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By Contributing Writer Rob Pecknold Rating: Awesome Silent Hill is the scariest game I have ever played. If you thought Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 were scary, then Silent Hill just might kill you. It's like comparing the Leprechaun movies to The Shining, The Exorcist, or Psycho in terms of scariness. There’s that big of a difference. The crappy commercials don’t do the game justice. The first thing I want to talk about is the graphics, as I’m scared just TALKING about the scariness of Silent Hill. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my Dreamcast, but I wasn’t really impressed with the graphics in Silent Hill. No matter what time of day it is, day or night, you can’t see more than a yard in front of yourself. This does add to the tension, as your flashlight attracts enemies and you can't read your map in the dark, but it seems like this was the board meeting at Konami a year or two ago: Konami Executive: Silent Hill looks great, guys, but what’s with the fog? Silent Hill Developer, who’s really into buzz words: We believe the atmospheric, dynamic fog adds to the essence of impending death or, if you will, extreme scaredness! Konami Exec: Are you sure it's not just there to hide a crappy game engine? Developer: Of course not! Our engine is bleeding edge, hip, and happenin' beyond comparison! But nothing could be further from the truth. Silent Hill's game engine really seems to slack where it should excel. When multiple enemies are on screen, there is very noticeable slowdown. At this stage in the PlayStation’s life cycle, I expect more from Konami. But as you can tell from the Awesome rating, this is where the majority of Silent Hill’s problems stop. While the game's control is fairly sluggish, it should be second nature to anyone who has played a decent amount of Resident Evil. The only other flaws I can think of are that some of the puzzles are frustrating and there are some disorienting camera angles. Here’s how the story of Silent Hill goes down: Harry Mason, a writer in his 30s, is going on a trip with his seven-year-old, black haired, short daughter (if you’ve played the game, that joke was funny) who desperately wants to go to the resort town of Silent Hill. Located on the outskirts of Chicago, Silent Hill was once a town inhabited only by cults, druggies, and druggies attempting to start cults. But then, about 30 years ago, a resort was started and Silent Hill became a popular vacation spot, much to the dismay of the druggie cults. So Harry is driving to Silent Hill with his daughter, when he sees a figure in the middle of the road. He swerves, wrecking his car and coming to a stop on the outskirts of the Silent Hill residential district. It is then he realizes his daughter is missing, and he ventures out to find her. I’ve mustered up enough strength to talk about why this game is so scary. You may think I’m a pansy, but I'm not. I'm the only person at I know who doesn't think Psycho is that weird, the only person I know who thinks that the little girl in The Exorcist is "cute," and the only person I know who think the phrase "Here's Johnny!" is cool and not disturbing. Silent Hill's enemies, sound, and atmosphere (the only great part about the graphics) really make a frightening experience come together. Imagine this scene: Harry Mason is walking down the street, equipped with only a handgun. It is snowing out, and he can barely see three feet in front of himself. Suddenly, his radio starts acting up, blaring static every which way. Harry knows that this static warns of a monster nearby, and the intensity of the static suggests more than one monster is lurking about. Assuming they are close by, Harry draws his gun. The music rises, Harry spins in place waiting for this masked beast to appear, but then, the static goes dead. Harry keeps walking, and out of a corner (with a sign that appropriately says "Beware Of Dog") come two huge, skinless wolves. Harry tries to run to a safe corner to raise his gun, but he is too late. The wolves have a hold on his flesh, and Harry falls to his death. The radio once again goes silent, as the dogs eat at their newly deceased prize. This game's atmosphere and scariness are what make it such a must-have game, so if you’re not into being scared, I don’t recommend buying it. For everyone else, though, Silent Hill is a gem of a game.
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