Silent Hill Heaven

At least last generation, compared to RE4. SH2,3, and 4 pretty much kept with the horror genre. RE4 just became an adventure game, its still fun as hell but really RE4 was the beginning of the downward spiral of fail.

REMAKE was made in 2002, had great graphics and everything and was great horror. I honestly don't understand how Capcom managed to fuck it all up.

Silent Carnage wrote:At least last generation, compared to RE4. SH2,3, and 4 pretty much kept with the horror genre. RE4 just became an adventure game, its still fun as hell but really RE4 was the beginning of the downward spiral of fail.

REMAKE was made in 2002, had great graphics and everything and was great horror. I honestly don't understand how Capcom managed to fuck it all up.

Code: Veronica was the beginning of the downward spiral. The first three games did a good job of suspending disbelief. Code: Veronica's developers had a hard-on for The Matrix that has since developed into full-blown priapism.

That said, by the time RE4 came along, the series had so many ridiculous elements in the stories that I didn't even care what was going on. I like the game anyway because it's awesome fun.

alone in the town wrote:Code: Veronica was the beginning of the downward spiral. The first three games did a good job of suspending disbelief. Code: Veronica's developers had a hard-on for The Matrix that has since developed into full-blown priapism

Yeah they really went toward the whole fantasy/sci-fi thing. Everything got a bit too ridiculous, especially with the villains. Before they were military/scientists with realistic goals, starting with CV they're all insane, cheesy, megalomaniacs.

I mean COME ON!! SH1 was just sooo I mean COME ON!!!

I'm replaying it atm, I plan to go through all of them. It's so great.

I'd like to point out one thing here.

I've seen comparisons between the original Silent Hill and the first few Resident Evil games before, specifically in the graphics department, and frankly I'm suprised it's still brought up.

Silent Hill's does quite a good job in the graphics area, and in my opinion, better than Resident Evil. Here's why:

The Resident Evil games that were around at the time of Silent Hill's release used prerendered environments and fixed camera angles. They weren't "better graphics", they were simply pre-rendered, hence the fixed camera angles. In a sense, the environments were entirely static, with certain fully animated environmental effects thrown in (I.E. fire, water spraying from a hose, rain, etc.). There were were hardly--if any-- player influenced dynamic lighting or shadow effects that occured in real-time. Also... remember those loading screens we all watched after opening a door? Well do you remember those in Silent Hill? No? Didn't think so.

Silent Hill, on the other hand, used used fully rendered environments. And on the PS1, of course they're gonna look blocky! When you take out the loading screens, have massive, fully rendered and detailed environments, and dynamic lighting effects and camera changes, there will obviously be some drawbacks. But overall, I think that Silent Hill delivers a far more visceral and immersive visual experience than Resident Evil ever did at that time.

I think you get my point.

I haven't played this game yet, but I think it's not right to say that a game is bad because the graphics aren't top notch. Sure, graphics are important and can add realism to the game, but I think the background story, the characters and gameplay are more important than pixels. But the most important thing is the experience of playing the game.

I'm not the best gamer in the world, but I enjoy playing games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil because of the experience and feelings they give me. I also find it strange that Silent Hill and Resident Evil are always compared and that RE is always bashed upon or even hated. Sure, you don't have to like it, but SH and RE have different emphasises. SH is more puzzle and story oriented and RE is more action. Does that make RE an inferior or a bad series? No. I think it's made for different audiences (or not, since there are people like me who enjoy playing both) and because of this, there will always be arguements like this.

Back to topic: From what I read and saw on the internet, I think that this review is a bit too harsh. People need to realize that this game was made some years ago and had revolutionary elements that other games didn't had. That's the only thing I can say about this review since the rest is an opinion. If he thinks Silent Hill is a bad game, then so be it. Some people think SH4 is a bad game or that SHO doesn't fit. They're only opinions and I think it's good that we don't all agree on everything. It makes the discussions more interesting...

I'm relatively new to the series, but Silent Hill 1 was the first game I ever played, and it remains my favourite.

1) The graphics actually sold the game for me. I was going to buy Silent Hill 0rigins (I had the misfortune of seeing the arcade like version from the US Climax Team-very proud what we Brits did with it!), but I then saw a few screenshots of the grainy, atmospheric and mysterious quality that no other SH game has quite managed to recapture in my opinion. Well, out of the other 2 I've played anyway! Once I got it, I spent the first few hours replaying the opening sequence, marvelling at the camera angles, music and sense of panic and utter bleakness the game managed to convey. I would not have changed a thing.
I also think the otherworld was never done in quite the same way again. The suffocating darkness, industrial noise and inability to make out what the hell was going on left me with a raw sense of panic and wonder that I never get tired of.


2) I couldn't relate, but I could sympathise, understand, and fear for all of the characters. Nuff said.

3) Sorry, you're actually complaining about the brilliantly unfathomable, complex, chilling story of Silent Hill? Ok, you can pick out the little details and claim it ruins the whole game as much as you like, but don't expect to be treated with anything other than mockery.

4) I really hope you're not being serious.

5) I didn't notice any problems with the controls whilst I was playing, just the occasional bump into a wall. Sorry.

