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 - Now we can finally see how the madness began...Well what can I say? I am a huge fan of the Silent Hill series. This is a great and worthy addition to any fan's collection. The classic atmosphere is intact with a few new twists in the gameplay. There are plenty of things to un-lock and lots of items and weapons to track down through the game. The creature design is great and its just so awesome to re-visit some of the areas from the original game and there are some excellent new locales as well. If you are a fan of the series and you don't have a PSP, then please do yourself a favor and grab this one right now! I would have given it five stars but my only gripe is that the game should have been a little longer but there is alot of replay value to make up for it. Have fun and try not to get lost in the fog! Rating: - Creepy! Scary! Horrorific!Well-done, and well-fun. I was scared to the end. A very scary game. Nothing like it. I've not played the prequels, but very scary. Rating: - Hope for the series yetIn my opinion, the Silent Hill series began to fall with the third installment, but was completely annihilated with the fourth game - but in Origins...Silent Hill is resurrected from the dead and has this long dedicated fan salivating for more. This time you play the role of truck driver Travis, whose persona has a lot in common with the memorable James Sunderland from the second game, as deep supressed and unwanted memories are forced out the more the haunted town claws its way into his soul. While Travis goes into this world of self discovery, you the player uncover the Origins of Silent Hill and see firsthand the separation of Alessa and Cheryl, and the birth of all the madness. The exploratory element that the third game neglected to utilize is brought back in Silent Hill Origins. All the streets are there for you to explore. Other than the usual Twilight Zone scenery, its unfortunate, however, that there is not much to discover down the narrow alleys or at the end of each road like what we had with the second game (like a corpse clutching on to the page of his final journal entry, or another Bar Nelly's with a blood stained map and strange writing on the wall talking about disappearing holes). That bar alone from Silent Hill 2 caused mile-long discussion forums all over the internet. Them were the days.... But the streets are there to explore nonetheless, and to think that they were all absent in Silent Hill 4. One of the other small gripes that I had with this title is that the monsters appeared too early. I prefer a slow agonizing descent into madness, getting more intense the deeper you explore. This was something Silent Hill 2 perfected with the walk through the woods; first it was strange sounds, then strage shadows, then tracks of blood....a good build up before you were even confronted with anything. Not so in this game. I also think creatures should be stranger and more otherworldly, not bigger and more aggressive in a Silent Hill game. But that's just me. And I'm tired of having ways to warp back and forth from world to world, which this game borrowed from Silent Hill 4 with its stupid tunnels. Was it not crazy enough when the whole world around you would physically Shape-Shift every time the fire Sirens screamed? This I personally believe Silent Hill 1 was best at (check my review for that game). Those are my four biggest complaints. This is otherwise a very authentic Silent Hill game, and by the time you make it all the way to the Riverside Hotel, you will feel like you're playing Silent Hill 2 all over again. This game features four abandoned buildings to explore which include the Hospital (of course), a Sanatorium, an Amphitheater and the RiverSide Hotel. A couple smaller placeses include a General Store, a Butcher's Shop, a Lumber Yard and the Antique Shop (where the altar from the first game is). Its the small things that give the town a character of its own and that's important since its the town that keeps bringing players back. When Silent Hill comes out for Next Generation, I expect mostly every vacant house and room open for exploration, with ghastly little surpises in each. One can only hope. This game has got me waiting anxiously for the next title of a series I thought died with "The Room". Rating: - Almost another Silent Hill masterpiece.Summary: I love this series, and this game is no exception. I had a great time exploring this classic, unique psychological horror experience. It has loads of benefits working for it, but there are some production quality issues that just keep this addition to the Silent Hill series below par to the rest. Why I love this game: 1. Visuals: Great graphics. Very appealing and unique style, especially for the psychological horror genre. Enemies are very realistic and creepy; fun to look at and fun to bash in. :) 2. Music: Perfect. Memorable tones accompany the story progression, infusing it with emotional impact. Eerie tracks keep you on your toes during combat situations. 3. Sounds: Great. Sounds match the enemies. Ambience works great to pull the game world together. 4. Difficulty: Balanced for the player's enjoyment. Plentiful weaponry and healing items counterbalance the more difficult aspects of the combat such as gripping enemies. 5. Story: Great psychological horror thrill. Most of the gameplay is tied into the grand story in the game. Story progression is slow enough to spark curiosity, but fast enough to retain interest. Being a prequel, this game is very much tied into the future of the Silent Hill series. Why I hate this game: 1. Controls: Generally fine, but there are three serious hang-ups: (a) slow button response, (b) difficult to perform 'finishers,' and (c) investigation/attack button overlap. (1a) The slow button response I found to be really annoying. When you press the PS2 triangle button to open map or the X button to investigate the game world, there is often a very slow game response. This causes me to push a button twice, wondering if I had pressed it at all. Double pressing causes me to instantly open and close a screen I wanted or to skip investigating an item I just picked up. (1b) The 'finishers' are when your character kills your opponent with a final blow while they are knocked out on the ground. The major problem for this is activating it. On some enemies, it is very hard to position your character to activate the 'finisher.' This can be very very annoying when you miss the 'finisher' and have to knock out your enemy all over again. (1c) Investigation, attack, and 'finishers' are all performed with the same button - the X button. This causes you to investigate when you want to attack if you're too close to an object of interest (any object that prompts text when you investigate it). And trying to perform 'finishers' near doors can cause one to exit the room by accidently investigating the door. 2. Shadows: Shadows tear frequently. By this I mean the should-be solid shadows have broken lines across them sometimes. Very visually unappealing and very unrealistic. 3. Soundtrack: Music and ambience randomly stops. For no apparent reason, the soundtrack in the game just randomly ends. This is a serious disservice to the wonderful soundtrack and the player. I don't think I've heard a track completely through in this game. It just seems like bad production quality. 4. Bugged: There is a glitch when you reload a gun from the menu screen. The graphic of the gun changes to a handgun when reloaded, and the gun selection cursor is changed to the first gun on the list. Rating: - Great Game For Silent Hill FansTo sum it up, Silent Hill Origins is a fantastic game for the hardcore fan, but not very good for someone new to the series. Akira Yamaoka's music soundtrack is absolutely amazing as usual. The graphics are nicely detailed with that classic gritty Silent Hill style (I was surprised how good it looked for being a PSP port). Now the story: Without spoiling anything, the hardcore fan such as me will enjoy the different perspective put into the story, with some of the past silent hill happenings given new light. As far as adding something new to the series, this game falls flat on its face. SH Origins pretty much piggy backs on the past Silent Hill history, but brings nothing new to the table. So if you're a Silent Hill fan and wish to dive back into all of the Silent Hill creepy goodness just for fun, definitely pick this title up (but don't expect anything new). If you're new to the series, definitely don't start with this title!
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