Presented in Retrovision: Silent Hill
If there is any title I've been more afraid to write on, Silent Hill would be it. Few games have the fervent fan base of this Konami series, and making sure that I write an honest article is intimidating, to say the least. This series, however, is also one of my personal favorites. It almost seems dishonest to not cover this this title.
Originally created in 1999, Silent Hill represented a major milestone in the evolution of the survival horror genre. Unlike predecessors, such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill focused heavily on ambiance, realistic characters, and a deep, brooding story line. The game is steeped in a soul numbing mire, which is, quite frankly, one of the most terrifying and suspenseful of any title I've ever played. Cheap scares are replaced with a slow creeping dread that permeates every facet of this desolate, ill-fated town.
Our tale begins with Harry Mason, a loving father and widower. Many years ago, Harry and his wife discovered an abandoned baby. With little deliberation, the couple adopts the child, a girl, and they name her Cheryl. Their happy family would not last forever, for a tragic illness claimed the life of Harry's wife leaving him a single father. Years pass, and Henry decides to take his daughter on a vacation to the resort town of Silent Hill.
As their trip progresses, Harry is passed by an unassuming motorcycle police woman. Moments later, Harry sees this same motorcycle, now unattended. Returning his eyes to the road, Harry has to swerve to miss a ghostly child walking across the street, and in doing so, he knocks himself unconscious in the subsequent crash. Afterward, he awakes in his jeep just outside the city limits of Silent Hill. Unseasonable snow and fog blanket the town, and Cheryl is nowhere to be found. Harry, concerned for her safety, leaves his car in search of his lost daughter.
Silent Hill is an abysmal place. The entire town is covered in a thick layer of grayish soup, and it is impossible to see more than 20 feet-or-so in front of your face. Visibility is a constant enemy in this game. If it is not from being outside in the fog, it is a persistent darkness. There is no traffic, no birds, no ambient noise to speak of. Silent Hill is a town where a person can truly feel alone, at least one would hope.
Shortly after "checking in", so to speak, Harry will locate an old transistor radio that is apparently busted. For no obvious reason, Harry decides to keep the busted radio and continues on his way. It becomes quickly evident that the radio responds to the presence of various apparitions. Most of these creatures appear to be mangled lumps of flesh, perversions of the human form. While lurching menacingly across the landscape, Harry's radio becomes a horrific assistant, proving both safety and dread with every cracking pop of white noise.
Silent Hill has a distinct pace. The game is usually broken down into a lose chapter like system. Harry is often provided some obstacle that requires remedy, such as finding keys, or solving simple riddles to get through a door or gateway. Human contact is usually scarce and is limited to story line events at critical points in the game. Additionally, the cast of characters is relatively small, consisting of only six or seven human characters. Each contact is usually punctuated with increasingly difficult mid-boss fights.
One of the most important aspects of the horror quality of Silent Hill would be the constant reminder than Harry Mason is not a super hero. He is a flawed, fragile man, and as such he is not capable of performing like an Olympic athlete. Harry cannot run a marathon, he can sprint only moderate distances before he is winded and must either stop to take a break or walk at a much slower pace. Additionally, a relative few well placed hits can kill Harry, all of which make combat a device best avoided unless absolutely necessary.
Silent Hill is a rare title where you feel like you are constantly in danger. Even while alone, I found myself with my ear cautiously affixed to the radio speaker, hoping that I can walk down a hall without hearing the scratchy warning of some abomination. Silent Hill is one of the few survival horror titles that started out scary without relying on cheap jolts. I would say the game is not without it's flaws, but honestly I cannot think of anything in the game that was severely broken. The voice acting is spot on and never over-zealous or amateur. The graphics were impeccable, especially considering the hardware they were forced to use. Simply put, this game is a must play, and a must own. All bow to the mighty Samael!
Asterick
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 24 July 2008
· Comments (8)
Other stuff like this: henry mason, konami, presented in retrovision, silent hill, trembling masses of flesh
I remember playing that and being so scared that I couldn't go to bed until I finished the alternate school. I still love that game but is is really painful to play on account of the graphics being so old. All the same it is great to play through for a bit and I even listen to the soundtrack from time to time.
Also, either I am crazy or you started calling Harry "Henry" starting in the third paragraph.
Haha, yea, I did. I have a hard time keeping the names from SH1 and SH2 straight because they are so similar. I fixed it though.
I wish this would hit the PSN store as a Playstation Original download. I'd totally buy it, since I can't find a physical copy anywhere.
"Haha, yea, I did. I have a hard time keeping the names from SH1 and SH2 straight because they are so similar. I fixed it though."
Hehe, James was in SH2, Henry was in 4... also, it's Samael, not Samuel. :D
@Nate: Good god, I don't know what's wrong with me today. xD
Definitely one of my favorite games of all time, I'm glad I still have my original copy cause it seems like the series is not only getting rare, but more expensive. Although it may have to do with the approaching sequel, which I am SO excited about!!! :)
Although I like the RE's, I love Silent Hill. SH is a Horror/"survival" game, RE is a Survival/"horror" game. SH scared the hell out of me, all of the RE's only made me jump a couple of times mostly from the sudden loud music type "scares". Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to play 3 or 4 :( maybe one day though, too many current must haves to suck my $ away lol
hi, andar here, i just read your post. i like very much. agree to you, sir.