Scared of a few pixels? (Silent Hill (PS))

Member Name: jennystevenson

Product:	Silent Hill (PS)
Date:	04/02/01 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scary game that keeps you on edge.

Disadvantages: Too short with a disappointing ending.

In answer to the title of this opinion, yes very scared. I'd never have thought a console game could make me jump out of my skin and be afraid to turn the lights out. Taking the idea of the 'Resident Evil' games, this has some of the same elements yet it's far more effective in the spooky department.

To set the scene, a father and daughter are driving on their way to visit a small town. A motorcyclist passes the car and disappears, only to be seen dumped at the side of the road and then his daughter mysteriously disappears. As he enters the town, he catches glimpses of his daughter and this is where you have to follow her. In a strange alleyway, you get attacked by monsters and pass out, only to wake up in s diner. His mission is now to find his daughter and work out what is happening in this eerie town. I won't say what happens next as I don't want to spoil the scare factor.

The basic controls are easy to pick up and you can rotate your view (Tomb Raider style). The graphics are pretty good for the playstation along with some smooth cut-scenes.

So why is it scary?

Well, the game is cleverly designed to keep you on edge with various noises and movements that sometimes lead to an enemy, other times they're just there to trick you. This is something I've never come across in a console game before and it did make me nervous. You also come across residents of the town which you can't work out whether they are normal or are hiding something. You spend a lot of time exploring a hospital which is very creepy when you go into the morgue and asylum. You have a radio with you which crackles louder when a monster is nearby along with the sound of a school bell which add up to atmospheric sound effects.

Along your travels, the game switches from daylight into a strange, almost other dimension where your surroundings are the same, yet roads turn in to metal and gory scenes around you.


The plot is clever and the script is good apart from the long pauses between conversations. There is so much in this game to make you jump and for replay value there are five different end scenarios to discover.

I felt a little let down by the game as it takes just a few hours to complete it the first time round. Also, you pick up various clues to the mystery of what is happening in the town but these are not followed through in the endings. This left me frustrated as I thought the game seemed incomplete through lack of explanation.

Apart from those let downs, this game surprised me and I couldn't get it out of my head for days. Trust me, I'm not easily scared but THIS is creepy.

Summary: