It's actually quite difficult to begin talking about this game. So much so that I put off writing the review for a few days after I had finished it. So much that I've scrapped a few intros to this review, wanting to talk about how I played this series very out of order, or how much I love Silent Hill 2, or how I was spoiled by very early scares way back in the day from a preview done in "The Official PLAYSTATION Magazine US" (Issue 66, March 2003). Though, why is it so difficult to start talking about? Is it because I have a lot to say about the game and don't know where to start? Is it because I'm at a loss for words in general? Is it because I'm just a mediocre intellectual, trying to sound smarter than I actually am? Maybe all of that, and maybe more. I guess I should just be frank, and just say one word that describes the game for me: Enigma.
Silent Hill 3 IS an enigma to me. I didn't really know what to expect. I mean, sure, many people have told me about the game, I've seen plenty of clips showing off either out of context scenes in the beginning or end, or key character moments I didn't quite understand at the time. I've heard of its reputation from peers and reviewers alike, and seen its boxart many, many times in my life and wondered "who is this girl, and why is she so important?"
What I ended up getting was both what I expected and what I didn't expect at all. Yes, it was a cult story. Yes, it's an introspective story. Yes, its packed to the brim with symbolic meaning and horror (this time around more visceral, even more than the first one). But what I didn't expect was a story about revenge, about self sacrifice, about memories both lost and repressed, or about the slow and painful death of innocence and how people move forward from it. It's a story about parents, good and bad, and how their children ultimately embody or reject them in their own ways. Sometimes both. Its a story about parenthood, expectation, and how the joy of others is not always your own.
Characters prattle on about what they expect of Heather Mason, age 17, as she starts her journey as a bid of survival against the encroaching darkness of her past and the hell that it tries to inflict on her, manifest through monsters and gory, fleshy, and impossible imagery. That is, only for it to transform into something more direct and focused, as she dives deeper and deeper into hell and the other players on the stage become increasingly more desperate and desiring to see their plans flourish.
But Heather, despite slowly losing everything, remains who she is to the bitter end, even in the wake of contemplating murder against those that wronged her.
It's such a... straightforward, frank, and unsubtle story, but it's earnest and just as real and harrowing as other installments. However, I can't say it's better than prior stories done. The first Silent Hill was a simple story told simply. Silent Hill 2 was a complicated story told simply. This game almost feels like it's a simple story TRYING to be told in a complex manner. I say trying, because Heather herself almost actively fights against it. Events, symbolic meaning, and even plot twists from the first game and from this one all try to muddy the waters, but Heather is quick to remind the player and all around her that she couldn't care less. It's almost admirable, but it does hurt the story told just a tad, despite being refreshing.
Then, there's the gameplay. It's as straightforward as you can get with Silent Hill gameplay, largely untouched and similar to the prior two games, but some minor tweaks to streamline item navigation, combat, and exploration. At the same time, in doing so, while it feels the same at first, it also ends up feeling... "arcadey", if that's the correct term. Not necessarily a bad thing, and kinda makes the journey a bit more fun than it is horrifying, but such a design almost contradicts the ethos and design philosophy of the series. This is felt even more when one realizes that the game is MUCH less open in its exploration, and much more linear as a whole, ultimately going from point A to B, with very little in between. Yes, this was a direct response to the town wandering that happened in SH1 and was massively expanded upon in SH2 (until the Historical Society). as it was criticized for being a bit too much of the gameplay in those games. That said, I think the decision to streamline that part of the game ended up being a bit too much of an over correction. However, once again, it does serve the game's "arcadey" feel.
Visuals are amazing and amazingly visceral, being far more overt in its red, sticky splendor, once again as a direct reaction to the more subtle, dingy, waterlogged visuals of the prior game. Once again, I feel it was a bit too over saturated, but strangely wasn't against it being over saturated in the first place. It definitely had this sense of wrongness that's paramount in most Silent Hill games (the better ones, at least), and still serves the idea that everyone's personal hell in the town is, well, personal. The sound, on the other hand, was pure top notch, industrial, foreboding joy, with a slightly more feminine feel that makes it a little softer and emotional, but no less unnerving and gross when it wants to freak you out.
What I'm trying to say is that every time I have a criticism for this game, it can easily be spun around to be a strength. There aren't very many true detriments to the game. Even the short length of it only really means it's easier to want to go for another playthrough for alternate endings (though, there are only two other endings) and a plethora of unlockables. My only real complaint would have to be that there really aren't more than three endings total to the game, and that I would have appreciated a bit more of the town of Silent Hill to be allowed to explore (especially since it was running off the same engine SH2 was on).
