Will you ever leave the room? (Silent Hill 4 - The Room (PS2))

Member Name: bz2886

Product:	Silent Hill 4 - The Room (PS2)
Date:	30/06/09 (5 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Immersive plotline, an imaginitive paradoxical world of fear and confusion

Disadvantages: A little dated and slow at times

Originally appearing on the Playstation, the 'Silent Hill' series is a successful series of horror games, probably most comparable to the 'Resident Evil' games in some ways, however Silent Hill has a tendency to be much more twisted and freakish than the gory and action packed nature of most Resident Evil games. It has seen six major games and also a translation to cinema.

Silent Hill is developed by Japanese company 'Konami' and as a result the games are well-produced and well-marketed and have resulted in a successful franchise of games. Unlike all the games that proceeded 'Silent Hill 4: The Room,' this game is set in the fictional American town of 'South Ashfield.' All the previous games were set in a sleepy village known as Silent Hill - a village which is exposed to be deadly and disturbing, with a hideous past. With each game, the character you play as is different. In the initial game you played as 'Harry,' a guy who loses his young, adopted daughter after a car crash near the village and subsequently is forced to investigate the further into the mystery. After the first Silent Hill, the series has progressed through to this instalment Silent Hill 4. There has since been the next two releases in the series, 'Silent Hill: Origins' and 'Silent Hill: Homecoming' which came out in October 2008. However, from here on in, I will concentrate on 'The Room' and try to keep the other games a bit of a mystery. Plus, we would be here all day.

In Silent Hill 4, you play as 'Henry Townshend,' an unremarkable man, about as 'average joe' as they come. The flannel-shirted, lonely, twenty-something is the new resident of Apartment 302 in a 'South Ashfield Heights' building. The town is a fairly indistinct US town, with a small population, suggesting it is built up yet fairly rural in its location. The game is played in a mixture of first-person and third person camera viewpoints. Your will see through the eyes of Henry when he is in his apartment, but if he ever manages to get out then you will notice the camera is instead perched just behind him to make it easier to see your environment. The game is a combination of brief but panic stricken melees with a variety of ghouls, beasts and spirits, intriguing plot twists and revelations as well as a varying degree of puzzles to solve.

=== A BRIEF PLOT AND INTRODUCTION ===

After a brief introduction to the game, the town and your new flat your find yourself able to inspect it. Henry can interact with a few objects in there, and gain info about many others. It is a key requirement of this game to keep your eyes peeled for clues as to just what the hell is going on!! Anyway, after you're satisfied you are finished with your flat you can go to sleep, only to awake to find the door is locked with massive rusty chains and padlocks. Henry can see outside the room through his spy hole and can also hear what is on the other side of the door but it is unclear whether the people on the other side can hear him. I better add (for the smart ones out there) that the phone no longer works. Or does it? By looking through the spy-hole of his door you are introduced to the building's proprietor and Henry's next-door neighbour 'Eileen Gavin.'

It is clear that something is gravely wrong, especially when you find a massive hole in your bathroom wall that appears to be a portal to another realm, so you must investigate. Why else play the game right? Upon entering the world, you are thrown into a creepy, tense and claustrophobic world of half-reality, with seemingly normal settings but very dilapidated beyond their usual states. All rusted or darkened and distorted. They are filled with little scraps of information to help you gather an idea of what is going on, but these clues are small and sometimes well hidden. There is also the problem of the genuinely horrific creatures baying for blood. Ranging from inside-out dog-like creatures, to mutilated Siamese monsters and later on - even some immortal enemies, similar to ghosts.

Anyway, to explain what the game is about without spoiling the truly engrossing story of its events I will try to make it relatively simple and short.

The first place in the alternate world, shall we way, is similar to a subway station but obviously with a horrific tinge as is so frequent in the Silent Hill series. Henry comes across a young, attractive woman name Cynthia who he at first thinks he is imagining. He witnesses her be killed and awakes in his apartment to find the radio reporting she has been killed in reality as well. Was it all a dream? Where did you go? The hole is still there and so are the chains on the door. Anyway you soon venture back into the hole and before long meet a young child, a very important one. These simple meetings are much more than they appear and the complexities of the game will bend your mind initially, a part of the challenge is to unscramble everything until you can make sense of what everyone and everything means.

When in the apartment, Henry finds scraps of a diary, crumple pieces of orange paper which give little clues to the madness. They appear to have been written by the previous occupant of your apartment, maybe he was a journalist, you will have to decipher it all yourself. He refers to a serial killer named 'Walter Sullivan' and his spree, but the killer in question killed himself years before. It becomes clear to Henry (or you) that he is in some way responsible for what has happened in your apartment and the only way to do anything about it is to crawl back into that horrible hole in your bathroom and find a way to escape.

