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silent hill series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have to agree that silent hill 2 was a pretty good game. It's seriously disturbing at times, and I dont scare easily. I'm looking into buying silent hill 3 and 4 but I'm wondering why silent hill 3 is so damn expensive?? I enjoyed silent hill 1 and 2 so much I even bought the Movie silent hill it was just as good as the games, well almost. I recommend these games to anyone that enjoys a good scare. Silent hill 2 kept me feeling like this guy is in so much desperation, and just stuck in this nightmare. You go deeper and deeper into this nightmare and just when you think it's just getting worse you finally get some fresh air, but just to be thrown back into the dark tight spaces. It kind of gives me a tight feeling in my chest, and it's just a game. Once you get past going in cirles trying to find something you over looked, twice, the game can be pretty good. Buy it.

GRRRRR.....

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 13
Date: June 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Okay well I got this game after buying part 2 and not being able to play it due to the awful graphics. It really wouldn't work on my new pc. Well first thing I noticed was the graphics were much better. Well then after a cut scene I had to use the move buttons. That's what the grrr is for, I played for like 5 minutes and the camera angle is awful. The movements are annoying to the point I just said forget it. I am wondering about 4. I have spent money on part 2 and 3 and haven't liked either one; I don't think I am wasting any more money on these games. I don't know who sat down and said this is a good way to use the cameras in this game. No doubt they were tripping or something. Really I would not suggest buying this unless you're in a really good mood and want to be put into a bad one. By the way the stupid monsters look so silly. They are not scary unless maybe your 6 well probably not even then. You cant really see any kind of details in them cause their isn't any. The whole blood thing people keep talking about just look like discolored walls. I buy and play a lot of games. Some are really great (Half life, Deus Ex, Fear) but this was just awful. I know I said that already. Pouting I want my 14 bucks back.

Creepy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: January 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My enjoyment bar for this game seems to increase while I am not playing it. The voice acting could be more believable. The characters, especially yourself, could be a lot better developed. The game is very vague, no matter how thorough you are about piecing together clues, probably deliberate as the plot, when there finally is a plot, demands that you be confused. Unfortunate also that when there finally is a plot it comes with a large dose of ideological pushiness. I can change the color of the blood, but I can not change the color of the politics.

The voice acting could be more believable. The characters, especially yourself, could be a lot better developed. There is a certain likeability or dislikeability that follows each character pretty well, but that is more a matter of mannerism than background. A shame considering the detailed backgrounds available to the series.

The monsters could be more inspiring, though you really should not be getting a good look at many of them, if you do get a good look at them, there really isn't much to see. Many of them are like ink blots, you should be able to see a lot in their lack of form but true to the "Psychological theme" it follows Freud, there is something clearly genital like about many of these monsters which really makes sense and that is the scariest part of all.

The Camera angles could make more sense, as the whole "walking in to the camera" thing is horrible and being able to see the others sides of walls when you can not see in front of yourself is a great reminder that you are playing a badly laid out video game; though some of this may be an effort to just make you feel uneasy, it may not be the right kind of uneasy.

If you like the older "Nine Inch Nails" or "Tool" Music Videos, this should make you feel right at home and thoroughly disturbed. If you do not find this game disturbing, you are probably not safe to have around.

I love Silent Hill 3 but,

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: November 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It all started in 1999, when the first Silent Hill was released. Silent
Hill offered a great storyline, great graphics, promising gameplay, and
the one thing that it still has -- the horrifying atmosphere. Many people
will still agree even today that the first Silent Hill was the scariest. I
would have to agree but I would also have to say Silent Hill 3 is better
in almost everything else.

