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A nightmare you will want to stay awake for!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

"Silent Hill" is one of the best survival horror games out there, even better so than "Resident Evil". As earlier reviews have pointed out, this game is not for the faint of heart. The story concerns Harry, an average man who comes to the small town of Silent Hill, a town with a scarred history. He is on vacation with his daughter, Cheryl, and on their way, there is an accident. When Harry comes to, he finds himself alone, his daughter missing. Add to this, the town is deserted. As you might expect, there are dangerous monsters lurking about. The purpose of this game is to find Harry's daughter and unlock the secrets of Silent Hill's past. It won't be easy, though.

"Silent Hill" is better than RE in that it provides much more realism. Harry is an average person like you or me, not a hero or arsenal on two legs. Like most humans, he is not an expert at conflict, so this makes the battles much tougher. The atmosphere is where this game reallt excells. The deserted town is creepier than anything out of a horror movie, with fog so thick that you cannot see 10 feet in front of you. The snow falls steadily. The music is subtle, adding to the creepiness. The monsters come out of nowhere, and there are many occasions that will make you jump.
There is less action than the other survival horror games, but in a game like this, it is not a big loss. The game is more about solving puzzles than blowing monsters into oblivion. Unlike RPGs, there are no experiece points, no levils, no benefit to fighting every single creature. Running from fights is often the best move.

The one big flaw, which prevents this game from getting five stars, is the clunky controls. I pity the person who plays this game without the analog joysticks. Harry is very difficult to move around, thanks to the complicated control system. It takes a while to get used to them, but by that time you will have gotten killed a few times. The monsters come out of nowhere, and you have mere seconds to react. With controls this complicated, battles are really frustrating.

But all in all, this is a fantastic game. Lots of depth, thrills, and scares. Sadly, this title is out of print, so grab it if you can find it. But it comes with a warning, it is violent and disturbing. Use with caution.

The most chilling experience this side of hell itself

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I really do laugh when ever I hear someone call the Resident Evil series "scary". To me a few zombie like creatures groaning or a few birds flying through a window aren't scary, just startling. While Silent Hill is no where near as action packed as RE, you are wrapped into the story and Harry's surronding a lot more. In fact no one but Konami knows the true story of the game. There are plenty of clues to what ACTUALLY happened to this town our antoganist is trapped in, but not once in the game is one clue enough to give away everything. It's the finest of puzzles and still has yet to have been solved.

The game begins with a collage of scenes from the game and some that used to set up the story (like Lisa and Kauffman fighting). And sets to Harry and his daughter Cheryl driving on a highway late at night. A police officer drives by and meets eyes with Harry only to find her bike wrecked a short while latter and then spots a girl in the middle of the road, he swerves but still seems to go right through her. The next thing he knows his daughter is missing and it's snowing in June.

The gameplay itself is pretty strait forward, aim, run, shoot/action, and the inventory screens are run ver easily. The only problem is that Harry is sometimes a little hard to run with as he will run smack into houses and lightpoles without you realising it. It doesn't happen enough to hamper the game though. The excellent use of lighting really brings out the atmosphere of the game, from attracting mosters to only allowing a cone of vision in the Dark Silent Hill areas (truly frightening place..).

All around one of my favorite games I've ever played. I still enjoy it after beating it around 50 times due to it's great story and creepy atmosphere.

Silent Hill - Still one of the best, even now.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ok, first off, I'll admit that Fatal Frame might just be as good as this or better, from what I've heard. That doesn't change the fact that Silent Hill is probably one of the scariest playstation games ever made. I heard things about "that game where you kill stuff with a sledgehammer" when it came out, but at the time I wasn't too into horror stuff, so I didn't play it. Then in 12th grade I borrowed this little beauty from a friend, thinking it might be fun to get myself good and creeped. Little did I know I was going to spend the next week sleeping with the lights on, when I slept at all, taking my dogs everywhere in the house with me, and shying away from the largely unfinished basement. Anyone with a really good imagination or a history of fear of being alone in a dark, creepy place should definately think twice before they play this. However, if you enjoy getting scared (expletive)-less as much as I do, go ahead.

