Firstly i\'d like to say long time no see.
Anyway just bought this last week and completed it today - would have done it faster if it wasnt for exams. Onto the review...
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Where to begin? If you haven\'t played any of the Silent Hill games then definatly begin by checking the first two out both of which can be picked up fairly cheap. They are horror games set in the town of Silent Hill which has a long traditional of all things the Occult ...
... Silent Hill 3 starts with the lead character Heather being caught up in the commotion of local relegious types wanting to raise god. Without saying anymore lets just say the third installment has the best story out of the three. Where by the first delt heavily with the religious themes, in a ambigious mannor and the second didn\'t really step on them grounds accept for the mark of Samual at the end, the third in contrast to the second and similar to the first continues with the religious themes but in a way thats explained more clearly without patronising the player. The story interwines with the first in places so if you have played the first your in for a treat, if you haven\'t then don\'t worry as story elements are explained along the way. The only downside with the story elements is that for the first signficant chunk of the game your simply keeping yourself alive. It takes time before the story really does begin to kick off. Slightly too long for my liking.
The thing which makes the Silent Hill games so unique is the idea of two worlds or prehaps planes in the same world. A normal everyday world, empty schools (from the first game), appartment blocks (from the second game) for example, which on their own are quite scary along with this alternative world consisting of death, religious imagry, touture and hatred. The first installment on the Playstation 1 captured this perfectly with examples being mutilated bodies being taped to the wall. I felt the second game didn\'t quite acheive the same level of horror. The disturbing scenes had been cut down to a minimum and even the world shifts weren\'t too over the top compared to the first game. The third game however not only in story takes the saga back to the routes but also in atmosphere. The alternative worlds are once again gastly, evil and brimming with hatred. Once again we have shapes which suggest bodies hanging from walls with baby like dolls in their hands, wheelchairs all over the place, enough blood to shake a stick at, moans and cries throughout. As well as this they have used the ps2 to perform some great graphical effects including a heat filter making some of the walls glow as though they are piping hot - you really feel like your in the depths of hell. Another effect put to great use but not overuse is at certain parts of the game when the walls start bleeding. All this along with some get direction makes from some absolutly wonderful horror moments which I wont spoil for you.
The sound is stunning as always and really adds to the effect. Some wonderful noises which really put you on edge.
With this type of game, graphics and sound really do add to the gameplay because clearly they add to the atmosphere. The gameplay is slightly where the game begins to falter. The general problem with Silent Hill 3 is its similarities to Silent Hill 2. Im a very systematic player with these type of games. I found myself going into areas, checking all the doors, that would prehaps reveal the two rooms your meant to check out, and generally one object from one room was meant to be used in the next helping you progress, see a cut scene and move onto the next area. There was times when I had a slight feeling in the back of my mind that I was playing the game simply to progress even though I was enjoying it, this esp risen during an area of the game which is basically the same as Silent Hill 2. Its not really the games fault but just because Silent Hill 2 was also so good. In terms of improvements over 2, the user interface is still basic but the combat system I felt had improved. I didn\'t mind using Melee weapons, where before I would simply avoid them because of the health loss through awkurd controls. Another downfall in the game over 2 is that there are only 2 proper endings. However to summaries the game play front, Silent Hill games are great fun, they are scary as hell, they have plenty of action and they will definatly keep you hooked right through to the end and give you that satisfying feeling of completing the game.
On the lasting appeal front it only took me a mere few hours to complete. This however was on the normal difficulty settings and im used to the Silent Hill world from completing the previous two games several times. I feel however that the enjoyment is worth it. Comparing it to the rest of the pack its no shorter than say Onimusha and Resident Evil for example. There isn\'t many endings and I feel less thought has gone into them. There is however a handful of extras too unlock, if you enjoy playing the game a few times. In short I feel it was slightly shorter than Silent Hill 2.
To conclude its a great game. The only disapointment you may feel is if you have played the previous games before. If you have played them though and are considering the next installment im sure you are a fan. Everything is bigger, better and more dark than the previous installment.
9/10.
I forgot to add. The UK PAL version includes both screen centering and 50 / 60 Hz mode. Nice one Konami.
Topic: My Silent Hill 3 UK PAL Review (Read 810 times)