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Unfair Pricing on Here

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: August 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome but I can't believe the cheapest price to purchase it is almost $50. You can log on to konamistyle, the official website, and purchase the game new for $19.99. You should definately get your hands on a copy!

Not a "gamer's" game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: January 24, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I am not a "gamer", though I have enjoyed Resident Evil(1,2,3) and spent some time kicking and punching hell out of Tekken and Dead or Alive characters controlled by my 7-year old son. Also I've walked through Metal Gear twice.

These are the acclaimed bestsellers and everyone loves to play them, but Silent Hill is unique. All the reviewers mention the frightening quality of the game but for me the most important thing is that it makes you care for the guy you are walking through the maze.I could not get Sybil, the policewoman and Lisa, the nurse out of my head for weeks. Can you say that about the Resident Evil? It's fun when you blast at the yukey zombies with all your firepower.But it does not touch you a bit at the emotional level. If you are a "gamer" and basically interested in hitting the red spot with green blast in time to get great score this game will disappoint you. If you are interested in the athmosphere and suspense, in characters that are brave and human Silent Hill is the best in the market.

This will scare you. No exceptions.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: August 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm not easily scared. In fact, of every "scary" movie I've seen, nothing has come close to unnerving me besides maybe In the Mouth of Madness. This game, however, is sufficiently creepy to make me love it and hate it at the same time. It's almost masochistic playing it, but maybe I'm masochistic, because I've beaten it 6 times so far, and I plan on playing it some more. It just scares the hell out of me every time.

I won't get into the plot as figuring it out is half the fun (and you WILL have to do some figuring. I'm pretty sure a lot was lost in the translation from Japanese because the story can be hard to follow at times).

In order for the game to be rewarding, though, it requires patience, along with nerves of steel and an iron stomach. The game starts out with a bang (or a bunch of dead, moaning, faceless knife weilding babies stabbing you to death within 3 minutes of play, I guess that counts as a bang, right?) This is misleading, though, as the game then calms down considerably for about the next 45 minutes of game time. Before we go on, though, two things: 1) The graphics are fairly blocky, but, for reasons that will become apparent, this doesn't matter. They're well textured, which is much more important. 2) The sound is PHENOMINAL. Always bear this in mind.

You wander the fog enshrouded town of Silent Hill searching for your daughter. Now, here's the great part about this game. It just seems so WRONG from the very beginning. The town is built right to scale and rendered in totality. You can, in theory, go anywhere. You even get a street map (complete with names like Koontz street and Bachman ave. Get it?) After a little exploration, though, you'll find something is amiss. The goal early on is to get to the local elementary school, and this seems easy enough with a street map, but there's one minor problem. The streets have this tendancy to just...end. All major roads leading to the school are just gone. Not there. They stop, and all you can see in the distance is the the fog. Add to this the "monsters" lurking the town. These basically consist of skinless dogs and large pink birdman things, who don't seem so terrifying, really. You get a radio that emits static when enemies draw near, but more on that later. This is all part of the game's attempt to unnerve you. Before you know it, you're across the chasm of the roads and now the REAL fun starts. Now, it's suddenly dark. Pitch black, in fact. You get a weak little flashlight with which to see (a pocket light, really) and THAT'S IT. Now, let's see. We're in a deserted town haunted by things that, while kind of weak and stupid looking, want to kill you. We could see just fine in the fog, but now it's dark. Right. So, we're off to the school, and now things get worse. The dogs are faster now (one constant in the game: The darker it gets, the more powerful and evil the enemies become), and now that you can't see them, it makes shooting at them much harder since they never stand still, really, and all you have to aim with is a weak cone of light that doesn't extend very far. Plus, as you'll soon happily discover after wasting 3 clips firing at the spot where a dog just was, ammo is limited! Yay! And the dogs have now been joined by the bird thingies, who ALSO want to kill you! DOUBLE yay!! So, we run now. Run all the way to the school, past the two(!) dogs guarding the entrance, through the door, and BAM! We're alive. Woohoo! Thank God! Now then...The school! Then it dawns on you: You're in a deserted ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. In the black-as-pitch darkness. With...wait for it...things that want to kill you! The knife-baby things, this time. Righty-o! Having fun yet? Oooh, it gets better. After some puzzles, you'll open the clocktower. By this point, it will be apparent that Silent Hill is home to some sick, sick people. I won't go into details, but trust me. So, as you mutter to yourself about the sick inhabitants of this town, you'll be climbing down the clocktower (yes, DOWN. It has a basement. Well...Sort of. You'll see.) It's here, HERE, that the game got to me. When you come back up the other side (bear with me here, it's hard to explain), you're back where you started, in the school courtyard. But not really. It's not the same...Then you go in the doors, and everything is...Aw, I'm not gonna kill it for you. Suffice to say that THIS is where the game goes from creepy to INSANELY CREEPY, and it just gets worse and worse and worse and WORSE as you go on. By the time you finish the school section and see daylight again, it's more of a relief than you can imagine. I was practically cheering my first time through. After that school, well-lit fog is a damned BLESSING!

