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What a huge disappointment!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: March 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The game controls on this are so difficult for PC that it becomes massively frustrating. Also there are so few health packs and ammo that this games sucks horribly.

I wish I could give this less than ZERO stars

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 27
Date: July 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ok. I know this is a port. But I've played ports in the past that DIDN'T reinvent the FPS concept. The only real horror story is in this game's design. The dialog is delivered like everyone is on Quaaludes - and the heroine moves and behaves like she IS on heroin. For a spry 17 year old she slogs around like the pregnant yak mired in a tar pit. Combat? What combat? No this is... "swing" (wait) "block" (wait) get ganked (wait) shuffle-shuffle GROWL (die). No quich switching of weapons. No quick reload. UGH. I .literally was yelling at the "MOVE DAMMIT!" The immortal words of O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill comes to mind; "stupid Caucasian girl likes to play with samurai swords". Only Heather could use some pointers from Uma.

This is the first game where I actually began to hate the hero and wished she would just finally die. She was such a pure misery to try to maneuver. She can't even walk a straight line half the time. Her response to situations is disconnected and illogical. Her ability to fight is comical at best and frustrating to the point of exasperation at worst. Undoubtedly one of the lamest games I have wasted my money on in a long time.

Oh it has its upsides - it looks great. The imagery is top notch and the cinematics are fantastic. But save your cash and download the trailers from the site and you'll have more enjoyment. I wished )assuming they were over budget) - Konami would have cut the disconnected slow paced dialog and use the money to hire a decent writer - and more importantly - a development team that understands the fundamental principals of good gaming FPS UI design. You can't customize the control worth Jack. And assuming even if you could - the camera angle obscures what you are fighting 50% of the time. The other 50% you are trying to get the wench to even move her butt and swing or (wow) block if you timing it just right. Ammo is so scarce you are forced to use a stupid pipe most of the game - and when you finally upgrade that to a sword she so useless with it it's a misery to play. And the guns? Laugh. You can hit a critter point plank and her aiming is so whacked and inconsistent. Avoid this game like the plague. If you want horror - save your cash till Doom3 and Half Life 2 come out.

Craptacular Game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: March 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game through Amazon (J&R Music World). After installing the game, I have horrid problems with the options menu. All of the option changes cause my computer to crash while attempting to change defaults. I have a brand new home built computer with a P4 3.2 GHz CPU, a GA-8KNXP Giga-Byte MB, 2 GB of Crucial RAM and an ATI 256 MB 9800XT Radeon Video Card. The operating system is Windows XP Pro w/SP1. Konami will not respond to e-mails about their craptacular product. WHAT A JOKE!!!! DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How do I give this game ZERO stars?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 20
Date: June 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The interface on this game is TERRIBLE. I've been playing first-person shooters since they were invented, and this is one of the worst I've seen. It's not possible to walk a straight line! The character handles like she's submersed in custard. Even worse, the custard seems to have strange eddies and currents that cause her to walk into walls, fail to turn corners, and sometimes get sucked off into side passages. Why do they feel they have to reinvent controls that have been standard for a decade?

There's no real combat, you just push an "aim" button and the game aims for you. This sort of thing might fly on console games where you have to work around those idiotic game controllers, but the PC port should have provided the kind of control standard in games like Doom, Quake, UT, etc. Having no control of aim is especially frustrating in a room with multiple monsters, it's very difficult to pick which monster you want to take out first.

Even worse, the graphics and story of the game seem good. I claim that's a bad thing, because it taunts you with the promise of a good solid game but makes navigating through it so completely unenjoyable you'll give up before you get to see any of the good content.

I'm really glad I only spent $20 on this game. If I had spent the $40 they originally wanted I would have tried to get my money back. I plan on giving it one more change, then I'm going to uninstall it and shelve it.

Will not work

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Even with the recommended specs and updated drivers I cannot get this game to install correctly. It keeps crashing my computer and skipping installation disks and then saying the installation is complete. I'm not sure what the problem is but the game definitely has some technical issues. Avoid.

poor controls

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: May 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

It's really too bad, because I really wanted to actually PLAY this game. I am a _very_ experienced first-person and third-person gamer, and usually jump right into a new game "full throttle" or at the hardest setting (i.e. HALO, Deus Ex II, for example) and play it through several times. Not THIS bomb. You'd think, that game designers would realize that PC-game controls for first- or third- person have pretty well "been done" and perfected. Moreover, in REAL pc-based games, the adjustability is so great, that anyone can tweak the interface to match the exact style of play learned over hours of play ... not THIS turkey. VERY limited options. NO sensitivity settings for the mouse. NO axis-orentation adjustment possible (mouse again). You can go strictly keyboard (aka DOOM I, yes I said "doom one") but who plays THAT way these days? Steer/aim with the mouse, move/sidestep with the keyboard ... with THIS stupid, STUPID interface, you sort of slop your point-of-view around (with the mouse) in a sloppy, greasy sliding through jello-sort-of-way, and the character may or may not turn to face the way you want. Maybe. Eventually. It's like controlling a moth on a windy day, and the character tries to avoid actually looking at the moth, and so turns away-but you got NO direct control of the character. Maybe the game is as good as some say, maybe it's not. Right now, I'm trying to get a refund, as I'LL never play it, unless they release a patch that fixes the stupid, STUPID control/interface .... Y'hear this Konami? Pay ATTENTION! The interface HAS BEEN DONE! No need to re-invent it! If you are thinking of porting ANOTHER game to the PC world, DON'T BOTHER, if you can't take time to implement a TRUE pc-interface ... game pads are for CONSOLE games (which do not have keyboards or mice ANYway!)