The plot is deep and involving, but it would serve you well to play through once and then play through again with a guide (just look around online) so that you can get the best ending and learn the most about the plot.
On of Silent Hill's strongest features is the atmosphere. While Resident Evil comes off like a cheesy (but still fun, although it has major psychological bite if you think too hard about characters like Lisa, the monster in the basement or any experiments Umbrella was doing) zombie movie, Silent Hill presents an ominous nightmare world. The vast majority of the game is passed in total darkness, save for the weak beam of your pocket flashlight. This, coupled with the grating, ambient music, and wonderful use of sound effects, creates a feeling of utter isolation and vulnerability. Now, add to that the fact that you have a radio on you that starts hissing and popping whenever there's an enemy in the room. The fact that you frequently can't see the monster triggering the radio is what really drives this effect home. Especially when said monster chooses that moment to barrel out of left field and attack you with no warning save possible grunts or footsteps (The nurses and ape monsters are terrible this way). The monsters themselves make noises. Moans, grunts, shuffling feet, odd choking laughs, and screeches cut through the static of the radio. On a lighter note, the soundtrack is great for planting outside your door on Halloween night.

The thing that really tops it all off, though, is the characters. If you can disregard the sometimes laughable voice acting, anyhow. They range from our hero(?) Harry, an average joe desperately searching for his daughter, to Lisa, a nurse at the hospital who is unfortunately caught up in your adventure and sometimes serves as a guide of sorts. There's probably significance to the literary stuff that pops up throughout the game, but I haven't unraveled most of it yet, save for that Levin street is named for the author of "Rosemary's Baby," which helped inspire SH. Happy gaming!

scary, creepy, and very enjoyable

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have never played a video game that creeped me out as much as Silent Hill--and I loved it! As a game, it is about average, however if you allow yourself to get into the mysterious story and incredibly creepy music, you will feel that excellent scary feeling shadowing over you...This game was great. It had the feel of a movie. Depending on how your play style is, the game could last you hours or days. The endings change depend on how you played, and in one ending there are funny CGI "outtakes." I definately recommend it. Don't expect intense play or you'll be disappointed. Play the game with a laid back, scary horror-movie type of attitude.

THIS GAME IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I am a 14 year old gamer, and I had heard about this game in a magazine and thought I wouldn't get that scared. I never get scared at movies, and I am not afraid of the dark. After playing less than 1 hours worth of the game, I don't think I'll ever walk around the house without a baseball bat and all the lights turned on.(okay it wasn't that bad) I wanted to be scared, and I definently got that (that is why it deserves 4 stars)
Althought this game is very well done, it is VERY DISTURBING. Don't play this unless you want to be paranoid for the next month (and that example is for those who don't get scared at movies). But if you still don't belive me that something like a video game can be that scary, then I dare you to play it. Good luck.

The best horror game ever!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The original Silent Hill was a superlative addition to the horror genre. I am a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, but Silent Hill is a pure horror game. RE is horrible, but the events are caused by scientific experiments gone bad. SH is linked to black magic, drug use, self-loathing, and paranoia. In this game, you never really know whom to trust and believe. Even after playing the game about 50 times, I still was not sure exactly what was going on. This is a game you could actually write a dissertation about (Don't laugh-- I've heard of people doing this).
All in all, this game ROCKS!!!

