Probably the best follow-up to Silent Hill 1 that could be made, given the critiques of the second game at the time. More nightmarish. More gruesome, better to control, and flat-out more fun to play in general. A lot fewer puzzles than I expected, and the combat still has a few hiccups, but the overall progression throughout the game feels great. Heather may be my favorite protagonist in all of Silent Hill, simply because she is not a Silent Hill character. She's like if you put a normal teen into Silent Hill. She hates the place. She's tired of the nonsense about God and Paradise. She's freaking funny, charming, and such a stark contrast to the stoic Dad of SH1 and the apathetic and depressed husband of SH2.

I think what keeps me from loving this game is the fact that it's indeed a follow-up to SH1. The wow factor of that game really can't be topped, which is why the direction of Silent Hill 2 feels so fresh. Sh1 is a nightmare, while SH2 is dread. Sh3 is returning to The Nightmare, which works but is not nearly as impactful as the other two titles. The environments and the visual design are impressively terrifying but almost familiar at this point. It also doesn't help that I think the weakest part about SH1 was the plot with the cultists. I've always seen Silent Hill as a catalyst to explore a character and their fears, but focusing on the rebirthing of a God plot is just too goofy of a premise for me to ever take seriously. In other words, there's nothing for me to latch onto with this title. I can just recognize how expertly the game is crafted, and how much better it feels to play SH3 in comparison to the rest of the series. It's the perfect sequel on paper, but I don't think it's allowed to shine as much when it has so many roots to uphold.

Silent Hill Again/10