Silent Hill Heaven

I Agree most part with Amphreded. (Not entirely becouse I don't play SH1, so I can't opine about that. )
Beside SH3 haven't a striking story like SH2, the game play, graphics, sounds and all the tecnical aspects of the game is awesome. Beating or at least reaching in the same level of SH2.
For me, SH3 is the best SH game second only to SH2, which has the best plot of all the games I have played.

amphreded wrote:SH3 is definitely best looking, even comparing to newer titles. The design of certain areas are so visceral that I had to put my controllers down due to the induced nausea, especially the alternate hospital. The amusement park is also my personal favorite place. I thought the dream sequence in the beginning set off the tone of the game nicely.
I do think that comparing to 1 and 2, SH3 cannot compare in term of ominousness and storyline, respectively. I prefer Heather less that Harry and James, and while I like Douglas, the secondary roaster of SH1 and SH2 overall have more depth to them.
SH4 is rather unique for me. I like the concept of 4 the most and the storyline is also a big plus; however, its cumbersomeness killed the fun.

Yeah...this is kinda where i'am as far as SH3 goes...tho i think the story and concept was a wee bit better in Prt4 than it was in prt2....that's just me tho and i definitely really wasn't feeling Heather's character that much...but the visuals and the atmosphere was great.

This was the story that was supposed to wrap up Heather's storyline nicely and her overall personality and attitude toward all of the madness that was happening around her and her storyline in general just fell flat....the ending for me was lackluster to say the least....some of her remarks was just like "oh well i'm numbed by the madness happening all around me". I just didn't like her non-chalant approach towards all of the madness in the game...i still love it tho, and it's the creepiest and scariest out of the bunch with prt4 comin in at a close 2nd...

I really like the philosophical aspects of SH3.
What is God? What is paradise? Is the world supposed to be 'perfect' and free of suffering? It really appeals to me.
"I just don't think the way you guys do." is defenitly one of Heather's most aswesome quotes

Ithink SH 3 lacked a good enough plot twist there was her being Harry's daughter and nothing more.
Apart from that the game was brilliant so no it is not the worst.

Speaking of exploration, SH3 was the first game in the series that was really lacking in that department, and because of this the game felt very linear to me, and also, after playing the previous games I was annoyed to find that SH3 only had two proper endings, and that the criteria for getting the bad ending was so cheap after the subtle and intelligent criteria for the SH2 endings and the far more interesting methods for getting the various SH1 endings.

stopped_clock, I agree with you on that one.

When you leave the Mall everything is pretty much straight-forward and linear.

After Heather and Douglas' trip to SH you'll see what's even worse.
There's only 3 roads: one to BrookHaven, one to Heaven's Night and the other to Jack's Inn. Nothing more. Where's the rest of the town? They pretty much killed the exploration side.

About the endings, I also agree.

Yeah, the linear thing irked me a bit. Especially when you actually get to Silent Hill...playing as Alessa/Cheryl reincarnated, I would have loved to have seen more of the town from her point of view.

Still, I believe this linear take on gameplay provided my experience with a sense that Heather's "adventure" was a bit more cinematic than I had found the previous titles, if even just slightly more so. The way it was set up - going from the mall, to the subway to the sewers, etc., felt kind of like a series of plot points leading her into a deeper, more hellish nightmare. Like she was becoming trapped and forced to enter her nightmarish psyche to discover her true self. It was almost as if her past was caging her into this trail that lead her from the mall and deep into the sewers - sort of reflecting how she was discovering more and more about herself. I found the amount of exploration that was allowed in the levels after the mall to moderately satisfy my craving for exploration, but it still felt linear in some areas.

Again, I'm mainly talking about the town being too linear, 'cause like Mephisto said, there's only like three friggin' roads to explore in the actual town. AND they're roads we've already seen in SH2, so unless you've not played that one, it's not too exciting. The game kind of redeemed itself when you make it to the amusement park, though. Since the player has already partially explored the park by the time you get there, it's kind of reminiscent of revisiting areas in SH4, though not nearly as severe. Plus, you get access to a whole new area of the park, which again provided me with enough exploration at this point, even if it was also a linear chain of quests.

The interesting puzzles and captivating environments seemed to override the sense of an undeviating gameplay path for me, but I can totally see how people came to see it as linear as it is.

