat feels alot more natural and fun and the controls in general have improved.

The puzzles are not as hard as in Silent Hill 2, unfortunately. They are well thought out though- and some require more thinking from you than others. The riddle difficulty can once again be adjusted- which provides even more replay value second time round and thereafter.

The maps are very helpful. Heather (like in previous games) annotates the maps as she progresses through the areas- highlighting locked doors, puzzle locations etc.


STORYLINE 5 out of 5
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I can't give away too much- this is possibly the crux of the game. Silent Hill 3's storyline is very interesting and explains even more about the bigger picture Silent Hill. Needless to say- there are plenty of surprises in store. Silent Hill 3 expands more on the story from the 1st game than the 2nd game.


ATMOSPHERE 5 out of 5
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The graphics, the sounds, the monsters etc. all contribute to create a truly scary game- more psychologically disturbing than Silent Hill 2. Some of the imagery in Silent Hill 3 is really weird. You will be on the edge of your seat (sorry about the cliche) when you play this game. The developers know this- and they toy with you almost at some points in the game. Best get a change of underwear. In my opinion- the atmosphere is the best aspect of the Silent Hill games. Unique is the only word that can describe it.


Fans of Silent Hill 1 & 2 will no doubt feel at home with Silent Hill 3. The Silent Hill team have done it again- they have produced a masterpiece (here's hoping that another Silent Hill game will be released in the future).

(The game has been released in Europe first- so I hope I have provided you with an insight into what the rest of you can expect. I assure you- Silent Hill 3 will not disappoint.)