6) Re your comment on Silent Hill 0rigins, I have to disagree. I have only played three of the games from the series (0, 1 and 2-I have 3 and 4, and have pre-ordered Shattered Memories, but I've yet to finish 2), and I would rank the original way above 0rigins. Whilst I immensely enjoyed it, so much so it is my most replayed game, it felt predictable, a little less deep, and didn't quite keep its promises. I love it just as much as 1, but I feel as though you are filling in the gaps yourself, you have to create your state of wonder and fear.

it doesnt sound as if you pain much attention on your run of silent hill. are you so closed minded as to let the graphics hinder you experience? but to each his own opinion.no matter how ridiculous they are.i enjoyed the original silent hill very much.worth the $50 i cashed out to get it.

Oh God, how are there 4 WHOLE PAGES devoted to the most obvious troll on the planet?

Every one of you that responds to that post is just validating his behavior. It's probably someone who knows how picky obsessive silent hill fans are stopping by to pick at all the things we hate to hear.

1) Graphics aren't that bad. The FMVs are actually really good to this day- As for the rest, as others stated, the whole 3-d environment thing, which I'm thankful for. I don't really like fixed camera angles that much. Also, graphics aren't everything.

2) The characters don't really have to be that relatable in this case: I think everyone can kind of get the gist of how scared Harry is not being able to find his kid in a abandoned town full of horrific monsters. Also, bland main characters were common in older games in order for the player to use their own reactions as what the character is thinking/feeling.

3) Maybe Harry lives too far away/doesn't listen to the news/doesn't watch TV? There could be a lot of reasons to why he didn't know a whole town's population practically vanished. But it must not have happened very long ago considering people are still trying to investigate when he gets there. Kauffman is still there, too...

4) The sound is fine the way it is, I would have liked a few more piano tunes, but there wasn't really a lot of opportunities to have them. The tense music that plays in the otherworld school and hospital actually kinda makes me nervous.

5) Am I the only one who likes the 3-D controls of SH? Even when given the option to change them to 2-D in the newer games, I don't. I like being able to walk backwards! I don't know, I find the controls to be perfectly fine.

6) After reading all that I'm thinking you are either a troll, or trying way too hard to be sarcastically funny...

WHen I got Silent Hill for the PS3, I thought it was one of the best in the series.

I'd like to point out that the graphics are much better than "Not bad" for the PS1. They're both technically and artistically far superior to RE. Harry's character model looks a lot more seamless than any RE character, and on top of packing fully 3D and deatailed environments, the snow and lighting effects are nothing short of impressive.

Pretty much all I wanted to say. Hope OP wasn't being serious.

Who could possibly hate the game that started it all? I mean really Silent Hill 1 is a great game the only thing that bothers me is harry and his wacky animations but hey its a ps1 game really good for its time. Far more revolutionary than anything the dreamcast dished out.

Not only was Silent Hill an artistic and story improvement on Resident Evil, but I think that since you could walk backwards and forwards while shooting the combat was better too. To me, the first Resident Evil was about exploration rather than action. Resident Evil 4 had wonderful controls though.

SH1 is one of those games that, although the graphics and controls can seem dated now, people really need to give a chance. In some ways it's still one of the best horror games ever made... the story unfolds in an awesome way, the soundtrack is masterful, and the radio is at it's most effective. Everyone should try SH1, it's still one of my favorites, perhaps even a favorite over SH2.

^ What he said.

l33tspaniard wrote:Oh God, how are there 4 WHOLE PAGES devoted to the most obvious troll on the planet?

Every one of you that responds to that post is just validating his behavior. It's probably someone who knows how picky obsessive silent hill fans are stopping by to pick at all the things we hate to hear.

This.

But I'll admit the apologetics for PS1 graphics are amusing.

..... does anyone else notice the OP isn't even really engaged in this topic anymore?

Anyways, since I was compelled enough to post that, I guess I'll give my two cents. It's easier to appreciate Silent Hill for what it was if you were there from the beginning. Not that it's impossible to come in as a newer fan and discover it, and still appreciate it for what it was/is. But in the context of the world of gaming in 1999, no other game had this kind of impact on me. It was truly terrifying. Resident Evil scared me, but it completely lacked the surrealism of SH, instead it was more of a sci-fi horror, in that by the end of the game you understood what Umbrella was and that everything was caused by the T-Virus. You never leave the realm of "reality" as presented by the game. SH threw that out the window. The game constantly fucked with your head, and that opening scene where you wander through the alley with only a lighter is one of my all time favorite game openings, ever. In my opinion, for gaming it was a landmark in executing suspension of disbelief.

What's important to me, is that this game still makes me shiver twelve years after it's initial release. Nowadays most people will look at the graphics and wonder how anything that outdated can be scary, but it is. Resident Evil had a bunch of green, dead people shambling about going "Urrrgh, arrrrgh" in a very stereotypical manner. Silent Hill went much deeper than that. It messed with my head, made me afraid of the dark and what was lurking beyond the fog.

Not many old games can shine through the era of HD and still stir up that sensation of fear Silent Hill invokes.