Little did I know I had a hospital to look foreward to. And yes, as bad as you can possibly think it could be, it's worse. And when you're done with that...you're not even halfway to the end yet.

This game is all about the overhwelming sense of DREAD it will instill in you, making you almost not want to play it anymore. I've had friends hit the hospital section, take one look at their surroundings, and hand me the controller and leave the room. It's not that it's overly gross; it's not. It's just the prospect of having to subject yourself to the Silent Hill version of a freaking HOSPITAL that makes you almost cringe before you even start. And by the time you get there, you know just what the term "Silent Hill version of" means.

For those brave souls who wish to do it alone (which, by the by, I VERY, VERY HIGHLY reccomend your first time through), do it right. Play it in the dark, late at night, ALONE, with some good speakers set up. If you're new to it, start at the beginning, and enjoy the first part of the game. It's a slow starter, but once it gets going, the only reason it lets up is to allow you to contemplate exactly what else it's going to do to you.

Buy this game NOW if you haven't played it, and God help you.

Oh, and the second one is supposed to be twice as bad. I can't wait!

The most terrifying game ever created!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: May 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Many people loved Resident Evil because it is a scary game. I agree with all of them, but until you've played Silent Hill, you haven't played an actual SCARY game. From the second you start the game you feel uneasy and like something is wrong The fact that you can only see a few feet in front of yourself because of the darkness or the thick fog only increases this effect. Every where you go is deserted , except for the horrible creatures running around town. If the town really is deserted , then where are those horrible sounds coming from? These are just a few of the things that are going through your head as you play this game. Then, when you feal like you've finally got ahold of yourself, and you think you can handle the game, what's that ? A siren goes off, and the town you were just in turns into a horrible dark evil version of the town with extremely creepy music. Let me tell you something right now, if you every play this game , don't play it on the second floor of you house at 1 in the morning, with all the lights off with only your terrified younger brother there to protect you. And if you do, just hope you don't have to go to the bathroom, because it's a long walk downstairs in the dark , trust me I know!

Best game ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm a bit of a freak about this game, so you'll have to excuse the title. :) I finished reading the reviews everyone else posted, and felt the need to correct them slightly. While overall, they hit the nail on the head, most people seem to forget that Silent Hill and the Resident Evil series have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in common (aside from the scare-factor). There's an ENORMOUS difference between terror (RE) and horror (SH). Your average "Joe Gamer" has a tendency to lump all scary games into the "survival horror" genre. The fact is, there never WAS a true "horror" genre up until SH (The D's and Clock Tower's may be exceptions, but I haven't played them just yet). Alone In The Dark, Resident Evil, Dino Crisis (*snicker*), etc. are all terror. "Oh, god, a zombie jumped out of the shadows! Walk! Walk for your life!" They rely on cheap thrills to get you worked up. SH is the kind of game that gets under your skin, freaks you out, and leaves you with more questions than answers. Putting Silent Hill on the same level as Resident Evil (or any other game, for that matter), or even just calling it a "terrifying" game, is an insult to Konami.

Overall experience makes up for small flaws

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 30, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This game is not a 'rip-off' of Resident Evil. The RE series relies heavily on cheap scares like having a zombie leap out of a window at you, Silent Hill will scare you in a much 'deeper' way. This game has so many things going for it: the excellent lighting effects, a complex story, and puzzles that never become too silly. This isn't an action game. If you want to blow things up left and right, look elsewhere. I only wish it was a longer game.

This game ROCKS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: April 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I had read a few reviews about Silent Hill before I actually purchased the game. Most of these reviews focused on the "chunky graphics" and "camera problems" and paid little attention to the storyline and overall game. Boy, were they ever wrong!

Silent Hill is not perfect in that the graphics are coarse in a few places and yes, the camera angles do have a tendency to get in your way at the least opportune times (like when you're trying to ... something) but believe it or not...its not really that big of a deal. I say this because the rest of the game is so above average that you won't even notice it half the time. As for the control operation, if you're used to Resident Evil and similar games, you'll have it mastered in no time.

The main character, Harry Mason, is a regular guy in an abnormal situation, trying to find his missing daughter. He doesn't have special covert operations training or tactical gear...like most other games (Resident Evil, etc). In fact, Harry can barely hit the side of a barn with his various (and limited) weapons, which adds to the overall anxiety that is created throughout the game. We can relate to this unlikely hero because Harry doesn't know what the ... he's doing half the time and let's face it, neither do most of us. Most of the time, Harry blunders around in the dark, wheezing as he runs...sound familiar?