Storyline - 9/10
Silent Hill 3 is the sequel to the first Silent Hill and doesn't really
have anything do to with the second. The storyline starts off rather slim
with you not knowing much at all. A 17 year old girl named Heather is
shopping at a mall on a typical Sunday and she falls asleep at a table in
a restaurant. She has a nightmare about her in the Silent Hill Lakeside
Amusement Park with different types of messed up monsters. Why she is
dreaming about this is unknown. After she wakes up, she exits the
restaurant and calls her dad. While she's on the phone, a man in his 50s
seems to be waiting for the phone. So when Heather is done, she gives him
a look that she's done and he shakes his head. Heather starts walking away
and the man is following her. He approaches Heather from behind and says
he'd like to speak with her. His name is Douglas Cartland and he's a
detective. He asks for a half hour of her time. It is about Heather's
birth but she's not interested and enters the close by women's washroom to
get away. Later on, you encounter a strange woman named Claudia and she
mentions Heather leading "us to Paradise" and seems to know who Heather is.
Heather doesn't know what's going on and she wants to know.

The storyline in Silent Hill 3 is pretty good but I don't think it's
really close to that of Silent Hill 2. The storyline does evolve A LOT,
further on in the game. Around half way you understand everything because
of a long video explaining everything. The storyline has a lot of depth,
but it's not as good as Silent Hill 2's amazing storyline. It's pretty
deep and is about cult-ish stuff, which isn't too interesting in my
opinion.

Gameplay - 10/10
Gameplay is a little bit different this time. Not much, but it has a
better feel. You still get some of the same weapons as in the other Silent
Hill games, including a Handgun, Shotgun, Katana, Knife, and a Steel Pipe.
But there is one completely new weapon to the Silent Hill series. There is
now a Submachine Gun, which is a 9mm Uzi. For those of you thinking so,
this weapon did not ruin the series whatsoever; you get the weapon past
halfway through the game and it holds 32 bullets in each magazine. You
only get a few magazines for the gun, and the gun is not really good at
all, anyway; it does shoot fast, but 1 bullet from it is equal to half the
power of the Handgun. Reloading is now great in Silent Hill 3. You can
also reload from the menu like previous Silent Hill games, but you can
equip the ammo for the firearm you're using and just press R3 to reload --
it's pretty fast. When you equip a firearm, it automatically equips the
ammo for it so you can reload easily, but you can equip health items also
so you can press R3 to heal. Anything else in the supplies section of the
in-game menu you can equip and press R3 to use, which is a great new
feature. Another new feature is a bulletproof vest. It cuts down the
damage 15% when attacked by enemies, and when you block (another new
feature) attacks, you will lose no health. So gameplay has definitely
improved.

Graphics - 10/10
Absolutely amazing graphics! Definitely some of the best graphics you'll
see on PS2. This game also has the best looking and most detailed
character models for any game yet. There is no match for the character
models and won't be until Silent Hill 4 comes out. Not only are the
character models amazing, the surroundings are also very detailed.
Bloodstains, rust, corpses, etc. Silent Hill 3 also has the "grainy
effect" called Noise Filter that Silent Hill 2 had. The idea of it is to
make the game seem like an old horror movie. It's pretty cool but you can
take it off in the options menu whenever you want, unlike Silent Hill 2,
where you had to beat the game first. When the noise filter ("grainy
effect") is off, the graphics look absolutely amazing! Konami always pays
attention to detail, even small things. Having one of the best looking
games out right now is pretty cool, especially when it's one of your
favourites.

Sound - 9/10
I did expect more from the sound but there's nothing really wrong with it.
Silent Hill 2 had amazing songs and had a lot of them. There are some good
songs but not nearly as many as in Silent Hill 2. This game has a perfect
credits song and people that have played the first Silent Hill will find
it familiar, yet a little different. The Silent Hill 3 soundtrack comes
free with the game in North America and it is great. It has almost all the
good songs from the game in it. There are a few amazing songs on the
soundtrack like track 9, 24, 25, and many others, so you should spend some
time listening to it if you get it. I gave the sound 9/10 because it's not
as good as that of Silent Hill 2, but it is still amazing. Silent Hill 3's
sound by itself is completely amazing, but compared to Silent Hill 2 it is
a bit different.