=== SiLeNT HiLL 4 - Playing the Game ===

The game was released in 2004 and as result, the graphics are mediocre. The action is believable but it is not remotely crisp or rendered anywhere near to today's levels of detail that you find in any game. However, as far as PS2 games go, it stands up well and the bleak and grainy atmosphere still has its benefits in creating the atmosphere of dirtiness and fear. The enemies are not frequent, but then again, neither are good weapons. Your characters lacks any special skills, he is as regular as you could ever imagine. You can arm yourself with something simple initially, such as a broken pipe wrenched from a wall or some other masonry. You do find guns and even big swords later on but the ammo is fairly scarce and you will not be able to shoot every enemy. This leads to a sort of ambiguous tension as you are forced to run from some enemies. The maps are intentionally confusing and the enemies are rather unsettling and gruesome at times. The story becomes more twisted and gripping, I found myself playing on just to unravel the story. As far as the game goes it has a fair flew flaws in the system of the game play but they are workable so you can still play the game once you are aware of them. Your character moves a little slowly and clumsily sometimes but maybe that adds to the sense of panic as you make for the nearest door with some horrible wretch on your tale.

The game throws you into increasingly bizarre settings, a bizarre woodland children's home, a hospital and even some bizarre prison/asylum. Each of these places will possess a little evidence to enlighten you on how to continue and they all bear significance later in the game. The game really shines when it comes to creating an ambience. The sounds are eerie and most places appear deserted and your surroundings are unpleasant and claustrophobic. You are forced to get your hands dirty; some places are really disgusting, so bad that even on a game it's unnerving to be there. If you can really allow yourself to get into this game then the very clever and twisting story will fascinate. That is definitely the best party of the game. When playing the game is can become a little tedious, but the goal of finding out the next piece of evidence or cracking that puzzle that has stumped you for half an hour is usually enough to push you on.

The plot I have mentioned is the tip of the iceberg and I had to stop myself from just spoiling it all that it's so interesting. It is a little far-fetched in terms of reality, but it he world of horror games the story works really well. The actual game is fairly enjoyable, fighting enemies is ok if a little tricky to get used to at first. Movement is ok although the camera angles can be very restrictive at times. There is not option to modify the view to any real extent. When in the apartment (in first person mode) it begins to alter without you doing anything, things break or change and it really does tax your brain to follow whets going on. However, if you are willing to be thorough and read the clues you find properly and try to piece together their relationships then you will be able to crack it in your own time. The change of viewpoints and the relative sanctuary of your apartment are refreshing features and keep the game a little glossier and varied. It is an element not present in any of the other games I have played in the series.

This game should take quite a few hours to complete, depending how fast you can solve its riddles and work what to do and where to do it. Personally, I found that two heads are better than one, I played with an ex-girlfriend of the time but if you can play through it with anyone, a friend basically then you will probably enjoy it a little more. The story is good to share and it definitely helps to have two people looking for clues and working out the whole baffling incident.

=== Overall ===

This game sports mediocre graphics but is somewhat supported by its intriguing story and atmospheric suspense. The plot is definitely the best aspect, even if some characters are a little underdeveloped or forgettable. The balance of action and suspense will appeal to people who like a mental challenge as well as a gaming one. You have to be able to kill whatever is thrown in your way, but there is plenty of skulking around in mysterious surroundings all alone, looking for clues and items you need to solve your next puzzle or to work out the whole insane scenario.

At times the niggling problems such as the slow character movement or the difficult you the game can lead you to feeling like you want to stop playing it but if you persist quite far into the game you will become more accustomed to the game and for most people, the plot will be difficult to leave half-finished. The difficulty of the enemies gets increasingly more towards the end with some being unkillable. You can find certain weapons, usually massive swords to kill them with, but you must leave the weapon behind in your victim or they will not stay dead. This makes you pick your battles very carefully.

The game sports no multiplayer options at all so relies completely on the appeal of the main game. It can be replayed if you wish, since you will know what to do a little better second time and also, there are four possible endings to achieve, some positive, others tragic. The ending depends on the fate of certain characters and a couple of key actions your character makes in his apartment and if I'm honest, I only completed this game once and got one of the two 'bad' endings. So despite a conclusion to the story, I was left feeling very tested by this game. If you are a novice you will probably struggle with this game, but it is plausible enough for you to share playing the game with a friend, preferably a skilled one.

To any casual gamer, I would suggest maybe playing the first silent hill, or if you're a little fickle, then one of the more recent editions on next generation console. (PS3/Xbox360) If you consider yourself more experienced and you like puzzling horror games then this might be a good option. I enjoyed it at the time but must admit it may not be as fun compared to the most recent releases. I would have to play it again to be sure.

You can find this game for bargain prices in high street shops and online due to it being for PS2 only. A game with what is initially a long lifespan but with little replay value. It would be perfect for a couple of marathon gaming sessions but I reckon you can complete it from start to finish in about 10 hours, the game tells you how long you took along with many other statistics upon its completion. I must stress that 10 hours is very optimistic and most people will find it takes much longer; this game will hurt your brain!!



also posted on www.ciao.co.uk

Summary: A twisted story of intrigue and the unknown... with slightly sketchy graphics