The game is veiled in a dense, creepy fog or pitch blackness and you are armed with a pitiful little flashlight, that limits your vision a great deal and makes it next to impossible to anticipate just what nasty is about to leap out and attack you. The only warning you get is a blast of static from your radio which warns you that something wicked this way comes.

The creativity to this game is outstanding and downright ghoulish. One minute Harry is wandering around in a normal town, in a normal elementary school and the next he is thrust into some demonic, acid-trip alternate universe. Said universe is complete with rabid dogs, ghost-kids with knifes, unexplained bloody corpses hanging from the ceiling and blood-stained bathroom stalls, just to name a few highlights. Sure makes Resident Evil look like a walk in the park. Zombies...HA!

To add to your horrific delight, the few people that Harry encounters serve to only raise more questions and make you feel a renewed sense of panic to find Harry's missing daughter and get the heck outta town.

Silent Hill is a true survival-horror game in every sense. If you enjoyed the Resident Evil series, wait until you get your hands on this. With easy controls, above average voice talent, actual replay value (there are 4 different endings), an outrageous creep-out factor and more creativity in the first 20 minutes than most games have at all, Silent Hill is a must have.

The scariest story in ANY media

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: September 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Striaght out, this is the scariest game you will ever play. It's not only scary but highly enjoyable. I'm a major RESIDENT EVIL fan -- until playing this game with its easily controllable camera angles, creeped-out scenes and great storylines - with the scene of the helpful nurse Lisa being one of the most heartwrenching.

Enter Silent Hill if you dare

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: April 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

What a perfect day to review a dreary, scary classic video game. This is one of those rainy, cold and windy April days. We have them every year. After being teased with exceptionally warm weather a couple days ago, days like today make you realize how lucky you are to experience warmer than normal temperatures. I could sit here and talk about the weather all day (and I probably will after this review is finished) but it's time to review a game that was groundbreaking at the time of its release. A game that was VERY disturbing then, and just as disturbing today.

For those of you older gamers who've been playing games way before Silent Hill was released, I bet you've played games that had their share of creepy moments- a certain memorable level in a video game that you've always felt uncomfortable exploring because you just didn't think you'd be able to calm your nerves when you arrive to that area of the game. Come on now, you can tell me it's "just a video game" but when everyone leaves your bedroom, and it's just YOU in front of your TV screen playing a video game late at night, you're bound to come across SOMETHING in SOME game that will frighten you. Now imagine if an ENTIRE game featured TOTAL nonstop adrenaline-pumping fear. A game that strikes fear inside of you like no other. We're talking about a game that forces you to think about death, and really frightens that little part inside of your head that you thought had been permanently laid to rest once you entered your teenage years. This game brings back every childhood fear and then adds some more.

This is truly a game for the strong-gutted. It's true that the level of fear in this game is so high that you will constantly be looking over your shoulder whenever you begin to feel frightened- you will be looking down the hallway of your home and looking out the window to make sure nothing is there. You want to make sure all those noises you are hearing are coming from the game and not under your bed or somewhere else in your home. I never thought it was possible to create fear in such a way and pull it off successfully in a video game, but that's what Silent Hill is all about. Believe it or not, I really think this game is scarier than any movie I've ever watched, and that includes classics like the Exorcist and the Ring. That's because, in the world of video games, you can picture yourself as the main character (Harry) and picture what it must be like for him to visit a town like Silent Hill and the amount of fear that must be going through both you and Harry. You see, because you, the gamer, are controlling Harry, it's not just Harry going through the dreaded town of Silent Hill by himself, it's YOU and Harry. You two have to stick together and make it out alive. Both of you have to put those scary feelings aside and progress through the game.

There's a little something that makes this game even scarier- the sound of hearing an enemy coming closer to you but not being able to find it. Many times it will be too late and the enemy will have found you first, and you'll take an unexpected blow. That's not to say the game is a frustrating experience with enemies coming out of nowhere cheap-shotting you, but occasionally it will happen, and this makes the game a LOT of fun. It makes the atmosphere so real and intense you can almost taste it. If you like entering the world of survival horror and thriller movies, this is the game for you.