Controls - 10/10
Now the control of the game is a lot better. Your character runs a lot
more freely now, which feels great! You don't turn sluggishly anymore and
you can run pretty fast. But when you have a heavy weapon in your hands,
you won't run as fast. The game has pretty much the same controls as
Silent Hill 2. Start now pauses the game, and Select opens your inventory
(just like in the first Silent Hill). The menu is a little different but
it's better. It's a lot more organized so you can find items easily. It's
sorted in items (key items), weapons, and supplies (health and ammo items).
So if you want to restore you're health, equip a certain weapon, and use a
key item, it's a lot easier to do.

Atmosphere - 10/10
This is probably the least scary Silent Hill, but it still has amazing
atmosphere. Who doesn't enjoy the darkness and loneliness of the Silent
Hill games, honestly? The game has many dark and scary moments. Especially
one part after halfway through the game. I won't ruin it for you though
because it's a great experience. Strange and scary sounds add a lot of
atmosphere. The game's soundtrack improves the game's atmosphere a lot.
Songs totally match the situation you're in. From sadness to insane, this
game has it all! The game experience really changes when you're playing
with headphones. It's very intense. But for the best experience, play at
night in the dark (no lights on, with only your TV illuminated) with
headphones, or with surround sound and a sub woofer -- nothing is better!

Replay Value - 9/10
There's actually a lot of replay value in this one. There are only three
endings, but there are now a lot of extra weapons and costumes. Some extra
weapons are: Unlimited Submachine Gun, Flamethrower, and Beam Saber. You
have to unlock these first, obviously, and then you can use them in a
replay game. If you use extra weapons, there will be a small rank
reduction. This is actually pretty good, because if you expect to get a
really good ranking, you can't just use the Unlimited Submachine Gun for
everything. But it doesn't deduct much, anyway. There are also ten extra
action levels ranging from Extreme 1 to Extreme X. So if you're a hardcore
Silent Hill fan, you'll have a lot of fun beating them. There are some
other extras too, including flashback moments from Silent Hill 2, if you
have a completed save file for it. They're not exactly flashbacks, just
things to remind you of Silent Hill 2 moments. Good times, good times.

Rent or Buy
If you enjoyed Silent Hill or Silent Hill 2, then this is no exception!
Even if you're new to the series, there is a high chance you'll like it.
If you like horror and adventure, this is the perfect game for you. If you
do plan to buy this game and you want to understand the story, consider
buying or renting the first Silent Hill. Because Silent Hill 3 is the
sequel to it. And it wouldn't hurt to play Silent Hill 2 either. If you
enjoy this game after you play it and you're missing other Silent Hill
games, go out and buy them -- try eBay also. If you're not really
interested in this game, then you might want to check out some screens
and videos at a good gaming site. And if you're still not sure, rent it to
see if you like it. And I'm sure you will.

Overall - 10/10
Overall, Silent Hill 3 is amazing game! With insane horror and suspense,
I'm sure you'll love it. If you want a bone-chilling experience, Silent
Hill is the way to go. And also consider buying Silent Hill 4: The Room
when it comes out. Don't wait to buy Silent Hill 3, buy it now!

One more thing.
This game is good a*s he*l. I love it. If you all want to know the System Requirements here they are, minimum requirements: Pentium III 1 GHz, 156 MB RAM, Windows XP/ME/2000/98, DirectX 8.0, 32 MB video card, DirectX compatible sound card, 4x CD ROM, keyboard, mouse or something better. This info comes straight up from the boxed game. I made sure that my computer had the requirements. I don't know why Amazon didn't put them up. I almost didn't get the game because of that. I don't know why these game makers think everyone in the got d**** world has a good computer. That's why most of the time I just stick to X-Box. Heh, that will be much cheaper then turning my computer into a super computer. I really hate buying games for the computer because of the system requirements. But, you know a V-game is always a investment because with computers, you never know what the he** will work.

