It’s hard to believe that little over a decade ago we were first introduced to the eponymous town of Silent Hill; a town where inescapable fear and psychological horror lies dormant amidst the iconic confines of ghostly fog.
Whilst Konami seek to baffle the box office by loosely grasping the concept of a “collection”, I’m pleased to announce that Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 are present here, complete with their various scenarios, newly recorded voices, endings, extras and obligatory 720p high-def makeover. Whilst it would have been nice to own a definitive collection, including both the original Silent Hill and Team Silents’ final entry dubbed “The Room”, I think it’s safe to acknowledge here that Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 really are the series’ strongest entries. They are the two iconic games that helped distinguish Silent Hill both as a horror series and as a commercially successful games franchise – and it is this timeless quality which really holds the Silent Hill HD Collection in good stead for this review.
You may feel that my taste is terribly skewed, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited for a classic re-release on our savvy modern consoles as I have for this one (and I loved Beyond Good & Evil HD). I remember it was rapidly approaching 2008 when I realized that I had exhausted all ways of being able to play my old Xbox copy of Silent Hill 2 again (obviously, other than by reinvesting in another Xbox machine and playing it like normal). Sony and Microsoft had never offered fans that level of convenience; no backwards compatibility, no Marketplace download and no HD re-release… until now…
In my recent review of Konami’s 2012 title, Silent Hill: Downpour, I argued that graphically the game had a relatively poor, last-gen quality that was noticeably worse than the Silent Hill: HD Collections’; a game consisting of two titles from over a decade ago. What I appreciate here is that in most cases, you really can tell exactly where the new developers have made improvements in order to bolster the already atmospheric, creepy and distressing visuals that both PS2/Xbox entries were renowned for. I say “in most cases”, because there will be some occasional moments where random texture popping and poor polygonal rendering will distract players from immersing themselves fully into the Silent Hill experience – but these moments are infrequent and rarely present an issue.
However, graphics aren’t really what make Silent Hill such a phenomenally unique survival horror series. Sound and story both play their part in the HD Collection, and boy do they play their part in abundance. Sound is heavily called upon throughout both entries, and arguably it is the beautiful compositions of Akira Yamaoka combined with the distressing guttural, mechanical, discordant screeches that help act as the 12th man for Silent Hill. It is this wonderful attention to diegetic sound which will consistently unsettle the player throughout the entire experience, whereas without it – players would eventually find a comfortable rhythm as they rinse through the game, bullying monsters with firearms and planks of wood.
Whilst Silent Hill 3 severely lacks the emotional subtleties of its predecessor, a well-developed narrative based off the original Silent Hill game (which again really should have been included in this edition) will push gamers to the limit in terms of emotional weight and impact – despite probably confusing those who have still yet to play the first in the franchise. Without trying to give too much away (as I would advise you play before reading any deeper into this series of games), Heather Mason finds herself being dragged into the haunted town of Silent Hill after suffering reoccurring nightmares. A reasonable exposition for a horror game, but in no way does the tale of Heather in any way compare to that of James Sunderland and Silent Hill 2. After receiving a mysterious letter from his deceased wife instructing him to visit their “special place”, James Sunderland returns to gaming’s most torturous and relentless town in order to uncover the truth regarding his wife’s whereabouts – all the time questioning and testing his own psychological and psychosexual stability along the way. What ensues is a darkly relatable, holistic gaming experience that I would encourage all open-minded fans of gaming to try out and see if they enjoy – it really is that stellar.
Many will complain about the controls and camera set-ups in both games, with walking as stiff and incomprehensive as sidestepping across very specifically laid out planks of wood whilst suffering from acute rigamortis (these settings can now thankfully be changed in the options menu to a very favourable 2D mode, which allows you to walk a lot more sensibly than before). The camera, too, does a very good job of never positioning itself where you’d like it – always showing you what’s behind you or above you, and never what’s directly going to attack in front of you. This isn’t as much of an issue in Silent Hill 3, however, as a lot more of Heather’s story takes place in large open spaces as opposed to the claustrophobic narrow corridors of Silent Hill 2. I must say though, I actually can’t find any faults in these design choices by Team Silent whatsoever. Whilst a lot of games critics have complained about the aged control schemes of Silent Hill (especially now considering what the contemporary survival horrors genre has become), it is this difficulty to manoeuvre your protagonist and see where you’re headed that adds to the tension and horror of the experience – and I for one am in favour of playing through the entire game as if your body supernaturally prevents you from swerving on your axis unless you’re stood perfectly still. It just makes frustrating yet logical sense.
In conclusion, at the rather modest RRP of £25.00 (a nice £15 below any other current blockbuster release in the UK) I would recommend this package to any open-minded gaming fans who have yet to experience the wonders of horrors’ most unique and disturbing franchise – heck, it’s even worth picking up just for Silent Hill 2 alone. Sadly, for long-serving fans of the Silent Hill franchise this may not be the most definitive collection you were looking for – which is definitely very strange when you consider that “The Silent Hill Collection” (featuring both of these titles and “The Room”) was once available on the PS2, and may just as easily have been ported to next-gen consoles. All in all though, Silent Hill is a series which deserves to exist on as many platforms as it can; its timeless gameplay and iconic sequences suited to modern audiences just as much as the older ones. Give it a chance; you never know what you may find lurking amidst the fog…
0 Comments