Just picture this- you're walking down a street in an empty town. It's snowing, and it's quiet all around you. Suddenly you hear wings flapping far off in the distance. You stop dead in your tracks. The sound becomes louder and louder as *something* gets closer and closer to you. You quickly check all around you to try and see if you can find where that sound is coming from, but you don't see anything. A scream is heard from far away, a demon-like scream, and then another louder scream soon follows. Before you know it, you see giant flapping wings right above you, attacking your head. Your instinct is to defend yourself, but when you turn and aim the gun, the enemy is nowhere to be seen. You continue to hear flapping sounds and prepare yourself for another round with the beast. But the sounds get softer and softer until they disappear. You ask yourself "is it gone, is it over???" while continuing to hold your gun in the air. Sometimes during these moments the enemy WILL be gone, other times it will trick you into thinking it's gone but then come back for another fight. And this is just in the DAYTIME part of the game! Imagine how much harder and more frightening this battle becomes when the sky suddenly turns dark and the enemies want to come out and play. That's what makes the game so great- you just don't know what to expect.

Or how about when you arrive to the hospital? You enter a hospital and no one is around. Once again, everything is quiet. It's not so scary, but it's definitely eerie, and it makes you cautious. You think about what might be ahead of you. You don't want to explore this hospital but you HAVE to if you want to finish the game. You look outside the hospital window to see snow still falling to the ground, just as it was before you entered the hospital. Not so scary, but MAYBE I would feel better if I could find someone. This hospital is just a LITTLE too empty for me!

You explore all the rooms, find some clues, and arrive to an elevator. You click to go to the third floor but the door is locked, so you have to go back. You try the second floor and once again, you can't go through the door so you have to go back to the elevator. You think to yourself "okay, this is just strange". Back inside the elevator, for some unexplainable reason, a 4th floor suddenly becomes an option, so you go there. You ask yourself "was that 4th floor ALWAYS there?" This time, when you come out of the elevator the door isn't locked, and you're allowed to enter the floor. Once you enter that floor you WISH that calm, snowy daytime scenery from a few moments ago was still around because now you're in a dark haunted hospital surrounded by nurses with knives constantly slashing at you, floors that have been turned into gates and dreary walls soaked in blood all over every room in the hospital, and the music that plays here is simply amazing the way it makes you think about blood just waiting to ooze from all over the place. It scares you so much you just want to throw up, and there's no avoiding it- you can't turn back now. It's a total nightmare!

I know the Playstation's old graphics look dated by todays standards and many people have a problem with them, but this game is an exception because the grainy graphics really add more fear and excitement to the game. It makes it so, no matter where you go, you're surrounded by this world of dreariness. The level of fear doesn't let up at ALL throughout the entire game- you are forced to either get used to it or else turn off the game if you can't handle it. I honestly believe there's nothing to be ashamed of if you can't handle it. Many people can't watch horror movies because after the movie is over and they turn the television off, they're afraid of the silence. Every little sound they hear after the movie is over will make them jump and yell "what was THAT!!"

Silent Hill features a variety of fears- you have the "boogeyman in the closet/sleeping with the light on" type of fear, and the other major and more dangerous "please don't make me think about death because I don't know what happens when I die" type of fear. It's important to realize, no matter how frightened you may be, in the end you're only playing a video game. I don't want anyone to go crazy letting the amount of fear in Silent Hill get the best of them, and walk around all day light-headed and nervous. It's just a game (and you may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm honestly not- it's very well possible Silent Hill could bother you days after you play it).

But you have to give a lot of credit to all the people that brought this game to the Playstation- they set out to make the ultimate psychological horror experience, and they succeeded. It was groundbreaking at the time because no other game company at the time dared to attempt to turn up the amount of horror that this game offered. It was revolutionary in the world of video games. With all due respect to Capcom and the Resident Evil series... those games are fantastic and a lot of fun, but Silent Hill made the amount of fear so high that many gamers are afraid to not only play it, but even THINK about it.

I think the one thing that makes the experience so overwhelming is the music. In the final level of the game you will come across some atmospheric parts that sound exactly like an evil wind blowing right by you (and I mean YOU, not Harry Mason). That's an incredible sound right there. I'm not someone who usually exaggerates but the creators of this game may have surprised themselves with this constant flow of creepiness!

Silent Hill also offers plenty of other things. A good (but confusing) story, plenty of enemies to shoot with your three guns (or smash with your hammers and swords) and fantastic attention to detail in every area of the game. Truly deserving of 5 stars.

"Silent Hill" gave me the willies!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 10, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Let's face it, there aren't too many scary video games on the market. How do you convey a scary story into a video game? The Resident Evil series has done a fine job in this particular genre, and now Silent Hill has taken it even further. This game has the type of creepy feeling that most horror movies lack. It's foreboding, nightmarish atmosphere kept me tense throughout (don't believe me, try playing it at night with all the lights out). Although the story is a bit convoluted, it's still very intriguing. As for tension, I got that mixed feeling of nervous excitement every time I approached a new door to open, never knowing what's going to be on the other side. If you're looking for something different than the usual shoot-em-ups, give this game a try.

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