Product Description

Travis Grady is alone in his solitary trucker lifestyle. He's content to live his life one mile at a time, making as few connections as possible. It's not that he doesn't have a personal history, but he's much rather leave his past in the rearview mirror.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6357 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Konami
• Released on: 2008-05-06
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Platform: PlayStation2
• Dimensions: .37 pounds

Customer Reviews

Good fun, but Origins lacks originality.
Silent Hill Origins (the fifth title in the series) was originally developed and released for the PSP (Playstation Portable) and has been ported over to the PS2. So graphically the game doesn't match up to a new PS2 release, but it's certainly not a bad looking game.

This is the first game in the series not developed by Japanese developers Team Silent; instead Origins has been created by US/UK developers Climax. They've done an amazing job ensuring the game retains the feel of Silent Hill fans have come to expect. Although character design has certainly changed, the town, monsters, maps and sound have all been perfectly reproduced. The music has even been composed by series veteran Akira Yamaoka.

The game is a prequel and the story in my opinion is perhaps the weakest element of the game. Origins doesn't actually shed much light on the events of the first game. I like the Silent Hill games because of the journey taken by the game's protagonists and the exposure of their inner demons. It's a great concept and one not fully realised in Origins. Travis's story to me felt thrown together and his encounters with other characters (from Silent Hill 1) are very brief.

Considering such obvious work has been put into recreating the visuals of Silent Hill, it's a shame the game doesn't contain more scares. There are some eerie moments but many of them feel recycled from previous entries in the series and are nods to other titles. For example; the character of "the butcher" is an obvious nod to Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 but he could feature in the game a lot more.

The playable locations in Silent Hill are great and perhaps the title's strength. The idea of using mirrors to enter the `Otherworld' is interesting, but I found it removed the tension associated with its unpredictable arrival in previous games. The `Otherworld' no longer suddenly `happens' and that terrible siren is also gone, which is a great shame. I found it annoying that I couldn't direct my flashlight at things also; it's a big oversight and a simple touch that would have improved the game's interaction with darkness; something I've always felt is integral to the series.

The game is long enough, but it certainly felt shorter than other entries in the series and I found the final act to be rather abrupt.

Origins is great effort considering it is a PSP port created by new (and Western) developers. However, its main flaw is that it doesn't build on the series enough. There is nothing new or daring here. The combat system has been tweaked with on-screen button actions getting you out of grapples with baddies (think Resident Evil 4) but this isn't enough to bring any freshness to the title.

It's as if developers have tried too hard to give fans what they expect. Most fans will call it a return to form following Silent Hill 4's unsatisfying departure from the series. This feels very much like Silent Hill 2.5 and for only £19.98 it'll keep fans of the series happy. The problem is that it doesn't really bring anything new to the table and because of this newcomers to Silent Hill will find it a very dated gaming experience.

I can tell from the first level this game is Silent Hill at it's very best.
OK so I only put it in the trusty old PS2 this morning and I can say so far I am absolutely delighted with it. It's good, it's dark and it's creepy! I don't want to give ANYTHING away to spoil it for anybody but I can tell you there are some familiar faces, some new ones and some very familiar locations and the main character is a truck driver called Travis. A young man who is troubled by nightmares. The sound, as ever is fantastic and the graphics are PS2 at it's best. The map is as good as ever, the monsters are back and Travis can resort to fisticuffs which is good earlier on. No difficulty settings to choose from at this stage although they may become available later on. I haven't found an option which allows you to default to running without holding down box which is a bit of a shame. So far I have encountered a few enemies (my personal favorites from SH1)and collected loads of bizarre, baffling objects and collected mysterious documents to read. Lots of locked doors and puzzles and my favourite pastime of rummaging around in muck and gore and jumping and having a good old explore around my favourite town. If you love the Silent Hill games then what are you waiting for! I think this will be a lot better than SH4 which was good but not the best. There is no limit to carrying items which is a good thing. I will update my review upon completion but so far I am very impressed!

Silent hill at it's best
Silent Hill origins to me is a masterpiece. It's got superb graphics, excellent sound and a wonderful soundtrack. I wasn't sure what to expect from this game after the awful silent hill 4, but I can safely say I think this game demonstrates the fact that silent hill series is back at it's very best and on top form.

I found the storyline in particular was very interesting and in depth. The controls did take a bit of getting used to. I have only given this game 4 stars for the fun factor because I found the monsters that strangle you a bit annoying. Apart from that this game is being given a well deserved 5 stars.