IF YOU HAVE A PENTIUM 7.000.000.000?!?!?!?!?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 16
Date: April 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

OK, THIS GAME SUCKS SO MUCH THAT IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW PISSED OFF I AM.
EXPLAINING: EVERYTHING PEOPLE SAID HERE IS TRUE, MY COMPUTER SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN THIS CRAP, BUT, GUESS WHAT???? IT CAN'T.
YOU FROM KONAMI SHOULD PUT A LABLE IN THIS CRAP BOX SAYING:
"...HEY, IF YOU WANT TO PLAY THIS, STOLE A COMPUTER FROM NASA..."
YOU GUYS, STAY AWAY FROM THIS, DON'T BUY IT...

What the heck! My computer is new and still wont run SH3!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: May 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ok. Last fall I ordered a brand new computer from DELL specifically for playing PC games. I have played MAFIA, ALLIED ASSAULT, ALONE IN THE DARK, and many other high graphic games. So when I saw SH3 and remembering how everyone raved about the previous SH games, I was pumped to get this game. Here's the big shock for ya, THE GAME WONT LOAD! It says I dont have the right graphics card. HOW THE HECK CAN THAT BE! MY COMPUTER WAS BUILT FOR THIS EXACT REASON! I COULD UNDERSTAND IF THIS WAS a 486 SVGA, but it's DELL'S LATEST AND GREATEST!!!!

So I write Konami, but to no avail, I haven't heard back from them. I have even attempted to call these jokers! Bottom line, SH3 might be a great game...IF IT COULD INSTALL PROPERLY and if you could get an ounce of FREAKIN CUSTOMER SUPPORT! Konami wants your money, not you as a client, BIG DIFFERENCE! Maybe I can sell this on Ebay to someone who hasn't read the bad reviews.

STAY AWAY...FAR AWAY...FROM SILENT HILL 3!

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.

This game made my eyes bleed

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 35 / 50
Date: October 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In the third game of this survival horror series, you take on the role of a teenaged girl named Heather. You begin at the mall, except your friends aren't there. No one is, except for a shady detective named Douglas. Heather doesn't trust him, and she runs from him into a twisted alternate reality made up of horrific scenes and populated by monsters. She meets a strange woman named Claudia, who hints at bringing about a new world of "paradise," though the things she's brought over so far don't seem like paradise to any sane person. Your goal, of course, is to stop her, and also to find out what it all has to do with Heather's hidden past.

You'll journey through many scenarios, though except for the amusement park and the brief outdoor segment, they all look pretty much the same. That's the biggest problem with this game: it's mind-numbingly repetitive. Probably 90% or more of the game time involves traveling through identical corridors, trying doors (most of which are impassable) and looking for useful items in rooms. I found this maddening. It isn't made any more bearable by the game's habit of constantly changing camera angles so that you don't know whether you are coming or going. Much as I enjoyed looking at Heather, it isn't at all practical.

It's recommended that you avoid fighting monsters whenever possible, as ammunition is scarce, and this is a survival game, not a shooter. This is wise for another reason and that is that the combat system is lousy. If you're using a melee weapon other than your feeble knife (again, conserving ammo is recommended) Heather takes so long to raise the weapon and strike that whatever you're fighting has a chance to get an attack in and abort your attempt altogether. And again, the illogical camera angles make it more difficult than it should be. Often what you're fighting is off-screen, even though it is directly in front of you, so you can't see where to direct your attack or even what you're fighting. Also, if you're fighting more than one enemy, it's literally the luck of the draw. The game decides which one you're aiming at, regardless of which is the best choice.

Most games have hotkeys to change weapons with (usually the number row on your keyboard) but not this one. You have to hit "escape" to get into your inventory, click "weapons" if it's not already selected, scroll through and find the weapon you want to use, equip it (making sure you didn't accidentally double-click the oversensitive control), and then escape back out to the game. To have to do this every time you want to switch weapons is ridiculous.

Does this sound tedious yet? I forgot to mention that you have to backtrack constantly to use new items in already explored areas. Sure, that's normal for an adventure game, but taking into account everything else I've mentioned it just adds to the torment.

Since this is not a combat-oriented game, maybe it's okay that the monsters aren't that interesting. They are rendered nicely, but the concepts didn't wow me. Even the bosses are pretty mundane, and not terribly difficult to handle once you figure out their weaknesses. The only exception is when Heather has to battle a dark incarnation of herself, which was pretty clever and has a nice, intense setup.

Where the game truly excels is in sound design. Monster sounds are rightfully unnerving, and the ambient noises are absolutely terrifying. It will keep you on edge; I guarantee it.

The story is confusing, and I'm not even sure it really makes sense. It has to do with reincarnation and changing identities...I think. But assuming it is sound, many things in the game just don't work with it. Things are just thrown in for the sake of being spooky. Hospital gurneys, usually with bodies on them, are everywhere, not just in the hospital. Why? Because they're spooky. There is a haunted house sequence that makes for a nice (and all-too-brief) diversion, but it has nothing to do with anything. There is also a subplot involving Heather's mysterious stalker that seems to be building up to something but never goes anywhere. Often these side attractions are more interesting than the main plot.

Once you finish the game, you are given bonuses that you can use in your next one: new outfits, weapons, etc. This is a neat idea, but I honestly don't think I could put myself through it again. The game truly isn't horrible. It's just that there is so much potential wasted, and so many simple, unnecessary flaws that could have been easily fixed to make it more enjoyable. You can probably find the game for less than ten dollars now. I'd say it's worth that to see some things that you've maybe never seen before, witness some interesting set pieces. But really, it could have been a lot better.

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