Frightening, disgusting, oh yeah, and AWESOME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This has to be one of the scariest and most challenging games that Konami has to offer. And besides the amazing graphics (Konami was the first to create moving shadows behind characters) this game has an original story and a grotesque atmosphere. Silent Hill 1 was okay, Silent Hill 2 was excellent, and Silent Hill 3 is even better. I haven't played 4 yet, so I dont know if this is best or not, but its still worthy of the extremely low price of, get this, TEN DOLLARS! This is even cheaper than the equally amazing 'Tales of Symphonia' for Gamecube. Both games deserve to be at least $50, but hey, the cheaper they are the faster I can get them. This game is challenging too, and I think I mentioned that earlier. The puzzles even on easy mode are difficult, but on hard they are hellish. The atmosphere of each stage is done flawlessly. The graphics are beyond perfect fdor 2003 (the blood soaked walls and monsters look almost real) and can only be matched by Half Life 2 and the Halo series. Heather Morris is a perfect character and the stroy couldn't be better. Folks, it doesn't get much better than this.

Wicked game!! Probably the best in the series!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is amazing! It's unsettling, exciting, and scary as hell, the way a horror game should be! The beginning's a little confusing, but as the game goes on, it all begins to suck you in.

The graphics are just gorgeous. The voice acting was pretty good in the game. The puzzles make you think. I LOVE the soundtrack.

The controls kinda bugged me when I played the demo. So I got a gamepad and it is much better. I highly recommend a USB Gamepad. I use the Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2, and I love it.

The only other thing that bothered me was that it came in 5 CDs! (6 if you include the soundtrack) It would be much easier to install if it was all on a DVD-ROM, which I think is available somewhere. Thank Konami that you only need to put in CD 1 to play it.

Silent Hill is arguably the perfect nightmare (or one of). If you love horror games, this is a requirement. I personally prefer it over Resident Evil.

For all you people who didn't like this game, I really pity you. I had no problems running this game AT ALL. If you don't like the controls, BUY A DAMN GAMEPAD AND QUIT WHINING!!

Here are my specs:

Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Gigabyte GA-K8NS-Ultra-939 F6 AWARD BIOS
Athlon 64 2500+ @ 2.53 MHz
LG 16X DVD-ROM (48X CD-ROM)
Kingston 1GB PC3200 DDR RAM
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer
Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2

If you have some of these specs, you should be fine to play the best and creepiest Survival/Horror/Adventure series... SILENT HILL!

My Least Favorite SH

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

warning, to play this you HAVE to play SH1, its kinda connects

Heather is a normal teenage girl, or at least that's what she believes, who lives with her dad, in a town not to far from Silent Hill. But one trip to the mall sends her world spiriling out of control, as a trip to the bathroom seems to rid the world of all human contacts, and replaces them with nightmarish creatures. Not only that but a strange man calling himself a detective is stalking her, as is an odd grey haird lady who speaks of "God's coming" and the transversion of this world.

What could this all mean, how does heather fit into it? Maybe a trip to silent hill will clear things for her.....or kill her.