Still, this was quite the fun experience to be had, Heather is an easy contender for best character in the franchise, next to her dad and James, and despite the amount of money I had to drop for it (damn you game speculators), it was worth it now that I have it forever in my collection.
If you can, play this game.
Silent Hill 3 IS an enigma to me. I didn't really know what to expect. I mean, sure, many people have told me about the game, I've seen plenty of clips showing off either out of context scenes in the beginning or end, or key character moments I didn't quite understand at the time. I've heard of its reputation from peers and reviewers alike, and seen its boxart many, many times in my life and wondered "who is this girl, and why is she so important?"
What I ended up getting was both what I expected and what I didn't expect at all. Yes, it was a cult story. Yes, it's an introspective story. Yes, its packed to the brim with symbolic meaning and horror (this time around more visceral, even more than the first one). But what I didn't expect was a story about revenge, about self sacrifice, about memories both lost and repressed, or about the slow and painful death of innocence and how people move forward from it. It's a story about parents, good and bad, and how their children ultimately embody or reject them in their own ways. Sometimes both. Its a story about parenthood, expectation, and how the joy of others is not always your own.
Characters prattle on about what they expect of Heather Mason, age 17, as she starts her journey as a bid of survival against the encroaching darkness of her past and the hell that it tries to inflict on her, manifest through monsters and gory, fleshy, and impossible imagery. That is, only for it to transform into something more direct and focused, as she dives deeper and deeper into hell and the other players on the stage become increasingly more desperate and desiring to see their plans flourish.
But Heather, despite slowly losing everything, remains who she is to the bitter end, even in the wake of contemplating murder against those that wronged her.
It's such a... straightforward, frank, and unsubtle story, but it's earnest and just as real and harrowing as other installments. However, I can't say it's better than prior stories done. The first Silent Hill was a simple story told simply. Silent Hill 2 was a complicated story told simply. This game almost feels like it's a simple story TRYING to be told in a complex manner. I say trying, because Heather herself almost actively fights against it. Events, symbolic meaning, and even plot twists from the first game and from this one all try to muddy the waters, but Heather is quick to remind the player and all around her that she couldn't care less. It's almost admirable, but it does hurt the story told just a tad, despite being refreshing.
Then, there's the gameplay. It's as straightforward as you can get with Silent Hill gameplay, largely untouched and similar to the prior two games, but some minor tweaks to streamline item navigation, combat, and exploration. At the same time, in doing so, while it feels the same at first, it also ends up feeling... "arcadey", if that's the correct term. Not necessarily a bad thing, and kinda makes the journey a bit more fun than it is horrifying, but such a design almost contradicts the ethos and design philosophy of the series. This is felt even more when one realizes that the game is MUCH less open in its exploration, and much more linear as a whole, ultimately going from point A to B, with very little in between. Yes, this was a direct response to the town wandering that happened in SH1 and was massively expanded upon in SH2 (until the Historical Society). as it was criticized for being a bit too much of the gameplay in those games. That said, I think the decision to streamline that part of the game ended up being a bit too much of an over correction. However, once again, it does serve the game's "arcadey" feel.
Visuals are amazing and amazingly visceral, being far more overt in its red, sticky splendor, once again as a direct reaction to the more subtle, dingy, waterlogged visuals of the prior game. Once again, I feel it was a bit too over saturated, but strangely wasn't against it being over saturated in the first place. It definitely had this sense of wrongness that's paramount in most Silent Hill games (the better ones, at least), and still serves the idea that everyone's personal hell in the town is, well, personal. The sound, on the other hand, was pure top notch, industrial, foreboding joy, with a slightly more feminine feel that makes it a little softer and emotional, but no less unnerving and gross when it wants to freak you out.
What I'm trying to say is that every time I have a criticism for this game, it can easily be spun around to be a strength. There aren't very many true detriments to the game. Even the short length of it only really means it's easier to want to go for another playthrough for alternate endings (though, there are only two other endings) and a plethora of unlockables. My only real complaint would have to be that there really aren't more than three endings total to the game, and that I would have appreciated a bit more of the town of Silent Hill to be allowed to explore (especially since it was running off the same engine SH2 was on).
Still, this was quite the fun experience to be had, Heather is an easy contender for best character in the franchise, next to her dad and James, and despite the amount of money I had to drop for it (damn you game speculators), it was worth it now that I have it forever in my collection.
If you can, play this game.