Product Description

In Silent Hill, you assume the role of widower Harry Mason, who is trying to get away from the pain of his wife's loss by taking his daughter on a road trip. After a car accident on the outskirts of the resort town of Silent Hill, you regain consciousness to find that your daughter, who was previously asleep in the backseat, has left--or has been taken--from the scene. To find her, you must go into town and unlock the secrets that linger seven years after a tragic fire scarred the town.

The game features formidable monsters, perplexing puzzles, a realistic 3-D town and, most of all, an acute sense of foreboding caused by Silent Hill's creative lighting and sound effects. The makers have included five different endings, based on performance throughout the game, so think, be quick on your feet and hope for the best of all possible outcomes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3351 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Konami
• Released on: 2000-10-13
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Platform: PlayStation
• Subtitled in: German

Amazon.co.uk Review
A downright creepy "survival horror" title, Silent Hill succeeds where most Resident Evil-inspired titles suck: keeping you hooked and instilling you with fear throughout the game. Players are cast as Harry Mason in his desperate search for his daughter, who mysteriously disappeared after their car crashed into a gully outside of a desolate resort town.

The 3-D environments in Silent Hill are bathed in fog or darkness, making its dismal setting all the more eerie; this also allows for some spectacular lighting effects when using a flashlight in the dark. Granted, there are some pretty coarse graphics being obscured here, but it's a fair trade-off, considering the game's short load times.

Silent Hill is played from a third-person perspective, viewed from both fixed and moving camera angles. As with similar games, the viewpoint can be awkward at times, especially during combat, which here is so clunky that you should try to avoid it whenever possible--something you should do anyway, as this isn't Tomb Raider.

Rather than resort to cheap scare tactics, Silent Hill features a gameplay twist that works very well with its limited visibility environments. Harry carries a radio with him that crackles with static whenever the game's nasties are near, and continues until they are no longer in the vicinity or have been killed off. (Enemies may require further whacking when they're down, as they like to play dead.) Additionally, the supported Dual-Shock controller pulsates in a heartbeat-like fashion whenever you are moderately or seriously injured. --Joe Hon

Customer Reviews

A Creepy Trip
Although this game is 6 years old I recently had the chance to play it again having been frightened to get anywhere near it when it was released. Man what a trip, after all these years the game still holds that thread of fear and dread, the plot expands every time you play it which never decreases interest but rather increases replay value, it leads to more loose threads that grab your attention further.

Some say the visual is most important while others say the sound but when they work together the experience escalates horrifically especially for this genre. This game is truly ahead of its time, the camera angles that whip around Harry Mason are pure class, they create a disjointed reality, like a vivid dream realised. The beginning alley way part is a good example also the Pier & Light House section. And like most people have said the game utilizes your mind to create your own fear based on sensations from the game, you wouldn't want to wind up in Silent Hill.

Gameplay wise the games okay but it suffers slightly when shooting an enemy (Harry Mason appears too slow to react) but then again he isn't Rambo. Also running into things unintentionally like Resident Evil does occur. Apart from these their fine.

Dread can keep you from playing this game, its a bit like DoomIII's sense of dread only there aint no happy ending. The school part has to be the best setting of absolute terror you can try to create in a game. Although I too found the Hospital just as creepy but if you can overcome the School you'll find it easier to tackle this game.

Graphics are fine, people moan about the fog, but this game is a visual delight! You'll be thinking about the places of Silent Hill long after you play any other game (Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Parasite Eve, DoomIII) don't hold a candle of darkness compared to Silent Hill. Best horror game ever created and the film should be a hit too. So if you've never played this game buy it and remember you'll have to take this trip on your own.

Keep the lights on!
You know, I really didn't think a video game could actually scare me. I played Resident Evil when it first came out, but true scares in that game were few and far between. I guess it's because the source of the inspiration for Resident Evil and its many sequels were not that scary in the first place, but merely relied on excessive gore for their thrills.

Then along comes Silent Hill. It plays more like a David Lynch film than a computer game. The story is at times completely surreal. The environment is realised in 3D, which gives the opportunity for some weird camera angles - check out the beginning of the game, where you walk down an alley, only to have the camera which is pointing at you rise up in real time as if on a crane until it is pointing down at you... then down again to follow you. Then other times you'll be walking down the street and the camera will change to a kind of 'handheld' view from behind a tree - as if someone (or something) is watching you. You have to see it to appreciate it.

Then there's the sound. I remember reading a review that mentioned that there was "effective use of sound". That's an understatement. How about you walk into a room that appears empty and as you turn around to leave, there's a loud bang on the door you just came through (that makes you jump out of your skin)? Or the sudden sound of a crying girl from the ventilation ducts? And then there's the excellent music, which builds from creepy rumblings to harsh industrial sounds, kind of like a cross between Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy... only scarier.

The graphics are pretty good too. Much has been made of the grainy look to the game, but I think it suits the setting perfectly. I just bought a PlayStation 2 recently and have started playing Silent Hill on that, and am still impressed by the atmosphere generated by the dark parts of the game, where only a small portion of your environment is lit by your flashlight.

The best part about the game is its replay value. There are five different endings to the game, depending on how you play it, and for each ending, you get a special weapon for the next time you play. I hope it's not giving too much away to mention that my favourite is the chainsaw!

I would urge you to buy this game if you like being scared out of your wits. There are some truly disturbing parts in the game though, so it's not for the squeamish or easily offended.

Just don't play it late at night with the lights off....!

Go chills
I was a relative chill game virgin until I played this game.
I remember sitting in the dark of my room with my portable telly hooked up and a blanket over my head.
I thought I was ready, I thought I had come well prepared.
Mist engulfed me - I think I have been lost ever since.
Devil dogs - alternate worlds, an unborn heathen God - chaos.
Beautifully made and timeless - no wonder the movie gurus have nicked it for the big screen.
Atmosphere in abundance - crippled corpses and radio interference.
There are hours of despair waiting here for you and a sense of time well spent - I enjoyed every moment, my heart has never been the same!