Finally a tie in and conlusion to part 1

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Rating--90 out of 100--

Silent Hill has always been a series that tests your ability to handle the psychotic situautions and encounters that it throws at you, as you try to maintain your sanity, while fighting or running from hordes of hellish creatures. This, the third entry into the series, is probably the weakest of the four Silent Hills, but it still trounces over many games in the survival-horror category, as it ties into the original Silent Hill, and closes the book on some of the things that were left hanging at the end of that chapter in the history of Silent Hill. Although the game does not stray much from the original formula or camera angles (that would be left up to part 4) the game still earns high honors for its multilayered and philosophical story of rebirth, although it is not as powerful or as gripping a story as Silent Hill 2, which in my opinion is the best of the series.
As in all the other Silent Hill's, you are thrown into a bizarre world that turns upside down, immediately upon your arrival into the amusement park at the outset of the game. Upon traveling through this area you are greeted by monsters that look like they have giant phallus' for arms, legs, and a head, and it is here where if you were unfamiliar with Silent Hill 2 and its underlying themes of sexuality, that you might be a little surprised. See, SH has always had multifaceted themes to the monsters and characters of the game, as just listening to a characters voice, manner of speaking or their reaction to you has some sort of meaning to it, and is not merely just conversation, for conversations sake. As the lead character Heather comes to soon realize, not everything is as it seems to be, as her world and reality are torn apart at the seams and the psychological effects start taking deep root into her continuing drive to find out the truth about her birth.
It is hard to delve too deeply into the mythos and story of Silent Hill without giving away too much of the plot, as truly the game may be a survival horror game, but it is more about elaborate pacing of the psychological elements that can drive a person to madness; as the town is there for the sole purpose of drawing people back to it so that they can redeem themselves of their past mistakes, as each character involved in the storylines of Silent Hill, are all actually here for a reason, they are not just merely pawns that serve no purpose, whatsoever. By analyzing these characters and what they say to you, Silent Hill is more like a good mystery novel that keeps you guessing until the very end.
The gameplay is almost an exact duplicate of Silent Hill 2, with only slightly changed options, but nothing very drastic. The sound is top notch as well, although it is not up to par with the previous two installments, as it seems to focus more on songs with singing than the other games. Not that this is a bad thing but I personally miss the grating and industrial structure of the original two titles, as the vocal tracks were only used at the end or beginning credits to finish up the game. Graphics are slightly better than part 2, as the monsters are more massive and overpowering, as the emphasis in this game is more faster paced, and you will find yourself picking up automatic weapons that have never been included in a Silent Hill game until now.
Overall the game is a slight step back from part 2, but it still earns points in my book for tying up the loose ends of part 1, and maintaining and evolving the feel of all the Silent Hills. The game is a bit short compared to the other games as I recall that I beat this game in around seven hours the first time through it, but as with all the Silent Hills, the game rewards you for multiple playthroughs, offering 3 different endings (there might be one more in this one I'm not 100% sure). Definitely worth your money, especially at its current price, and worth getting if only for the fact of the progression of the series, and the wrapping up of a chapter in the dark and subliminal world of Silent Hill.

SATISFIED, finished it with a smile on my face

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was fun, simply put. When I finished it, I smiled. I felt that I got my money's worth.
The graphics and all forms of game visuals were outstanding. The environment in which your character progresses gave an ominous, almost distrubing feeling. From the abondoned normal world inhabited only by nigtmarish creatures to the nightmare worlds with scenes of people being dealt a cruel demise and oozing walls.
The characters displayed realistic emotion, thus making it easier to sympathize with the characters' predicament. My only main complaint is how it looked like pixels were flying around everywhere (and this realtime 3D). However, I guess this was intentional, meant to look like a grainy movie from a film projector.
The plot was well written, for a game at least. It definitely psychological horror, and the complex storyline makes you think. I felt that the characters were well devoloped, inducing me to become emotionally involved in the game. Even the less important characters improved the overall atmosphere of the game.
The soundtrack is great. Good music is always a plus on a game. Some of the songs were designed to make the game scarier, some are just simply nice to listen to. It made me want to look up some the two singers of some of these songs, and found out that they don't have singing careers.
The biggest problem with the game is its controls. They're terrible. The protoganist (Heather) looks like an idiot when she tries to swing a katana or any melee weapon. Just a bunch of hitting and missing.
Unlike scary movies, scary games can be even more scarier because they force you to get involved with what's going on. You can sit back on a movie and notice the acting or other aspects of the movie and not really get involved with the story, but when you try to keep your character from getting from getting killed you're not thinking about anything else.
If you love psychological horror, then get this game, I highly recommend it. Even if you don't like playing games, get it anyways, put it on easy (action and riddle) so you can just watch story unfold.

Getting old

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: October 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have to say that this game is creepy. It gives my ugly feelings inside. Not scarey, creepy which is just as effective in many respects. However, we've seen the walking through corridors in the dark with a flashlight thing in Silent Hill 2. And those feaky monsters sometimes just make no sense. One of them looks like a nipple with two legs. How about some old fashioned zombies or something? At least the monsters in Silent Hill 2 were somewhat humanoid - like dummy's. If you've never played the series before, start with Silent Hill 2. For ten bucks, this isn't bad at all, but it's less together than the one before it. The monsters are just annoying and the maps are repetitive.

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