The beginning to the best horror series of all time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Rating: A
Perhaps it was with Resident Evil that horror games began to rear their ugly head (pun intended), but it was here that psychological tension and true horror was established on the Playstation, as few can argue the tension and suspense this game, and all of the games in the series exhibit in terms of just staying with you long after you've put down the controller, and have crawled into bed for what you might have hoped to be a nice night of sleep. Although part two trounces this game in nearly every category, this game still stands the test of time, as one of the defining games on Playstation 1, as where RE reinvented horror, Silent Hill turned it on its head, and bludgeoned it with a rusty screwdriver, making you wonder where in the hell the creators for this game got their ideas in the first place. Basically the story in a nutshell revolves around Harry Mason, as he drives by the town of Silent Hill late one night, with his daughter Cheryl. Upon seeing a motorcycle cop pass him, it is only moments later, where he once again sees her bike again; but turned over on the side of the road. Upon looking back up a girl is standing in the middle of the road, Harry swerves to avoid hitting her, and the next time he awakens, he finds Cheryl gone, his jeep destroyed, and he is in a town encircled with mist and filled with dead ends that lead to nowhere in particular. Picking up mellee objects and guns along the way, Harry fights through hordes of demons (or are they really demons?) to find his daughter, and try to save her from the hellish town of Silent Hill. From a church to a school, and all the way to a hospital, and a mall, few places are left unturned in Harrys search for his missing daughter, as the mangled pieces of ths puzzle fall into place, the storyline becomes more and more disjointed until the bizarre final battle in Nowhere. A note to those that might play through the game, and be caught off guard by the seemingly strange storyline, that never seems to come together completely, play Silent Hill 3 to get the true conclusion of this games storyline, or simply head on over to GameFaqs.com and check out any of the storyline weavers over there, they are written impeccably well, and help to bridge the gap where you might be left wondering exactly what the hell is going on. Although the games battle system is a bit awkward, Silent Hill is more about atmosphere and storyline, which it exhibits in spades all throughout the whole series (once again part 2 being the pinnacle). If you enjoy this game, check out Jacob's Ladder, an excellent and disturbing movie, that hugely inspired this game and the series in general, this will also help you get a feel for the whole disjointed reality, nightmare scenarios present thorughout the whole series. All I can say to conclude this article is wait til these guys make a game on the upcoming generation of systems, as truly these crators are geniuses, that have mastered the craft of game making to an art form, and their works give you the same kind of horror and awe as looking at Francis Bacon painting, as we wonder just what the hell is beyond the abyss, awaiting us in the inner sanctums of our own dilapidated imagination, and dreams. Enjoy.

The Most Fun You'll Have Trying Not To Die

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Silent Hill is simply the best survival horror game out there and one the very best Playstation games released.
Unlike games like the Resident Evil series, or even Fatal Frame, games that lose their scariness the further you get, Silent Hill remains scary until the very end.
For a Playstation game, Silent Hill has very good graphics, showing more detail than any other game I've seen on this console.
Silent Hill remains a scary experiance all way through thanks largely to the dark atmosphere created in the game. Almost as if you can sense in the air that something frightening, disturbing, or life threatening could happen at any moment.
As I said, Silent Hill is a disturbing game (especially inside the school), the creators have created a game where every single enemy is horrifying to look at and fight against.
Smart puzzles, almost-constant action and lots of walking will keep you busy for hours on end. A genuinly intriging story is so creative and suspensful, you'll finish this game with a nearly obsessive fervor.

This game has become a hard to find item, due to the fact that Playstation isn't pressing any more copies and people who have a copy don't want to trade them in or get rid of them. This game is the sole reason I kept my Playstation after the next-gen consoles became available. Hopefully, the makers of this game will release a version for the new machines like Capcom did for Gamecube with Resident Evil.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Silent Hill games are great too, making the Silent Hill franchise the best in survival horror out there.
However, this first in the series is the best. After that Silent Hill 4: The Room, is the next best.

Controls: 4 stars
Fun: 5 stars
Scariness: 5 stars
Storyline: 5 stars
Difficulty: 4 stars

Overall: 5 stars

Favorite game, hands down

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Howdy. I got this game for Christmas '99. I didn't beat it until midway through 2001. I don't know why; I'm a moron. Anywho, it was truly scary, and I told my friends how it ended, and they said that that's not what happened when they beat it.
What?!? Turns out that there is multiple ends to this game. The littlest things make a huge difference. Good endings, bad endings, even a sci-fi ending, apparently. I haven't gotten a certain talisman yet.
Like I said, this game was scary as hell. Those little demon children in the school, the dogs, and those nurses! Holy crap, playing this game in the dark was terrifying, and I was like 15 years old!
Crazy. Crazy. Buy the game.

Great Game but...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is by far a superior survival horror game compared to the rest of them out there. But these people are crazy to try and sell this game for 49.95 to 199.99. They must be out of their minds to try and sell it for that price. It is a great game but you are a sucker if you pay their price. You could probably find it cheaper on E-bay.

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