Yeah, I agree that Silent Hill 3 felt like it was trying to be more cinematic, like a movie.

I like games better than movies...

The first Silent Hill I ever played and finished as well was Silent Hill 3, so I may be biased a bit. I've since finished Silent Hill 2 and I'm working on 1 and 4 right now.

I still think out of the 4 that I've played that I love 3 the best. While I think 2 has the better plot, or at least a plot that hits home a bit more easily, I think 3 definitely takes the win for presentation. It is just plain creepy, and maybe it did seem like Heather had become a bit disconnected from all the insane stuff that was happening around her towards the end, but honestly if you puked up a fetus and then watched some other woman eat it...

When I think back on it, some of the things in the game, the cult nonsense, the aforementioned fetus eating, things like that detract from the game in a way. But in the long run I think 3 was the best entry in the series for myself, and I recommend it whenever I get the chance.

In short:

Silent Hill 2 for the plot, and experience too.
Silent Hill 3 for the better and creepier experience.

silent Hill 3 was the best for me. It really brought out Silent Hills true self. I like the story to. It explained a lot about silent hills history and stuff from cludia. Silent hill 2 wasnt so great for me atleast. I like it but it had a dull atmosphere to it. everything seemed grey to me. idk.

Silent Hill 3 is my favorite of the series tied with Shattered Memories. The only downfall was having a bit of a weak ending. Contrast is Shattered Memories ending which is one of the best endings in a game I've ever seen and I've been gaming since 1991.

I haven't played the 2 current gen SH but from 1-4, 3 is my fav. I think Heather is the best protagonist in the series and I also find the monster designs in this one more disturbing. Also it is quite tough in regards to ammo which creates a sense of dread and tension every time u walk down a hallway.

I wasn't much fond of SH3 at first, but I feel like laughing at myself for that now. It's the best! Nothing has ever scared me as much as SH3. And Heather is awesome!

Well if people don't like enemies and combat then they won't like 3. I liked it though, because it would keep my ammo very low, and all the enemies and possible attacks added to the tension.

Not by a long shot. 3 is my favorite of the series, although I can see why some people wouldn't like it. It is definitely linear and slightly more combat-focused than the first two, but the linearity serves the plot well to me.

I think it's the most visually stunning, the scariest, and most atmospheric of the series, with some of the series' best characters. It's also my favorite soundtrack of the series.

JoshGecko wrote:Not by a long shot. 3 is my favorite of the series, although I can see why some people wouldn't like it. It is definitely linear and slightly more combat-focused than the first two, but the linearity serves the plot well to me.

I think it's the most visually stunning, the scariest, and most atmospheric of the series, with some of the series' best characters. It's also my favorite soundtrack of the series.

Definately one of my favs also, talk about a tension filled game.. I didn't see it being any more or less linear than 1 or 2 though, felt about the same to me? I'm actually playing through again right now on extreme 5, love it!

Silent hill 3 IS the scariest game in the series. But plot wise, it is nowhere near as good as Silent hill 2.

I think SH3 was okay..not the worst (Origins and SM are the worst, even though I liked them )

The only things I don't like about SH3 was
-Heather had bad voice acting in the original version (HD collection VA sounds way better)
-Stupid Final boss

Silent Hill 3 is one of two SH games that I have yet to beat. (Downpour being the second) I just started playing the HD version of the game. I stopped at Hilltop Center wanting to take my time with this one. I really really like it so far. I like the supply balancing system. It makes the game more challenging and I don't feel so inclined to hoard my ammo. It has the best soundtrack I've heard since 2. It's looking to be a close second on my list of Favorite SH games but I can't be sure until I beat it. I already know I'll be sad once I have. I will only have Downpour to finish.

(I have a PS2 copy of SH3 that my brother gave me but I no longer own that system I'm afraid. I really would play the original version if I could)

come on! sh3 is the best game from the series, why would you say it is the worst???

obviously, when I say it is the best, it's my opinion

CandyLander wrote:come on! sh3 is the best game from the series, why would you say it is the worst???

obviously, when I say it is the best, it's my opinion

I played through Sh3 again today, and I kinda think that its one of the worst in the series.

-Bad story line
-boring bosses
-first half of game was boring
-anticlimactic ending

Although I don't think its the worst, sh3 is still one of my least favorites. Of course, that's my opinion though.